Archive | December 2019

Mahan’s Archko Journey by Lindsey Smith

I Have Decided To Follow Jesus

Mahan’s Archko Journey by Lindsey Smith is a Christian historical novel based on fact. It makes fascinating reading and I read it in just one sitting.

The story concerns ancient texts about the life of Jesus. Lindsey Smith puts legs on familiar Biblical accounts of the Gospel, which is brought to life.

We need to obey the voice of God. Though others may shun us, it is important to be obedient to God. When we hear the voice of doubt, we must silence it and rebuke it, for it is a tactic of the enemy to distract us.

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The Wedding Dress Christmas by Rachel Hauck

The Champion Of The Dress

The Wedding Dress Christmas by Rachel Hauck is the most delightful Christian contemporary novel about the power of love. It follows on from The Wedding Dress and it is charming to hear the continuation of the story of the hundred year old dress.

Perfect love conquers all fear. She was “not open to love because fear still clung to every part of her.” God does not want us to live our life in the grip of fear, He wants us to live abundantly free. We need to “replace all your fears with love.” We need to know we are loved and just Who it is who loves us.

During life’s troubles there is One who never leaves us. He walks alongside us, lifting us up in times of need. We need to open our hearts, eyes and lives to Him.

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Weapons Of Remorse by Chevron Ross

Powerful

Weapons Of Remorse by Chevron Ross is an epic contemporary Christian suspense exploring the right to bear arms and gun crime in America. It is a hard read at times as people suffer at the hands of others.

The novel explores gun crime from several points of view, some with a vested interest in guns. Others have them because they have to. We see the guilt an Afghan veteran feels as his job was kill or be killed. He found no glory in war. He obtained medals but said they were “something that came from war. Nothing good ever comes from war.” This veteran walked closely with God and “was never embarrassed to talk about God and needed Him even more after Afghanistan.”

Others experience trauma too including a police officer who fired in the line of duty. Guilt riddles their lives. And then there are those who argue that it is their right to own a gun. Living in England this is an alien concept to me. I identified with those who were against owning a gun. I cannot see why anyone would want to have a gun but that is the culture I have grown up with.

We need to know God, then when the hard times come, and they will, we can lean on the Rock who never fails us. Prayer is important. Prayer is just talking to God but we receive a peace that passes understanding when we realise that God’s got a handle on our lives and nothing surprises Him.

The novel deals with guilt and forgiveness. We need to confess our sins and receive forgiveness. We need to dispense it too. Often the face in the mirror is a hard one to receive and to give forgiveness to. No one is ever too far from the heart of God. “God could love and forgive even me.” Some characters ooze forgiveness, others become angry and hard.

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In His Father’s Footsteps by Danielle Steel

Empires And Legacies

In His Father’s Footsteps by Danielle Steel is both a historical and contemporary epic novel that follows the fortunes of a family.

The reader travels from Buchenwald to America, from poverty to wealth, from family to empire. The novel is a journey to discover the true meaning of wealth – and that is always found in people. The wealthiest people in the story are not those with the most money but those who lived, loved and survived Buchenwald. They are the ones who realised the true wealth was in people as they witnessed the fragility of life. “Being Jewish had become a death sentence overnight.” Survival was a lottery.

The legacy of the camps was fear. It hung over lives forever – the fear that it might happen again. It was not something that could be shaken off. Family was precious. Money was a necessity. It could buy life. “Don’t live by what we were afraid of.” Passing fear down to the next generation is not a good idea.

As the novel progresses, the reader sees love being eroded and characters being seduced by wealth. “Diamonds always helped.” The reader projects the end before a character does. Wealth can bring choice but it can also be a prison to be trapped in a cycle of work – money – more work – more money etc.

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