I read an earlier book by Max King, The Spirit of Prophecy, in the early 1990s (originally published in 1971). I was fascinated with King’s exegesis of scripture in ways I had not previously considered. He made me think. I expected no less in this new book, Irrevocable, likely King’s last book (he is almost 90 years old).
In Irrevocable, King goes into great depth on just three chapters of the Bible, Romans 9-11. Within these chapters, he parses and analyzes, compares and contrasts every aspect possible. I found it hard to keep up. Maybe my brain is more tired now.
From what I did grasp, King says this difficult section by the apostle Paul is good news, not bad news, for all mankind, not just the Roman readers.
King goes to great lengths to prove that God’s gift of salvation is inclusive, not exclusive. He explains that both Jews and Gentiles are invited into the Kingdom. God wants all to be united, healed, whole.
If you can stay engaged with King’s scholarly writings (I struggled to stay interested, alas), you’ll learn not only about Paul’s New Testament theology, but also about God’s dealings with Israel in the Old Testament and how it relates to the New Testament.
I wish my dad were still here to read Irrevocable. Before he died, my dad had begun compiling his own book on Romans. I’m sure he would have enjoyed King’s scholarly approach, including tons of quotes from other authors and myriads of biblical references.
If you enjoy heavily academic books and like to be challenged in your thinking, Irrevocable might be for you.
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My thanks to SpeakEasy for the review copy of this book
Our longest-standing grudges are usually from our earliest days. That’s just the way time works.
And Christmas is often when we revisit those people, those hurts, that past.
Who do you need to forgive this Christmas?
There are lots of gifts we can give each other. But none is as powerful as forgiveness.
As you think about baby Jesus coming down to forgive you, think about you coming over to forgive someone else.
A Modern Example of Forgiveness
The story of Anthony Ray Hinton is a true one. He was wrongly accused of murdering a man at a Mrs. Winner’s restaurant and one at a Captain D’s in 1985.
He was sentenced to death row in Alabama.
The problem? He was innocent. He murdered no one.
It took almost 30 years for Mr. Hinton to be released.
And then what?
He did the unthinkable.
He forgave.
If Mr. Hinton can forgive, can’t we?
Listen to him, and then think about it.
Anthony Ray Hinton Says . . .
“I forgive the State of Alabama for being a bully. You have to stand up to bullies. I forgive because not to forgive would only hurt me.
I forgive because that’s how my mother raised me.
I forgive because I have a God who forgives. . . .
We have to find ways to recover after bad things happen. We have to make every ending be a happy ending.
Every single one of us wants to matter. We want our lives and our stories and the choices we made or didn’t make to matter.
Death row taught me that it all matters.
How we live matters.
Do we choose love or do we choose hate? Do we help or do we harm?
Because there’s no way to know the exact second your life changes forever. You can only begin to know that moment by looking in the rearview mirror.
And trust me when I tell you that you never, ever see it coming.”
Then I read Mr. Hinton’s full story in his own book, The Sun Does Shine. Phenomenally told; it was one of my favorite books of 2018. He is also featured in the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, a powerful place. I may never meet Mr. Hinton, but his life (and Bryan Stevenson’s) has profoundly affected mine.
Who do you need to forgive this Christmas? Whose forgiveness do you need to accept? Please share in the comments.
In the beginning, it’s all about physical care. But that changes as our kids grow up. Interesting graphics on how time spent with children changes as they age.
This is the Hatmakers third year to feature 16 companies that not only make great products, but give back in significant ways to our communities, to people in need, and to the world. Listen as a podcast episode or read the transcript (and see photos).
This is a great list of social justice books by Anita Ojeda. She had lots of wonderful Self-Care Sunday posts on reaching out and learning more about other cultures. “Social justice begins with me.”
To go with Anita’s list above, here are five books suggested by the National Book Foundation. Their goal is to advance understanding of mass incarceration in the United States. This list centers on first-person narratives from formerly incarcerated authors, partners of those behind bars, and leaders of prison reform.
Here are short book reviews of 6 favorite books I finished reading in November, including Washington Black and The Complete Enneagram.
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5 Pictures of Things I Love
Jenna took some beautiful pictures of Morgan and her babies. She’s juggling being a mom of two quite well, even though it has its moments, as all moms can attest.
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I’ve loved getting my snuggles in with the newest grandbaby myself.
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We got to spend Thanksgiving Day with some of our friends from around town. I count this Vietnam vet as one of my friends for the past several years. I learned even more about him last week.
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R.I.P. Kandie. Our most lovable golden retriever Kandie died on my birthday last Monday. Even though she moved in with Jenna and Trey the past two years (and she loved every second being an inside pet with them!), she lived with us her first seven years. It’s a sad, sad thing to lose a pet. Her remains are now included in our pet cemetery in the backyard along with pet gerbils, ducks, and a fish.
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Dubs Burgers are a local favorite. Jenna and Trey took us there to celebrate our birthdays. You don’t have to twist our arms for that.
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5 Favorites from the Blog
Here are brief summaries and links to blog posts from November 2019. I participated in Nonfiction November, so many are about reading.
God is in the unfulfilled spaces as much as he is in the things he created around them. Keep some empty spaces around you as breathing room for you and God.
Want to learn more about the Enneagram and spiritual growth? Here are three books I highly recommend. I’m looking forward to sharing a 28-day series on the Enneagram here in February 2020.
Here are brief summaries and links to blog posts from November 2019.
Thanksgiving Isn’t Over – Stay Unbusy (11/30) The spirit of giving thanks doesn’t have to end in November. Keep it alive by staying unbusy. Quotes from Andy Dragt’s book, Unbusy.
Keep Empty Spaces (11/21) God is in the unfulfilled spaces as much as he is in the things he created around them. Keep some empty spaces around you as breathing room for you and God.
Match This Nonfiction Book with This Fiction Book (11/4) Here are two pairs of nonfiction and fiction books that go well together, including The Nickel Boys and The Poisonwood Bible as the novels.
Last week’s Sunday worship was warming. We praised God for his goodness. We sang songs and felt deep gratitude to God for who he is, for what he’s done.
We were taking the attitude of gratitude home with us.
Until the amen.
We were dismissed. Unfortunately, my attitude of thanksgiving dismissed itself, too. The friend beside me was questioning why it had to be so cold in the sanctuary. Yes, I agreed, why? I’m freezing.
One verbal complaint led to more mental complaints. Many of them centered around time.
Why is it taking so long to find Jeff in the crowd?
What time will we ever get to eat lunch today?
I need more time this afternoon to get things done.
It’s hard to keep a grateful heart when I feel pressed for time.
Do You Have Enough Time?
I struggle to be content with time. I have more things I want to do than time available to do them.
“If you feel ‘crunched for time,’ then you are. It’s as simple as that.“ – Andy Draft
I want more time. I need more time. Yes?
But this week of Thanksgiving—this life of thanksgiving—tells me otherwise.
It whispers, “Enough.”
I’ve always had enough. Now is enough, too. So why do I think there won’t be enough time in the future to accomplish what God wants to accomplish through me?
I want to trade my attitude of crunched for an attitude of enough.
Changing Attitudes
We had read Colossians 3:15-17 that morning in church. It said,
Let peace rule. And be thankful.
Let the Word dwell. And give thanks.
To let peace rule and to let the Word dwell—which prompts giving thanks—I need to change my discontentment with time.
“Most of us feel some level of time famine. We do not think we have enough time for all the things we feel the need to do. We feel like we are starving for time. These feelings have serious consequences.”
He says design the flow of your time so you’re free to spend as much time as it takes to achieve the important things.
But how can we arrange our time to accomplish the big things?
Dragt suggests we bring more structure, not less. Because “the opposite of structure is not freedom; it’s chaos.” And that takes deliberate intention.
“It takes work to design and live out an unbusy life.“
We have to define our values, purpose and priorities. Then plan our daily actions and routines around those goals.
Yet remain flexible within those routines.
“Be like water, and find a way to flow around the obstacles that come your way. There will be times when you need to shift into dramatically different rhythms and patterns to deal with what comes your way.”
I know my battle with time isn’t over. I still lust for more. But by being thankful for the time that I do have, my heart is more peaceful.
My attitude about time is an important part of how I spend it.
I want to foster the habit of being unbusy. Because of this: I want to live in the season of thanksgiving not only this week, but every week.
“One of the paradoxes of writing is that when you write nonfiction everyone tries to prove that it’s wrong, and when you publish fiction, everyone tries to see the truth in it.” – Scarlet Thomas
Every month I share the best of what I’ve finished reading. Here are books I recommend from November. See all my recommended books here.
And to complete the Nonfiction November challenge, I also include a roundup of books recommended to me from other participants this month.
Books I Recommend
Nonfiction
1. A Thousand Lives The Untold Story of Hope, Deception, and Survival at Jonestown by Julia Scheeres
If I didn’t know this really happened, I’d say it’s unbelievable. Jim Jones took his cult members from the United States to live in a commune in Guyana in the 1970s.
By 1978, Jones had such a grip on them, he convinced the adults to commit suicide as a group. (And the more than 300 kids? The adults gave them the cyanide first, then took it themselves.) 918 people died.
It’s an atrocious, horrible story. But well-written and well-documented by Julia Scheeres.
No time for the book? Here’s an interesting article about it instead.
2. The Complete Enneagram 27 Paths to Greater Self-Knowledge by Beatrice Chestnut
There are lots of books on the Enneagram out there (here’s a list of my 3 favorites). But this is one of the most thorough books.
Chestnut goes into detail on the three subtypes of each of the nine types, for a total of 27 types to learn about.
(Can a book be too thorough? This book left me more confused about which type to identify with.)
3. Something Needs to Change A Call to Make Your Life Count in a World of Urgent Need by David Platt
This book is a travel diary. That makes it different from Platt’s other books. However, the message is the same: believe in Jesus and share his love with others.
The setting is a week-long mission trip to the Himalayas. Platt keeps a record of and shares with the reader about who he meets along the way, their struggles, and his struggles with their struggles.
The book is easy to read and moves quickly, as Platt travels through the mountains. I don’t agree 100% with Platt’s theology, but I love his heart for others and for God.
4. Unbusy How to Leverage the Physics of Flow to Accomplish More of What Truly Matters and Feel Less Busy at the Same Time by Andy Dragt
This is a short book about time management from the perspective of flow. It went a little long for my taste covering rivers and trees and the Constructal Law.
But I did gain from it about values, purposes, and priorities.
And Dragt affirmed my use of calendars. He is a big believer on freeing up your time by getting predictable about everything you can.
The story begins on a sugar plantation in Barbados with an 11-year-old slave, Washington Black. His life takes a big turn when he meets the master’s brother, Titch, an inventor and abolitionist.
You go a lot of tender places on this journey with Wash. Hard truths but also sweet graces are in this novel.
This book has won many awards, and I understand why.
6. A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza
This novel begins at the wedding of an Indian couple in America. You immediately feel the tension between the bride’s brother and the rest of the family.
The story progresses back and forth through time to deliver the backstory, bringing you back to the wedding. And eventually catches up, progressing a few years beyond the time of the wedding.
It’s a sweet story of hardships and struggles among each family member as they interact with each other and the broader community as Muslims in America.
Reading Now
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
What Is a Girl Worth? My Story of Breaking the Silence and Exposing the Truth about Larry Nassar and USA Gymnastics by Rachael Denhollander
Blessed Broken Given How Your Story Becomes Sacred in the Hands of Jesus by Glenn Packiam
Millenneagram The Enneagram Guide for Discovering Your Truest, Baddest Self by Hannah Paasch
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Introverts in the Church Finding Our Place in an Extroverted Culture by Adam S. McHugh
Outer Order, Inner Calm Declutter and Organize to Make More Room for Happiness by Gretchen Rubin
Books Recommended to Me
These are books I have NOT read. But I’ve added them to my TBR list from other Nonfiction November bloggers for our final week of #NonficNov (this week’s linkup is hosted by Rennie). Any comments on which I should read?
