Have you ever come across the story in the Bible about Benaiah? I had never recalled hearing the name before and I didn't realize that what this guy did was probably one of the most courageous acts recorded in the Old Testament. Here's the passage: "Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, performed great exploits. He struck down Moab’s two mightiest warriors. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. And he struck down a huge Egyptian. Although the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, Benaiah went against him with a club. He snatched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear." 2 Samuel 23:20-21. So thats it. No big deal right? It's just one of those passages you read and forget about not putting much emphasis on any part.  Well, Mark Batterson took hold of this small passage from scripture and created a book about overcoming risks, setting big goals, and chasing big dreams, not small ones, but "lion size" dreams. I tend to place God in a box thinking that there are some things he can do and some things he can't with my life but what this book showed me was that with God all things are possible and he WANTS them for us, more than we want them for ourselves. 

Not everyone goes looking for lions to  slay or scrounges around trying to grasp opportunities, but Benaiah did, and he was well rewarded for it (He became King David's personal Body Guard! How cool is that?!). He was a lion-chaser. Mark Batterson quickly became one of my favorite authors after reading this book, I think his style of writing is really easy for me to read, and humorous as well. It's full of biblical knowledge and shows how to apply principles from the bible to our lives. I could go on and on, but I'll just leave you with SOME of my favorite quotes from the book. (This is hard because there are soo many!) So if you end reading here, and you have a big dream, or a something thats been on the back burner for too long, read this book, and read the BIBLE, it will help you realize that there isn't time to waste putting great dreams on hold, your time is now! God Bless! -Britt

"How you think about God will determine who you become. You aren't just the byproduct of "nature" and "nurture." You are a byproduct of your God-picture. And that internal picture of God determines how you see everything else. Most of our problems are not circumstantial. Most of our problems are perceptual. Our biggest problems can be traced back to an inadequate understanding of who God is. Our problems seem really big because our God seems really small. In fact, we reduce God to the size of our biggest problem."

"Why is it that the church is known for what we're against that what we're for? Why does it seem like the church is always in a defensive posture? Maybe it's time for Christ followers to put on crash helmets and play offense." 

"Lion chasers don't retreat. They attack. Lion chasers aren't reactors, they are creators. Lion chasers refuse to live their lives in a defensive posture. They are actively looking for ways to make a difference."

"We need to stop criticizing culture and start creating it."

"Part of spiritual maturity is caring less and less about what people think about you and more and more about what God thinks about you"

"We should stop asking God to get us out of difficult circumstances and start asking Him what He wants us to get out of those difficult circumstances."

"Worship is forgetting about what's wrong with you and remembering what's right with God."

"Faith is risky business...Maybe risk taking is at the heart of righteousness. Maybe righteousness has less to do with not doing anything wrong and more to do with doing things right. Righteousness is using our God-given gifts to their God-given potential. and that requires risk. Maybe our view of sanctification is too sanitized. Maybe our view of Christianity is too civilized. Maybe we need to reconsider what made our spiritual ancestors heroic."

I'll end with a quote that he quotes by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, " Hell begins the day God grants you the vision to see all that you could have done, should have done, and would have done, but did not do."

It's been a REALLY long time since I have updated on any book that I have read, and I am reading, just been slacking in the "reporting." So I decided to lump these two together because they aren't the type of book that I usually read, (and probably shouldn't read too many of) but they were a good break from the usual, and very very very very good. 
Redeeming Love has been a favorite book of mine for a really long time, and someone from New Zealand had it so I had to borrow it and read it. (why is it that some books take you a day to read, and others take me a.g.e.s....) Anyway, Redeeming Love is a remake (kindof) of the bible story of Hosea and his prostitute wife from the Bible, and takes place in the late 1800s. Basically, without giving too much away, the story is about this beautiful girl who was sold into prostitution as a child, so she expects betrayal from every men and has, naturally, grown to hate them. Then she meets Michael "Hosea" who is unlike every man she has ever met who seeks after God's heart in everything, and who tries to win over her heart not only for himself but for God as well. However, she has lots to overcome before she is ready to accept this "god" whom she knows nothing about. It's is a really great story about God's unconditional love and redemptive healing. I could go on and on, but I wont you'll just have to get it yourself. 

Now, I have always loved the story of Esther in the Bible, and this story is about Esther and her "one night with the king." (There is also a movie made about this book called "A Night with the King" which is also a very good movie) The book stays along the lines of the story in the Bible fairly close, however there are parts, (obviously in a novel) that are added in to make it more interesting. So I have mixed feelings on recommending it, but I liked it and read it and feel maybe someone would benefit by reading it. As long as you are going into it knowing it's not word from word from the Bible. Ok, anyway this story is unique because it takes you into Hadassah's thoughts. Imagine a young Hebrew girl of 16-18 being taken from her home to now start living her life in a palace, to either become 1. a Persian queen or 2. a concubine. Probably not in the everyday thoughts of a Hebrew girl. It shows her struggle to accept God's plan for her life in being one of those two options because it was so different from all  her usual jewish customs, oh yeah, and her could-be future husband is the most powerful man in the world at that time, and just killed his old wife. No stress there. When she does become queen (you all knew that right?!) she has yet another tying experience, to save her people and risk her life, or be silent and watch as the man she loves destroys her nation. She has to learn to trust in God's decisions and think that, as it says in Esther 4:14, maybe God had placed her there for such a time as this.

I just finished the old classic Pilgrim's Progress. If you can get past the Old English style of writing, it is quite an interesting interpretation of the life of a Christian. It is written from a Puritan perspective with the tradition of being very strict. Bunyan's theology is quite sound from a Biblical perspective and is a great story generic enough to stand the test of time, with its focus on principles and truths that are as true now as they were at the beginning of time. 

It was a good reminder for me that the path to follow Christ is narrow and how easy it is for many not to take that path or try and find their way off that path along the journey. For many that declare themselves Christians will not be admitted into the "Celestial City" because they did not put all their trust in Christ Jesus for their salvation. Even if they did good works, talked well, had lots of friends, or knew of God, they would still get into Heaven only by believing in the cleansing blood of Christ for their sins. The visual picture of this in the book is when the two main characters have to cross a river right before entering the Gates. The river was not very wide but it could be very deep. There was no way across except to walk. When they walked across the river, if they had complete faith that they could not do it alone but only through the support of Jesus Christ, the river was shallow and simple to wade through. However, for anyone that did not have 100% faith that Christ was sufficient for them, the bottom of the river was endless, they were washed away and gone forever.  

There are countless lessons throughout the book, like the one above, when reflected upon my own life, I can be more conscious of the pitfalls that I do encounter on the path of following Christ. Even though this is a hard book to get into right away it is worth the read for the timeless principles and would make a great book to discuss for church groups. -Paul