Psalm 19 "Perfect World"

Psalm 19 - Perfect World and Word

19  
1 The heavens are telling of the glory of God;

And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
² Day to day pours forth speech,
And night to night reveals knowledge.
³ There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.

Whether we acknowledge it or not the heavens are shouting the glory of God.  

When you look around at your world do you see the Great Creator of all?

 They have no voice (v.3), yet the day pours forth speech (v.2), and the night reveals the knowledge of our Creator God (v.2).  

Thank Him for this perfect creation today!

"The Masculine Mandate" Book Review

Richard D. Philips has done the world a great service by writing this book.  While many "men's" books cover all kind of masculine topics, Mr. Philips begins where any discussion should begin - the Bible.  This is a gospel primer on men.  Opening up Genesis and showing his readers how God formed man in the garden to "work" it and "keep" it, we see a true picture of the kind of men God has made.  Written in two major sections, the first section of the book helps us "Understand the Mandate" given to men by God.  In this section he explores the topics of "working" and "keeping" based on Genesis 2:15, these two words define for us how a man fulfills his mandate.  Ultimately, by fulfilling these two tasks we fulfill our complete God-given purpose - to glorify God.  "That is the Masculine Mandate: to be spiritual men placed in real-world, God-defined relationships, as lords and servants under God, to
bear God’s fruit by serving and leading."

The third chapter on work was very enlightening.  Being one who quite often hates his job, this chapter made me reflect hard on what I do and my attitude about it.  This chapter really caused me to re-evaluate my perspective on work and I was shown from a biblical point of view that I was wrong.  The scriptures Mr. Phillips uses reproved, corrected, and trained me towards biblical exegesis of work.  This was very rewarding.

The second section of the book deals more in the praxis of manhood.  Topics that are covered are marriage, fatherhood, friendships, and servant-hood in the church. The section on marriage seems to blow a fresh wind up on this age old doctrine.  We may have heard all there is on this subject, but Mr. Phillips does men a great service by reminding us in fresh language this mandate and its importance. 

The section on fatherhood reminded me some of Ted Tripps book Shepherding a Child's Heart.  If fact Mr. Tripp's book is referenced a few times.  Mr. Phillips has a very godly way of looking at fathering, much like Ted Tripp.  A view that is not shared by most modern parenting books, even the ones in Christian bookstores.  I say this as a compliment to Mr. Phillips and Mr. Tripp.  These men are godly-men who know the Bible and come at it this topic in a bibilcally strong fashion. 

The book contains group questions which I found to be very encouraging.  This caused me to begin to think about how I could use this book as a manual in my church.  I appreciate this addition to the book.  It makes the book relevant and applicable, and not just all theory.

I would encourage anyone to grab this book and take a read. 

This book was given to me by Reformation Trust in exchange for my fair review. 

Book Review: "When Sinners Say I Do"

Another book on marriage, really?  Yes, really.  If you love to learn by reading and want an exceptional book on marriage than you should read this one.  Dave Harvey, Pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church in Glen Mills, PA, a Sovereign Grace Ministries church, i.e. C.J. Mahaney and Josh Harris, has done the church a great service.  Within ten chapters Pastor Harvey sets out ten biblically strong and practical topics.  He begins with the foundational doctrine of sinful humanity.  This may seem obvious, but this book is a light doctrinal thesis on what is sin and how it damages our lives, and especially our marriages.  With amazing clarity he helps us navigate who we are before a Holy God and therefore who we are for our spouse.  Without using phychological jargon and only biblical jargon he helps us inspect our lives with God's law and grace.  He also deals with mercy, forgiveness, and grace as related to our marriages.

Did I like this book?  YES!  I am leary about marriage books, but once I got started into this one I realized I was taking it for granted and had to go back and re-read the first two chapters.  It was then I realized I was hooked.  Pastor Harvey gives great insight into sin, the glory of God, mercy, forgiveness, and grace and applies it appropriately to our marriages.  Is this a marriage book?  Yes, but only after being a well crafted book about the goodness of Jesus despite our sinfulness.  I will reference this book again and again, and will probably require its reading for marriages I counsel.  As a Pastor myself, I would use this book not for newlyweds, but for those one to two year marriages, who are struggling.  The young marriage that realizes that their spouse and their marriage isn't all bliss.  I would strongly encourage any married couple who needs a boast in the theology of their marriage to read this book. 

This book was given to me by Shepherd Press as a review in exchange for my honest and realistic review.