"Inner Healing and Deliverance" (Jennifer Eivaz)

TITLE: Inner Healing and Deliverance Handbook
AUTHOR: Jennifer Eivaz
PUBLISHER: Minneapolis, MN: Chosen Books, 2022, (224 pages).
 

Hurt people, hurt people. Healed people, help people. Being human, we often need to be helped first before we could help others. It has been said that Christ came to earth not to make people good, but to make dead people live. The Bible says that because of sin, we died, but because of Christ, we live. Some Christians claim belief but still live superficially. We need to change from the inside out. One way or another, we all need to be healed and to be delivered from the different impediments that prevent us from growing spiritually. Sometimes, there are deeper issues of the soul that need particular attention. This is where this book comes in. Written by one whose life has been changed from the inside out, this book represents the work and experience of an author whose conviction is that Christ heals and there is demonstrable power of the Holy Spirit that we need. Author Jennifer Eivaz asserts that every believer is a minister. Known also as the "Praying Prophet," Eivaz has spent her life teaching the need for inner healing and deliverance. Inner healing is "the healing of the inner [person]: the mind, the emotions, the painful memories, the dreams. It is the process through prayer whereby we are set free from resentment, rejection, self-pity,  repression, guilt, fear, sorrow, hatred, inferiority, condemnation, or worthlessness, etc." Deliverance is "from God and is part of the blessing of being in covenant with Him. It only destroys what is of the devil; it never destroys what is of the Holy Spirit. Since deliverance is a work of the Holy Spirit, it builds up the saints and edifies the Church. It tears down the strongholds of the enemy but builds up the work of God." Both are needed together. 

"The StoryChanger" (David Murray)

TITLE: The StoryChanger: How God Rewrites Our Story by Inviting Us into His
AUTHOR: David Murray
PUBLISHER: Wheaton, IL: Crossway Publishers, 2022, (128 pages).
 

What is the gospel about? The story of the gospel can sometimes be described in terms of these words: Creation, Fall, Israel, Redemption, Jesus, Cross, Resurrection, Church, and New Creation. These are theological milestones according to many Bible scholars. Unfortunately, for laypersons, these words alone might not communicate much meaning to how these come together as one big story. Enters David Murray with a creative way to pull these themes together under the "story-changer" motif. Basically, the story of the good news according to the Bible can be told through a series of interconnected stories. In particular, he shows us how God redeems humankind from their follies, historical, contemporary, and future follies. We learn of how God helps rewrite our stories for the better. Starting off with the famous declaration in Ecclesiastes that everything is meaningless, we are reminded that without God, everything indeed is and will be meaningless. The First Story is about the events in Genesis where God created everything great until sin entered the world through the disobedience of Adam and Eve. Calling Satan the "Story-shredder," we get a picture of how evil could be. Humans try all they can to try to write their own stories. All, if not most, fail to tell it adequately. Showing us why we need a Story-Changer, Murray devotes the book to help us see the importance and significance of letting Jesus help us re-write our stories. We have a new story to write and to tell. Thanks to Jesus of course.

"Stories of My Life" (Katherine Paterson)

TITLE: Stories of My Life
AUTHOR: Katherine Paterson
PUBLISHER: Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2022, (352 pages).
 

We all love stories. Since young, many of us would recall listening to how our parents and grandparents told us all kinds of stories. From fairy tales to modern legends, biblical narratives to personal testimonies, stories captivate us in ways that no prose nor non-fiction could. Stories help us appreciate and understand tradition. They also teach us lessons about life, just like the world-famous Aesop's Fables. It takes a conscientious storyteller to tell a good story. It takes a gifted storyteller to tell a great story. Author Katherine Paterson tells her own story to give us many glimpses into her fascinating life as a writer, a missionary kid, teacher, preacher's wife, devoted mother, and a Christian. She shares about the ups and downs of her life. Events like her topsy-turvy days when living with her missionary parents to China to having children of her own following a miscarriage, Paterson shares her stories with vivid description and brutal honesty. She introduces the book from a readers' perspective via three "Frequently Asked Questions." 

1. How did you become a writer?
2. Where do you get your ideas?
3. How does it feel to be famous?

"Rose Guide to the Feasts, Festivals, and Fasts of the Bible" (Paul H. Wright, ed)

TITLE: Rose Guide to the Feasts, Festivals and Fasts of the Bible 

AUTHOR: Paul H. Wright (Editor)
PUBLISHER: Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2022, (232 pages).

What is the connection between Food and Faith? Why are festivals so much a part of the Hebrews? What is the significance of events surrounding feasting and fasting? How does food foster relationships? This book attempts to answer some of these questions from biblical, historical, relational, theological, and practical perspectives. Covering both the Old Testament and New Testament feasts, the author aims to help us see how the simple act of eating could bring people together and bind them. At the same time, festivals enable us to be in tune with the cycles of a religious year. Like seasons during the year, these timely observances enable us physically and spiritually to appreciate God's intended rhythms of rest, relaxation, and relational dimensions of creation. 

Beginning with Old Testament feasts, readers get a fascinating overview of what the ancient Israelites did through the year. Paul Wright asserts that food provides not just nourishment for the body, it is also for the soul. 

"Christianity and Modern Medicine" (Mark Wesley Foreman & Lindsay C. Leonard)

TITLE: Christianity and Modern Medicine - Foundations for Bioethics
AUTHOR: Mark Wesley Foreman & Lindsay C. Leonard
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2022, (384 pages).
 

How do we make critical medical decisions that do not have easy answers between right and wrong? Do we accept answers just because everybody is doing it? In matters that do not seem to have clear-cut answers, we need biblical guidance. We also need trained scholars and practitioners to help us interpret biblical principles in our modern contexts. Authors Mark Wesley Foreman and Lindsay Leonard combine their expertise in biblical studies, bioethics, law, and practical theology to give us an updated resource for tackling the controversial issues such as abortion, euthanasia, infanticide, assisted suicide, alternative procreation techniques, genetic ethics, clinical ethics, human experimentation, etc. Calling it "Foundation for Bioethics," the authors narrow down these discussions to legal and moral implications for bioethics. The authors define bioethics as " the analysis and study of ethical conflicts and problems which arise due to the interrelationship between the practice of the medical/biological sciences and the rights and values of human beings." Bioethics essentially cover difficult and complex decision pertaining to:

• Life and Death Issues
• Clinical or health-care issues
• Medical Research
• Social Health-care policy

"Why Believe" (Neil Shenvi)

TITLE: Why Believe? A Reasoned Approach to Christianity
AUTHOR: Neil Shenvi
PUBLISHER: Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2022, (272 pages).
 

As society gets more secular in outlook and atheistic in practice, why should anyone consider religious beliefs? With the ongoing religious controversies and wars, why should we give religions a chance? Amid the religious scandals reported on mainstream media, religious outlook in general has taken a dive. With churches in the West registering sharp declines annually, why bother about Christianity at all? These are some of the questions that fly straight at anyone considering any religious beliefs, and in particular, Christianity. Even among religious believers, it is a tough sell to even get them to consider believing in Jesus. In this frank book about the merits of Christianity, author Neil Shenvi takes us through his personal journey of faith and how he is eventually convinced about the message of Jesus Christ. Like many earnest seekers, he sought to deal with the key questions such as:

• Are all religions true?
• Are they all subjectively true?
• Will there be true peace if all religions are eliminated?
• How do we make sense of the Resurrection?
• How do we deal with the arguments against Theism?
• What evidence is there for the existence of God?
• Can one be good without God?
• What is the uniqueness of the gospel of Christ?
• How do we understand sin and salvation from the Christian perspective?

All of these questions center around this: "Why should we think that Christianity is true?" 

"Josey Johnson's Hair and the Holy Spirit" (Esau McCaulley)

TITLE: Josey Johnson's Hair and the Holy Spirit
AUTHOR: Esau McCaulley, with LaTonya Jackson as Illustrator
PUBLISHER: Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2022, (32 pages).
 

What has a little girl's hair got to do with the Holy Spirit? Readers might find that intriguing but with patience and openness, one would quickly connect the dots and see many themes important for today. Josey Johnson is a little girl who loves her hair. Some days, she would have it braided while other days she would prefer pigtails or curly afros. Some days, it seems like her hair could very much take a life of its own! Like many young Church-going families, Josey goes to Church every Sunday morning with her parents. She would dress well for the occasion, but for that Sunday, it was a special occasion: Pentecost Sunday! Gradually, the author connects the different types of hair, the diversity of people gathered, and the meaning of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit comes. There are several themes that the author put out that readers (and children) could pick up quickly. The key theme would be the celebration of diversity, just like the Holy Spirit who gave different gifts to different people. When the Holy Spirit comes, He unites people from all walks of life, starting with believers.