Book Review: Outlive Your Life

Fourteen words from the back cover of the book immediately caught my attention. I quote them, "These are devastating times: 1.75 billion people are desperately poor; one billion are hungry." The book is Outlive Your Life: you were made to make a difference, ISBN 978-0-8499-4668-4 (IE). The author is Max Lucado.


Outlive Your Life is a call to Christianity to write the conclusion of the book of Acts. Max Lucado weaves the call to Christ-like service into the actions and activities of the apostles and the first Christians. There were no needy people among them. They gave and shared what they possessed. Jesus was moved with compassion for those in need and responded with action. I quote for us from the closing chapter, "Salvation is the work of Christ. Compassion is the consequence of salvation." The message of the book can be summed up with this quote from chapter 7, See the Need; Touch the Hurt, "Works done in God's name long outlive our earthly lives."


The numbers given on the back cover of the book of the poor and hungry are overwhelming. Feeding the hungry and helping those in need is a passion of mine. It's seeing those who are suffering through the eyes of Jesus Christ. The author laces Outlive Your Life with Scripture. Christ came with a mission statement straight from Scripture (Isaiah 61:1-2).  Jesus read it and I quote from chapter 10 of Outlive Your Life, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed (Luke 4:18)." I come away from reading this book with the thought that if Jesus did it, shouldn't we?


Max Lucado has a style of writing which I describe as "seamless". The words flow from one sentence to the next, from one chapter to the next. The message of the book is given in a clear, easy to read and easy to understand manner. The call to Christian action the author puts forward in this book is highly appropriate for our current time. Oil prices are rising increasing the cost to produce food. It's inevitable, food prices will also rise. The body of Christ is positioned perfectly to put it's faith into action. I highly recommend this book to any who have a desire, an unction to do something for Christ. However, in the words of James, "be doers of the word, and not hearers only (James 1:22)."


I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Christmas, A New Genesis

photo from stockxchng/ven-

Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of Christ. It's also a time to consider why he came. Scripture tells us Christ came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). The baby born into this world, whose birth we celebrate, came to be the Savior of mankind.

The First Genesis
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (GE 1:1 KJV)." Scripture tells us God saw each phase of his creation as being good. God created Adam and placed him in a perfect garden, Eden.

Adam's disobedience in the matter of the forbidden fruit plunged all humanity into a world of sin resulting in both physical death and spiritual death. God instituted a plan of sacrifice for humanity to follow to push redemption from sin forward until the time of the ultimate sacrifice of the coming Messiah.

Hebrews 10:4 tells us it's not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin. Something more was required. God never intended to leave humanity without the hope of redemption and restoration. God had a plan from the beginning. The sacrifice of a Lamb was already in his mind when he spoke this world into existence. However a new genesis was required.

A New Genesis
"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise (Matthew 1:18 KJV)." My Pastor presented this verse in a recent Bible study. His focus was on the word birth. The original Greek used for this word is gennesis (Strong's 1083). The birth of Jesus Christ was a new genesis for this world.
 
Jesus came into this world as a baby. He experienced all the troubles and trials of human life. His life ended as a man cursed to die on a tree. Thank God he didn't stay dead, he arose! His resurrection put into motion the process of a brand-new creation. God made that same Jesus, who was crucified, both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36).

We can become a part of God's new genesis through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul put it like this, "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV)."

As we celebrate the "reason for the season", let's remember the reason was he came to seek and save the lost. He came to bring a new genesis for humanity. May all be blessed and have a safe and joyful Christmas.

Book Review: Lead Like Ike

World War II history buffs will enjoy reading the book, Lead Like Ike, by Geoff Loftus. Lead Like Ike takes an in-depth look at the methods and planning utilized by General Dwight D. (Ike) Eisenhower while he served as the supreme allied commander of the forces of Operation Overlord.

Geoff Loftus applies a business analogy to the planning, the structure, the communications, and the challenges General Eisenhower faced while executing Operation Overlord from a solid business perspective.

A history buff myself, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book. Geoff Loftus details the leadership of "Ike" in terms which are clear and easy to understand. The major message brought forth is the acceptance of responsibility for one's decisions and actions. This message could not be presented any clearer than in the never-released "just in case" press release of General Dwight D. Eisenhower (quoted from the book):

"Our landings... have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops... The troops, the air and the Navy did all that Bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone."

Leaders make plans and decisions in business every day affecting cost, profit, and employment. In Lead Like Ike, we come to understand the profit was the ultimate allied victory in World War II. The cost was human life, not only of the allied forces (the employees), but of civilians and the enemy.

I highly recommend this book to those interested in the history of World War II, to any who are already in leadership positions, and to all who aspire to become leaders. The thought process presented for the decisions made by "Ike" are an excellent example of the character of an outstanding leader. They will be an inspiration to and for any leader.