ANGELS: Whatever Happened to Peace on Earth?

Every time you sing the Christmas carol, "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," you sing the words, "Peace on earth and mercy mild." If you ever watch the news or read a newspaper, you may well be asking, "Whatever happened to peace on earth?" That's a very good question. The terrorism danger for Americans is high. One national correspondent expressed on television what a whole lot of people are feeling. He said, "I have never in my lifetime seen such a high degree of threat to our personal security." Throw in dangers that you may be facing personally, such as medical or financial dangers, and you might wonder where the peace is that Christmas is supposed to be about.

The phrase "peace on earth" wasn't invented by a greeting card company. It was part of the birth announcement of the first Christmas, delivered by angels from heaven to shepherds in the field watching over their sheep. Luke 2:13-14 from the Word of God says, "Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.'"


In today's dangerous and unpredictable world, where is that peace? It's in the hearts of those who are ready for eternity, whenever it comes. They understand why the angel said that first Christmas, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:10-11 ). The announcement from heaven said that peace would be for those "on whom God's favor rests." The Bible makes it very clear that God's favor rests on those who's sins have been forgiven and totally erased from God's Book. No religion can do that because no amount of doing good can erase the bad in your life. It took a Savior...a rescuer.


If it could have been done without the death of the Son of God, you can be sure it would have been. Only a man could die for the sins of man, and only a man who was God could be the perfect sacrifice. He could barely find a place to be born as He came into the world He created. Many of us have kept the door of our heart closed to Him as surely as that innkeeper did centuries ago.


The peace we need most is peace with the God who made us, who we will meet when we die. Romans 5:1 says, "We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." When Jesus enters your life, the wall between you and God comes down forever and the war in your soul is over. Then there will be peace; peace that is recession-proof, divorce-proof, terror-proof, and death-proof.


You must first surrender the running of your own life because you were never supposed to and you were never made to. When you grab Jesus in total trust as your personal Rescuer from the guilt and penalty of your sin, the storm inside is replaced with His incredible peace. You will know you're ready for eternity, whenever and however it comes.


There's not a better time to begin your relationship with Jesus Christ than today. Just tell Him, "Jesus, You died for me. I'm going to live for You." At Christmastime, we are celebrating when Jesus came to earth. Today, you can be celebrating the day He came into your life - the day the peace came!

What Wondrous Love Is This

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul! 

What wondrous love is this, O my soul! 

What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss 

To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul 

To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.

When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down 

When I was sinking down, sinking down 

When I was sinking down beneath God's righteous frown 

Christ laid aside His crown for my soul, for my soul 

Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.

To God and to the Lamb, I will sing, I will sing 

To God and to the Lamb, I will sing 

To God and to the Lamb Who is the great "I Am" 

While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing 

While millions join the theme, I will sing.

And when from death I'm free, I'll sing on, I'll sing on 

And when from death I'm free, I'll sing on 

And when from death I'm free, I'll sing and joyful be 

And through eternity, I'll sing on, I'll sing on 

And through eternity, I'll sing on.

Here I Go Again - Casting Crowns

Father, hear my prayer
I need the perfect words
Words that he will hear
And know they're straight from You
I don't know what to say
I only know it hurts
To see my only friend slowly fade away

So maybe this time I'll speak the words of life
With Your fire in my eyes
But that old familiar fear is tearing at my words
What am I so afraid of?

'Cause here I go again
Talkin 'bout the rain
And mulling over things that won't live past today
And as I dance around the truth
Time is not his friend
This might be my last chance to tell him
That You love Him
But here I go again, here I go again

Lord, You love him so, You gave Your only Son
If he will just believe; he will never die
But how then will he know what he has never heard
Lord he has never seen mirrored in my life

This might be my last chance to tell him
That You love him
This might be my last chance to tell him
That You love him
You love him, You love him

What Am I so afraid
What am I so afraid
What am I so afraid of?
How then will he know
What he has never heard

Book Review: Billy Graham in Quotes by Franklin Graham

I would say that most practicing Christians have probably at least heard of the name Billy Graham. Saved by grace during a church tent revival service as a young man, Billy went on to preach the good news to millions of people. And he did it with faith, fervor, conviction and love.

I was super excited to be able to review the recently published book, Billy Graham in Quotes, a book that is filled with the wise words that this grace-saved man of God spoke throughout his living years as an evangelist and preacher.


Compiled by his son, Franklin Graham (founder of Samaritan's Purse ministry) and Donna Lee Toney, the quotes are arranged into topical sections.

Let me list just a sampling of some of those sections as there are more than one-hundred topics!

Addiction, Anger, Anxiety, Character, Children, Church, Conscience, Convictions, Death, Deception, the Devil, Discipleship, End Times, Eternity, Faith, Family, Forgiveness, God's Will, Grace, Greed, Heaven, Hell, Holy Spirit, Home, Influence, Jesus, Joy, Living the Christian Life, Loneliness, Lust, Marriage, Money, Patience, Peace, Persecution, Pleasure, Pride, Race, Religion, Repentance, Salvation, Sin, Speech, Strength, Suffering, Surrender, Temptation, Thankfulness, Time, War, Work, Worry, Worship.

Wow! And there are more where that came from!

Now, it is important to remember that there is no written work that has more authority than the Word of God - the Bible. And so, one should look at the quotes written in this book as inspiration and motivation, but not as inerrant or absolute. There's only one book that's ever been written that is inerrant and absolute, and that is The Word.

However, if you enjoyed listening to Billy Graham when he was alive and preaching, or if you like to display inspirational quotes around your home (on your whiteboard on the fridge, on your decorative chalkboard), then this would be a great book for you. I am responsible for formatting and printing our church's bulletins each week; I always put an inspirational quote from a Christian figure each week so I plan on using this book for that purpose as well.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the 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.”

A Place Called Blessing by Dr. John Trent and Annette Smith

When I picked up A Place Called Blessing I had no idea that it was written as a story to outline ideas brought up in the book The Blessing (co-authored by Dr. John Trent).  A Place Called Blessing tells the story of Josh, a child who is placed in foster care after his parents die in a car accident.  After a tragic event Josh is labeled as a troubled kid and therefore no one wants to take him in, though they gladly take his brothers.  After he hits the age of 18, he leaves to find work and ends up renting a room with Anna and Anna’s son, Mike (who Josh works with).

Josh is haunted by the tragedy in his life and feels at fault for it, even though Anna and Mike assure him that is was an accident.  Through the care they show him, Josh begins to realize that he isn’t a screw-up and seeks to find a place of true belonging in the world.

Not realizing the tie to The Blessing, I wasn’t really sure what to expect out of this book. But I didn’t like what I got.  The story isn’t necessary bad, but I didn’t think it was.  In short, it read like a Hallmark Channel story.  Emotional strings are pulled as hard as possible without breaking, but it all feels fake.  When it comes to fiction that tries to present an event that could happen in real life, especially when it’s trying to utilize ideas brought up in another book, I expect the story to feel real, to feel as if it did or could’ve happened.  I did not get that sense here. 

Tension that is built feels forced and I tended to not care about it.  The characters feel like they were supposed to have depth, but I never cared for them either.  Most of the plot I could see coming from miles away.  The only thing I didn’t see was a big plot twist at the end which felt more eye-roll inducing and ridiculous than deep, shocking, and emotional. 

The writing was bland and uninteresting as well.  Normally I don’t try to address the writing itself, because I know authors all have different styles, but the dialogue felt extremely forced and often times on the nose.  At times it reads just a bit too melodramatically for my taste.

I guess if you like Hallmark movies and have read The Blessing, you might find this book engaging and enjoyable.  If not, I recommend a pass on this one.

2/5 stars

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the 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.”

The Waiting Place by Eileen Button

The Waiting Place: Learning to Appreciate Life's Little Delays is like a delicious chocolate truffle that once tasted must be savored until the end.  This book is an exquisite read with the 22 short essays varying from touching, to humorous, to thought provoking.

Eileen Button teaches us many things in her manuscript.  Most importantly she lets us know that Christians are human.  Christians sometimes have problems making ends meet, lose family members, endure changes and have ridiculously funny and inane things happen to them.  She takes the reader on a journey from her childhood filled with fishing and eccentric uncles, through her days of being a pastor’s wife and mother.  If you have parents, children, sisters, or friends, there is a story in this precious book that you can relate to.

The Waiting Place: Learning to Appreciate Life’s Little Delays transports us to many waiting places.  Places most of us have frequented.  Places where most of us believe we are wasting our time.   We wait in traffic, slow moving grocery store lines and seemingly never ending visits with family.  We wait for love, to marry, to have children and for our children to grow up.  Button writes that “some of the most beautiful things happen if we are willing to quiet our hearts, lean into the waiting place, and listen to what it tells us,” (7).

The next time you are waiting, spend that time reading The Waiting Place.  “To live is to wait,” states Button (227).  “It’s how we wait that makes all the difference.”

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the 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.”

What Life Would be Like

I was just listening to my iPod and heard the song "You Found Me" by Big Daddy Weave.  LOVE that song because it reminds me that there was nothing I did, or could do, to "earn" God's love.  It was there all along.  It just seemed to take some "stuff" in my life to bring me to the point where I recognized my desperate need for Him.  The day that He found me....well, it was the best (or maybe I should say, most important) day of my life.  The joy and the freedom, the thankfulness and the complete and utter AWE that I felt in the weeks that followed....well, there really aren't many words to describe it.  So, I was going to post this song but as I looked for the video and lyrics, another song kept popping up first!  This song is on my iPod too....but it wasn't in my play list today.  Anyhow, I've been listening to it and it's reminded me that every single day is a day that I have to let Him live through me.   Take a listen.....

I wish I was more of a man
Have you ever felt that way
And if I had to tell you the truth
I’m afraid I’d have to say
That after all I’ve done and failed to do
I feel like less than I was meant to be

What if I could fix myself
Maybe then I could get free
I could try to be somebody else
Who’s much better off than me
But I need to remember this
That it’s when I’m at my weakest
I can clearly see

He made the lame walk and the dumb talk
He opened blinded eyes to see
That the sun rises on His time
Yet He knows our deepest desperate need
And the world waits while His heart aches
To realize the dream
I wonder what life would be like if we let Jesus life thru you and me

What if you could see yourself thru another pair of eyes
What if you could hear the truth
Instead of old familiar lies
What if you could feel inside
The power of the hand that made the universe You’d realize

All our hearts they burn within us
All our lives we’ve longed for more
So let us lay our lives before the one who gave His life for us

He is With You

There's a time to live
And a time to die
There's a time to laugh
And a time to cry

There's a time for war
And a time for peace
There's a hand to hold
In the worst of things
In the worst of things

He is with you when your faith is dead
And you can't even get out of bed
Or your husband doesn't kiss you anymore
He is with you when your baby's gone
And your house is still
And your hearts are stone
Crying "God what'd you do that for?"
He is with you

There's a time for yes
And a time for no
There's a time to be angry
And a time to let it go
There's a time to run
And a time to face it
There's love to seek
In all of this
Through all of this

He is with you in the conference room
When the world is coming down on you
And your wife and kids don't know you anymore
And He is with you in the ICU when the doctors don't know what to do
And it scares you to the core
He is with you

We may weep for a time but joy will come in the morning
The morning light

He is with you when your kids are grown
When there's too much space and you feel alone
And your worried if you got it right or wrong
Yes He is with you when you've given up on ever finding your true love
Someone who feels like home
He is with you

When nothing else is left and you take your final breath
He is with you

He is with you

Max on Life by Max Lucado

I was sent an advanced copy of this book to review from Booksneeze.  The book is split up into chapters entitled Hope, Hurt, Help, Him/Her, Home, Have/Have-Nots, and Hereafter.  In each chapter, there is a handwritten letter to welcome in the topic and then several pages of questions that go along with the topic.  Max Lucado talks about everything from depression to loss to marriage and home life to what happens when we die.  These are questions he’s been asked through emails, in person, through letters, and as a Pastor.  Some of the questions come from his books and others not.  He ends the book with a note about becoming an author and getting published and there is a topical index to the book as well.

I am not always a fan of the Q and A books, but this book is a good resource to those who have lots of questions about faith, loss, God, and the gray areas of life.  Lucado does a great job explaining what he feels the Bible says about these topics.  I liked how the book was laid out, so if you didn’t want to read the entire book, you could skip to whatever section you were wrestling with.  I also appreciated his words on how to write, where to write, and how to get published.  As a blogger, I like getting tips on writing even if I never plan on getting published.  This might sound stupid, but the thing that bothered me the most about this book is the cover. It has a big picture of Max right on the front.  I never liked when authors did that (like Joel Olsteen and his infamous mug on every cover of his book) and to me, it seems sort of vain.  I guess since the book is called “Max on Life”, they felt it appropriate to put him on the cover.  I’m just not a fan of using a persons name or face on the cover or title, but I guess Max makes a lot more money than I do so he can do what he wants.  Overall though, what the book has to says–its message–was a good one.  I have always appreciated Max Lucado’s words and books and this hasn’t changed with this book either.  I think anyone who has questions about spiritual issues will appreciate the words in this book.

Disclosure: To comply with regulations introduced by the Federal Trade Commission, Thomas Nelson has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes only through theBooksneeze program.  All opinions are my own.

A Conversation with God: If You Could Ask God Anything What Would It Be?

Alton Gansky in his new book, “A Conversation With God” published by Thomas Nelson gives us an intimate setting where we can ask questions and receive answers from God and other Bible individuals.

Ever go to a party where a famous person was in attendance or a weekend seminar and stay up for the late night visit with the speakers?  If so then you know that everyone gathers around the speaker and listens to what that person has to say and then others get to ask their own questions.  It is always a fairly intimate time of close gathering, warm conversation and deeper understanding.  This is what Alton Gansky has done with his new book.  He has put us in a room with God and twenty-seven individuals from the Bible to hear our questions and give us an in-depth answer.

Each section of the book deals with a specific question:  God, The Bible, The Future, Pain And Suffering, Jesus, Kingdom Of God, Heaven And Hell, Humanity, Christian Living and Today’s World.  Ever stood outside at night looked up at the sky and wondered?  Of course, all of us have.  We were put here for one purpose and that is to know God.  God built us with a curiosity so that we would ask questions and then those answers would draw us closer to Him.  “A Conversation With God” provides us a lot of the answers that we seek and those answers do indeed draw us closer to the side of God.

“A Conversation With God” is a book that you will need to read slowly.  There is no need to rush.  We have our questions and the answers are there.  Now is the time to sit back and experience truth and let it draw us into the presence of God.  You will be glad you did.  I recommend it highly.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://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 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”