Mark Driscoll is adept at communicating deep and robust truth in a clear and understandable fashion. This book is another great example of his considerable communication skills. The most striking point made in the first half of the book is the role of friendship in marriage. It was startling to me to realize how often the simple and profound role of friendship in marriage is overlooked even by the experts. The second half of the book, which deals with sex, has been somewhat controversial. I am thankful that Driscoll has spoken to the issues he did, particularly in the chapter titled “Can we ____?” Those questions may make for interesting debating points, but that is not the point of the book. These are real questions that real couples are asking.

If you are interested in finding real help for your marriage, get a copy of Real Marriage by Mark Driscoll today.

This book is at the top of the list of books I wish I had read before I became a pastor ten years ago. So many pastors are wrestling with issues relating to how to attract men to and engage men in the church. Underneath those questions are some assumptions that are rarely questioned, just accepted as fact. “Why Men Hate Going To Church” challenged and destroyed many of my assumptions about men’s ministry and replaced them with answers that have been proven in real ministry environments. If you are a pastor or church leader this book is absolutely essential reading.

I found the book enlightening particularly in the opening chapters. Stanley does a great service by dispelling the commonly believed myth that the God of the Old Testament is fundamentally different from the God of the New Testament. The opening chapters reveal God’s grace in action from the first words of Scripture. This grace is just as active in both Testaments. Anyone who is interested in learning more about God’s character and nature but is intimidated by weighty theological tomes will profit greatly from this book.

This book is especially useful in showing not just the differences between atheism and Christianity, but the contrasts that exist between the more traditional and respectful atheism and the new, belligerent atheism marketed by the four authors referred to above. In this respect, this book may do as much good for atheists as it does for Christians. What makes this book so valuable is that McGrath goes beyond a simplistic ‘here’s why they are wrong and I am right’ attack. Instead he identifies the issues that undergird the questions both sides are facing and helps the reader see through the heated rhetoric to the important issues that are in play when discussing the existence of God.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone, Christian, atheist or whatever else to read this book!

Psalm 18:26 - With the purified You show Yourself pure; and with the crooked You make Yourself seem tortuous.

Observation

God never changes, He is always the same. We are all different and He deals with us as individuals. He will seem different to each of us not because of any differences in Him, but due to the myriad differences in us. With those who are purified, God shows Himself pure. To those whose hearts are crooked, God is very difficult to deal with.

Application

I must be diligent to guard my heart against becoming crooked. I want to walk in harmony and peace with the Lord, and this is only possible to the extent that my ways are straight rather than crooked. How many times have I been frustrated that the Lord’s ways seem tortuous and concluded that this showed Him to be hard and demanding? Psalm 18:26 shows that when the Lord’s ways seem tortuous, it is because I have become crooked.

Prayer

Lord,

Thank You for revealing Your true self to me through Your Word! Forgive me for being angry at You for seeming tortuous when I should have repented of my own crookedness of heart. Help me to walk in purity and integrity and honour You in all of my ways today.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen