The Life of Sarah Jean Cobb: January 2013

Suffering Well by Paul Grimmond

Title: Suffering Well

Author: Paul Grimmond

Book Information:

Publisher: Matthias Media
ISBN: 9781921896316
Page Count: 165

How did I get this book: A complimentary review copy was provided to me by Cross Focused Reviews (A Service of Cross Focused Media, LLC). 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.

Review: This book really spoke to me. For the past twenty-three years I have experienced pain, trials, suffering, and 'tests' on various levels. As soon as I find my way out of one, I am then qualified and trusted to handle the next level and pass another. I never knew until recently that the ministry of suffering was an actual thing. I found a comfort in realizing that my pain was not in vain. Armed with this new knowledge, my perspective shifted more from my temporary discomfort to that which is eternal. I now know that the more that I go through, the more qualified I am to help someone else.

I do have many things about my past that I regret; however, I have been forgiven by the blood of Christ and have been made righteous through Him. I know that it looks like a short distance from my head to my heart, but realizing that truth, accepting it, and then forgiving myself, has taken years of healing.

One of the things that the LORD is currently teaching me is how to leave the past in the past, to let it go, and to just move on. As He promises, though, ALL things work for the good of those who love Him. Because I can identify personally with many situations, the scope of who I am able to naturally provide comfort, help, and guidance to feels like it has increased substantially.

I have been praying for a long time that God would develop Christ's character in me and make me more like His Son, Jesus. I have come to realize that in order for that to occur, it is required that I 'suffer well' through many of the same tests and experiences that He did. He is referred to as the Suffering Servant and His example is the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about what it means to 'suffer well.'

I feel like I am currently on my way out of a few trials right now. It is in surveying what I have learned from the "predictable surprise of Christian suffering" that I draw conclusions, and ultimately choose to reinforce or reconstruct my understanding thus far. While pondering the lessons from my most recent 'ministry qualifiers,' I was given the opportunity to read and review Suffering Well by Paul Grimmond. Based on the back-story provided above, naturally I felt a desire to see what additional Bible-based information might be made available to me.

The deciding factor that 'sealed the deal' was the following statement by the author himself regarding this insightful book: "As I began to write this book, I thought I knew pretty much what I was going to say. But the more I read the Bible, trying to find the right passages to make the points I thought I needed to make, the more uneasy I felt." After reading that, I knew that I didn't want to miss out on anything, and that I absolutely had to know what Paul's Biblical findings were on how to 'suffer well.'

Suffering Well is not limited to only addressing one kind of suffering, persecution, or trials. Reading the examples of the many things that other believers are going through around the world at any given moment in time, gives comfort to the reader. It caused me to shift my view from being introspective to realizing that on a corporate level, we all have a lot more in common than we may realize, and that none of what we may face is ever an isolated case.

Here is just a taste of some of the treasures awaiting for you in 'Suffering Well':

"She wants to meet God face to face and ask her questions. She wants to make Him give her some answers. Yet, for all of the anger and disappointment, in her frustration and grief her trust does not diminish."
"Suffering is not really a philosophical problem. Suffering is experienced, not just contemplated; it's often an event in our guts before it's a problem in our heads."
"It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. To live is Christ, to die is gain. (Philippians 1:20-21)"
"I am persuaded that the key to suffering well lies in understanding the fullness about God's revelation of suffering. Almost ironically, this means we won't find God's true comfort unless we wrestle with the ideas that are initially confronting and even painful. And so a large part of what follows is a challenge simply to hear and accept God's view of suffering. We live in a world that refuses to look to God's truth for comfort, and we are affected by our world, so the pages of this book may be as disquieting as they are encouraging. I make no apology for that. I believe that God's unsettling truth is much better for us than pillow-soft platitudes. In other words, this book is more of an inoculation than a remedy. Its aim is to help us arm ourselves with the truth so that we're equipped to suffer well when the time comes."
"In the depths of God's riches are truths about suffering that are treasures beyond compare, if you are willing to see them.

So are you ready to know that truth about suffering? How should we live as God's people in the face of suffering? What does it mean to suffer (and even die) well? Based on the Bible, what does God want us to know about Him and our world and suffering? What truth should we be armed with so that we're equipped to suffer well when the time comes?

Suffering Well by Paul Grimmond answers all of these questions as well as many more that you may have on your heart and mind. This book absolutely stands alone and is different from anything else that I have read on the topic of experiencing different kinds of pain. I am so glad to have the Biblical insight and knowledge that this book has provided in my life. I know I will be reading and enjoying it again. As far as a rating goes, this work deserves every single one of the five stars available. I highly recommend it and think that Suffering Well will greatly benefit every single person who reads it. This is a staple for every home library or book collection. Buy it as soon as you can!

There are reasons for the storms in our lives. One purpose for hardship is to cleanse us. Because of our fleshly nature and the world that we live in, it is easy for us to develop self-centered minds. Sometimes we receive these storms in our lives to bring impurities to our attention. Usually a storm reveals the true nature of our hearts, and our initial reaction to that storm brings to the surface things that God is trying to get out of us, that we might not have been aware of otherwise.

Our trials do not sink us; on the contrary, they are often used to guide us back to godliness. God's work on us is not just for ourselves, either. It is designed to permeate humanity on a corporate level. Because we are able to remember how we felt and what we needed when at the time, we are then able to effectively reach out to others and comfort them.

Through suffering we also learn about God's sufficiency, His provision of strength, His character, as well as His comforting presence to help us endure our trials. Reflecting on the divine purpose behind our hardship can also help us to respond appropriately to them, fix our attention on the Lord, and cause us to be in a position where we become attentive to what He wants us to learn.

We are reminded by the LORD in Isaiah 41:10 that we are to, "Fear not [there is nothing to fear], for I am with you; do not look around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and harden you to difficulties, yes, I will help you; yes, I will hold you up and retain you with My [victorious] right hand of righteousness and justice."

I have learned many times over from personal experience that God's strength is perfected in my weakness. Sometimes the LORD keeps us from suffering; other times He sustains us through it. In both instances, He is still faithful, He is still good, He understands us, and He loves us in a greater way than what we can ever comprehend. Jesus is always with us and He will never forsake us in our weakness.

About the Author: Paul Grimmond is a gifted and well-known Bible teacher, currently serving on the campus of the University of New South Wales. He is the author of Right Side Up, a book about the Christian life, and co-author with Phillip Jensen of The Archer and the Arrow, a book about preaching. Paul lives with his wife, Cathy, and their three children in Sydney’s east.

An interview with Paul Grimmond about Suffering Well can be found here.

This review has also been posted on Amazon and Goodreads.

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Loving the Church by John Crotts

Title: Loving the Church

Author: John Crotts

Book Information:

Publisher: Shepherd Press (2010)
ISBN: 9780982438749
Page Count: 140

Review: First of all, I like that John Crotts dedicated this work to his fellow elders who he has served Jesus next to for several years. It is evident that he has a tremendous amount of love, admiration and respect for these men. Not only this, but he also took the time to follow this page with a personalized expression of his thanks to the entire team at Shepherd Press as well as conveying what each person did to help him.

Already, Loving the Church has left a good taste in my mouth, increased my mood, and then I see it- a wonderfully organized table of contents that is as follows:

Section I: What Is God's Family?
Chapter 1 Common Grounds
Chapter 2 The Church/ Family Disconnect
Chapter 3 The Value of the Church
Chapter 4 Defining the Church
Chapter 5 Describing the Church
Chapter 6 Filling Out the Body

Section II: How You Fit Into God's Family
Chapter 7 You and King Jesus
Chapter 8 You and the Elders
Chapter 9 You and the Deacons
Chapter 10 Building the Body
Chapter 11 No Body Part Left Behind
Chapter 12 Digging Deeper

After all of this wonderful content is a Notes section that cites every material used to research and contribute to Loving the Church.

The introduction, prior to the first chapter, summarizes the theme of the book in a way that comes across as very true, authentic, and interesting:

"As long as believers are battling sin, even more work will be required to strengthen families so they can be what God intends for them to be."-pg. 11
"Amidst all the calls for husbands, wives, and children to fulfill their biblical roles, sadly, very few people emphasize God's family as a vital element, and that is a terrible loss both the particular families and the particular churches of which they could have been a part...the contribution of every believer to the church's fulfillment of its God-given mission is valued and essential...regardless of one's marital state."-pg. 12

One of the things that I like the most about the way that John Crotts chose to write this book and convey his important message, is his brilliant use of fiction. Instead of the content coming across as a lecture, Crotts uses the story of people meeting in a coffee shop as well as their interactions with one another and their conversations to transfer information he intends to share with the reader. This accomplishes a softening of 'the blow' by making sure that the way he shares the importance of church will be conveyed in a loving way as opposed to a harsh confrontational one that might turn others off. In addition to this beautiful balance, the author also manages to pull it off in a way that is both intriguing and captivating:

"As the barista created Kevin's White Chocolate masterpiece, he eyed the muffins. He wondered if it would be worth the damage. Kevin settled into his chair and offered John another oversized smile along with a couple of oversized banana nut muffins. These were soon reduced to crumbs as the men started talking."-pg. 14
"Of all the reasons John had heard for a family missing Sunday school, he had never heard of a guy staying home to teach his own children the Bible...John responded by sharing some of his own victories and failures as a spiritual leader in his home. He was thrilled to see Kevin stepping up. But even as he praised the moves Kevin had made, he wondered if there was more to the story."-pg. 15

Regardless of what place you are in with your spiritual walk, worship, and church practices, I really believe that Loving the Church by John Crotts has something beneficial to offer everyone. After all, as page 22 simply states, "We all love the Lord, and are trying to figure out what His church is supposed to be."

I may not have agreed 100% with every single principle expounded upon in Section II, but I do understand why the author felt the need to write this book, and I identify with that. I also feel that he did the absolute best job that he could (you can't ask for more than that), and that it is impossible to experience all that this work has to offer from cover to cover without seeing the evident fact that he has a heart both for Jesus, as well as all of the people that Christ died to save.

John Crotts did an incredible job of tackling this very touchy subject, as well as presenting it in a way to make it palatable and well-received. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him for recognizing the need, developing what he thought was the best solution, and then marketing that answer to the target audience in a way that they could both understand and handle. Loving the Church is an obvious labor of love (in more ways than one).

About the Author: John Crotts has been the pastor and teacher of Faith Bible Church in Sharpsburg, Georgia since 1995. He graduated from Liberty University and received his M. Div. from The Master’s Seminary. He serves as a board member of the Fellowship of Independent Reformed Evangelicals. He co-authored the book Tying the Knot Tighter: Because Marriage Lasts a Lifetime with Martha Peace, and is the author of Mighty Men: The Starter’s Guide to Leading Your Family and Craftsmen: Christ-Centered Proverbs for Men.

This review has also been posted on Amazon and Goodreads.

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Will You Be My Facebook Friend? Social Media and the Gospel by Tim Chester

Title: Will You Be My Facebook Friend?: Social Media & the Gospel

Author: Tim Chester

Book Information:

Publisher:10Publishing
ISBN: 9781906173852
Page Count: 48

Review: We can all benefit from technology in multiple ways- from texting, to checking sports scores, to listening to the Bible while commuting, to keeping up with friend on Facebook, to checking in on Foursquare, to discovering new books to read on Goodreads, or even reading an uplifting Tweet.

Technology can be great, but the danger in it is that it can easily become perverted by our selfishness and sinfulness. Also, when we change the way that we communicate, it can alter the message that we convey as well as how it is received by others. Likewise, that same technology used to express what we think changes those thoughts, and ultimately changes what becomes important to us in our lives.

Sometimes, technology, specifically social networking, absorbs an exorbitant amount of our time. According to page 12, author Tim Chester states that over 700 billion minutes are spent each and every month on Facebook.

In addition to the above, technology can also become a constant interruption, which over time has lead to poor grammar, affecting the way we express ideas, and as page 13 cites, even losing our ability to construct an argument.

Now that we are able to attain information whenever we like about whatever we wish through smart phones, etc., we lose the importance of learning to hold information in our minds, and as a result, we are prevented from making connections between ideas. This may seem harmless when it comes to learning historical dates and facts, but what happens when the complacency expands to looking up Bible verses instead of memorizing and hiding them in our hearts?

At this point, we start to pay the price for what once appeared so innocent and convenient. Chuck Swindoll is quoted by Tim Chester as writting, "I know of no other single practice in the Christian life more rewarding, practically speaking, than memorizing scripture... No other single exercise pays greater spiritual dividends! Your prayer life will be strengthened. Your witnessing will be sharper and much more effective. Your attitudes and outlook will begin to change. Your mind will become alert and observant. Your confidence and assurance will be enhanced. Your faith will be solidified."

I don't know about you, but when I read that, it causes me to think of us like sponges. What we absorb is what will come out of us when we are squeezed and under pressure or in tough times. Since the power of life and death is in the tongue, I want to hide the LORD's word in my heart so that I might not sin against Him. Also, when things are happening in your life in real time, it helps to have some verses readily available to speak in faith as well as to praise God in advance while still in the middle of the storm.

Will You Be My Facebook Friend? Social Media and the Gospel by Tim Chester covers the problems with social media (some of which I itemized above), and talks about how we try to recreate our world, space, face, or image through projecting words in hopes of gaining approval. He also discusses how our bodies limit us to a particular place and time, how we can only be in one place at a time, and concludes that another reason we find Facebook so addictive is that it allows us to escape the limitations of our body. It offers intimacy without responsibility, and allows you to say things to a person that you would never say if you were alone in a room with them.

Facebook also offers us the ability to redefine ourselves and construct our own world without being restrained by others. While Facebook encourages you to live elsewhere, the gospel encourages you to live here and now. So upon further examination of our hearts, are we using it to enhance our real-world relationships, or to simply replace them?

As Tim Chester says on page 41, "Facebook is the place where I show my face or image. For some of you it is the place where you recreate your image and your world through your words. The gospel is the place where God turns 'his face towards us' (see Num. 6:26). It is the place where He recreates us in His image and recreates His world through His words."

This book is powerful, informative, helpful, and yet sobering. This work is very relevant to our generation as well as the times in which we live. I strongly recommend it, as the insight provided therein will cause you to come up higher as well as to make decisions to form positive habits that will impact your life and ultimately eternity.

Personally, I have switched from relying on the digital Bible app on my smartphone, and have bought a physical Amplified Bible. I will also be spending less time on Facebook, and more time developing real relationships with people by serving and showing them the love of Jesus Christ. I have also started to journal and read various devotional books.

I am confident that the reader's eyes will be opened upon finishing this to-the-point book, and that they will experience more fulfillment and joy as they shift their priorities as well as their focus.

Thank you, Tim Chester, for writing this amazing book and sharing it with the world. We sincerely appreciate it.

A Few Quotes:

"Social networking has rapidly become a significant aspect of the lives of many people today"-pg.7
"New technologies reflect humanity's God-given, Godlike creativity. God gave us a mandate to take His world and invent, create, produce... New technologies are enabling people to keep in touch over long distances."-pg.9
"Now texts, emails, blogs, Twitter and Skype enable missionaries to keep in constant touch with sending churches. These may not replace face-to-face contact, but they are a big improvement on occasional letters. New technologies are also enabling the message of Jesus to go into countries where missionaries could not readily go, or to reinforce the work of missionaries on the ground. Once it was radio. Now websites and online TV channels bring the gospel to people while Skype and emails allow follow-up discipleship."-pg.10

About the Author:

Dr Tim Chester is a director of the Porterbrook Seminary which provides affordable, Bible-college level training for church leadership and missional church in the context of your ministry (www.PorterBrookInstitute.org). He is a leader of The Crowded House, a church planting network (www.TheCrowdedHouse.org). He blogs at www.TimChester.co.uk. He has previously been Research and Policy Director for Tearfund UK and a part-time lecturer in missiology. He is the author of a number of books and series editor of The Good Book Guides (The Good Book Company). He is married with two daughters.

This review has also been posted on Amazon and Goodreads.

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