A stirring spiritual account for Christians searching for motivation.
A sequel describes the contest between Jesus and Satan for the souls of humankind.
In his autobiographical debut, Lucas (The Potter and the Clay, 2014) recounted his tumultuous journey from drug-addled dissipation to redemption through Jesus. In this volume, he relates the traps set by Satan for those who have yet to craft a strong relationship with Jesus, and the various ways in which one can resist evil and craft a joyous spirituality: “The purpose in my writing this book is to expose the fallacy of Satan’s intentional mental warfare designed to crush the spirit and decrease the stability of our minds.” According to the author, people live in times particularly susceptible to Satan’s mendacious attacks, given the undermining of objective truth by postmodern culture. Furthermore, Satan—“the father of the unbelieving slaves”—exploits people’s credulity to appeal to their principal temptations: “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.” Those who are lost in depression and loneliness are Satan’s primary targets, but the good news is that God maintains a “special heart” for those trapped in suffering. Lucas draws on Scripture and his own personal experiences to describe the spiritual redemption made available to everyone by Jesus’ sacrifice. He also furnishes arguments regarding the historicity of Jesus as well as his ministry’s fulfillment of biblical prophecy. The author’s anecdotal remembrance of his own perilous journey from anguish to spiritual contentment is both remarkable and inspiring. In addition, he provides a thorough rendering of Satan’s role in Christian theology. Still, the point of the book is less argumentative persuasion than Christian cheerleading, presented as a homiletic sermon more than a philosophical study: “I know from experience that if there’s one thing that strikes fear in the darkened soul of Satan, it’s the name of Jesus!” While Lucas’ entreaties may very well become a source of encouragement to the faithful in need of it, they will not convince unbelievers. This is a work of preaching—unsurprising because the author is in fact an Evangelical preacher—and a rousing one at that.
A stirring spiritual account for Christians searching for motivation.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-64471-801-8
Page Count: 172
Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
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SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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