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
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
APPRECIATIONS
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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