Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners by John Bunyan

Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners by John Bunyan ISBN-13: 9781610458238 Audio Book Publisher: Christianaudio Released: November 1st 2013 (first published 1666)

Source: free audiobook.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
In Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, John Bunyan recounts his inner thoughts as he grappled with his faith. Bunyan takes us through the struggle of his own sin and how grace led him from a conflicted conscience to a powerful preacher of the gospel. Modern readers will find encouragement in Bunyan’s remedies for his own troubled conscience, as well as hope that God has used so greatly a man who struggled so deeply.


My Review:
Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners is a short autobiography about John Bunyan's life, with the focus on how he came to Christ. The poor man was tormented by doubts about if he could be saved and later about if he had committed the unforgivable sin. He talked about his doubts, why he doubted, and what finally convinced him that those fears were incorrect. It was written like he hoped to help people with similar doubts to see the truths that he found. He only very briefly talked about how he became a preacher and was put in prison.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Made for the Journey by Elisabeth Elliot

Made for the Journey by Elisabeth Elliot ISBN-13: 9780800729462 Paperback: 176 pages Publisher: Revell Released: Dec. 4, 2018

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
In her first year as a missionary to a small group of natives in the Ecuadorian jungle, Elisabeth Elliot faced physical and spiritual trials. In Made for the Journey, Elliot captures the stark realities surrounding the colorful and primitive world in which she ministered. More than just a recounting of her early days, this is a beautifully crafted and deeply personal reflection on the important questions of life and a remarkable testimony to authentic Christian obedience to God.


My Review:
Made for the Journey has been previously published as "These Strange Ashes." It's about the author's year spent in the Ecuadorian jungle (in 1952-1953) as a first-time missionary. She talked about different aspects of her life there--from her romance-by-letter with her future husband to the difficulties of housekeeping to her work creating a written form of the local language to helping her fellow missionaries with medical emergencies. She also talked about her emotions, thoughts, and questions that arose as her faith was tested. She had certain ideas of how God would work and what missionaries and mission work would be like, but things didn't work out like she'd expected.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Same Kind of Different As Me for Kids by Ron Hall, Denver Moore

Same Kind of Different As Me for Kids by Ron Hall, Denver Moore ISBN-13: 9780718091798 Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: Thomas Nelson Released: Feb. 7, 2017

Source: Review copy from the publisher through BookLook.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
This remarkable story shows what can happen when we choose to help. Based on the New York Times bestseller Same Kind of Different As Me, this book tells the true story of Denver Moore and Ron Hall, who also created the delightful illustrations in this book.


My Review:
Same Kind of Different As Me for Kids is juvenile nonfiction--the autobiography of Denver Moore told in a simple, brief way. He started by talking about his childhood on a cotton plantation in Louisiana during the Great Depression. When he grew up, he no longer wanted to be a sharecropper, so he traveled to a city. He couldn't get a job, so he became a homeless person who felt no one cared about him. Ron Hall and others eventually reached out to him and showed him God's love. Denver Moore then worked to help other homeless people. The lesson tagged on at the end is that "nobody can help everybody, but everybody can help somebody."

The illustrations are by Ron Hall, but they look like a child drew them. They're very simple and lack detail. These vague, child-like drawings seem more suited to a made-up story or a story told by a child. Since this is an autobiography told by adults, I'd have preferred clear illustrations showing what life was really like or even some pictures of these people and places (if any existed) to help ground the story in reality.

I like reading Christian autobiographies to children, and this was worth reading once. It wasn't quite what I was expecting, though.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Saving My Assassin by Virginia Prodan

Saving My Assassin by Virginia Prodan ISBN-13: 9781496411846 Trade Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers Released: June 7, 2016

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
At just under five feet tall, Virginia Prodan was no match for the towering 6' 10" gun-wielding assassin the Romanian government sent to her office to take her life. It was not the first time her life had been threatened--nor would it be the last.

As a young attorney under Nicolae Ceausescu's brutal communist regime, Virginia had spent her entire life searching for the truth. When she finally found it in the pages of the most forbidden book in all of Romania, Virginia accepted the divine call to defend fellow followers of Christ against unjust persecution in an otherwise ungodly land.

For this act of treason, she was kidnapped, beaten, tortured, placed under house arrest, and came within seconds of being executed under the orders of Ceausescu himself. A must-read for all generations, "Saving My Assassin" is the unforgettable account of one woman's search for truth, her defiance in the face of evil, and a surprise encounter that proves without a shadow of a doubt that nothing is impossible with God.


My Review:
Saving My Assassin is a memoir about Virginia Prodan's life in Romania. It starts in 1961 (when she was 6 years old) and ends in 1988 (plus an epilogue). It's an awesome story about God's work in Romania and how he used Virginia to make a difference.

The author talked about growing up under the communist regime of Nicolae Ceausescu. Due to certain family circumstances, she longed to find (and defend) the truth and thought she could do this as an attorney. She described the challenges of working as an attorney and following Christ in those years. She talked about some of the cases she took defending Christians and the threats and harm she endured for doing so.

Her story gives God glory for working things together for good--even when she couldn't see it at the time. Like when she faced an assassin in her office or felt completely cut off from any friends during a house arrest. It's an amazing and encouraging story, and I had a hard time putting down. I'd highly recommend it to anyone interested in what life was like in Romania under Ceausescu and to Christians seeking encouragement about taking risks when God calls you to them.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Love Casts Out Fear by Brother Nathan & David Culross

Love Casts Out Fear by Brother Nathan, David Culross ISBN-13: 9780801016882 Paperback: 192 pages Publisher: Baker Books Released: Oct. 6, 2015

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description from Goodreads:
When Brother Nathan was a child in Egypt, he witnessed the unthinkable--his own father's murder at the hands of terrorists. At first, he struggled with his powerful urge to seek revenge against his father's assassins. Today, he ministers in the very village where his father was killed, as well as in countless other cities and villages across Egypt and throughout the Middle East.

Love Casts Out Fear tells the gripping story of a deadly attack, Nathan's initial anger, and forgiveness that makes way for redemption. It also gives a firsthand account of the challenges faced today by Middle Eastern Christians, and of God's provision for a ministry that touches the lives of thousands.


My Review:
Love Casts Out Fear is a memoir about Brother Nathan's life as a Christian in Egypt. Nathan's father--a pastor in rural upper Egypt--was killed by terrorists when Nathan was 6 years old. He planned gun-wielding revenge on those killers for years until he realized that Jesus wanted him to forgive them. He then went on to do Christian ministry in Cairo, Egypt during some very interesting times. This memoir covered his life up until 2013 and included descriptions of his parent's lives as well.

Nathan's past has allowed him to reach out to those stuck in the revenge cycle to show the way to true peace. Nathan's story shows how God has been at work in his life and in Egypt. It also shows what life is like for Christians in rural Egypt and in Cairo. It's written in a casual style that's easy to read. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting book.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Ex-Muslim by Naeem Fazal

Ex-Muslim by Naeem Fazal ISBN-13: 9781400206070 Trade Paperback: 237 pages Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publishers Released: June 10, 2014

Source: Review copy from the publisher through BookLook.com.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
Moving from Kuwait to Charleston, South Carolina, had been an adventure. Surrendering his life to Jesus Christ was actual treason. In this riveting memoir, Fazal describes how God used extraordinary means to bring a young, underachieving, Muslim immigrant through Desert Storm, across the oceans, into college, and ultimately to pastor a Christian church in North Carolina.

No character flaw, no distance, no cultural chasm is too great for Jesus to reach across. Fazal is candid about his shortcomings, practical about the challenges of cross-cultural engagement, and ultimately inspiring that God is capable of far more than we have grown to expect.


My Review:
Ex-Muslim is a memoir of a Muslim who moved from Kuwait to America, became a Christian, and later became a pastor of a Christian church. His actual conversion story is only a very brief part of the story. Most of the story was about what God has been doing in his life and family's life before and after that event.

This book is not an attempt to argue theology--his conversion was based on a supernatural experience, and the other conversions in the book were also clearly God's doing. It's about how God can bring the most unexpected people to follow him and use anybody who is willing to be used for his purposes. If you're looking for affirmation that God can use you, too, or if you like books about God at work in people's lives, then you'll probably enjoy this book.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Unveiling Grace by Lynn K. Wilder

Unveiling Grace by Lynn K. Wilder ISBN-13: 9780310331124 Trade Paperback: 368 pages Publisher: Zondervan Released: August 20, 2013

Source: Review copy from the publisher through Booksneeze.

Book Description, Modified from Booksneeze:
A rare insider’s point of view into what it actually means to live as a Mormon--what the lifestyle is like, what its pressures are, and what its culture is like. This is the gripping story of the Michael and Lynn Wilder family - of how an entire family, deeply enmeshed in Mormonism for 30 years, found faith in Jesus Christ alone and left the Mormon Church.

It started with Lynn's son, Micah, who was challenged by someone he was trying to covert to read the New Testament like a child would. What he found surprised him. He urged his family to also read the New Testament. Eventually, they did, and they discovered grace. As Lynn tells her own story, she shows why the contrasts between Mormonism and Christianity make all the difference in the world.


My Review:
Unveiling Grace is the story of how Lynn Wilder's family joined the Mormon Church and, many years later, left the Mormon Church. It's primarily the story of her life, and it's an easy, interesting read that kept my attention.

She assumed the reader had some familiarity with the Mormon Church and used "Mormon jargon," but she also gave short explanations of the Mormon terms when new terms came up. Later in the book, she gave more details about Mormon beliefs and about what the jargon meant.

This book primarily focused on what life as a dedicated Mormon is like and what caused one family to leave the Mormon Church after years of devoted service. There is a lot of information about Mormon beliefs, but this is not primarily an apologetics book.

I found the book very interesting, and I feel that I better understand some things about my Mormon aunt and uncle. I'd highly recommend this book, especially to those who want to better understand the viewpoint that Mormons are coming from.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.