Living-will

I read the first 96 pages in 4 days as I was trying to find something that would help me discern the meaning and purpose of a dream I had. I didn't want to be deaf to God's promptings because I want to do His will and I needed some answers. I prayed, meditated, thought, studied the word, consulted trusted believers, asked for prayer, and tried to listen for God to tell me what to do. This book supported these methods of trying to discern God's will, but more than that, it pointed out that discernment takes time. I felt 80% sure that I was interpreting the dream correctly and proceeded accordingly. This book also emphasized that discernment is hampered in times of spiritual desolation. Good point. It seems obvious when your brain and heart are not clouded, but I'm glad I read it first, so I'll know that in advance. I wish I had read the rest of the book before making my decision, because a really great section entitled 'Blocks to Discernment', really helped me. I still learned something valuable from the dream and the book. One thing that blew me away was what the author said about prayer and fasting. The purpose of fasting with prayer is not to prove to God that you are more serious in your commitment; the purpose of fasting with prayer is to focus on what God is trying to tell you ! WOW ! I hope to find this book on sale and buy it for as many friends as I can ! It's not like we get to ask questions during sermons at church you know !

I found this, as well as another book by the author, Courage and Calling, practical and insightful help in discerning some heavy choices in my life over the last two years. Particularly helpful was the "Clearness Committee" concept. My husband and I recently implemented this, and received some (hard) but excellent input from discerning friends. A great book on a most critical issue--learning to discern God's best for your life.

Smith is thorough and gives a very balanced view of discerning God's will. I highly recommend this book. It was timely for me.

Pastor Jack's practical, down-to-earth, and up-to-Heaven approach was refreshingly helpful and balanced. His understanding of the importance of traditional church music as well as modern music is balanced, fair, and helpful. Pastor Jack's experience as a musician and pastor are inspiring. I found the humility and honesty portrayed in this book equally inspiring and hope to genuinely model and teach the importance of living a life of worship. Pastoral leaders must be informed about the philosophy of worship if they are to properly lead. This book certainly serves its purpose of helping pastors and students to develop a biblical philosophy of worship.

Paul Heier, author of Leading Out of Love

First off, I must admit that I enjoy reading Jack Hayford's books. He takes a very common sense approach to the Bible, Christianity, and faith. I think that he does a better job than most other pastors of giving practical insight into Christian concepts. In this book, his focus is worship and how it can change our lives.

I enjoyed this book the most because it is a no nonsense explanation of worship. Basically, Dr. Hayford is hoping that this book will help start a reformation of worship in today's Church. Throughout the book, he tries to confront many traditional notions about worship, and its role for the believer, and the Church. In some ways, this book may challenge you, especially if you come from a very traditional denomination. I know that in my case it has made me take a hard look at my role in daily worship, and during church services.

Dr. Hayford's basic premise is that biblically based worship is the vital key to the success of any church. He goes into great detail about what worship is, and is not. Various topics he discusses include musical worship (songs), prayer, communion, and tithing. He uses various examples from the Bible (Abraham, David, Samuel, Peter, and Paul) to illustrate many of his points. Also, he tries to clarify misconceptions about worship that many believers (including myself) may have. For instance, he explains why worship is actually designed for our benefit, and not God's.

I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to find out more about worship, and how it can impact your walk with God. I think that you will find this book stimulating, and cause you to examine your own worship practices and effectiveness.

This book is great! I wonder why no one has written a review, after the time this book has spent in the market. The book took its theme from the famous song "Majesty", composed by the author himself, and tells about how worship is a two-way interaction between God and men. God is worthy of our worship, of course, but worship is not only meant for Him. God has made worship a way men can receive the blessings and fullness of life from God. The author took several significant examples from the bible, like the lives of Abraham, Moses, and David, and showed how worship had brought them to receive God's promises in their lives, despite their "humane" errors and limitations.

This book should be read by everyone who desired to know God more, and learns how he works in the lives of men through their worship. Hey, there's a whole lot of things we don't understand about worship. This book will shed some light to that. Praise God!!

The top snares men fall to -- workaholism, sex, pride, etc. -- and how to avoid them are all addressed in this good book by Dr. Rosberg. The author writes well and has engaging stories (many of which are gleaned from his lenghty experience as a counselor) that amplify the subject matter.

This book gives guidance to men of faith. Dr. Rosberg shows how Christian men can find the right path. I recommend this book to wives and girlfriends of Christian men as it will reveal the heart of men of faith as they struggle with their imperfections. Dr. Rosberg has been a speaker at Promise Keeper events and has a live radio show - America Family Live.

This book wasn't terribly long, I got through it in a week or so, but don't let it's brevity fool you! Each of the 10 chapters are power-packed. Jack Hayford takes us on a step-by-step journey as Abraham was instructed to "get out of the country" and go to Caanan, through his life, drawing parallels that we can relate to. Showing us how very human he was, helping us to learn from his journey. It was very insightful!

Chapter titles are:
1. The Commitment to God's Will
2. Muddling Your Way in the Will of God
3. Settling Problems in the Will of God
4. Warfare in the Will of God
5. Learning to Walk in the Dark
6. How to Deal with the Flesh
7. Responding to God's Presence
8. Faith Comes Out of Hiding
9. The Power of Total Commitment
10. The Ultimate in God's Will

This book clearly shows how one can pursue the will of God in their lives by using practical lessons from the life of Abraham. It is inspiring and instills an incredible sense of hope. Jack Hayford combines his intellegent appraisal of the Word of God with personal insights that illustrate and direct with clarity. A book that is very hard to put down. Really answers alot of questions. Very helpful in shining light on relationships and personal development.

The book may be good. I don't know but these people have obviously written their own testimonials. How do the readers happen to know how many have been sold etc.

My in-laws had been putting off estate planning, which would put the family business at jeopardy at their death. The first chapter gives examples of what happens without planning, and after reading it, they started the process of a living trust and most importantly finished it!
The book also showed my husband and I why we needed a living trust to protect our young son (so he would not inherit wealth, without strings, at a naive 18), and why my widowed sister needed a trust to protect her children receiving an inheritance if she died after remarriage -- without a trust her inheritance would go to husband #2, and not her children.
The book helps.

this book really stunk don't get it

Making decisions. How do we do it? All Christians want to make right, God-pleasing choices, but there is often confusion about how to accomplish it. Tim LaHaye's "Finding the Will of God in a Crazy, Mixed-Up World" purports to give down-to-earth advice about decision making, but unfortunately LaHaye's work is based upon faulty premises and bad theology.

The decision making model LaHaye subscribes to is subjective and mystical. Since God has a specific will for our lives, it is up to us to find out what it is. To do this we must interpret signs, circumstances, "fleeces" and inward impressions. In effect, we are not so much making decisions as discovering the decisions God has already made for us and following through with them. If we do this, we remain in God's will. If we get it wrong, we are out of God's will and may or may not be able to get back in.

LaHaye's Dispensationalist presuppositions get in the way of sound Bible interpretation at times: he has a tendency to draw unnecessary distinctions. Taking a cue from Romans 12:2, for example, one chapter of the book claims God's will has three "levels": good, acceptable, and perfect. God's "perfect" will (often referred to as the "centre of God's will") is where we ought to strive to be; if we make a poor decision and get off-track, we might have to settle for God's "acceptable" will; finally, if we come completely off the rails we might be consigned to God's "good" will (or worse) for the rest of our lives. The chapter is full of examples of people who made bad choices that took them outside even God's "good" will resulting in their living out the remainder of their lives in despair. However, Paul is not speaking of "levels" of God's will, but attributes: God's will is morally "good," pleasing to him ("acceptable"), and lacking nothing ("perfect").

In fact, LaHaye admits a more serious weakness with the model: it is sometimes possible for someone else to put us permanently out of God's will through no fault of our own. Let's say, for example, that my God-intended spouse goes "out of God's will" and marries someone else. Since casual divorce is not an option for the Christian, I can now never accomplish God's perfect will for my life. But it gets worse. Not only I and my intended wife are out of God's will, but her husband, his intended spouse, whomever I marry instead and her intended spouse, and so on, and so on. It's an infinite regression. The proponents of the mystical model clearly have not thought the consequences through to their logical end.

Certainly some of LaHaye's counsel is good: he tells us to submit to the Word of God, pray constantly, and seek godly wisdom from others, to pay attention to our circumstances, and so forth. Certainly we should heed the wisdom of others, consider our circumstances, and use common sense when we are making decisions. Where he errs, however, is in saying that godly advice and circumstances are signs that we are able to read and discern God's will through. Jesus, on the other hand, said that we mortals are poorly equipped to read God's will through omens (Matthew 16:3). In fact, I suggest that attempting to find God's will through cirucumstantial signs comes dangerously close to the occult practice of augury or divination, which God forbids (Deuteronomy 18:10).

Another sign LaHaye endorses in the decision-making process is the "fleece" (see Judges 6:36-40): asking God to provide a providential sign to confirm that a choice is the right one. In doing so he shows how poorly he mishandles the Scriptures. Gideon did not lay out his fleece to determine God's direction. He already had a direct command from God's angel and a confirming miracle. He laid out not one, but two fleeces out of cowardice, doubt, and disobedience, and was still not convinced. Is Gideon really a role model for good decision making?

In another misapplication of Scripture, LaHaye cites Col. 3:15 to say we ought to let an inner peace indicate to us that we are in God's will, that is, "having a peace about" something is God telling us we made the right choice. However, read in context, this verse is saying that we ought to act in ways that promote peace in the Christian community. It is not saying, as LaHaye suggests, that if we make the right choice God will make us feel good.

The problem with books of this kind is that they simply do not promote spritual maturity, but a continued spiritual childishness in which we must continually ask God's permission for every single decision. It sets up a sort of "non-moral morality" in which we can make morally right or neutral choices, yet noneththeless earn God's displeasure for deciding wrong, and suffer the consequences. As an alternative, I recommend the book Decision Making and the Will of God by Garry Friesen. This excellent book provides the tools with which one can apply his God-given wisdom and the teaching of the Bible to all decisions, big and small.

Dr. LaHaye takes real life and applies scripture with this book. This is more of a personal testamony from five or so peaple.

Most non-fiction, how-to books are dry and difficult to stick with - but Lahaye's book on Finding God's will is outstanding! It is an easy read and holds the reader's attention with real-life examples from both Lahaye's life and others. This book is from the heart and gives clear direction on the Biblical steps to take to ensure you are following God's will for your life. Not only did I read this book, but my husband did as well, and it has transformed the way we look at life and the decisions we make. A must read for anyone who wants to make sure their decisions are Biblically based and in God's will!!

Some will see this book as nothing more than Martin Luther's combative apologetic against the doctrine of free will and works salvation. But this is precisely why this book ranks among the best ever written because it passionately, logically, and decisively deals with the error concerning free will and the error adding any human merit to salvation. The subject matter according to Luther is "the hinge on which the whole gospel turns". Luther himself said that this was perhaps his greatest work. I found my own logical attempts to resolve to free will controversy pinned to the mat by Luther's irrefutable logic and accurate use of the scriptures. This book should be a standard text in bible schools and seminaries. This book left me with the impression that the modern church as robbed God of His glory by insisting that a believer merits salvation because he/she was smart enough or had will enough to make a decision for Christ. In some ways it makes me realize that we have abandoned the true gospel in favor of a man-centered, warm-fuzzy, gospel. Read this book!!!!

This book is a must for anyone interested in the doctrine of predestination. Luther himself declared this book to be one of the best he had ever written. The book is a response to "The Diatribe Concerning Human Freedom" by Erasmus. While I do not agree with everything Luther espouses in this book, it is still a great work by a masterful theologian. The contents cover what Luther believed concerning human free will, God's knowledge and future contingents, predestination, prevenient and efficacious grace, as well as the providence and glory of God. Luther is somewhat overbearing at times in his responses to Erasmus, but this simply helps the reader to understand Luther's personality a little better (he had a very head strong personality). If you are studying the issue of predestination, free will, etc. and you have not read this book, then you are not getting a well rounded view of all the issues (theologically or historically).

I have viewed a few dissenting voices in some of the reviews of the this work. It amazed me to see how many yearn to defend this mythical beast called "free-will". I too was onced bitten by this monster and wallowed in it's lairs of Arminianism and Pelagianism. However, the Lord, in all of His Divine Grace and Wisdom pulled me out kicking and screaming. How arrogant I was to believe that I was anything and now I rejoice and praise with Nebuchadneezer (Daniel 4:34-36). I have to rejoice in my Liberty in my slavery. Yet, as I mentioned before, this wasn't always so.

Oh, how I hated and despised those of the reformed view and ignorantly so! How I loved to sing Amazing Grace and Rock of Ages and despised the Theology of those who wrote it. How I despised the Doctrine of Predestination and yet, never realized that this is the very Doctrine that inspired those like the Puritans and Pilgrims to begin building this great Nation. No, I loved my "free-will". When I was being abused as a child, I cried, "free-will!", when I was homeless, I cried, "free-will"! When I sat behind bars in 30x30 ft cage, I cried "free-will"! When I got sick, I cried, "free-will"! Yet, when I realized that it took the selfless sacrifice of Christ to remove my sin, I had to ask, why couldn't I have just used my "free-will"? At this point I started to notice things, scary things, and the Spirit took this BLINDED sinner who believed he had a "free-will" and began to open his eyes. I saw that nobody could tell me at what point I obtained this "free-will". I realized that as a infant, it took the will of the parent to sustain me. Place an infant in field all by himself and he dies. Why? He has no will to sutain his life. Just like an infant in Christ,maybe? Then, someone suggested that you obtained it when you reached the age of 12 (age of accountability). Of course, when I pointed out that infants less than 12 were judged and killed for thier wickedness in the flood, Sodom and Gomorrah and of course the Amalekite infants (1 Sam 15:1-3), I received a blank stare. When I pointed out that a male child was cast out of the covenant for not being circusmied, I asked, why the child and not the parents? Again, blank. I have recieved many blank stares to many questions regarding Salvation and "free-will" over the past decade.

After that,I moved onto creation, the scriptures teach that God created all things and I believe it true. If I believed that God created all things, then time is His creation. If time (part of ALL things)is made up of past, present and future. Then, where does my "free-will" fit into the scheme of time? This has provoked alot of head scratching in numerous discussions. Nobody I have met in the realm of Orthodox Christianity has came up with a non-contradictive answer to that one.

I then moved onto the question of Salvation. Well, I won't labor you with the questions I found there. All I can say is that the rest of you can enjoy being the "Free-willer" in Christ and I'll happily remain a slave. By the way, did anyone ever notice Christ never asked Paul to become a Christian? Come to think of it, Christ never asked any of his Apostle or offered them Salvation. Huh? By the way can anyone show me an example of a "sinners prayer"? I thought the Lord's ears were closed to the unrighteous?!

Know what I've been thinking about lately? Did you ever wonder why the Lord spoke in Parables? You Armenian and Pelagian types may want to cover your eyes:

Mark 4:10 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.
11. And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
12. That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.

I now ask. Why didn't he want them to percieve or understand or better yet, be converted and thier sins forgiven? HMMMMMM? Why did he chose those around him and not the others to reveal the meanings of the parables? It sure puts Romans 9 in perspective, doesn't it?

Hard to imagine, that the Lord used Bondage of the Will to get the old mental Hampsters in me to start turning the old thought wheels!

Well, goodbye for now. I have to get back to some free-will experiments I have been working on like becoming totally free of all Federal, State, local and natural laws or flapping my arms and flying or head-butting an oncoming Semi-Truck (I'll let you know how this one works out) and there's the oldie but a goodie, trying to catch a fart with my hands and painting it red!

(Here's a little free-will news update (3-14-04). I recently had a young man rob me at gunpoint. As he pressed the gun in my face, a little part of me actaully wondered, where is my "free-will" at this point.What is so free about a will when the options are do or die? Since then, I have meditated even further upon the subject. I stand even more convinced of the selfish attitude that drives people to defend this concept of "free-will". How can they defend an attribute that not even God himself can claim! For the scriptures teach that not even God can do anything contrary to his greatest attribute,HIS HOLINESS! So, if God's decisions are regulated by His own Holiness, how much more are we regulated by our sinfulness? Remember Paul,

Romans 7:18 For I know that in me (that is in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil I would not, that I do.

Paul then goes on to refer to himself as a wretched man and then asks who would deliver him "from the body of this death." The answer is obvious to those who think like Paul, Luther and Calvin, the answer is Christ ALONE!

Think about it! Because the next person with a gun in his face could be you, at that point there will be no debate! If my will had been truly free, I would have never CHOSEN this experience! A divine once stated, "on the deathbed, there are very few free-willers!" Death is inevitable and many will scream "free-will" right into the dirt!

One more thing, if you really believe in this "free-will" myth and you are Christian. Try never sinning again! Go ahead! Try it! READ THIS BOOK!!!!!! )

Soli Deo Gloria!
Nikki

There are 24 reviews of "The Calcium Key" diet as I write this review. Sadly not one of them tells you about the diet, because if it did I would not have purchased the book.
"The Calcium Key" is a well researched (though the studies were sponsored by the dairy industry), well written book on how calcium when added to your diet can help you lose weight.
The authors obviously spent a lot of time writing the text which is very easy to understand and clarifys the calcium-weight loss connection.
Putting aside any self serving interests that perhaps the author benefited from the support of the dairy industry and the results were skewed, I decided to trust in the authors expertise and focus on the plan.
Sadly the plan is a labor intensive one that very few people will be willing and able to follow long term. It involves as the author puts it, writing down every thing you eat and using an exchange system.
The author lists calorie levels and how many exchanges you can eat for your level (similar to the old Weight Watcher progam).
For example if you are on 1200 calories (and the author teaches you how to determine your caloric level) you get 3 breads, 2 meats, 3 veggies, 3 fruits, 3 dairy and 3 fats.
3 graham cracker squares would equal 1 bread group. 1 cup milk would be a dairy. Sounds simple enough...but then you get into mixed foods like a butterfinger candy bar and you have 1 bread group, 2 fruit (dont ask) and 2 fats.
In order to keep it all straight you must keep a diary and write it all down.
Now that said, I think the author is on to something when he suggests adding dairy to your diet. The combination of protein and fat is much more satiating than say a slice of cake or a cookie.
But very few people want to micromanage their diets the way this book proposes.
So though it introduces the calcium weight loss connection, the actual diet is not one that many will succeed with. Just try adding calcium rich foods to your diet 3 times per day and don't increase calories.

I got this book for my mother because she just started menopause, and has also gained a lot weight since then. She's been going through a tough time with menopause, and "The Calcium Key" has really helped her lose some weight and add calcium to her diet. She says that the extra calcium has also impacted on her mood in a positive way, and she feels more relaxed and less moody (which has been beneficial to me, as well). Also, her doctor has insisted that she add additional calcium to her diet. I am going to read it too when she is finished, since I would like to lose some weight also. I started to read portions of the book, and I already love the The Calcium Key Meal Plans, and can't wait to get started. I am also going to purchase "The Calcium Key" for some of my friends who are very interested in losing weight and adding more calcium to their diets. Thanks Michael Zemel and Bill Gottlieb for a terrific book. And additional thanks from my mother!

Not having read a whole lot of diet related books I was a bit concerned that this book would be too technical, and the that the diet would be too difficult to try to follow. Neither of these presumptions turned out to be the case. The dietary guidlines have been a great help to me and this book was very simple, straightforward and enjoyable to read.

There are some books where the passion is so intense it bleeds through the pages, Macarthur's is one of them. This is the first Mac book I read and also the best one. Charismatic and liberal infidelity had stormed the ranks of my campus; my back was to the wall and my sword broken, then God raised up from the ranks John Macarthur to combat higher criticism on one front and Charismatic chaos on the other. When I read this book, my blood boiled. For I could relate to the trampling of the Word of God that was mentioned in the book and that I had seen in my schools. But really...is it necessary to "shoot our own wounded" when the gospel needs to be preached? I think it is. Please hear me out. The Gospel must remain pure (read Galatians if you disagree) to be effective. First, a liberal would never preach Christ crucified, adn a Charismatic would preach anyting that sounded good, as long as it does not draw theological lines which would expose his error. THis book also sheds a good light on evangelicals and catholics together. Does Macarhtur try to get his message across? I think a quote from Richard Baxter would suffice : "I preached as to ne'er preach again, and as a dying man to dying men."

This is a book that more than meets a critical need that is facing modern evangelicalism today. Timely written in an era where biblical Christianity is simply intolerant in an age of tolerance, it presents to the reader a biblical case for discernment based on the Word of God.

When most books choose to overlook and skimp over the vital importance of doctrinal accuracy and anitithetical thinking (with a tendency for unscriptural ecumenical unity), "Reckless Faith" choose to handle the issue head on, with the precision and passion of solid biblical teaching.

Pervasive in the Church today is the anti-intellectual spirit that has caused thousands to be deceived and manipulated by the numerous false doctrines, heresies and cults that stormed into the ranks of Evangelicalism.

Popular Bible expositor and teacher John MacArthur exhorts and encourages believers to rightly handle the Word of Truth, and to contend earnestly for the Faith. With passion and sharp wit, he sets forth for us timeless chapters that touch on the nature of Reckless Faith, the philosophies that lead to such a thinking and attitude, reasons that lead to the rise of Reckless faith, biblical teachings on sound discernment, and use those principles as he analysed modern controversies such as the Laughing movement, Prophecy movement, as well as the Roman Catholicism controversy.

This is a book with a purpose. It is a book with a message for the Church that needs to be heard and comprehended in these last days where false prophets abound and seducing spirits and doctrines of devils seek to deceive even the elect of God.

With its contagious and infectious spirit, any believer who opens and peruses its pages will be drawn into the passion and power of Biblical Christianity and the preaching of the pure and unadulterated Word of God!

Being of fan of MacArthur's championing the Bible against the popular multitudes, even in the face of all the charges and hostility. Allow not all of his theology is mine, I admire and concur with much of what he holds dear and fervently cries out for the church to seek discernment.

History continues to repeat itself; esp. in Satan's M.O. -- deceive them by challenging what God said. From the historical critics to the charismatics to the fundamentalists, it's the same problem: did God really say? do you really think God would say that?

Careful attention to the Bible, as MacArthur points out, will occupy itself around the central question: how can a person be saved? Then comes the center of all Scripture: Luke 24:24,26 --Christ and Him crucified! Believe this, and receive it in the means of grace--word and sacraments. (1 cor. 2:1-2).

Notice the prophecy of our day? 2 Tim. 4:3. Remedy for lay people to assure yourselves you've got a true servant of the Word= Heb. 5:9-14 and Acts 17:11.

This book is a very long advertisement for the trust-writing services of the man's company, complete with urgings to call their 800 number to find their local agent. Also, everything in the book could have been said in 1/10 the space. It's filled with full page charts that contain no usefull information, and it rambles without reason. And, as long as it is, I still don't know much about living trusts.

It is not for writing your own trust, but it was by far the best for the legal information, explanations and especially case scenarios. After reading 3-4 other books, I found this to have the clearest presentation of a complex subject; but of even greater value--it gave common (but unknown to me and not mentioned in other books) alternatives for dealing with problem personal situations like irresponsible children or family. Ex: dividing estate into three dispursements given out at five year intervals to give heirs a chance to "blow it" and then grow up. Because of this book alone, I was able to make decisions I was finally comfortable with.

I was interested in getting an living trust about ten years ago. After visiting three living trust seminars,I came to the conclusion that the lawyers making the presentation probably knew less about living trusts than I did, which was not much although I had taken a course in Wills, Trusts and Estates in my undergraduate years. So I came to the conclusion that I'd better get self-educated fast. I didn't want some highly educated lawyer "going to school" on my money. I searched libraries and book stores for months for "how to do it " books and finally discovered Abts book. While a bit on the "wordy" side with side stories, I found it to be what I believed to be a sound common sense approach to the subject. I signed on with Abts Estate Plan and have all my property titled in the trust. I was also delighted to learn that Abts organization sends out a "newsletter" from time to time regarding changes in trust law. I heartly recommend this book.