reflections on evangelism...

I, David just finished, yesterday, another book. For some that is an accomplishment that is as normal as apple pie, but for me I get this feeling of Gladiator-like accomplishment. I, Kara, am still in the middle of a book I started on our honeymoon. Finishing a book for me is more like a painful run where the finish line never seems to come and the light at the end of the tunnel seems more like a distant fade.

The book was Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer. Which, as a side note, I think that if I ever become an author I am going to use my initials as well. There is something quite awesome about the initials (for example, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.H. Spurgeon, and the like). Anyway, this book was a challenging book for me. Not in the respect of the words used, but rather in the content. The premise of this book is since God is sovereign over all things, including salvation, what role does the Christian play in evangelism. And the answer is, a huge role.

As Christians, our lives should be devoted to the vocation of sharing with others the gospel of Jesus Christ. We need to be people who share the death of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of all sins, the burial, and the resurrection. However, many times, I fail to do so. Not because of the intense persecution that I face, but rather just that fear of not knowing every question that comes my way, the fear of man, the doubt of the power behind the gospel, and just the sheer discouragement of feeling ineffective in my sharing. And that is where God's sovereignty is so sweet. The Apostle Paul states that it was he who planted, Apollos who watered, and God who grew the people who heard the gospel. In the same way, when we plant the seed, God is the one who does the growing. It is nothing that we can do, but it is all on God, and HE ALWAYS COMES THROUGH.

Therefore, be encouraged that when you evangelize, it is never done in vain. Even when you feel discouraged or frustrated, God is always there and His word doesn't return void. I definitely recommend this book to anyone! God Bless!

...what's so great anyways?

I just finished (I know, I can't believe it either) "What's So Great About Christianity?" by Dinesh D'Souza and let me tell you, if you want a book that will challenge you, this is the one for you.

D'Souza is a well-known author/speaker known mostly for his writing on politics and government. However, being a Christian, he set out to combat this ever growing "atheist regime" whose sole objective is to eradicate religion from the world. Leading atheists such as Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and Sam Harris, among others, have been writing books proclaiming that faith is a sickness, that God is only a delusion, and that Christianity is a cruel and brutal religion. Therefore, D'Souza has taken these claims and confronted them in this book. 

The interesting thing is that he not only confronted them on small scale, but on the large scale as well. His arguments address issues such as evolution, morality, wars, education, science, philosophy, all of which the atheists along with many others claim to have rendered Christianity helpless and unable to explain itself to these challenges. But, as D'Souza has accomplished in this book, Christianity has no reason to hide or to run from these claims. TRUTH IS FOUND IN THE BIBLE, and we can't doubt that.

So, I want to encourage you, if you want, to read this book. Even if you are NOT a Christian and share in the same views as those who are questioning Christianity and have the same objectives as these people above, this book is worth checking out. For me, these were also questions that I had concerning my faith, and now it is good to see that I am not crazy and I don't have a "blind faith". God is truth and Christianity is GREAT!

If you want to check out Dinesh D'Souza, check out his website here.