Dead Sea Conspiracy A Novel by Jerry B. Jenkins with Dr. Craig Evans, Biblical Consultant Book Review

 

Dead Sea Conspiracy is the second novel in the Dead Sea Chronicles. The book is about the first woman to serve as a lead archaeologist, Nicole Berman and her adventure to uncover the hidden treasures. She is digging in Saudi Arabia. Her team consisted of forty members. Not everyone is happy about the digging and the uncovering she is trying to accomplish. Some people might even be trying to sabotage the discover.

 

 

The book also looked at the story of Terah. He was the right-hand man of King Nimrod. The king wanted to kill all of the first-born children where he wouldn’t feel threatened over losing his throne. Terah and his wife, Belessunu had a son, named Abram. They hid Abram in a cave away from the king and his wife stayed close by to protect him. He came up with a plan to substitute his servant’s son as his own child where the king wouldn’t know that he killed the wrong kid. He told their parents their son was killed by wild animals when in fact this was a lie. Terah was also an idol worshipper and he made images of different gods. His wife believed in God and tried to get her husband to believe. He eventually changes and believes in God. He later admits to the servant and his wife what really occurred with their son. His wife was very eager to meet Noah’s son, Shem and learn about the history of the Flood. They do later on in the book meet up with them and they learn about their past generations. 

 

 

I would recommend this awesome novel about archaeology and discovering secrets found in Biblical locations. It was really interesting to see how Jerry B. Jenkins was able to connect both of the stories presented in this book together. I especially loved how he explored Terah, the father of Abram. I thought it was a really neat take on a story many people probably aren’t familiar with. I think he did a wonderful job in connecting a mystery into a thriller type book. I have read the first book and I was excited to see how this one will turn it. It does appear that this series is over. 

 

 

 

"I received this book free from the publisher, Hachette Book Group/Faithwords for my honest review.”

 

 

 

 

If you would like to purchase a copy, check it out on Amazon.com:

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Sea-Conspiracy-Jerry-Jenkins-ebook/dp/B09N3FLLF2/

Stay in the Game: No Adversity is Too Great for You by Joel Osteen Book Review

In Stay in the Game, Joel Osteen has written a powerful book about how to handle any obstacle that we will face. Joel encouraged readers to get back into the game and not to quit. We can have joy while we are finishing our race in this life. He shared how critical it is to not sit on the sidelines of life.  We instead still need to pursue our life and go be a blessing to someone else while we are hurting. He explained how his own mother was able to do this while she was battling terminal liver cancer. She chose to stay in the game and to pray for people who were hurting. She kept going to church and even though she was in pain and hurting she was making a decision to be a blessing to someone else. He looked at Isaiah and how he stated that we must arise up from our depression and come into a new life. Even if we lost a relationship, our job, battling a health issue, or anything else. We need to shake off our disappointment and hurt. God is able to restore everything taken from us like Job. 

 

 

 

The book begins with a story about Shaquille O’Neal and how he walked up to Dale Brown, a legendary coach of the LSU basketball team when he was giving a speech. O’Neal told him how he wanted to play basketball but that he couldn’t jump or dunk the ball. He was thirteen years old at the time and the coach provided him with a training program and tried to mentor him. He was still cut from his local basketball team and was told he was too big, clumsy, and slow. Brown encouraged him to stay in the game and keep trying and to keep relying on God to help him. O’Neal was able to remove all the negative labels that were put on him. As we all know, he eventually went to LSU and was a very successful basketball player. Joel shared this example to remind us about the importance of staying in the game. 

 

 

I would recommend this life changing book to anyone who is discouraged and they are wanting to give up on their race to the finish life. I appreciated Joel’s encouragement throughout the book and the teachings about overcoming whatever we are facing and to stay in the game. One of my favorite teaching stories he shared was the one about the telescope and the little boy who was getting bullied. This was a great message about our perspective. I also enjoyed reading about the story of the Christmas pies and how God was able to provide and use the setback for their good. I also liked Joel’s humor in this one and the joke he says at the end of the story. I also liked how the book is small and it makes it easy to carry around and to keep it with us for daily reminders. 

 

 

 

"I received this book free from the publisher, Hachette Book Group/Faithwords for my honest review.”

 

 

 

 

If you would like to purchase a copy, check it out on Amazon.com:

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Stay-Game-Adversity-Too-Great/dp/1546029338

Lifemark Movie Trailer

Short Synopsis: 

David’s comfortable world is turned upside down when his birthmother unexpectedly reaches out to him, longing to meet the 18-year-old son she’s only held once. With the encouragement of his adoptive parents, David embarks on a journey of discovery that leads to a staggering truth from his past. From executive producers Kirk Cameron and the Kendrick Brothers—creators of War Room and Fireproof—comes LIFEMARK, inspired by an incredible true story that celebrates the gift of life.

 

 

My thoughts:

 

I’m really excited to watch this movie and be inspired by the power of adoption. I’m interested to see how they connect and meet in the movie and how their lives will change forever. I have always enjoyed watching movies with Kirk Franklin in them. I’m also glad seeing that Alex Kendrick is back in a new role in this film. It appears that this will be another hit like War Room and Courageous was.

 

Check out Lifemark in Theaters on September 9! 

 

 

 

 

Trailer:

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZI9ziz8Azw&t=1s

 

 

Official Website:

 

 

https://lifemarkmovie.com

There is also a book available:

Going Higher with God in Prayer: Cultivating a Lifelong Dialogue By A.W. Tozer Compiled and Edited by James L. Snyder Book Review

 

Going Higher with God in Prayer is a new teaching compiled together containing the teachings of A.W. Tozer. He begins the book by sharing the dynamics of prayer. He explained that prayer needs to be more about being in the presence of God. It doesn’t need to be rituals or repeated sayings. We need to instead believe and pray that prayer can accomplish things. He described Jacob and Esau. Jacob deceived his father and had to flee. Jacob eventually learned to communicate with God and to experience Him. He had a dream about a ladder into Heaven. He compared the message of the story to the ladder of prayer. He stated how far up the ladder we climb the closer to God we become. He described how our prayer life needs to be more on being in the presence of our Holy Savior and communicating with Him.  

 

 

I would recommend this awesome book about prayer and how we can improve our prayer life. It was interesting to read about his sermons and why he believed that the greatest curse is unanswered prayer. I liked how he looked at the three basic barriers to our prayers from being answered. This was very eye opening to read about how these can stop our prayer life. I also enjoyed reading the story about the couple wishing for corn and having their neighbors join in and believing for ten acres of corn. I liked how he related this back to James 4:2-3 and how important it is to pray and ask for it. We can’t just wish things in our lives would be different. Wishing is useless. Readers will benefit from learning how to climb the ladder into God’s holy presence. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I received this book free from the publisher, Bethany House/ Chosen for my honest review.”

 

 

 

 

 

If you would like to purchase a copy, check it out on Amazon.com:

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Going-Higher-God-Prayer-Cultivating/dp/0764234048/

Doing Church as a Team: The Miracle of Teamwork and How It Transforms Churches Revised and Updated Edition by Wayne Cordeiro Book Review

In Doing Church as a Team, Wayne Cordeiro explored the scopes of building up your team within your church and letting them use their gifts to help others. He has noticed how there is much more a disconnect within the church than ever before. We aren’t in tune to the needs of people. He stated that there are 35 to 40 million people unchurched right now. Some of the reasons people have left is because of their gifts not being used, the tasks given in the church aren’t challenging to grow, disconnected from other believers, or they have been hurt by others within the church. He shared how he is the founding of New Hope Christian Fellowship of Oahu in Hawaii. He shared how his church grew in numbers and how lives were changed. He revealed how the church learned to work together as a team. He explored the three categories of gifts: office, serving, and charismatic gifts. He stated how everyone has a gift and how everybody is a 10 in something. He shared what DESIGN means and how to discover our gifts and passions. He opened up about his churches nine core values that the members are expected to live out. 

 

 

 

I would recommend this life changing book to anyone who is ready to discover their gifts and passions and they can use this within the church and outside the church. I immensely loved how he has updated this edition to become more updated with the times. One of my favorite chapters was the one that discussed the difference between secure and insecure leadership. I liked how he looked at King Saul and how insecure he was towards David. I also liked how he explained the circle design and how to build your team. I enjoyed reading about the guidelines for a God-glorifying vision. 

 

 

"I received this book free from the publisher, Bethany House/ Chosen for my honest review.”

 

 

 

 

 

If you would like to purchase a copy, check it out on Amazon.com:

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Doing-Church-Team-Teamwork-Transforms/dp/0764218484

 

 

The Way of a Christian: Life Lessons from Pilgrim’s Progress A 90 Day Devotional Book Review

The Way of a Christian is a 90 days devotional covering the life of John Bunyan. He was a preacher and a writer. He was jailed in 1661 for 12 years after refusing to censor his religion. His book the Pilgrims Progress has been published in over 200 languages. The devotional was rewritten to include current things to help readers to relate to the message in today’s times. The goal of the book is to assist us in the ways of being a true Christian. Each day contained a verse, devotional teaching, three questions, and a prayer. 

 

 

One of my favorite devotionals was the one that discussed the fire alarm. He shared a story about how a group of business men hearing the fire alarm go off. The senior manager thought the alarm was a false alarm. He stayed inside the building and everyone else followed suit. Then there was an explosion. He used this story to compare it to how many Christians are ignoring the warning signs of God’s wrath and judgement. We have to make our own decision on if we will follow Christ and His teachings. 

 

 

I would recommend this awesome devotional on the teachings of the Pilgrim’s Process. I immensely loved how they included current things to help us relate to the book. It made it easier for readers to connect with the message that many probably haven’t heard before. This was the first time in reading about John Bunyan and his writings. I liked how he covered the topic of a better expectation. We can let our major disappointments cause us to go into a deep depression or we can hold on to better expectations. We can instead believe that a new day is coming and that God has given us a sound mind. We can have hope for a brighter day. This will help you in the ways of becoming a better Christian. 

 

 

 

 

"I received this book free from the publisher, Bethany House/ Chosen for my honest review.”

 

 

 

 

 

If you would like to purchase a copy, check it out on Amazon.com:

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Way-Christian-Pilgrims-Progress-Devotional/dp/080076241X/