The Forum - Matthew Barnett

I'll Make You An Offer You Can't Refuse by Michael Franzese

I'll make you and offer you can't refuse by Michael Franzese is a pretty interesting book. The title was the first thing that got my attention and when I saw that the book was written by a former Mob Boss I thought it should be pretty interesting since I never read any book by someone in the mob.

The book consists of eleven chapters in which Michael Franzese talks about eleven different things to consider to build and maintain a successful business. These are lessons that he learnt in his life during the the time he spent with the mob.

He uses the wisdom of Machiavelli and Solomon to describe the wrong and right way of doing things. Even though you might not find anything that will revolutionize your thinking regarding business and life there are certain lessons and ideas to be learnt from the book. There are a lot of interesting stories from his life that he shares to get his point across. The stories kept my attention and at the end of every chapter there was something that you could walk away with.

Even though it might not be a great how-to book on business, it is a pretty easy read in which you learn some insights and get a small peak into the life of a former Mob Boss!

Wasabi Gospel by Shawn Wood

I will be reviewing the first chapter from Wasabi Gospel by Shawn Wood. July 8th is the date for the Book Bomb at Amazon! So make sure you pick up a copy on the 8th!

The name of the first chapter is "God, I'll take the Mercy, but give the idiot who cut me off in traffic Justice"! The chapter is based on:

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. - Matthew 5:7

As you can guess from the title of the chapter, it deals with Mercy & Justice. It deals with how we as christians often want others to be judged by God but when it comes to just faults, we want God to pour out his mercy on us.

Shawn talks about three levels of forgiveness:

1. The first level is where we say we forgive the person that has hurt us but we really don't let go of the hurt and pain.
2. The second level is where we forgive and forget.
3. The third level or the level where you get hit by the wasabi-punch. This is where we start looking through God's eyes. We realize that we ourselves are in need of his mercy and that we ourselves had to be forgiven by God for the things we have done against Him!

Forgiveness has to be something that goes beyond the way we "feel". Forgiveness is a choice and at times even though it can be very tough, it is still something that we are called by God to do and He is hear to help us with it! It is a great reminder for everyone of us. No matter where we are in life this is something that needs to be something that we cannot neglect.

In the rest of the book Shawn looks at 6 other saying of Jesus that pack a Wasabi-punch to them! He does a good job weaving in personal stories to better explain the content. If you ever wondered about the hard sayings of Jesus or wondered if Jesus was really serious about some of the things that he said, I think reading this book will do you a lot of good.

But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. - Luke 6:27-28

The Principle of the Path by Andy Stanley (book reivew)

This is the second book I got for FREE through Thomas Nelson book review bloggers.

If you have ever listened to or watched Andy Stanley teach at his church or at a conference, you know that he is very simple and easy to understand. Well it the same with this book. Very simple yet profound and powerful thoughts and insights. The book has been very helpful for me, especially because of where I am in my life. There are some really good stories from Andy Stanley's life that he shares in the book to get the points in different chapters across.
The book is a very easy read. Here are some points that really stood out to me:

1. Direction, not intention determines our destination!
2. Acknowledging God = Submitting to God
3. Divine direction begins with unconditional submission. Not information!
4. Every decision has an outcome, and every path has a destination.
5. choices are now but outcomes are later.

There are many more things you will learn from the book. You will learn how to choose the right path. If you want to and need help with making better and wiser choices in life, this book will definitely help you with that. At the end of every chapter are great questions for life application.

The book challenged me in many ways and I believe it will continue to do so as I strive to make better choices in life.

If you have read the book, what are your thoughts? What book or books are you currently reading?

Conquer the sin of pornography!

This is a small clip from a conversation between Carson, Piper and Keller. You can watch the entire conversation here.



If you are a person struggling with pornography, here is a free book by Pastor Mark Driscoll that will really help you.

Men, Women & Marriage by Pastor Mark Driscoll

Here are two great messages from Pastor Mark Driscoll. He preaches about the roles and responsibilities of both men and women. I would encourage both married and single people to take some time and watch the messages.

Especially singles who are thinking about marriage!

Fearless living - Creflo Dollar

I had the opportunity to go to a meeting recently where Pastor Creflo Dollar was preaching. He taught on fear and here are some of the notes that I took:

• 2 Timothy 1:7
  
• Panic is groundless fear.
  
• The US is now more afraid then ever before.
• We have been given:
• Power - ability to get results
• Love - to love what/who is not lovable
• Sound mind - a mind that is free from fear.
• Fear comes from hearing the contradictions of the word of God.
• Faith comes by hearing the word of God.
• You paralyze the devil when you operate in faith and not fear.
• If you tolerate fear you will contaminate your faith!
• Genesis 3:1-5
• Fear and unbelief go hand in hand.
• The devil does his best to make sure that believers have the doubt that what God said in his word will not come to pass.
• Anger is an expression of fear.
• Fear is abnormal.
• When fear is used as a motivator it will always lead you to bondage!
• Revelation 21:8 if it's OK to have a little fear everything else that is mentioned in the verse should also be OK. Right?
• Philippians 1:28 (amp)
• Matthew 6:25-33
• Meditating on the contradiction of Gods word leads to worry!
• Philippians 4:6-9 (amp)
  
• Peace - security in the midst of turmoil!

What's at stake?

What's at stake if you don't do what God has called you to do?

What's at stake if you stop doing some of the things that you are involved in?

What's at stake if you don't confront the sin habit in your life?

What's at stake if you don't work on your character?

What's at stake if you don't start leading with diligence?

What's at stake if your team does not give all they've got?

What's at stake if you don't spend time with your Heavenly Father?

What's at stake?

If the answer is "not much" then you might want to stop doing something, but if the answer is "A LOT" then you should start doing something! For me there is a lot at stake and I need God's Grace to work on these areas in my life.

In what areas of your life should you be asking this question? What would you add to the list? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Are you taken hostage?

Got this from Scott Williams blog. He is a campus Pastor at lifechurch.tv


Hostage - Envy from Nick Jones on Vimeo.