Five (5) Benefits of Reading Good Books #LeadersAreReaders March 2023

John Wesley was a man who had a great passion for reading. Most of his reading time was on horseback (so don't complain about your environment!). He rode a horse up to 9 miles per day, and during those times he consumed thousands of books such as on science, history, medicine, and one book above all that he always brings along was his Greek New Testament. He told the younger ministers of the Methodist societies to read or get out of the ministry! He was once quoted as saying, “Reading Christians are growing Christians. When Christians cease to read, they cease to grow.” Let me share with you briefly five (5) benefits of reading:

< Reading Is the Main Source of Inspiration > Most of my thinking, writing, and teaching for LEGASI.tv comes from reading books. They inspired me to create YouTube videos, encouraged me to share my findings on the podcast, and enlarged my understanding of the Scripture for Bible studies. Good books especially have helped me to think about things and frame some great thoughts that I would never have come near without them.

< Reading for Intellectual Growth > I always experience the thrill when I read some gems that were opposite and/or invite me to see matters from different perspectives. Books make me think, polish, re-imagine and re-examine my beliefs. They test my wits, provide fresh ideas, and challenge my assumptions. They help me to express my thoughts in words.

< Reading to Keep Yourself Updated > J. Oswald Sanders writes, “Read… to acquire new information, to keep current with the time, to be well informed in his or her own field of expertise." I think you can get more updates on social media. But what makes books unique is that the information that you'll get is generally better in quality, thoughtful, and selectively beneficial.

< Reading Is Having Fellowships with Great Minds > To read good books is like hearing the authors speaking to us. Their words reflect their thinking. Their minds project on every page. It is like a conversation with the authors. Do you want to have a fellowship with A.W. Tozer, Charles Surgeon, Adrian Rogers, J.C. Ryle, Jim Rohn, Zig Ziglar, etc.? Then read their books!

< Reading Books May Change Your Life >  I am convinced that the right books by the right authors in the hands and hearts of rightly motivated people could turn their world right-side-up! (Not upside-down, that’s negative!) Some books, especially spiritual classics, can literally change your life!

#ServeToLead #LeadersAreReaders #BenefitsOfReading #IntellectualAndSpiritualGrowth #LetsMakeReadingCoolAgain

To read my other book reviews/summaries, CLICK HERE

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

What of Those Who Have Never Heard? (1986) by J. Oswald Sanders, Book Review

Whenever someone asked me, "Is Jesus the only way to salvation?" my answer is, "Yes." Jesus said, "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). It's not a way or one of the ways but "the Way" and He emphasized on exclusivity,  "No one... except through Me." But what about those who have never heard about Jesus and the Gospel? My initial response is that, except for children and the mentally deficient who are covered by the blood of Jesus, everyone is morally responsible for the light that they have received and for the law written on their hearts through nature, tradition, and conscience (refer to Romans 1-2). So, even if they never heard about Jesus once in their lifetime, on judgment day, they will have no excuse. As for what will happen to them, I say, we can be certain that the God who exhibits His love on the cross will be absolutely fair and that the righteous Judge of all the earth will do right!

Now, where do I get a such conviction? Through the written Word of God, the Scripture, and with the help of books such as this one, that is, by divine revelation (mainly) and critical thinking. I'm all for originality but when it comes to eternal matters, I go to the Author of life and His (flawed yet faithful) saints. J. Oswald Sanders writes this book with compassion, conviction, and clarity. He cares for souls and set out his Biblical position clearly by quoting relevant Scriptural passages with context and supporting them with thoughts from recognized evangelical scholars. He begins not by answering the question directly but first and foremost, with the urgent call of mission and evangelism. Chapter 1: Why Mission? I love it! If you read books on an important topic like this one only out of curiosity, then, it is of no use. But if it's also out of concern for others, then, it will move you to action. This book is a great tool to do just that.

"If what is written in the foregoing pages is the Scriptural teaching concerning the spiritual condition of the unevangelized heathen - and I see no alternative to believing that it is - then how URGENT is our obligation to make Christ known to all men as speedily as possible. We should throw ourselves into the missionary enterprise with abandon," challenge Mr. Sanders to us, the receivers of God's gracious salvation. A student once asked Charles H. Spurgeon about this very same topic. He answered him very directly, "It is more a question with me whether we who have the Gospel and fail to give it to those who are lost can be saved." Amen.

Note: I would like to recommend another short book that covers this topic but from a different theological perspective (a.k.a. Calvinism), namely, John Piper's Jesus The Only Way to God: Must You Hear the Gospel to Be Saved? (2010)

#ServeToLead #PreachTheWord #LeadersAreReaders #JesusTheWay #MissionAndEvangelism #GospelOfSalvation #JOswardSanders #LetsMakeReadingCoolAgain

To read my other book reviews/summaries, CLICK HERE

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Unsur-Unsur Tradisi dalam Perlembagaan Malaysia (1985) oleh Tun Mohd Salleh Abas, Book Review

Mendiang Mohd Salleh Abas (1929-2021) ialah bekas Ketua Hakim Negara ke-6 dari tahun 1984 yang dahulunya sangat heboh dengan berita tentang pemecatan beliau secara mengejut pada tahun 1988 "tanpa mengikut prosedur oleh Perdana Menteri keempat, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad susulan krisis Perlembagaan 1987" (dipetik daripada Utusan Malaysia). Sebelum ini, saya tidak pernah mengenal atau mendengar apa-apa tentang beliau sehinggalah saya membaca buku ini. Buku ini sangat padat, jelas dan sesuai untuk pembaca seperti saya yang berminat tetapi kurang pengetahuan tentang undang-undang asas di Malaysia (mungkin dahulu semasa belajar Sejarah adalah tahu sedikit tetapi sudah banyak lupa).

Apakah yang dimaksudkan dengan "unsur-unsur tradisi" dalam Perlembagaan? Menurut Mohd Salleh, "Perkara-perkara yang boleh digolong sebagai 'perkara tradisi' dengan erti kata bahawa perkara-perkara ini telah pun diamalkan lama sebelum pemerintahan penjajah British di Tanah Melayu. Ia telah melalui beberapa perkembangan perlembagaan dan pembangunan politik yang turun-temurun dan akhirnya dikekalkan dalam Perlembagaan sekarang." Unsur-unsur ini ialah:

1) Kesultanan atau Pemerintahan Beraja
2) Agama Islam
3) Bahasa Melayu
4) Kedudukan istimewa orang Melayu

Pendahuluan untuk bab yang terakhir dalam buku ini menyimpulkan isi kandungan penulisan dan penerangan Mohd Salleh tentang topik ini dengan cukup jelas sekali: "Unsur-unsur tradisi yang telah diterangkan di atas hampir-hampir selari dengan definasi 'Melayu' iaitu 'seorang yang menganuti agama Islam, lazim bercakap bahasa Melayu dan menurut adat istiadat Melayu.' Perlembagaan memperuntukkan agama Islam sebagai agama bagi Persekutuan, yang sebenarnya ialah agama orang Melayu. Perlembagaan memperuntukkan bahasa Melayu sebagai bahasa Kebangsaan bagi Persekutuan, yang juga merupakan bahasa orang Melayu. Dan terutamanya, Perlembagaan juga memperuntukkan Raja-raja Melayu sebagai Ketua Persekutuan dan Ketua semua Negeri Melayu. Institusi pemerintahan beraja Melayu ialah asas adat istiadat Melayu. Maka dengan demikian dapat dikatakan bahawa unsur-unsur ini melambangkan satu ciri yang melaluinya Perlembagaan boleh dikenali."

Selepas saya membaca beberapa aspek daripada tiap-tiap satu unsur ini, saya lebih menghargai kenapa orang Melayu (terutamanya dari Semenanjung Malaysia) sangat bersemangat dan lantang bersuara tentang hak-hak dan keistimewaan mereka. Saya juga melihat betapa pentingnya unsur-unsur ini harus dikekalkan bagi menjaga kestabilan dan keamanan di Malaysia walaupun kurang bersetuju dengan bagaimana sesetengah pihak (lebih-lebih lagi ahli-ahli politik dan agama yang) mentafsirnya diluar konteks bagi menjaga kepentingan sendiri. Sebagai seorang bumiputera bukan Melayu dari Sarawak, saya menutup buku ini dengan satu persoalan: Sejauh mana unsur-unsur ini mempengaruhi undang-undang di Sarawak sekarang?

Untuk membaca ulasan-usalan dan/atau ringkasan-ringkasan buku lain yang telah saya baca, KLIK DI SINI

#LeadersAreReaders #ServeToLead #PerlembagaanMalaysia #AgamaIslam #BahasaMalaysia #OrangMelayu #Kesultanan #LetsMakeReadingCoolAgain

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Secret Believers: What Happens When Muslims Turn To Christ? (2007) by Brother Andrew and Al Janssen, Book Review

My first introduction to the late Andrew van der Bijl or better known as Brother Andrew (1982-2022) was through his life-changing autobiography, God’s Smuggler. If you haven’t read it, I suggest you get a copy and read it before you die. In it, he told the story of how he became a Christ follower and was inspired to smuggle Bibles into Communist Eastern Europe to the persecuted underground churches. It was the start of a great adventure. His famous prayer has been my personal prayer too whenever I entered places where I shouldn’t be to share the Gospel with the not-yet-believers: “Lord, in my luggage I have Scripture I want to take to Your children. When You were on earth, You made blind eyes see. Now, I pray, make seeing eyes blind. Do not let the guards see those things You do not want them to see.” After the Iron Curtain collapse in Europe, Brother Andrew began to expand his ministry to Islamic nations, especially aiming at radical Islam. “We cannot win the war on terror with guns and bombs because everyone we kill is replaced by dozens more who seek revenge,” said Andrew, “The only answer is a total, radical commitment to Jesus Christ.”

Secret Believers is the next important book by Brother Andrew - and Al Janssen - in my estimation. Part 1 tells exciting yet terrifying true stories about men and women who are born as Muslims in strict Islamic states in the Middle East who have chosen - or rather, chosen by the living God of the Bible - to be the followers of Jesus Messiah, Lord, and Saviour. They are called Muslim Background Believers (MBB). The inner joy, living faith, glorious grace, inward freedom, and eternal life that they found in Jesus are not without their external costs and consequences. The Scripture clearly says, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). The MBB worships Jesus daily, and at the same time suffer persecution daily. The stories of Ahmed, Mustafa (killed), Hassan (killed), Kareem, Abuna, Brutos, Nadira, Salima, Layla (abducted and raped), etc. touched my heart, warmed my soul, challenged my faith, and resolved my mind. I was even moved to tears when I read about their situations. Sometimes my anger would arouse due to the injustice done by their own families, communities, and authorities, inhuman treatments, and killing that were done in the name of God (John 16:2b says, “…the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service”). But how the characters engaged with their challenges remind me of Christ’s love for the lost people. “Don’t curse the darkness but light a candle.”

Part 2 of this book is worth the price. Here Brother Andrew presents some Biblical principles, thoughts, and questions on how to respond to the challenge of Islam. “I believe the story you have just read presents us with four challenges,” explains Andrew, “to love all Muslims by giving them the Good News, to forgive when we’re attacked, to live lives totally committed to Jesus Christ, and to engage in the real war - the spiritual war.” These are very difficult challenges because it is very counter-intuitive to human nature. That’s why we need the grace, faith, and love of Jesus. Only He can create in us a new nature to love our enemies and forgive the way He does. As one of the MBBs said to Al Janssen: “Don’t bring Hollywood; bring Christ. Don’t bring power. Don’t bring just your money. Bring love. Bring the kingdom.” Amen!

#ServeToLead #LeadersAreReaders #SecretBelievers #TurnToChrist #TheLoveOfChrist #Evangelism #GoodNews #LetsMakeReadingCoolAgain

To read my other book reviews/summaries, CLICK HERE

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Reading to Escape - And Come Back #LeadersAreReaders February 2023

My leader once asked me, “You read a lot of books. Is this a form of escapism for you?” My answer was (and is): “Yes, in one sense it is for the purpose of escape, but not so much as escapism. I’m not reading to avoid reality, but I do read to temporarily escape to another world.” For me what’s dangerous is when we read to escape from responsibilities. What I’m promoting is that we read to escape to another world where we get help, encouragement, and inspiration in order for us to return home to reality and live responsibly.

Good - Christian or non-Christian, fiction or non-fiction - books can bring glory and honor to God, the Giver of Thought and Word when they help us to see more of God’s greatness, beauty, creativity, and reality. Books that help us to understand and appreciate His creations and providence in history. Spark our imagination and critical thinking. Bring awareness to things visible and invincible. See good versus evil. Light conflicts with darkness. These are the kind of books that I want to escape to. Nora Ephron writes, "Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it's a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it's a way of making contact with someone else's imagination after a day that's all too real."

#ServeToLead #LeadersAreReaders #LetsMakeReadingCoolAgain #ReadingIsEscape

To read my other book reviews/summaries, CLICK HERE

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Jesus and the four Gospels: An Illustrated Documentary (1979) by John W. Drane, Sort-Of Review

 Jesus and the four Gospels: An Illustrated Documentary (1979) by John W. Drane

On the back cover: “Jesus Christ is a crucial figure of history. Today he is worshiped as God by millions, and his teaching continues to influence individuals, even whole societies. His life has been dramatized and written about many times; he is the star of film and musicals.” This book is 44 years old and yet this statement is even truer today! What’s the hype about The Chosen TV series? What’s the talk about The Asbury Revival? What’s up with The Jesus Revolution movie? You might have some thoughts about all these things (or have no idea at all) but I assure you I have both optimistic views and skeptical opinions about how the modern churches, the world, and the culture take interest in the person of Jesus. Either for goodwill or money, out of love or selfish ambition, sincere from the heart or with dark agenda, I stand with the Apostle Paul’s attitude: “But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice” (Philippians 1:18. Although I might quote this verse out of context, I just want to highlight his attitude that no matter what, at least, Jesus is known).

As a Man, Jesus’ personality, character, conduct, and teachings are amazing beyond description. As God, Jesus stands above all else in heaven and on earth. I sometimes tell people that the cure for most depression is the study of the Scripture, especially if we focus on the person of Jesus. Why? Most depression is due to overthinking about one’s own self. The key is to focus and think about something or Someone more glorious, beautiful, epic, amazing, divine, and great. Mere human beings - you and me! - are not. So, fix your attention on joy and the source of joy, Lord Jesus Christ, the God-Man. How to do that? First, I told you already, to read and study the Scripture particularly the New Testament. Then, read books that help you understand the Scripture (But then again, the thought of ‘reading’ books can make someone more depressed. I say, try to actually read).

Books such as this one are excellent companions to the Scripture. It's not boring. It is well-informed but not overtechnical. The main text is written in an easy-to-understand style for the general reader but there are dozens of heavier subjects also included that might interest you because as you know, Jesus is popular and yet controversial. There are some amazing photographs too that help to stimulate the information. The book is divided into three main sections and twelve chapters: 1) God’s Promised Deliverer (The world of Jesus; Jesus’ birth and early years; Who was Jesus?; Why did Jesus die?; The resurrection); 2) God’s New Society (The nature of the new society; Pictures of the new society; The power of new society; God’s society in action); and 3) Knowing about Jesus (What are the gospels?; The four Gospels; Are the Gospels true?). John Drane ends his remark like this: “If Jesus rose from the dead, then we must face the implications, the need to submit to the risen Lord and his demands over our lives. But it also assures us that both his demands and promises are reasonable, fair, and true because they can be vindicated by reference to the events of history.” The Jesus of history is the Christ of faith.

Here are some other books (of its kind) that I would like to recommend too:

1. Stephen M. Miller’s The Jesus of the Bible (2009). I read this a long time ago. Superb!
2. Donald L. Blake’s Jesus, A Visual History (2014)
3. Robert H. Stein’s Jesus the Messiah (1996)
4. R.T. France’s A Portrait of Jesus (1975)
5. Leon Morris’s The Lord from heaven (1974)
6. David Limbaugh’s The True Jesus (2017). I’m halfway through the book. Pause.

 #ServeToLead #LeadersAreReaders #JesusChrist #TheGodMan #TheGospel #HistoryFaith #JohnDrane #LetsMakeReadingCoolAgain

To read my other book reviews/summaries, CLICK HERE

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Gospel-Centered Teaching: Showing Christ In All the Scripture (2013) by Trevin Wax, Book Review

Gospel-Centered Teaching: Showing Christ In All the Scripture (2013) by Trevin Wax

 

Thanks for the flight delay, I can finish reading and taking notes from this book. It is concise, practical, and to the point. This Gospel-Centered term, I observed, was once the most popular term in American Christianity to call us back to the role of the power and influence of Jesus in every area of life. It has become popular too in Asian churches. In fact, in many ways, it has become a movement (and I’m afraid, a cliche too). But today, it seems to me, the spirit of it is on the decline. Either we should emphasize more or use other terms, I believe we all must be Gospel-Centered in everything. “You want the truths of the gospel to impact the way you do everything - from theology to application, to any subject you’re discussing,” writes Trevin to the teachers and preachers. He continues, “The way you help your people understand that the gospel is for all of life is not by telling them the gospel pervades everything, but by showing them in how you teach.”

To the author, being Gospel-Centered really matter because:- a) The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. It’s not in me or you. It's not in our ability or talent. It's in God as Romans 1:16 declared. “People just keep on believing the gospel. Why? Because the gospel is such an easy message to believe? No. Because the gospel is powerful. The Spirit works powerfully through the gospel to bring us to salvation”; b) Because the gospel is the power of God for sanctification. “It’s the message God uses to grow us in holiness and conform us to the image of His Son”; c) The gospel provides the motivation for mission. I love this point so much. We all know that our church or youth group or Christian fellowship or Bible Study group should make an impact outside our immediate circle. But our solutions are very outward focus such as doing more activities rather than looking inward to our teachings about the gospel. “The root cause of our lack of engagement in God’s mission is not a missions problem but a gospel problem,” highlight the author. “We demonstrate by our inaction that we no longer marvel at grace. We are unaffected by the beauty of what God has done for us in Christ.” We must be Gospel-Centered.

There are lots of insights, challenging statements, thoughtful advice, and reality-check questions that Trevin shared in this book. Some still ring in my mind, “It’s not WHAT’s missing but WHO’s missing”; “Be careful that when you point people to Jesus, you’re not simply demonstrating the cleverness of your own interpretation”; “If all we draw from Bible study are proverb-like teachings for daily living, then we are approaching the Scriptures as if we’re at the center”; and more. Let me end with three questions that Trevin asks and explores in this book - and for teachers to ask themselves - in order to teach a Gospel-Centered message: 1) How does this topic/passage fit into THE BIG STORY of Scripture?; 2) What is DISTINCTLY CHRISTIAN about the way I am addressing the topic/passage?; and 3) How does this truth equip God’s church to live on MISSION? Good questions!

#ServeToLead #LeadersAreReaders #GospelCenteredTeaching #ChristInAllTheScripture #MissionAndEvangelism #LetsMakeReadingCoolAgain

To read my other book reviews/summaries, CLICK HERE

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.