Did you know that 80% of all animals are insects, and of those, 99% are beneficial or benign?

Even if you’re not a bug-lover, Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden will help you appreciate those hard-working bugs around your property, and why you may want to invite even more by planting certain flowers and shrubs. You’ll also learn why the first sign of an insect pest is usually not a reason to panic.

Since starting the book, I’ve enjoyed spotting many of these characters at work in my own garden, including bees, wasps, butterflies, ladybugs, spiders, and dragonflies.

Walliser begins with an interesting peek into the world of beneficials. I loved this section and was left wanting more! She then provides a detailed catalogue of helpful insects and plants, complete with photos, descriptions, even USDA zones. The green sidebars share interesting articles on subjects ranging from invasive insects, to beetle banks, to native plants.

There is a vast ecosystem, even in the small backyard garden. As a Christian, I attribute this to my Heavenly Father, who made this world with mind-boggling beauty and complexity. I’m thankful for this book that opened my eyes to even more.

Filled with quality photos and vivid behavioral descriptions, Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden will likely cause you see your garden from a whole new perspective.

(This article contains an Amazon affiliate link, which means by clicking through the link, you can help me earn a small kick-back to help me buy future books!)

I picked up Gospel Fluency assuming it was a book on evangelism. Some of the endorsements on the back even portray it as such. And it does provide some helpful guidelines on sharing our faith. But Gospel Fluency seeks to do something more. Vanderstelt shows how the gospel penetrates every area of our lives – our conversation, our behavior, and our fellowship. Yes, we need to share the gospel with the lost. But we also need to share it with other believers, and even ourselves. “We need the gospel and we need to become gospel-fluent people. We need to know how to believe and speak the truths of the gospel – the good news of God – in and into the everyday stuff of life” (p. 23).

The author demonstrates the only way to be truly fluent in the gospel is to be part of a community (a gospel-centered church) where the gospel is front and center of all we do. “Formal training alone does not make one fluent. You become fluent through immersion in a gospel-speaking community and through ongoing practice. You have to know it, regularly hear it, and practice proclaiming it” (43). So after exploring the idea of fluency and the summarizing the message of the gospel, the author spends the second half of the book addressing The Gospel in Me (Part 3), The Gospel With Us (Part 4), and The Gospel to Others (Part 5).

This last section is the closest to what you would normally consider an evangelism book, with some helpful reminders to care and to listen (p. 177), to look for people’s overarching storyline (p. 180), to physically display God’s character (p. 188), to ask for eyes that see people’s hurt and brokenness (p. 200), and to actually open our mouths (p. 191).

I loved the affection for Christ that pervaded this book, and the reminder that love for God is what motivates us to talk to others about him. “People need to be deeply affected by the incredible news of Jesus on a daily basis. What affects you greatly creates in you great affections. And those affections lead you to express verbally and physically what you love most, because you talk about what you love” (p. 94). This reminds me of what Jesus says in Matthew 12:34, “out of abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”

One issue I did find odd was Vanderstelt’s use of the gospel in biblical counseling and sanctification. He tells a number of stories how he uses the gospel in shepherding his children and counseling believers. So far, so good. But at times, he seems to almost downplay the importance of obedience, instead saying “belief” in Jesus is the only work we can do. “I am training them in the work they are to do. This work is to believe – to believe the gospel” (p. 83. See also p. 78, 81, 114, 115). Now, it’s certainly true we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. It’s also true that we want to address matters of the heart, and not merely behavior. But we are sanctified by grace as we work.

We become more like Christ when we exert genuine effort and strive toward righteousness, remaining fully dependent on the Holy Spirit. God “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14). I don’t think the author would disagree, but I’m concerned his focus on simply believing the gospel could become too ethereal and unintentionally subvert the actual commands of Scripture.

A few minor qualms aside, if you’re looking for a refresher course on the gospel and a clear case why we need to spend more time talking about it as Christians, I recommend Gospel Fluency. You can order the book by clicking here: https://amzn.to/3wIQJ5g

(This article contains an Amazon affiliate link, which means by clicking through the link, you can help me earn a small kick-back to help me buy future books!)

If you’ve ever been lost, you know how disorienting it can be. Whether you take a wrong turn to a friend’s house or veer slightly off the beaten trail, within a matter of minutes, you can find yourself in a completely different place than expected.

In Where’s Chuckawalla Bill’s Cabin, author Kevin Heaton takes us on a hike that started out like any other. But through a series of unfortunate events, he realized he was miles from his intended path, in one of the remotest areas of the San Bernardino wilderness, out of water and quickly running out of time.

I found it interesting how Heaton could be within eyesight of city lights and vehicles passing on the freeway far below, with no way to communicate or call for help. “And there was old asphalt (I-10) with her unbroken string of ocean addicts snaking their way out to the coast for more oily Pacific saltwater. Nearer now, but still far down below, were all those blinking red wind turbine warning lights pulsating just off the desert floor between Mount San Jacinto and my current precarious situation” (ch. 7).

Oh for a cell phone! But even then, many areas in the Colorado and Mojave deserts have little cell reception. Unfortunately, there was no way for this solitary man, high in the mountains, scraping and tumbling his way through the canyons, to call for help.

Heaton was a member of our church when this event took place. When we heard he was missing, we prayed fervently for his safe return. In the end, he made it, praise God. But his retelling of the journey is quite an adventure — one my eleven-year old daughter said “felt like you were really there.” Heaton’s tale contains suspense, a love for the outdoors, a nod to our search and rescue volunteers, and ultimately, a testimony to the power of prayer.

If you’re looking for a quick read on hiking the high desert, and what it feels like to be lost and found, pick up a copy of this great little book, Where’s Chuckawalla Bill’s Cabin.

(This article contains an Amazon affiliate link, which means by clicking through the link, you can help me earn a small kick-back to help me buy future books!)

Christianity and Wokeness is a sobering yet helpful introduction to critical race theory and the social justice movement. Churches should have a zero tolerance policy on racism, and eschew any form of partiality or prejudice. Wokeness, however, is not the answer.

In his opening chapter, Strachan lists seven commitments of wokeness that are incompatible with the gospel:

1) the world is fundamentally divided into oppressors and oppressed people.
2) a major form of oppression today comes from whiteness.
3) whiteness is not a neutral system, but creates a culture of white supremacy that benefits white people, and also others who fail to challenge it.
4) the evils of this culture show up in disparities between groups which reveal inequities, which reveal injustices. Disparities lead to inequities, which lead to injustices.
5) white supremacy must be vigorously opposed through social justice, anti-racism, and the targeting of white privilege.
6) more broadly, any form of privilege and oppression stemming from hetero-normative, white capitalist, patriarchal structures must be opposed.
7) we can create a just, fair, diverse, and inclusive society grounded in equality of outcome by targeting the inequities through political, legal, cultural, and fiscal means, so that inequitable authority is de-privileged, and minority groups are empowered.

Strachan recognizes that racism still exists and is utterly evil. Partiality is never OK. We would not deny every part of the statements above. For example it is true that “white supremacy must be vigorously opposed.” But dismantling institutions and heaping guilt on majority culture is not the solution. Christianity provides a redemptive alternative.

Whereas wokeness focuses on systemic injustice, societal guilt, racial inequity, historical revisionism, and identity politics, the Christian gospel focuses on repentance, forgiveness, reconciliation, the image of God, and church unity. As Christians continue to grapple through these complex issues and look for new ways to love their neighbor, they would benefit from reading this book.

Ken Ham, founder and CEO of Answers in Genesis, says it well in his endorsement: “Woke teaching, Critical Race Theory, and intersectionality should not be in the toolchest of the Christian. This book is an excellent introduction to these destructive heresies and a powerful presentation of the only truth that brings lasting reconciliation: the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

(This article contains an Amazon affiliate link, which means by clicking through the link, you can help me earn a small kick-back to help me buy future books!)

Shepherding is one of the most important images in the Bible to describe God’s relationship with us. But how many of us really understand shepherding?

What does it mean that the Lord is our shepherd (Ps. 23:1)? That his rod and staff comfort us (Ps. 23:4)? That we have wandered off like sheep (Is. 53:6)? And that Jesus is the door? (Jn. 10:7).

Many of you are familiar with Philip Keller’s book, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, and it’s an enjoyable read to be sure. But for more of an authentic look at middle eastern shepherding from a biblical scholar, I recommend The Perfect Shepherd by John J. Davis.

With personal stories and sound exegesis, Davis explains the 23rd Psalm from a true middle eastern perspective. This book will help you appreciate the depths of God’s care, as well as the high call of an undershepherd over God’s flock (1 Pet. 5:2).

I don’t think this book is in publication anymore. But it just so happens that right now, you can pick up a digital copy for only $.99 in Logos Bible Software format.

Dr. Davis describes what led him to take this fascinating journey…

“My various travels to Jordan, Egypt and Israel have brought me into numerous contacts with shepherds and their flocks. On one occasion, having completed archaeological work at ancient Tekoa, I had the privilege of spending a week with a shepherd and his sheep as they made their way from Tekoa eastward to En-Gedi. Mohammad Yaseen had approximately 75 sheep and 30 goats in his flock. We talked one day concerning the responsibilities and the burdens of the shepherd. I told him it was my desire to learn as much as I possibly could about life of a shepherd. His response was surprising and caught me off guard.

“‘Dr. Davis, if you wish to know a shepherd, you shall become one and be with me this next week.’ That statement produced moments of silence and a somewhat blank look on my face. After I gathered my thoughts and remembered that the next seven or eight days would be free, I joyfully responded, ‘I’d be delighted to work with you and learn the ways of the shepherd.’

The days that followed in the wilderness of Judah provided some of the riches experiences of my life and the foundation for new insights into my relationship with the Lord.”

It really is an interesting read, and will turn some of our western misconceptions upside down. Click here to get your copy for only a buck today!