Be Satisfied by Warren Wiersbe

Whenever the book of Ecclesiastes comes up in my Bible reading cycle, I take a deep breath and prepare myself for a dismal few days at the hands of an embittered king. Now, thanks to Warren Wiersbe's commentary, Be Satisfied, I love Ecclesiastes.

Baptist Pastor Wiersbe has been pastoring, speaking and writing for sixty-five years and is best known for his "BE" series on every book of the Bible; he has the gift of being literate and theologically sound while at the same time being clear and accessible.

I appreciated how he treated the book in the context of the whole Bible. He combines Solomon's perspective from the book of Proverbs with his "changed" perspective in Ecclesiastes, along with a rich dose of New Testament passages to help readers grapple with how to find satisfaction in a world of troubles and discontentment.

The famous phrase, "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die" is nowhere in Ecclesiastes unless you interpret the book (as I used to) as a diatribe against life. Wiersbe points out that the "Eat, drink, and be merry" phrase is actually, "Eat, drink and be merry, for every good thing comes from God's hand." (Some form of that phrase appears six times in the book.) He asserts that Solomon found no lasting pleasure in his power, riches and wives, but learned that true enjoyment came from accepting life's simple joys as gifts of a loving Father. Wiersbe concludes, We will be satisfied to the extent that we see everything we have as a gift from God.

It is not enough to possess things; we must also possess the kind of character that enables us to use things wisely and to enjoy them properly. (p 46)

In addition to biblical insights, I loved all the literary allusions and the explanations of certain Hebrew words (including puns that are not evident in the English.) Sometimes I felt that he forced an applications onto the text, but I have been guilty of that myself on occasion.

With world news the way it's been lately, it was interesting to read these Bible passages about a man who found that life "under the sun" didn't seem worth living. It's too easy for me to become discouraged with disastrous events, the loss of freedoms that American Christians are facing, etc. How can we find hope and joy in the midst of it all? Not only was I encouraged by the book of Ecclesiastes, but I also appreciated this post by Joy Clarkson called "Sensible and Human Things."

Whenever Wiersbe's books are free, I post a link on my Worthwhile Books Facebook page, so be sure to check there for upcoming deals.

Cozy Mystery Challenge

I didn't hear about this Cozy Mystery reading challenge till today, so I'm 7 months behind. Still, I am pretty sure I can reach level two by the end of the year because I've already read a few mysteries this year and have a few more on my TBR shelf.

You can sign up for "Cruisin' through the Cozies" here:

Here are the rules...

1. Choose the level you wish to participate:

Level 1 - Snoop - Read at least 6 books
Level 2 - Investigator - Read 7-12 books
Level 3 - Super Sleuth - Read 13-20 books
Level 4 - Sleuth Extraordinaire - Read 21 or more books

2. The challenge runs from January 1, 2016 and ends December 31, 2016.

3. You don't have to choose your books in advance. If you do, you can change your list at any time during the year. Books can overlap with other challenges.

4. Books can be in any format - paper, audio, ebooks...it all counts!

5. You don't have to post a review, but I'm sure others would love to know about the books you are reading and may even want to add it to their reading lists.

NOTE: If you don't have a blog and want to participate, that's fine. You don't have to have a blog, just post in the comments section as you finish books. If you belong to a site like Goodreads and review the books there, that's fine too. Just leave us the link.  I also have a group for this challenge on Goodreads and you can sign up by clicking here.
Have fun! Yvonne

(There are two separate places to add links on Yvonne's web page. First comes the link to your intended book list, and below that a link to each book review.)

 I plan to read at least 8 of these titles in 2016:

They Found Him Dead by Georgette Heyer (free for Kindle unlimited)
The Corpse of St. James's by J.M. Damms
The Thirty-Nine Steps by Buchan (free on Kindle)
Without a Trace by Colleen Coble
The Singing Sands by Josephine Tey
Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey                                                
Arsène Lupine versus Herlock Sholmes - Maurice Leblanc
Sidney Chambers and the Peril of the Night by Runcie    
Rules of Murder by Deering (free for a limited time)
Laws of Murder by Charles Finch
Murder Underground by Hay (free on Kindle unlimited)
Rasberry Jam - Carolyn Wells (free for Kindle)
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold - Le Carré

The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan

A novel that keeps being made into a movie clearly has captured popular imagination. The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan was filmed in 1935, 1959, 1978, and 2008. And according to IMDb it's scheduled for another remake in 2018.

This first book in the Richard Hannay series was published in 1915 and recounts the adventures of 37-year old Hannay on the eve of WWI. It has implausible twists, yet the hero is so endearing and earnest that you root for him from start to finish.

Chapter One opens with these droll comments: I returned from the city about three o'clock on that May afternoon pretty well disgusted with life. I had been three months in the old country and was fed up. If anyone had told me a year ago that I would feel like that I should have laughed at him. But there was the fact. The weather made me liverish. The talk of the ordinary Englishman made me sick. I couldn't get enough exercise and the amusements of London seemed as flat as soda water that has been standing in the sun.

The suspense mixed with British understatements had me chuckling with glee throughout. When Hannay discovers a murdered man in his apartment, he says, I had seen men die violently before. Indeed, I had killed a few myself in the war. But this cold-blooded indoor business was different.

And from Chapter Five: His name was Marmaduke Joppley and he was an offense to creation. He was a sort of blood stock broker who did his business by toadying elder sons and rich young peers and foolish old ladies. Marmy was a familiar figure at balls and polo weeks in country houses. He was an adroit scandal monger and would crawl a mile on his belly to anything that had a title or a million. . . . The snobbery of the creature turned me sick. I asked a man afterwards why no one kicked him out and was told that "English men reverence the weaker sex."

Stella Rimington, former head of MI5, Britain's Secret Service, wrote a fine article on why Buchan's books retain their popularity. I've included a few of her key points below.

[His books] have been compared to the James Bond books, and they certainly include plenty of expensive cars and other magnificent machines. . . . But Bond is a paid killer and a womanizer; patriotism does not obviously feature in his make-up. Richard Hannay is, above all, a patriotic, public-spirited gentleman, and that fact is key to Buchan’s purpose in writing the books and reflects his own social and political philosophy.
 
Against those nightmarish possibilities [of anarchy, enemy invasion, etc.], Buchan champions the things he thinks best in British civilization – education, gentlemanly and ladylike conduct, honesty, an adventurous questing, a self-sacrificing spirit and plenty of fresh air, long walks and cold baths. Could it be that these unfashionable virtues are what accounts for his enduring appeal?

This is a rollicking good tale mixed with wonderful "unfashionable virtues" and a large dose of good humor. There are free e-copies all over the internet, but I particularly enjoyed the Audible.com version by David Thorn for $4.95.

Of the movie adaptations, the best was done by Alfred Hitchcock (although it includes a female who is nowhere in the book.) This 1935 version is in the public domain and can be watched on YouTube.

The Blood of Christ by Andrew Murray

I read The Blood of Christ in preparation for Lent, but rather than being a morbid journey through Christ's pain, the book was a source of joy and unceasing delight as I pondered the precious gift of His blood.

As a teacher of the Old Testament I have understood the need for blood sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins but never gave much thought to the cleansing aspect of the law. I figured that the clean/unclean regulations were pretty much from "olden times" and had expired with the cross. But Murray's observations brought me up short. First, I never thought about the implications of someone touching a dead body and the fact that they would be unclean for seven days. I never stopped to think what that said about death. Murray writes, Death, as punishment for sin, made everyone who came in association with it unclean. Death was so repugnant to God, so outside of His plan, that someone could not even touch a corpse without becoming contaminated. Living in the post-cross era, I had forgotten how horrible death is. It was the chief result of sin.

Second, Murray talks about the need not just for forgiveness (the blood on the altar) a work done FOR us, but that there must be a work done IN us, which the cleansing laws clearly reveal. Clear statements such as this, God's objective is to abolish sin in our lives, were astounding. It should not be a distant hope but a present reality. The unbroken fellowship that God desires with each one of us is a real possibility because of Christ's work on the Cross. Sanctification was the great object of the suffering of Christ.

Another astonishing fact that Murray brings out is that Christ suffered the horrors of the cross because of his love for ME! Not just out of obedience, or love for the Father, but FOR ME! To think that Jesus loved ME so much that he gave himself willingly, has been a thought that has blessed me anew. The Cross is the full revelation of true love...The Cross tells us that He loved us so much that this love surmounted every difficulty - the curse of sin, the hostility of man, the wrath of God....What we need is a proper view of Jesus and of His all-conquering eternal love.

One final point that blessed me: Murray writes that with His blood Christ purchased every man from every tribe, language people and nation. Thus we must take Him to the nations because the power of the blood has far-reaching effects on the world. That blood gives us the courage we need to enter enemy territory and also the love needed to go and take the Good news to others.

This has been a life-changing book for me. It has renewed my faith, my heart and my love for the Savior who has done so much for me.

(Guest post from my sister, Grace Ensz, fellow missionary, Christ-follower and book lover.)

Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace

Lately I’ve been looking to Christian fiction for light, quick reading, but surgery without anesthesia would have been less tortuous than the contrived plots, poorly developed characters, wooden dialogue and  tacked-on Christian platitudes found there.

So, after looking for love in all the wrong places, I picked up the children’s classic, Betsy-Tacy, and breathed a sigh of relief. This is the first in a series of books about two little girls living in Minnesota at the turn of the 20th century. Tacy (short for Anastacia) and Betsy are five when they meet and soon become inseparable; each chapter is a vignette of their imaginative adventures.

The stories are sweet in a way that you won't find in most modern children's lit, but they are not syrupy since the children experience the real-life trials. In the midst of these challenges Betsy and Tacy and their families demonstrate patience, kindness, faith, and friendship.

Chapter 8, "Easter," was my favorite because of the natural, tender way in which death and resurrection are discussed by the girls. After Tacy’s baby sister dies, the two walk and talk together early in the morning. Their conversation is clearly a mixture of things they've heard from their parents and their own childish understanding of heaven. 

They went up the Big Hill until they found a tree with branches low enough to reach, and they climbed that and sat there. Somewhere a bird was singing a little up and down song. They couldn’t see him but they could hear him. His busy up and down song was the only sound in the world. Hill Street was still sleeping, but the color in the sky was spreading. Gold sticks in the shape of a fan were sticking up over the hill.

            After a while Tacy said, “It smelled like Easter in the church. Baby Bee looked awful pretty. She had candles all around her.
            “Did she?” asked Betsy.
            “But my mamma felt awful bad,” said Tacy.
             Betsy said nothing.
             Of course, said Tacy,” you know that Bee has gone to heaven.”
             “Oh, of course,” said Betsy.
             But Tacy’s lip was shaking. That made Betsy feel queer. So she said quickly, “Heaven’s awful nice.”
            “Is it?” asked Tacy, looking toward her. Her eyes were big and full of trouble.
            “Yes,” said Betsy. “It’s like that sunrise. In fact,” she added, “that is heaven. We can’t see it during the day, but early in the morning they let us have a peek.”
            “It’s pretty,” said Tacy staring.
            “Those gold sticks you see, those are candles,” said Betsy. “There’s a gold-colored light all the time. And there are harps to play on; they’re something like pianos. But you don’t need to take any lessons. You just know how to play. Bee’s having a good time up there,” said Betsy, looking up at the sky.

The Betsy-Tacy books would make wonderful read-alouds for little girls. They are a calmer version of the Anne of Green Gables’ books. The subtle messages of family, friendship, and imaginative play along with light-hearted, well-written prose make them a treat.

I've only read one other Betsy-Tacy book, Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown, but I hope to read all the others in the series someday. Delightful.