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| Photo courtesy of P&R Publishing website |
The Blurb
Do you feel discouraged, even
defeated, in your battle against habitual sin? Are you dismayed or surprised by
the situations that bring out your fear, anger, or distress? Elyse Fitzpatrick
delves into the heart of the problem: deep down, we're all idol-worshippers who
put our loves, desires, and expectations in God's place—and then suffer the
consequences of our misplaced affections. Yet God loves his people and can use
even our messy lives and struggles for his glory. Fitzpatrick shows us how to
better search and know our hearts, long for our gracious Savior, and resist and
crush our false gods. Includes questions for further thought. Revised edition
of the one published in 2002.
My Review
I've read a few of Elyse
Fitzpatrick's books now (and featured them on ACW) and when I saw that she was updating one I had NOT
previously read I willingly volunteered to read an Advance Reader's Copy (ARC)
of the new version.
Idolatry continues to be a key
challenge for believers. Anything that limits our love for God is an idol and
from her years counseling people and in her own life Fitzpatrick is able to see
how idols can take root in our hearts and weave their way through our everyday
thoughts and actions.
For many of us we are aware of idols
in our life but we can tend to either downplay their significance or attempt to
kill them off ourselves. With tremendous Biblical teaching Fitzpatrick outlines
how critical it is to be dealing with our idols but also letting the Holy
Spirit manage the process.
What I particularly appreciated about
this book is how practical it is. Fitzpatrick provides a step-by-step process
for identifying potential idols in your life and provides herself as an example
to demonstrate the process. Further, she outlines how to deal with them via
prayer, repentance, and practical obedience.
For many of us we believe we can kill
sin in our life through willpower or self-discipline and in the excellent
Chapter 9, Fitzpatrick explains that fundamentally habitual sin is a heart
problem. Our desires are fallen. The enemy who prowls around us all day every
day uses those desires to tempt us to sin. Hence, we can only kill off sin by
the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was able to fend off Satan in the
wilderness because from the very beginning of His life His desire was always to
please the Father.
The book ends with a powerful Chapter
on deepening our love and reverence for God. Like Jesus, if our desires are
increasingly refocused to pleasing the Father dealing with temptations when
they strike will get easier.
I highly recommend this book. Each
chapter ends with "Further Thought Questions" which help you digest
the content and apply it to yourself. In addition, the publisher provides a
study guide (PDF) on their website which I'm planning to use when I give the
book a second reading.
Ian Acheson is an author and strategy consultant based in Northern Sydney. Ian's first novel of speculative fiction, Angelguard, is available in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Angelguard received the 2014 Selah Award for Speculative Fiction. You can find more about Angelguard at Ian's website, on his author Facebook page and Twitter
Sample downloaded . . .
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review, Ian. I'm not a big non-fiction reader, but I always find your reviews add another book to that endless to-read pile.
As I mentioned, Iola, I do appreciate Elyse's work. If you only read a little non-fiction I'd encourage you to explore her material. Elyse has such a beautiful way of explaining grace when dealing with our sin and messiness. Perhaps start with one of her 30 day devotionals to get a flavour.
DeleteThanks for that review Ian. Definitely sounds like one to read.
ReplyDeleteHi Dale, it sure is a good one. I about to dive in for the second time and do the study guide as well.
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