Book Review: Guarding Your Heart

A.W. Pink's Guarding Your Heart is based on Proverbs 4:23:  "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life".  This book is devoted to explaining this verse in detail and providing useful application for everyday life.  As Pink rightly states, "All outward actions are worthless while our hearts be not right with God". Throughout this book, he builds on this truth and seeks to show believers both the importance of having a heart right with God and the diligence it takes on our part to make that happen.  He does not forsake the work of the Holy Spirit in this endeavor, but the focus of this book is on the directive given in Proverbs 4:23.

 

Pink devotes his first chapter to the phrase "keep thy heart".  He offers both definitions and examples before transitioning to the next chapter, "diligent effort".  Here he emphasizes both man's responsibility to keep his heart and his helplessness in and of himself to do so.  My favorite quote in this short book is the prayer that follows:  "Lord, Thou requirest me to keep my heart with all diligence, and I feel utterly incompetent for such a task; such a work lies altogether beyond my poor feeble powers; therefore, I humbly ask Thee in the name of Christ to graciously grant unto me supernatural strength to do as Thou hast bidden me.  Lord, work in me both to will and to do of Thy good pleasure."  

Pink's third chapter focuses on the fact that the Lord looks on the heart.  He exhorts believers to remember this truth when deciding how to spend their time, money, and care.  This chapter concludes with a list of the heart-characteristics Christian ought to have, including Scripture references for further study.

The fourth and fifth chapters focus on practical applications.  Chapter four discusses keeping the heart during different seasons, including prosperity, adversity, public danger, trouble in the church, injuries and abuses, spiritual gloom, and critical illness.  Chapter five addresses "other issues".  Both of these chapters are again full of Scripture and prod the reader to examine his own heart.

In his final chapter, Pink discusses the benefits of keeping the heart.  He offers a conclusion of encouragement to those who faithfully and closely perform this hard work of keeping their heart.  

I chose this book by A.W. Pink for two different reasons.  First, the topic.  Proverbs 4:23 is a verse that confused me during adolescence and young adulthood.  I would hear peers quote "guard your heart" in reference to relationships with the opposite sex.  "Don't give your heart away too soon or to the wrong guy" was what they meant.  While this is wise counsel, I was convinced the verse meant much more than that.  

The second reason I chose this book was because my favorite Bible study author mentioned that A.W. Pink is her favorite theologian. A.W. Pink is new to me, but I can see why my author thinks so highly of him. His writing is easy to follow, but deep with personal application.  This book may only take about an hour to read, but the practical implications need to be mulled over and digested for days, weeks, and months to come.

I look forward to reading more by Pink and intend on coming back to this book for further study in the future.

Rachel's Rating:

★★★★★

Book Review: No Little Women

I first heard about Aimee Byrd's No Little Women a few years ago, and I quickly downloaded an e-version of the book. For various reasons, I never did finish reading it.  I always wanted to though, so I chose this book as the second for my 2019 reading.

Byrd begins her book by pinpointing the problem of "little women" in the church.  This phrase refers to 2 Timothy 3:6-7, where Paul warns of false teachers "who creep into households and capture weak (little) women".  Byrd warns that, "in many cases, women's ministry becomes a back door for bad doctrine to seep into the church".  She asserts that women need to have good theology.  However, as Byrd points out, so many devotionals targeted at women slyly distort the truth.

How does one solve this problem and avoid becoming one of the "little women" mentioned in 2 Timothy?  Byrd encourages women to develop discernment.  "Do the hard work of learning his Word and becoming so familiar with it, through time and study in it, that we know him and his character well".  Then, we will be able to discern whether what we are reading is consistent with Scripture.  Byrd encourages women to read more, read well, and read from trusted sources.  "A vital skill for becoming a competent woman is learning how to read well.  We need to be alert and equipped, because Christian bookstores don't have genre labels like 'fluff' and 'I may look like I have my life together more than you, but I'm about to wreck your theology'."

I loved this part of Byrd's book.  I agree with her assessment of women's devotionals and her cry for discernment.  As a woman who is currently involved in choosing and leading women's Bible studies, I take this very seriously.  What our church group studies must be consistent with the beliefs taught in our church.

Along with Byrd's encouragement, she also lists some examples of writings that are not doctrinally sound.  While I agree with the majority of her assessments, I did feel there were times she focused too much on the specific wording of an author rather than his intent. 

The remainder of Byrd's book addresses the role of women in the church, how pastors and church leaders can encourage women to develop good doctrine, and gives examples to practice discernment skills.

Overall, I really appreciated Byrd's book.  There is a lot to glean from her writing, and I would recommend it especially to women involved in women's ministries, and to men who are leaders of the church.

Rachel's Rating:

★★★★☆



 

Book Review: None Like Him

One of my goals for 2019 was to read one book a month.  Fiction has always been easy for me to read.  I can fly through a fiction book in a long evening, forsaking all responsibilities in the meantime.  Non-fiction seems to be a different story.  I get lost, become uninterested, or just plain fall asleep.  To help overcome this, I am choosing to focus on non-fiction for the bulk of my 12 books this year.

First on my list of books to read in 2019 was Jen Wilkin's None Like Him: 10 Ways God is Different From Us (and why that's a good thing).

The opening line of Wilkin's book drew me in and made me feel as though she and I could be good friends.  She does an excellent job of sprinkling personal anecdotes throughout this theologically-rich book.  True to the title, Wilkin clearly conveys why it is a good thing that God is different from us.  She does this in a way that is practical and applicable.  Each of the ten chapters of this book begins by defining and explaining an attribute of God.  This is followed by examples of how we cannot attain these attributes, were never intended to, and how it is truly a good thing we cannot.

I loved everything about this book.  The content was deep, though easy to read.  I had many "ah-ha" moments as I read, as well as some conviction on areas where my thinking and actions have not been correct.  Overall, I found her book to be very challenging and encouraging, and I am excited to read more by this author in the future!  This is definitely a book I would recommend to others.

Rachel's Rating:
★★★★★