The title, If God is Good; Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil, is perfect! There is no fluff in this book. It’s all meat and potatoes. If you want to dig deep into the subject of suffering, this book will quench your thirst. It is scripturally based and Randy Alcorn knows his stuff.

This book is divided into several sections. They include: understanding the difference between evil and suffering, how evil came into the world, case studies, our sin nature, moral standards, limiting God’s attributes, heaven and hell, why evil exists, and how to live a meaningful life in the midst of suffering.

This book challenges the reader to see things from a scriptural basis versus an emotional basis. If I am the one suffering, I will be emotional because I’m the one who is hurting. It made me think of being a parent. God is our perfect Father in Heaven. Yet, He allows suffering in our lives for His reasons. Being able to see it from His perspective is extremely difficult to see. We may or may not accept it. As a parent, I do what I think is best for my son versus what he may want. He doesn’t understand. When he was a baby, they gave him four shots at once. The nurses had to hold him down. He looked at me with his big brown eyes. I still remember the look. The look of how could you do this to me? It hurt both of us. Then I’m reminded how Jesus died on the cross for us. How painful God must have felt that he sacrificed his one and only son for me.

One day, all of our eyes will be opened and then we will understand.

I highly recommend Randy’s book for anyone who wants to dig deep into the Word of God and the difficult subject of good and evil. It would be an excellent resource for Pastors.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher (Multnomah Books). I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Don't Buy The Lie by Mark Matlock

The rest of the book title is ‘Discerning Truth in a World of Deception.’ This book tackles issues such as horoscopes, psychics, vampires, ghosts, and other ideas that can distract our attention from the truth. God’s truth.

Mark loved magic tricks and loved deceiving people through illusions. He was a junior member of the Magic Castle in Southern California at the age of 17. It’s all in fun, right?

The only problem is this continues on today. Psychics claim they can talk to your loved ones who passed on. They are able to get enough information from you to convince you that they really are contacting the dead and have a message for you. Even Hollywood plays into this role. Think about the movie, Ghost. The guy is murdered but hangs back until is girl is safe and then he moves into the light. It’s a great movie. But, it’s not reflective of scripture. Whenever you watch a movie or read a book, you must put it through the discernment filter. Mark suggests this: listen, learn, and compare it to scripture. The only way you will know the truth is by studying God’s word. Otherwise, you are opening yourselves up to deceptions that flood our world today.

Throughout the book, there are survey questions that are asked specifically to the teen crowd. For example, 21% of the teens surveyed believe that Satan is not a real being, but represents the conflict of good and evil (see page 57). That’s a big number!

It’s true that there is a hot debate among even Christians when it comes to watching movies or reading books that involve witchcraft or vampires. If you watch Twilight and it makes you want to be a vampire, research the idea of them and obsess about it, then it is keeping you from following Christ. And no, vampires do not exist so don’t look for them.

The key theme throughout the book is deception. We live in a big world of deceit. People fall for some things that are good but there are lies mixed in that keep them from the truth. Angels are good. But, they are not God. We are to worship God not Angels.

I would recommend the book for teens and youth pastors.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher (Zondervan). I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Premiere by Melody Carlson

Erin and Paige both love cameras. Erin loves to be behind the camera. Paige thrives in front of the camera. Otherwise, they are total opposites. Both get their chance to be in the spotlight when they appear in teen reality show. They use that show to create exposure of their new show.

I loved the characters. They each had their distinctive characteristics. Being in the story of TV Reality was interesting. I realize that this is a work of fiction but I do believe that it’s not too far off the mark. The audience loves to see conflict and drama. The game is figuring out the true friends and enemies. Add a guy and a couple of girls to create frenemies – a person who pretends to be your friend for their own gain.

This book reminded me the Big Brother Reality show. You have characters constantly putting ‘on an act’ for the camera. You really didn’t know who was telling the truth.

There was a faith element that is subtle. I find it interesting that some reviewers are put off when they find out that the Christian faith is part of the plot. It might be helpful for reviewers to do a little bit of research on the publisher before agreeing to read and review a book. With that in mind, the faith aspect is sprinkled throughout because Erin is a Christian and it is part of her character.

This book appeared to be character driven versus plot driven. There was a plot but it felt more like a slice of life. I would recommend this book for ages 10-12.


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255
: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”