Friday, October 11, 2013

Book Review—“GOD IN SLOW MOTION” by Mike Nappa


Good Morning to ALL!

“God In Slow Motion” by Mike Nappa is an excellent book.   It peaked my interest right from the start.   It was sent to me as a complimentary copy by Booksneeze.com or Thomas Nelson Publishing for my honest and open review.  All opinions are of my own. 

I love reading Christian books that I can learn from.  I have a hunger for God that seems to be insatiable.  I just can’t get enough.  I want to learn all there is to know about my Savior, so I read any kind of non-fiction book on this subject I can get my hands on.  Lately, I keep getting books that are almost like “text books” on the subject.  They use HUGE words that I don’t understand and their style of writing is WAY over my head.

God In Slow Motion” is DEFINITELY NOT like that.  I enjoyed it so much!  Instead of reading “fact after fact” or having to spend more time in the dictionary looking up words I didn’t understand, I was actually able to engross myself in Jesus’ life, and learn about Him in an intimate way. 
Mike Nappa took ten very important moments in the ministry of Jesus and wrote about them in a way that had me “actually being right there with Jesus”.  I had to rethink my way of understanding Him.  It was wonderful.

Let me give you an example  The author spoke about “the woman with the issue of blood”.  He reiterated about her ailment and how long she had been going through it.  He talked about how she had spent all she had on doctors, but was unable to be healed.  He went on to speak on her efforts to touch “the hem of Jesus’ garment for her healing.  Yes, we all know the story.  The thing is, Mr. Nappa brought it to life.  He then elaborated as to what else happened.  She not only received her physical healing, but she gained so much more . 

You must remember the customs of those days.  A woman having the her female problems was considered unclean,  contagious and had to be avoided.  It was almost as though she  had a horrible disease.  AFTER Jesus healed this woman,  she gained Restoration, Acceptance, Affection, Compassion, Belonging and LOVE.   In other words, she was made whole again, physically, mentally and spiritually.  What a gift!  I have read this passage in the Bible many, many times, but I will look at it in a different light, a deeper light from now on.  It was more to me than words on a page.

Mr. Nappa takes these ten occurrences in Jesus’ ministry and brings them into todays perspective.  He makes us think about how we look at ourselves.  Just as “John the Baptist was showing a tinge of doubt when he was imprisoned as to whether Jesus was the “ONE”, we too show doubts at times.  We wonder if He is truly the ONE, because He doesn’t rush to our aid when WE think He should.  Just as Jesus told the messenger to go and remind him of the evidence,  the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor ( Matthew 11:4-5).   How can we wonder whether or not it is He?
 
The author reminds us once again that Faith is not hope, and He uses the famous “Charlie Brown character and the ‘great Halloween Pumpkin’ story.  Linus was really confused between Christmas and Halloween.  He thought that “the great pumpkin” would rise up and bring toys to all the kids.  Of course Charlie tried to explain, but Linus’ faith in his belief couldn’t be shaken, so Charlie just decided to let Linus believe the way he wanted to .  Of course when Halloween came, Linus was very disappointed.

 Many of us Christians confuse ourselves between faith and hope.  We assure ourselves with all sincerity that God will suddenly show up when we need Him with lots of miracles, just for our specific needs, ready to grant our every wish.  This kind of thinking can be DISASTEROUS.    This mix-up kind of thinking changes the “application of faith in life .  Instead of saying “I KNOW this is true, and therefore will act on that truth”, it causes us to say “I hope this is true and therefore I will gamble that my sincere hope will CONVINCE God to grant my request.  This kind of thinking hurts God And Us.    Our faith needs to be rooted in GOD, not in what He can do for our circumstances.  If our complete faith is in HIM and Him alone, the rest will come.
 
These are just two of the ten occurrences that Mike Nappa talks about and he really turned my head around to look deeper into Jesus’ ministry and how these occurrences really relate to us NOW. 
This is an amazing book, and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone.  He writes in such a way that you don’t have to have a college degree to understand what he is conveying.  The reader can automatically tell that what he is saying comes from his heart.  I truly believe that God had His hand in the writing of this book. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Mike Nappa holds a master's degree in English and a bachelor's degree in Christian education, with emphasis in Bible theology.  Most of all, Mike loves Jesus, and he figures that covers over a multitude of sins.  Learn more at www. MikeNappa.com. 

I felt I needed to include this because of so many other books I have read. Just because someone has a Master's Degree, or a PH.D from college doesn't mean when they write they have to "prove" to everyone that they are intelligent by using words the majority of people don't understand or a style of writing that is so complex that it takes another PH.D to understand what they are trying to say. 

Thank you Mr. Nappa for writing this book in a way that everyone from the most uneducated to the highest college degree can learn.  I sincerely believe that Jesus is giving you a "high five" from heaven!

Have a Wonderful day and May God Bless!

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2 comments:

Ceil said...

Hi PJ! How fun to find your blog today!

I love that Scripture about the woman who was healed. I worked in an OB/GYNE office for many years, so my heart is for women who suffer. And it's so great to read a book that is understandable!

So nice to meet you here. You have a very active and attractive blog!
Blessings :)
Ceil

Anonymous said...

HI Pj,


The book sounds very interesting. Thanks for the review.

I appreciate your book reviews, they really help to suggest books I might be interested in and also which ones I shouldn't waste my money on! Lord bless you my friend.


Glad to hear from you. How is everything going for you guys? I trust you continue to be blessed!


Enjoy your fall season.