Free Coupon for Great Book: The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus

The Stranger on the Road to Emma'sDo you want to understand the Bible better? It is the best selling book year after year. Explain the Bible clearly to your kids. Understand its meaning for yourself. Or consider learning more, if only, to understand the history of westernized civilization.

The book, The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus by John R. Cross is an excellent resource for fitting all the pieces together in order to see the Bible’s big picture. The author starts at Genesis and explains God’s story as it unfolds throughout history. He shows how Jesus stands at the climax of this story. I highly recommend it for personal growth or family reading.

Here is what Amazon says:

[The Bible has] been called ‘the most misunderstood book in history.’ Wars have been fought in its name, scandals have been precipitated by it, politics shaped and reshaped at its word. Theologians have both defended and reviled it. Skeptics have done the same. If you are a typical member of the human race, you have often been perplexed by all the “fuss” surrounding the Bible. The question remains, “What does it really say?” Here is a book that explains the greatest of Bible themes clearly and logically. Rather than focusing on one part—and missing the whole—the author chronologically binds together the entire text into one great universal drama, looking at events from the perspective of those who experienced history in the making. The results are sometimes comical, sometimes frightening—but always true to the intent of the text. When you are done reading it, you may find yourself believing “the Book” like you never have before. Or you may decide not to. The author’s objective approach leaves that decision up to you. “Even though I had attended church for over 30 years, the Bible never made sense to me. It was just a bunch of disjointed stories. Now the Bible all fits together in a clear, logical manner. It really is incredible.”

This book is worth the cost. If you buy it, all proceeds go to a great cause. However the publisher also offers The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus for free.  Get your coupon code to download a FREE PDF COPY of the book here.

Book Recommendation: Unbroken

I am reading a book by Laura Hillenbrand called Unbroken.  It’s a captivating biography of Louis Zamperini that illustrates the power of hope and the beauty of Christ’s redeeming work.  If you don’t have time to read the book, you can see the movie.  (However, the movie glosses over his journey toward faith in Christ.)

The Amazon book summary:

“In boyhood, Louis Zamperini was an incorrigible delinquent. As a teenager, he channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics. But when World War II began, the athlete became an airman, embarking on a journey that led to a doomed flight on a May afternoon in 1943. When his Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean, against all odds, Zamperini survived, adrift on a foundering life raft. Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will.”

My favorite quote:  [Context: Lost at sea, for weeks, in two small inflatable rafts.]  

“Though all three men faced the same hardship, their differing perceptions of it appeared to be shaping their fates.  Louie and Phil’s hope displaced their fear and inspired them to work toward their survival, and each success renewed their physical and emotional vigor.  Mac’s resignation seemed to paralyze him, and the less he participated in their efforts to survive, the more he slipped.  Though he did the least, as the days passed, it was he who faded the most.  Louie and Phil’s optimism, and Mac’s hopelessness, were becoming self-fulfilling.”  (Chapter 14, Thirst)