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Thoughts on the Christian life in a fallen world

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

All the Places To Go - John Ortberg

How will you know? God has placed before you and open door. What will you do? I have enjoyed the authors previous books, his humor and personal stories, and was anxious to read this one. The concept and cover are based on Dr. Seuss book "Oh the Places You'll go."  Any author who is able to include quotes by Dr. Seuss and Victor Frankl in the same chapter has my vote. His chapter titles include Open-Door people and Closed-Door people, and how to tell the difference. No more FOMO, which in this Facebook driven era stands for Fear Of Missing Out. He describes common myth about doors, the Jonah complex and Thank God for closed doors.  A few quotes seemed to stand out to me include on page 24, "Closed-Door thinking may disguise itself as prudence or common sense, but it's really a refusal to trust God because of fear." and "God can use me in spite of my imperfections." on page 46.  Some may think it strange to include a Chapter titled, Thank God for closed doors, but it may be the most important one. The doors that God has closed, in His sovereignty, that we may or may not ever understand, that led to what God really wanted for us. He sums up the book on the back cover, "Rarely does God command someone to "stay." Whether you study the life of Abraham in the Old Testament or the Great Commission to "go into all the world," God is commanding people to go, and walk through that open door. There is a creative about the the author section on the back flap that states, All the places he's gone, all the books he's written, all the children he's had, and all the places you can follow him. He is currently pastor at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in Menlo Park, CA, and can be followed on facebook, twitter and www,johnortberg.com.
I have received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for this review.
Published by Tyndale publishing.