Made For His Pleasure by Alistair Beggs

It wasn't until after I read the book I discovered it wasn't a current writing...it was written 20 years ago!  But you won't know that while reading it.  The culture described in the book is even more accurate as a description of today's "self"-minded society than it was then!  Alistair Begg challenges his readers to examine themselves and ensure that they are walking a true life in the Spirit.  He parallels our spiritual health with a physical check-up.  He compares marriage to a lengthy flight in an airliner.  His description of "sacrifice" flies in the face of a society that no longer knows the meaning of the word.  The book is a contrast between living in this world but choosing to live for the world to come.  

As a longtime believer and ardent follower of Christ and the message of God's Word, I could not put this book down.  I will be reading it again...and probably again.  Because it is full of Scriptures...full of foundational truths...full of excellent references to philosophical writings from centuries past...my spiritual appetite has been both sated and whetted, and is anticipating a continued adventure of pleasing the Lord for His glory!

Review shared on Amazon.com by Lauren Law

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I recently joined Moody Press as a reviewer of their materials, and what a pleasure that this was my first venture into the process.  I can blog a lot longer than the review I shared on Amazon and I want to tell you some of the parts of this book that captured more of my attention than others.

Not only is Allistair an excellent pastor (I've often heard his sermons in the afternoons on the Family Life Network), he has special skills as a story-teller and writer.  Beggs had my heart swelling with his tearful remembrance of his son's first soccer goal, and the special pleasure he took from that experience.  He related his story to the call of the Scriptures for us to bring pleasure to our Father.  My eyes filled with tears in his chapter about sacrifice as he shared the story of a young woman who knew better than any other that total sacrifice is sometimes called for in service to God.  She was more than willing to give her all to make sure the children of another nation knew the love of Jesus.  Beggs points out the difficulty for finding self-sacrificing servers in a "selfie" society.

Beggs takes us on an airline flight through the journey we know as marriage.  I was fascinated at his ability to use the different parts of the plane and the flight crew in the picture of marriage.  He offers excellent tips for working on the difficult parts of marriage.

I also enjoyed his take on having a "spiritual checkup" and comparing it step-by-step to a "physical check up".  Again, tips are profuse in caring that we are growing steadily in a strong relationship with our Father.

Beggs paints easy-to-see pictures with his words, almost like telling parables to help people understand theories that might be difficult.  The book will remain available on my bookshelf as a reference tool for years to come.  It's timely material that passes the "age" test ... which means it will be a great future resource.  I look forward to reading more by this author who brings his personality, his love for Jesus and his ability to make "doing Jesus" practical.  I highly recommend this book both for the new believer or for the mature Christian looking for a new path to explore on the journey of pleasing God and bring glory to His Name!