As I’ve mentioned a few times now, I’m trying to make it a habit of reading before bed instead of watching Netflix. It’s actually much harder than I thought it was going to be! I just wanted to give credit where credit is due and say that I stole this format of a book review from Leah, who is the queen of reading and book reviews, haha! I am so jealous of how much reading she does. I have included an affiliate link in case you wanted to check this book out for yourself! (Just click the title!)
No Fear by Tony Perkins
Rating: ★★★☆☆
“No Fear draws you inside the stories of young, ordinary believers who, despite incredible opposition, courageously stand up for God’s truth. Tony Perkins pairs each story with a biblical example and gives practical ideas for building a “no fear” perspective every day. Today, followers of Jesus Christ face more opposition to their beliefs than any generation in American history. Yet even in such a hostile cultural and political environment, it is an exciting time to stand firm in the faith. You have been chosen to live in this important hour, and reading these stories will inspire you to the same kind of courage. So what are you waiting for?”*
What I Liked: This book really encouraged me to reevaluate what following Jesus means to me and what God is actually expecting of me. I have always been in the camp of being super respectful of other’s opinions and their beliefs and haven’t been too open about my own in fear of giving them the wrong impression. Since this book gives extreme examples of people standing for their faith in ways that I never would, it’s helping me think again about stepping out in faith without being fearful of other’s response. Of still being respectful, but also still taking that step of faith and sharing my faith.
What I Didn’t Like: I felt like a lot of these stories were way too extreme and weren’t loving at all. To me, sharing your faith is literally explaining the gospel to someone or sharing about how Jesus has affected your life. In this book, the author praises others for defying laws of praying out loud and saying this is an example of following God. In certain examples, this is true, but for the most part, people aren’t going to become Christians because we chose to defy the law and pray out loud. I think by going against the law, you are not honoring God, you are showing others that you care more about what you believe. I am having a really hard time accurately displaying what I didn’t like but a lot of the chapters just didn’t sit right with me.
Favorite Quotes: “The only way to counter the fear of man is with faith in God, which provides the courage and the strength that God requires for His world-changing work.”
“We ultimately decided to go ahead with the Bible verses on the banner, but my real hope was that people would look at what we were doing and see Christ and not people who just want their own way.”
“If the stand we take is motivated by a need to “win” an argument or prevail over those we oppose, we may win the battle but lose in the long run.”
To be honest with you, overall I would not recommend this book. It was not bad, and helped me question whether or not I was choosing fear over faith more times than not, but I just did not enjoy most of the stories or believe that they were what it meant to be a Christian.
“I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for my honest review.”
