Saturday, February 6, 2010

Book Review - And the Word Came with Power

Summary
"God, show yourself stronger than the spirits!"

This is what Joanne Shetler, a missionary to the Balangao tribe in the Philippines, had prayed for years. She was translating the Bible into the Balangao language, but the people just weren't getting it! The spirits had too much control on the people's lives. They always knew when they had angered a spirit because someone in their family would get sick. The only way to keep them from dying was to sacrifice one of their animals to the spirits. The people wanted to believe in God, but what would happen if they stopped sacrificing?

What I Learned
And the Word Came with Power is the touching story of how God changed a people forever. I have really gained a lot from this book. Because we don't usually deal with confrontations of evil spirits, I often forget how real they are and that there's a constant spiritual battle going on. This book shows that spirits really do have power--but it's nothing compared to God's!

Each chapter of this book is filled with miracles of God! When someone mentions "miracles," I usually think of the New Testament miracles of Jesus and the apostles. But this book was an awesome reminder that miracles still happen today--and the BIG, supernatural miracles too!

The Word of God is POWERFUL. That's something I too often forget. Joanne Shetler has an amazing testimony of how the Bible works wonders and changes lives.

What I Love
I love the way that Joanne describes the great work God did in the Balangaos lives. Many people might relay it as God working through them. But in her book, Joanne gives the idea that she's just obeying and following God, but HE'S doing all the work!

The summary on the back of the book has this sentence, "Be careful when you read her book, you might catch the vision, too." And it's true! This is an exciting and inspiring story! I would encourage you all to read it! I loved it all!

In Conclusion
This book is a quick, easy read, but packed-full with lessons and spiritual truths. It's a great story for all ages, to be read aloud, or alone! I would recommend this book to all of you! You'll be inspired and encouraged through this true story of God's mighty power!


6 comments:

  1. Great review, Chloe!! I love this book! ...True missionary stories are my favorite kind of reads!! :)

    Blessings,
    ~Taylor

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  2. never heard of it but i do like missionary stories!!! nice post! hugs

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  3. Also... I just awarded you over at my blog!! :)

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  4. I actually just read it for the first time! i really do love this book! my sister asked me to read it before we leave for the Philippines (in 2 weeks) it is funny because my sister is a full time missionary in the Philippines and lives with the Filipinos. she frequently hikes 3 hours into an unreached village in Northern Luzon, and i am going to be able to do that too!

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  5. Charlotte,

    Thank you for your comment!

    This is definitely one of the best books I've ever read! And how exciting that you get to go to the Philippines!! It will make the whole book come alive! I pray that you will have a blessed and profitable trip!

    ~Chloe

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