3 out of 4 stars
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Have you ever been through a difficult time in your life? Have you questioned what God is doing? Have you wondered if you will make it to the other side of the trial? If so, you might want to look at the Christian devotional The Other Side: What is the Point of Holding On by Seth Ramey. Mr. Ramey encourages those struggling with the trials of life to cling to God through the storm.
There are two sections in this book. In the first section, Mr. Ramey discusses Matthew 14 where the disciples are in a boat in the middle of a storm. Jesus is by himself praying. When he finally comes to the disciples (walking on water), they don't even recognize him. Peter is bold enough to ask Jesus to walk on the water towards him. The author expounds on this passage using parallels from his own life and showing how this relates to the life of all Christ's followers.
In the second section, the author discusses the Israelites in the Old Testament portion of the Bible. He discusses their flight from Egypt, wandering in the wilderness, crossing the Jordan and finally the battle of Jericho. A parallel is once again made to all believers as they face their own wildernesses and battles.
As a Christian myself, I have had my own share of trials and tribulations. While nothing in this book was new to me, it was an encouragement to know that I was not alone. The author shares some of his own struggles which I believe would be encouraging to any that are facing tough situations. The passages of the Bible used were also very appropriate for the storms of life. The author's treatment of these passages is very Biblical and, even if not new, nice to be reminded of.
The formatting of the book is good as I found no weird fonts or indentations where not needed. However, there were a few grammatical errors sprinkled here and there. These mostly consisted of a missing word or a comma where there shouldn't be one. The biggest problem that I found, though, was at the end of chapter 3. The author refers back to questions at the end of chapter 1; unfortunately, there were no questions at the end of chapter 1. I looked back, but I couldn't figure out what questions he was referring to. This was mildly disappointing, but it didn't really detract much from the content of the book.
I enjoyed the message of this book. I believe that it would be very encouraging not only to those who are presently going through trials but also to those who have been through them. Due to the errors mentioned above, though, I can only give The Other Side:What is the Point of Holding On 3 out of 4 stars. I would encourage Christians or those who are open to God to read this book as it makes a great devotional.
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The Other side:
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