Book review of Divine Intervention

My wife found this book review on my book, Divine Intervention: 

Reviewed by Julie A. Davis (Gilbert, AZ), December 05, 2008

This is a biblical resource for families or friends of addicts with all types of addictions in mind. The author plainly counsels from the bible calling all involved to accountability before God in their response to the addicted friend or family member. This book calls us to look at our own hearts and confront the idolatry that we are involved in. This is hard on first glance, but I suggest that one search the truth out biblically that the author presents in this book.

I continue to hear really good things from people who have read this book so I’m encouraged by it because the purpose of the book is to help families deal with addicts effectively to the glory of God!

-Mark (always thankful to read positive reviews and learning to be thankful for the negative reviews, too!)

Imagine being given a ONE MILLION dollar check!

True Story:

My brother-in-law in California is the CEO of 30 charter schools. He’s a GREAT guy and almost as gifted and as kind as my wife! He was on Oprah last week.

Well, he and six other charter school organizations got a $1 million check from Oprah’s Angel foundation for his charter schools organization that he runs, and they didn’t give him a chance to speak, but he was pretty shocked and thankful. I can’t imagine being given a check for a million dollars for Truth in Love (though I’ve tried!).

Anyway, I love my brother-in-law and really all of my wife’s family. She has a great family! I am truly blessed.

-Mark (God owns the cattle on a thousand hills!)

Does Lindsay Lohan have a disease of addiction?

We need to pray for Ms. Lohan to find Christ. What does she need more: “recovery” from drugs in this life OR eternal life through Christ in the next life? For Christians, the answer is obvious because we believe in the afterlife of living in new bodies with our souls either in heaven or in hell.

I heard that Lindsay Lohan is using language now that she has a “disease” of a drug addiction. The reporters on tv applauded her recognition of the problem because she is no longer denying it. But she just failed another drug test so admitting the problem is not enough. She needs the power of Christ.

There is no such thing as willpower or “self-help.” We all need the power of Christ and His forgiveness for our sins. I am much in need of both…as is Ms. Lohan. So, while I am glad she went to a 28 day program, I wish she had heard the truth: that “addiction” is really a sin called “idolatry” for which we can be forgiven and transformed by the power of Christ when we surrender our lives to Him.

-Mark (praying for addicts everywhere to hear the truth about addictions)

New book finally out: Addiction-Proof Parenting by M. Shaw

The book is finally here! I am so excited about this new book because it will be a very useful tool to so many parents! I wrote the book in the summer of 2009 so I’ve learned patience through all of the waiting!

This is a prevention book that teaches parents what they CAN do and MUST do to teach their children to serve the Lord and not themselves (which is the epitome of an addiction, living to please oneself). It’s a must-read for all parents!

I plan to do some workshops, retreats, and teachings in churches on this particular subject because it is so important to our community. I even plan to do a book signing, also, which should tell you how vital I believe this topic is today (since I dread those things).

With 2 million admissions into treatment programs for alcohol and other drugs EACH year, it is imperative that we get a handle on this problem as a culture. Also, the highest percentage of addicts is in the age range of 18-25 years old. Addiction is a BIG problem!

I’m grateful to Dr. Tedd Tripp, author of Shepherding a Child’s Heart, for his endorsement of the book calling it a “great book.” I am truly humbled at God’s grace.

Also, Dr. Howard Eyrich and Randy Patten, President of NANC, have endorsed the book for which I am grateful. The most important endorsement, of course, is the Lord’s and I pray that He is well-pleased. I believe He is.

I just want to honor the Lord and to help hurting souls! I praise God for His grace in allowing me to do just that through TLC, TIL, and writing these books.

-Mark (awed by His amazing grace)

Heaven and Hell (part 2)

Heaven is a reality, but it is an exclusive place for redeemed sinners to be eternally with God forever. Oh, how He loves us!

Do you live in light of eternity and the reality of heaven?

If you are a believer, you should. It’s your home – not this fallen, broken, sin-cursed world.

Personally, I long for heaven because I want to be with God and I want to be absent from my own sin and temptations. Think about having a glorified, perfect body without sin! Oh, how He loves us!

Think about being with God forever in eternal bliss! Oh, how He loves us! This ought to make us walk with a skip in our step!

-Mark (asking God to keep my eyes looking heavenward!)

Heaven and Hell (part 1)

Hell is a real place. It is a place we don’t like to think about because Jesus described it as a place of eternal punishment (Matt. 25:46) and a place where there will be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 24:51).

We can’t imagine hell away. We can’t deny its reality. It is a terrible place. When we say something is “hell on earth,” we are really minimizing what hell is really all about.

Let’s spread the Gospel of truth in love so that more people can avoid hell! I shudder to think about lost souls going to this destination and being cast into it for all of eternity. Do you live in light of eternity?

Now, in this life, you have time to do something about hell, but for those who go to hell, there is no repentance. It is not a place designed for repentance. It’s a place designed to give unrepentant, unwilling, and unbelieving sinners an eternal destination that matches their hearts.

The reality of hell should compel us to share the Gospel with the lost.

-Mark (sad to think that hell WAS my destination before Christ saved me)

National Recovery Month

September is National Recovery Month to draw more attention to “recovery” from addictions. While “recovery” is a good word, God wants more for His children than recovery. He uses the word “transformation” in the Bible found in Romans 12:2 and 2 Corinthians 3:18. “Transformation” in those verses comes from the Greek word where we derive the word, “metamorphosis.”

The best picture of a metamorphosis is found in God’s nature: when a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. That conversion is exactly what we are talking about when someone becomes a Christian and begins to be transformed by the Holy Spirit to become more like Jesus Christ.

Recovery has the idea of being what I once was. For example, after my neck surgery, I wanted to be in the recovery room and I wanted to recover by getting back to normal. Well, for Christians, I think most of you understand that we don’t need to go back to who we once were – we need to be changed into His image: into the image of Christ. We are new creations in Christ Jesus (II Cor. 5:17). The old caterpillar is gone and now we are butterflies who are learning to be like Christ every day!

So, yes, it’s national recovey month and that’s an ok word, but for a Christian, we want to “Be Transformed” into the likeness of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit as we read and DO the Word of God (I Tim. 4:7-8; James 1:22).

Maybe next year it will be “National Transformation Month” for Christians!

-Mark (grateful to be transformed by the power of Christ)