I read A Christian Survival Guide
by Ed Cyzewski, in exchange for honest review from Kregel Blog Tours. The book provides advice on dealing with issues such as addiction to sin; money; and prayer. The book is divided into two sections: Part 1 focuses on Christian beliefs, while Part 2 focuses on Christian practices.I wanted to read the book because I struggle with my Christian walk and the book provides practical insight on dealing with common Christian issues.
The chapters, which appealed to me are chapter 10: sin addiction; chapter 1: prayer; and Chapter 2: the bible.
One of the first things, which stood out was survival requires planning. Page 13 said "the path to survival isn't just a matter of doing the bare minimum to survive...Christian survival demands that we face the challenges to our faith and learn to rest daily in Christ, our solid foundation."
On page 17, the author gives characteristics of messy and happy Christians and I have fell into both traps.
For the rest of this review, I am going to focus on chapter 10: sin addiction. I have an addictive personality, whether Facebook or a new game or even books. I used to be addicted to sex, prior to my celibacy journey. As a Christian, I knew I shouldn't have premarital or promiscuous sex, but I did it anyway.
The author said people sin and hide behind their justifications and rationalizations, which I know from experience. I didn't feel like I was hurting anyone, but I was hurting myself. My harmless fun had consequences.
The author also provides a chart of the seven deadly sins. I have struggled more with lust, gluttony, anger, slothfulness, envy, and pride. Six of the seven sins. Greed is the seventh.
On page 146: the author provided a chart of the sin survival checklist, which starts with:
Is this a sin?
What are the consequences of this sin?
Do I want to stop?
Do I know how to stop?
I struggled with wanting and knowing how to stop when it came to my sexual sins. The author also provides insight on how to defeat sin on page 150 and sin survival strategies on page 151.
The book was also easy to read and easy to understand.
Finally, this chapter discussed Christian insanity, "doing the same thing over and over again to defeat sin and yet they don't experience the freedom that the scripture promise." (p. 152). I am struggling with insanity for other issues. My methods are not working, but God's will
The book is available in Kindle and paperback format on Amazon. The book is Prime-eligible
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Please leave a comment. Thank you. Stacie