Book Review - God just showed up!

God just showed up!

(by Linda Watkins)

For someone new to Christianity, this is a very encouraging and helpful book. The testimonies from many aspects of life, from those in jail, off the streets, at higher learning institutions, to places of ministry leadership are refreshing to hear. We learn a lot from stories and how true of testimonies.

What makes this book special is that it's a collection of testimonies from African-American Christians. Still today, many of these testimonies are not heard. There are various reasons, but I won't talk about it here. I do give praise to the author, Linda Watkins, for publishing this book and providing more exposure of such testimonies.

Main Points

There really isn't a lot of main points from this book since it's a collection of various testimonies. But, there is one which is reflective of the title.

• When God shows up and you invite Him to take control of your life, you will be blessed beyond expectations.

Favorite Quotes

Here are the quotes that I liked from various people sharing their testimonies.

1. In recent years, scholars have revealed the African presence in the Bible, from the Garden of Eden in ancient Northeast Africa to the Afro-Asiatic roots of Jesus Christ.
2. Perhaps one of the greatest tragedies of the late twentieth century was the large number of African-Americans who lost touch with God. Some stopped seeking Him. Others never knew Him. He is the same God who helped our ancestors survive the treacherous journey to America on slave ships. He is the God who brought our people out of slavery and marched beside us during the Civil Rights Movement.
3. God Almighty is a personal God who is calling each of us to count on Him.
4. Hope...is the belief that something good is going to happen despite how bad things look.
5. "Growing up poor in the inner city makes you grow up fast." - Curtis Martin
6. "I found that the more I read the Bible and was around people who were into God, the stronger my relationship with Jesus got and the more I was able to resist temptations." - Curtis Martin
7. "Many people are just looking for peace in their lives. God can bring that peace all of us want." - Curtis Martin
8. "God used her in our home to set an example for me when I should have been the one leading my family." - David Clark
9. "It didn't happen in a moment; it was a process." - David Clark
10. "God had to break me down spiritually and remake me all over again so I could really hear and understand His Word." - David Clark
11. "My whole career sprang from God helping me to get that internship with Mayor Bradley and my subsequent work for the mayor." - Tavis Smiley
12. "...I learned that things happen in God's time." - Tavis Smiley
13. "The lesson is don't mess around. Do your best, and God will do the rest." - Dr. Ben Carson
14. "But now God was saying, 'You do this, and I'll do that.'" - Lamont Couch
15. "I want you to study now," God said one day. "If you want Me to invest in you, you need to invest in yourself." - Lamont Couch
16. "We need to tell them early that guns don't turn them into men; God does." - Evelyn Stokes
17. "They'd say yes (to still seeing a missing piece in their life after detox) and that's why they didn't know what else to do but go back to drugs. That's why they kept on relapsing." / "The missing piece is Jesus Christ." - Ronald Tyler
18. "I had been so bored at the Episcopal church my family attended when I was growing up that at this stage of my life, I was an agnostic who believed in a 'supreme being', but that was about it." - Linda Watkins
19. "In my research and personal study, I read about the biblical figure Nehemiah, the leader who returned to his Jerusalem birthplace to help the disgraced children of Israel rebuild the city's damaged walls. Like Jerusalem, the neighborhood around the projects had become a modern-day disgrace." - Chloe Coney
20. "While I was living in the suburbs, residing in my comfort zone, I read about God and His goodness in the Bible. Now I know about His goodness because I've experienced God's blessings firsthand. Like Nehemiah, the Lord led me to help restore my broken community." - Chloe Coney
21. "I was motivated more by wanting to keep my girlfriend than feeling the need for a personal savior."- Lewis Lee
22. "Somebody has to nurture you when you're a baby in the faith, or the devil will snatch you and steer you toward your old ways." - Lewis Lee
23. "I'm an ordained minister. I teach new members, lead a prayer group, and occasionally preach at my church. I'm also a full-time doctor and chief of oncology at a hospital. Can you believe after all I went through, the Lord allowed me to have two careers?" - Dr. Mary Reed
24. "Although I was really trying to live right, no one would reach out to teach me or disciple me so I would know how to live right. So no matter how many Bible verses I read, over the next five or six months I started slipping back into my old lifestyle." - Gary Shields
25. "I got serious about trusting God. No church. But I read the Word - religiously." - Gary Shields
26. "He 'discipled' me one on one, and like any good teacher, He made sure I didn't miss important points." - Gary Shields
27. "But in the movement, politically conscious brothers and sisters believed that Christianity was ''the white man's religion"." - Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu
28. "Africentricity can't fill the void during major challenges like when your marriage is in trouble, your children are wayward, and you have more bills than revenue." - Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu
29. "The first sign (of God) came a year later when "The Skin I'm In" became an overnight success." - Sharon Flake

Favorite Verse

'When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."' - John 8:12 (NIV)

What's Missing?

I hate to provide criticism instead of pure encouragement of my Afro-Am writers and authors, but we must have higher standards as Christians overall compared to the norm. So, I'll only say as a "seasoned" Christian that we need more stories of those who DO follow the Word and Spirit to continue shining for Jesus. Testimonies don't always need to have dramatic events like falling into drug addiction, gang violence, or avoiding God's calling for selfishness. Where are the testimonies of the Noahs, Josephs, and Ruths?