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Dare to Answer: 8 Questions that Awaken Your Faith
Learn and apply God's teachings combining Scripture and life experience insights to help us know what to do when we don't have the answers on what to do.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published May 12, 2015
5 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 8 reviews
May 19, 2015
Questions have a way of getting under our skin. They engage us and stimulate discussion where a statement would simply fall flat. Writer, speaker, and entrepreneur John Busaker has chosen eight questions that came directly from the mind and mouth of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Gospels, and in Dare to Answer, he challenges his readers to turn the questions’ laser focus toward their own hearts. The Biblical text serves as the starting point for each chapter, and at the conclusion Busacker has provided Reflect and Respond activities, making the book suitable for Bible study groups, youth meetings, and one-on-one mentoring, as well as individual study.
In his examination of the questions, John Busacker demonstrates that “a superficial answer is as dangerous as no answer at all.” We must weigh in for ourselves on all eight questions, clarifying our desires, facing our fears, embracing our new identity in Christ, and moving forward into His love.
John’s style is crisp and to-the-point with plenty of bullet points giving Scriptural evidence to support his thinking and with the creative use of dictionary materials for word analysis. Then, he slows down the pace with narrative accounts of personal experiences or relationships which have impacted his own story.
The chart below is an overview of the questions and the structure of the book:
The Question Biblical Scenario The Essence Clarification
What do you want? John 1:35-38 A Question of Desire Do you have a sense that something deep inside is missing?
Why are you so afraid? Mark 4:35-40 A Question of Fear When God is preparing to accomplish something great through His people, He always calls them to risk.
Do you want to get well? John 5:1-6 A Question about Wholeness Are you ready for a radical redirection in your life? A new state of being?
What is your name? Luke 8:26-30 The Question of Identity We need to hear God call us by our true name, Jesus-follower.
Do you see this woman? Luke 7:36-44 The Question of Forgiveness The spiritual reality is that 100% of us have to file for personal bankruptcy with God.
How many loaves do you have? Mark 6:35-38 A Question about Wealth Money can either be a significant impediment or powerful accelerant to our intimacy with God.
Will you give me a drink? John 4:1-7 The Question of Generosity “Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God.”
Do you truly love me? John 21:15-17 The Question of Love Are we prepared to move from a deep friendship or even a familial love to total devotion to our Creator?
Dare to Answer poked and prodded me into asking myself the penetrating questions Jesus posed during His earthly ministry. John throws down a challenge at the end of each chapter: to devote a month to the process of living your way into each of the questions. I recommend keeping a journal to document this process, recording answers that bubble to the surface during the project, and taking notes on the supplementary Scripture passages. When I was a teen, my mentor and friend bought two copies of a book, two notebooks in robin’s egg blue, and then challenged me to read, journal, pray, and explore my way through that topic. The process was life-changing. Dare to Answer is that kind of book.
This book was provided by Worthy Publishing in exchange for my honest review.
In his examination of the questions, John Busacker demonstrates that “a superficial answer is as dangerous as no answer at all.” We must weigh in for ourselves on all eight questions, clarifying our desires, facing our fears, embracing our new identity in Christ, and moving forward into His love.
John’s style is crisp and to-the-point with plenty of bullet points giving Scriptural evidence to support his thinking and with the creative use of dictionary materials for word analysis. Then, he slows down the pace with narrative accounts of personal experiences or relationships which have impacted his own story.
The chart below is an overview of the questions and the structure of the book:
The Question Biblical Scenario The Essence Clarification
What do you want? John 1:35-38 A Question of Desire Do you have a sense that something deep inside is missing?
Why are you so afraid? Mark 4:35-40 A Question of Fear When God is preparing to accomplish something great through His people, He always calls them to risk.
Do you want to get well? John 5:1-6 A Question about Wholeness Are you ready for a radical redirection in your life? A new state of being?
What is your name? Luke 8:26-30 The Question of Identity We need to hear God call us by our true name, Jesus-follower.
Do you see this woman? Luke 7:36-44 The Question of Forgiveness The spiritual reality is that 100% of us have to file for personal bankruptcy with God.
How many loaves do you have? Mark 6:35-38 A Question about Wealth Money can either be a significant impediment or powerful accelerant to our intimacy with God.
Will you give me a drink? John 4:1-7 The Question of Generosity “Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God.”
Do you truly love me? John 21:15-17 The Question of Love Are we prepared to move from a deep friendship or even a familial love to total devotion to our Creator?
Dare to Answer poked and prodded me into asking myself the penetrating questions Jesus posed during His earthly ministry. John throws down a challenge at the end of each chapter: to devote a month to the process of living your way into each of the questions. I recommend keeping a journal to document this process, recording answers that bubble to the surface during the project, and taking notes on the supplementary Scripture passages. When I was a teen, my mentor and friend bought two copies of a book, two notebooks in robin’s egg blue, and then challenged me to read, journal, pray, and explore my way through that topic. The process was life-changing. Dare to Answer is that kind of book.
This book was provided by Worthy Publishing in exchange for my honest review.
October 23, 2015
Goodreads First Reads Giveaway Book.
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Dare to Answer: 8 Questions that Awaken Your Faith is a Christian devotional that asks the reader questions Jesus asked during his earthly ministry, like “What do you want?”
It’s a thought-provoking book that is easy to understand, based primarily off of Scripture, blended with inspiring storytelling of personal anecdotes. Following the end of each of the eight chapters are Scriptures that supports that question, along with several personal challenges to the reader. This book shouldn’t be read in one sitting, instead reading each chapter a week or more apart, possibly as a two-month bible study.
Perhaps my biggest critique of this book, preventing me from rating it higher is its primary reliance upon the Scriptures for answers. Adding to this is the author’s switching between different translations of the Scriptures as part of his argument attempting to justify his answers. Arbitrarily picking one translation is one thing, but switching between them is a deliberate attempt to choose which one better supports the claim. One translation could be a literal word for word approach from the original Greek, Hebrew, or Aramic texts, while another could be a translation of the meaning of a phrase or thought. Even though the primary text that the author used becomes easier to read, the further away one deviates from word for word literal translations of the original text, the more the translators must rely upon the theological, linguistic or cultural understanding of the original text. It would be a better book had the author explained why he chose to move from one to another translation in his book.
Founder of Life-Worth, LLC and a member of the Duke Corporate Education Global Learning Resource Network, the author John Busacker is well suited to provide his unique perspectives on some of God’s challenging questions we need to answer during our lifetimes. He is also the author of Fully Engaged: How to do Less and be More in 2011.
Dare to Answer is a thought-provoking devotional that will challenge readers to understand some important concepts of what it means being a Christian.
------------------------------------
Dare to Answer: 8 Questions that Awaken Your Faith is a Christian devotional that asks the reader questions Jesus asked during his earthly ministry, like “What do you want?”
It’s a thought-provoking book that is easy to understand, based primarily off of Scripture, blended with inspiring storytelling of personal anecdotes. Following the end of each of the eight chapters are Scriptures that supports that question, along with several personal challenges to the reader. This book shouldn’t be read in one sitting, instead reading each chapter a week or more apart, possibly as a two-month bible study.
Perhaps my biggest critique of this book, preventing me from rating it higher is its primary reliance upon the Scriptures for answers. Adding to this is the author’s switching between different translations of the Scriptures as part of his argument attempting to justify his answers. Arbitrarily picking one translation is one thing, but switching between them is a deliberate attempt to choose which one better supports the claim. One translation could be a literal word for word approach from the original Greek, Hebrew, or Aramic texts, while another could be a translation of the meaning of a phrase or thought. Even though the primary text that the author used becomes easier to read, the further away one deviates from word for word literal translations of the original text, the more the translators must rely upon the theological, linguistic or cultural understanding of the original text. It would be a better book had the author explained why he chose to move from one to another translation in his book.
Founder of Life-Worth, LLC and a member of the Duke Corporate Education Global Learning Resource Network, the author John Busacker is well suited to provide his unique perspectives on some of God’s challenging questions we need to answer during our lifetimes. He is also the author of Fully Engaged: How to do Less and be More in 2011.
Dare to Answer is a thought-provoking devotional that will challenge readers to understand some important concepts of what it means being a Christian.
March 1, 2016
Eight questions. Eight invites to live a little more. Eight opportunities to learn more about the heart of Jesus, His unconventional ways, and living life the Jesus Way.
Dare to Answer is a book that challenges you and I to come face-to-face, heart-to-heart to the things that we all struggle with (if we're being honest). Desire. Fear. Wholeness. Identity. Forgiveness. Wealth. Generosity. Love. Each one having the ability to prevent us from moving forward or propel us too new levels of our destiny.
Through personal anecdotes, stories from Scripture, and poignant questions, John invites us to a place of greater surrender, increasing trust, and deeper love. He reminds us of God's love and heart for each of us-a John 10:10 type of love: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I (Jesus) came that they (you and I) may have life and have it abundantly. ()=my addition
In one chapter, John makes a reference to a certain well-known church without saying its name in a manner that felt like he was making a dig at one of my friends (though he didn't realize that we were friends). This part felt a little strange as John does a great job, otherwise, of leading the reader on a journey of discovery and development, courage and contemplation, forgiveness and grace. If anything, it's a reminder that all of us, author included, are works in progress and sometimes, many times, the hardest thing is letting go of what others are/are not doing and instead focus on sharing Jesus with this world. As Kirk Franklin said, "we may be the only Jesus someone may ever see or meet." Grace covers all.
An interesting book; a challenging book; a life-shaping book, Dare to Answer is for those who are ready to jump into life with both feet and begin living the most audacious, amazing adventure...with an incredible God.
Dare to Answer is a book that challenges you and I to come face-to-face, heart-to-heart to the things that we all struggle with (if we're being honest). Desire. Fear. Wholeness. Identity. Forgiveness. Wealth. Generosity. Love. Each one having the ability to prevent us from moving forward or propel us too new levels of our destiny.
Through personal anecdotes, stories from Scripture, and poignant questions, John invites us to a place of greater surrender, increasing trust, and deeper love. He reminds us of God's love and heart for each of us-a John 10:10 type of love: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I (Jesus) came that they (you and I) may have life and have it abundantly. ()=my addition
In one chapter, John makes a reference to a certain well-known church without saying its name in a manner that felt like he was making a dig at one of my friends (though he didn't realize that we were friends). This part felt a little strange as John does a great job, otherwise, of leading the reader on a journey of discovery and development, courage and contemplation, forgiveness and grace. If anything, it's a reminder that all of us, author included, are works in progress and sometimes, many times, the hardest thing is letting go of what others are/are not doing and instead focus on sharing Jesus with this world. As Kirk Franklin said, "we may be the only Jesus someone may ever see or meet." Grace covers all.
An interesting book; a challenging book; a life-shaping book, Dare to Answer is for those who are ready to jump into life with both feet and begin living the most audacious, amazing adventure...with an incredible God.
May 21, 2015
At first glance I thought this book was simple and a fast read. It is simple in the sense that anyone can read it and get something out of it. However, it is also deep and thought provoking. It's not just a book you can breeze through and not be challenged. I don't really care for all the questions at the end of the chapters because personally, I am energized and challenged AS I read through a book, so by the time I get through a chapter, I've already done the additional study notes. But for those who don't generally do this, it is a good resource for additional thinking and challenges.
You can always skip through those pages if you want. You're not cheating!
Dare To Answer asks 8 questions that "Awaken Your Faith". John Busacker re-asks questions that Jesus has asked, such as: what do you want? And: why are you so afraid? And then he gives some personal observations of the Biblical accounts but then turns it on us. What DO YOU want? Heart probing, deep digging, inward focusing. Do you dare answer?
You can always skip through those pages if you want. You're not cheating!
Dare To Answer asks 8 questions that "Awaken Your Faith". John Busacker re-asks questions that Jesus has asked, such as: what do you want? And: why are you so afraid? And then he gives some personal observations of the Biblical accounts but then turns it on us. What DO YOU want? Heart probing, deep digging, inward focusing. Do you dare answer?
May 23, 2015
In his latest book, John tackles some of the questions that Jesus asked while He was here on earth. Jesus was often responding to questions with a question of His own. He liked to make us actually think for ourselves…When John the Baptist’s disciples pointed Him out, Jesus replied saying, “What do you want?”. Ha!! I love that!
The layout of this book is great. John points out a question that might be easily missed in the vast text. For example, I had never noticed Jesus’ reply to those disciples. He then challenges us to really think about how to answer that. There are quotes from many good scholars like Oswald Chambers, Brennan Manning and St. John of the Cross. Overall, great book with eye opening statistics and stories. At the end of each chapter, there is a Reflect and Respond section to dig deeper.
Pick up a copy for yourself and a friend! And, remember, you can “look inside” of a book on Amazon and see if it’s something you are interested in.
Thanks, Worthy, for this great book! As always, this is my honest opinion. Here’s to many more!!
The layout of this book is great. John points out a question that might be easily missed in the vast text. For example, I had never noticed Jesus’ reply to those disciples. He then challenges us to really think about how to answer that. There are quotes from many good scholars like Oswald Chambers, Brennan Manning and St. John of the Cross. Overall, great book with eye opening statistics and stories. At the end of each chapter, there is a Reflect and Respond section to dig deeper.
Pick up a copy for yourself and a friend! And, remember, you can “look inside” of a book on Amazon and see if it’s something you are interested in.
Thanks, Worthy, for this great book! As always, this is my honest opinion. Here’s to many more!!
August 3, 2015
The book is great and the questions are just as good. Simple yet so insightful. Fear [what are you afraid of], desire [wht do you want], wellness [do you want to get well], wealth [how many loaves do you have], etc. Each Chapter contains introspection for the reader, meaning me. I will re-read this one and use it for life-long objectives.
I was the lucky recipient of this book in aGoodread's giveaway. It is a small beautiful excellent book, and except for my useage, will remain in excellent condition!
I was the lucky recipient of this book in aGoodread's giveaway. It is a small beautiful excellent book, and except for my useage, will remain in excellent condition!
August 3, 2015
Receiving this book through goodreads was really good. I found the book to be very worthwhile. Made me think and contemplate. Situations I had not thought of before. Learned alot from the statistics which blew me away. Very good book and I believe the author did a very good job in writing so that it was very understanding and thought provoking. Might not be a book for everyone but I found the book to be very educational and thoughtful.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 8 reviews