30 Life Principles Paperback – June 3, 2008

Our Bible Study is enjoying this study very much!

I love this series. I watch the 30 Life Principle series on InTouch.org, have the Life Principle Bible, Charles Stanley's Handbook for Christian Living, & books from The In Touch Series concerning each principle in greater detail.This book is a study guide that requires Bible reading with Q & A throuout this book. I like this better than passive reading because many thought provoking questions are asked which challenges your faith to grow. You see examples of Bible characters & how they responded to God's call & how God empowered them to do His will to do great & marvelous things if they would obey. God still works today in the lives of believers just as He did in the Bible days. The book moves me & makes me feel as eager to serve God as when I was a new Christian.Each chapter may only be a few pages long, but the book is an excellent educational tool. More importantly the book is also life changing for the Christian.Since I have begun working on completion of this book, I have found it very useful to incorporate the use of the Believer's Bible Commentary by William MacDonald which is useful to give background information to specific passages as well as the meaning of certain passages. Sometimes this commentary specifically answers the question leaving no doubt as to its meaning. I like an indepth study.

This book breaks down life's questions and guides you to find where in the scripture you can find answers. At a time in my life when I faced a huge hurdle, this book provided additional resources to help me grow more in the Lord Jesus. For me, the down to earth, relatable writing in the guide was a gift. It is one the best study guides I have so far, and I've give it away to others as a gift.

Another classic by an author who presents the Word of God and not opinion. This includes insight and direction, presented in a way that you can put to use immediately. The format enables the reader to find his area of greatest need without having to read unhelpful words. Use this as an index and read selectively, or read it as a text from the beginning to end. Either way, it is an efficient and rewarding use of your reading time. The author's many years as a pastor is the background of this excellent book.

For the most part, the 30 Principles were great. The 30 Principles are well thought-out, well presented and full of relevant biblical and life lessons. I think I know the Bible fairly well, but I learned many things, even from passages that I was already familiar with. This book is well worth the journey.But, I have to give it a 4 instead of a 5. Halfway through the 30 Principles, I was planning to give it a 5. But, then as I went on, I kept wondering, when are we going to see the positive side of our faith? The principles are mostly about dealing with negative experiences in life. Dr Stanley, himself, admits this in one of his later principles. And, I believe this book will help people understand those times.But, our walk with God is not all about negative things. Some experiences are very positive. I think we have all had those times when we knew we were doing the will of God and things felt effortless, even if they were challenging from a worldly perspective. We just knew we were doing what we were meant to be doing. We are all human, so we cannot hold onto that elevated relationship with God forever. We slip back into worldly desires and struggle with the things described in this book. But, those good times do happen. And, in general, I believe it is better to focus on doing the right thing rather than avoiding the wrong thing. If we avoid the wrong thing, the wrong thing is still in our hearts and minds. If we are busy thinking and doing the right thing, then we don't have time to even think about the wrong thing. Rather than feeding a demon and then fighting it, lets just feed the angel instead.Don't get me wrong. I think Dr Stanley is a wonderful spiritual leader. I really like the Daily Devotional on the InTouch Ministries website. And, he has a new book out, "The Will of God." I haven't read it yet, but I am hopeful that it will describe more of the positive side of our walk with God.

This book helps to retain the values presented in all of Charles Stanley's study Bibles. It sets forth standards of excellence for teaching. RM

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This makes Christ return very real...plenty to think about.I loved that he gave many Bible verses for cross referencing.