Although many evangelicals today reject the value of reading biographies or church history, this book should make them think again. Forget tedious lists of dates and places; this is gripping! Faith Cook presents a stirring account of nine ordinary people from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries who went on to become ‘extraordinary ordinary Christians’.
Each chapter traces the conversion, progress, and influence of such ‘stars’ as John Foxe and Fanny Guinness. These were people who knew the sinfulness of their sin but who, following earnest repentance, experienced the embrace of a Saviour who loved them and gave himself for them.
These were of a breed not content to sit back while the world perished, but who devoted themselves sacrificially to Christ and his cause. Ultimately, they were trophies of God’s grace — saved and commissioned to do his will and obedient to their Lord.
The book is easy to read but does not compromise on detail. For those who wish to engage in further study some helpful recommendations are made. The nine accounts serve as a timely challenge to evangelicals today. There is no hint of ‘easy-believism’ or of a relaxed attitude to personal holiness and Christian service.
Reading Stars in God’s Sky cannot but lead to self-examination. Am I genuinely converted? If so, then is my life truly consecrated to Christ? Am I using my time and resources to do good to the household of faith and reach the lost?
May God be pleased to raise up a new generation of Christians of the calibre of those who have gone before us as exemplified here.
