Category: Reviews of Books & Movies

Pulse: You Can’t Heal What You Can’t Feel

By Rob Link (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)

Rob Link frequently quips, “If you have a pulse, you have issues.” This is the underlying foundation of his book Pulse: You Can’t Heal What You Can’t Feel.

Part one, with its lone chapter, “Fine,” delves into this. People ask how we are and we reply with the socially acceptable response of “I’m fine.”

The reality is that often we are not fine. As a result of being alive, we do have issues—and we’ve learned to hide them.

Rob Link then talks about the healing process in part two, which contains six chapters. It was his process and it can be ours. “Present passions are windows,” Rob relates.

They are windows to wounds from our past. Within these wounds are contained lies, but it is the truth that can transform us.

In part three of Pulse: You Can’t Heal What You Can’t Feel, Rob relates a dozen examples that help us move through our issues into freedom.

He starts with our junk drawer and progressively moves us towards praise. Along the way, he shares with us the importance of listening to God.

He also encourages us to get naked (figuratively, of course), to pursue regular times of solitude, to focus on others, and to recognize and confess our sins.

Throughout Pulse Rob frequently and transparently shares his own issues, most effectively illustrating his points.

Many are funny—often at his expense—while a few are heavy, or potentially so, if not for the healing freedom that can be found through Jesus and aided by pursuing him with a like-minded community.

Each chapter ends with a prayer that relates to its theme. We can adopt this prayer as our own or adapt it as needed. Also there are a series of ‘go deeper” questions, which are great for personal introspection or group discussion.

We do have a pulse, therefore we do have issues, but we can be healed from them, allowing us to live freely and fully in Jesus. That’s what Pulse is all about.

[Pulse: You Can’t Heal What You Can’t Feel, by Rob Link. Published by Reformed Church Press, 2011; ISBN: 978-0-916466-02-2; 102 pages.]

Read more book reviews by Peter DeHaan.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Sit, Walk, Stand

By Watchman Nee (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)

Sit, Walk, Stand, by Watchman Nee is a compilation of messages given by Nee, centering on the book of Ephesians.

It was first published in India in 1957 (five years after his false imprisonment), with the American version following two decades later in 1977 (five years after Nee’s death).

Like many of the epistles, Watchman Nee notes that Ephesians is presented to two parts: the doctrinal (Ephesians 1 through 3) and the practical (Ephesians 4 through 6).

He further subdivides the second section into two components, the first addressing life in the world (Ephesians 4:1 to 6:9), with the latter focusing on conflict with the devil (Ephesians 6:10 to 6:24).

The result is a trio of teachings that cover “our position in Christ,” “our life in the world,” and “our attitude toward the enemy.” Nee’s succinct one-word prescription for each—forming the title of his treatise—is that we are to “sit,” “walk,” and “stand.”

As expected, each of the book’s three chapters addresses one element of the title.

First, Nee notes that we receive the gifts we are given by God “not by walking, but by sitting,” “not by doing, but by resting in the Lord.” He then proceeds to offer a cogent illustration illuminating what it means to be in Christ.

Second is the verb walk. Nee teaches that this suggests “conduct or behavior,” as well as denoting forward “progress.”

He proceeds to instruct on the importance of offering our first fruits to God, then he swiftly segues into a lesson from Jesus’ parable of the ten virgins.

Last, Nee admonishes that “Every Christian must learn also to stand,” to “be prepared for conflict,” that is “wrestling with evil spirits.” He instructs that the phrase “stand against” can best be understood as to “hold your ground.”

The weapons for this warfare are purely defensive, adding that “in Christ we are already conquerors.”

Nee wraps up chapter three with “four essential features of a work to which God can fully commit himself,” and concludes by sharing an inspiring personal story, appropriately titled, “The God of Elijah.”

While Sit, Walk, Stand is built on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, it is not a verse by verse commentary, but rather a springboard, teaching on the book’s main themes. Although it is a short book (78 pages), it is not a quick read.

This is likely due to it being separated from us by both time and distance. Nevertheless, it is worth wading through for the truths it contains.

[Sit, Walk, Stand, by Watchman Nee. Published by Tyndale house Publishers, Inc, 1977, ISBN: 0-8423-5893-5, 78 pages.]

Read more book reviews by Peter DeHaan.Save

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.”
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