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This page contains links to known online reviews of “Fearful To Fearless” as well as highlights from selected reviews.
All Amazon Reviews | All Barnes & Noble Reviews | All Books-A-Million Reviews | GoodReads
Abbie Riddle Reviews | Babs Book Bistro | Katherine Bartlett Book Reviews | A Little Sanity
The following is a portion of the review extracted from the Writing Canvas blog review by Loni:
I am again in awe of how God has knocked on the door of my heart with this verse going through my mind along with a new book to review. Not only did this verse apply to fears I am continually working on, but God spoke it so uniquely in daughter’s life. I shared last week how it was the two year anniversary of her emergency open heart surgery when she was at the hospital for a totally unrelated check-up.
…For many months after she came home she had a hard time falling asleep, needing medication to calm her down. It’s very infrequent now for this to happen. But, I think being the two year anniversary and us talking about it more, she’s relived it in her mind and a few nights ago went through a major panic attack time. She cuddled with my husband and I in bed, and we talked with her and prayed with her. And then, I remembered about this book, Fearful To Fearless: Biblical Truths to Inspire You to Live a Life Free of Fear and to Worship God, sitting on my nightstand that I had just read through.
There are close to 400 verses shared throughout Fearful To Fearless, with several Scripture verses on each page, and then just a few sentences of the author’s thoughts on it, this can easily be used as a devotional, which I’ve encouraged Jessica to do. There’s lots of space to write notes on the pages. The neat thing is just about every day for the past week now, she has brought the book to me, showed me verses she underlined and little notes she wrote by it. She’s **starred** some verses, and put smiley faces by some of the author’s notes. She’s taken it to heart . . . and God is using her and this book to encourage me as well.
… I was frustrated with myself today in getting worked up and then Jessica showed me the author’s thoughts on Job 5:22-23:
Though we may stumble we need not be afraid, for we have a peace that allows us to be encouraged by the power and greatness of God, even during trials.
As today’s quote/verse shows, God commands us to be strong and courageous and not to be frightened or dismayed.
Writing Canvas ~ Loni
The following is a portion of Tiger Holland’s Amazon review:
This wonderful inspirational book contains nearly 400 scriptures relating to fear and anxiety (and fearing and reverencing God), and each Bible verse is followed by a short, related encouragement. The first verse listed in the book is the one I’ve always turned to when I’ve felt anxious or afraid: “For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV). It’s so helpful to remember that terror and craziness are not a part of God’s plan for us. There’s one kind of godly fear–having awe and respect for the Lord, and then there’s realistic fear that people experience when they’re actually threatened, but the crippling, “what if?” fears that strangle our hearts and minds do not have to be a part of our lives.
If we belong to the Lord, He’s with us, too, and if we feel alone and abandoned, it’s a false emotion. I support the way the author speaks of fear as actually being sent from the devil. It’s not just another emotion we experience, one which happens to be negative; fear that isn’t a response to an actual threat or danger is one of the tools Satan uses to harm God’s people. It’s not okay even in small doses, and it’s not something we just have to live with either, because “perfect love drives out fear” 1 John 4:18 (NIV). Jesus Christ’s love is a perfect love and it can deliver us from our fear.
Plenty of time and thought has gone into the organization of “Fearful to Fearless.” Except for the preface and the brief introductions to the “Fear Not,” “Don’t Worry,” and “Fear God” sections, every page contains a scripture, and this book could serve as a great daily calender, where people could read a fresh page every morning and be strengthened in their resolve before they start their day. Also, a helpful index in the back lists every verse mentioned in the book, so a reader could have a good starting point for searching the Bible and launching their own study of the verses related to fear and fearlessness.
I’d like to mention that although a lot of Christian books are eager to mention “God” but hesitant to talk about his son Jesus, this book doesn’t shy away from talking about Jesus’ sacrifice for sin–he’s the reason we can stand justified with God the Father. If we’ve accepted the Son, our sins are forgiven and our hearts belong to Him, so we can truly be “anxious for nothing”.
The following is an Amazon review by Richard R. Blake; You can also find it in the May 2011 issue of Midwest Book Review, scroll to locate it under Richard’s Bookshelf
Jeff Kusner has complied a remarkable collection of Christ centered, Biblically based promises that offer inspiration and a pattern for living, a life free of fear in exchange for a reverent worship our awesome God. This compilation is found in his book “Fearful to Fearless.”
There are selected passages from Genesis through Revelation with a complete index. The format of the book includes one of the selected scriptural passage addressing a “fear not” or other verse related to fear or comfort with a brief truth to accompany the verse that inspires, comforts, or challenges the reader to look to Jesus for calm and peace in the personal “storms of life” being faced.
The book is designed so that it can be used for daily inspiration, for help in specific times of crisis, or when needing a nugget of truth or a promise for the peace and calm that Christ offers his followers in times when they need extra faith or spiritual strength. Each passage has been carefully selected.
“Fearful to Fearless” is an ideal gift book, for hospital visitation, for graduation, or for any of those other occasions you want to offer encouragement and inspiration.
The following has been extracted from the Books-A-Million review by Abbie Riddle:
I am very impressed with this book. Jeff Kusner has put much effort and research into finding most of the verses of the that deal with fear. The book is broken into three areas: Fear not, Don’t Worry, and Fear God. Each section opens with a main verse then a short devotional followed by pages of verses for the topic. The devotionals were very applicable and easy to read. His writing style is relaxed and therefor enjoyable. The verses are taken from different translations and one paraphrase (The Message).
I think the work is very thourough and complete. A person that reads this can not help but feel the peace of God as the truth is being revealed to them. I really did enjoy this book and highly recommend it as a resource to keep on hand when one feels the pull of fear. The word is always a comfort, and truth silences the attacks of our enemy.
Jeff Kusner has compiled a list of verses that lead a person to freedom from the bondage of fear and worry while teaching them the freedom of reverentual fear of God.
The only problem I had was the use of The Message: as I do not believe that this paraphrase always holds true to the original language or true meaning of a verse. I do realize this is a popular book and is being used more and more in mainstream christian writing. However, it is dangerous because it is in fact just a paraphrase and is not a translation from original documents and language. People that do not know this, or new christians, take for granted they are reading something translated from the original documents and that it is therefor true. I think disclaimers need to be posted when this is used.
Thank you Jeff Kusner for your work on this book. I believe it will bless and help many people. Thank you for your willingness to follow the lead of God and use your talents to bring glory and focus on him.
The following is a portion of an Amazon review by Logan Stewart;
Fearful to Fearless is a book with a simple premise: stop being afraid in life, stop being anxious or nervous, and instead be bold and fearless.
The book is divided into three sections: “Fear Not”, “Don’t Worry”, and “Fear God”. Each one begins with a brief introduction and then proceeds into the familiar devotional format. The book at first seems unusual, as it essentially is an exhaustive collection of bible verses that relate to fear, worry, doubts, and the like. Yet, its simplicity is great, for whatever page you open to you are guaranteed to read a verse that directly relates to fear…
