Publishers Weekly
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Franklin (Acres of Diamonds), a pastor and televangelist, explores ways to strengthen faith during trying times in this impassioned guide. He proposes that the end-times are near, but that disaster can be overcome by focusing on God and following five steps: look within, look to Jesus, look ahead, look out, and look up. Franklin urges readers to “look within” by improving their attitude, noting how his daughter stayed in high spirits after falling off a horse: “Just because bad things happen doesn’t mean you have to be upset all the time.” To illustrate “looking out” for others, the author tells of how Joseph of Arimathea used his influence and power to procure Jesus’s corpse from Pontius Pilate even though Jesus “had nothing to offer Joseph” in death. Franklin elsewhere uses the story of David and Goliath to tout the importance of not letting others get under one’s skin, and finds an exemplar of fortitude in a soldier’s daring mission during the Spanish-American War. The author’s well-chosen biblical and historical anecdotes bring his suggestions to life, but his strong political stances are likely to alienate some readers (“We crossed a Rubicon when gay marriage was legalized”). This manual’s stability-through-faith approach will appeal to conservative Christian readers. (June)