The Fifth Mountain by Paulo Coelho is a retelling of the story of Elijah. His story is written in the Old Testament of the Bible. He is a prophet of the One God of Israel and has performed miracles permitted by the One True God.
Before I continued on reading this retelling by Paulo Coelho, I read first the account of Elijah in the book of Kings of the Old Testament. I know Elijah by name and as the prophet of One God who performed miracles, but I have not yet fully read his account on the Bible not until I picked this book from the Deluxe Collection of Paulo Coelho's book set. And I am glad I read it first.
The Fifth Mountain is the best read I have so far from Paulo Coelho's works. Best of the bests.
"The Lord is stern."
"Only with those He has chosen."
It took me a while to finish reading the next book on the spot on my blog since I got swamp with paperwork and other stuff from my teaching job. The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho is such a mystical and heartwarming journey. Like any other books that I read from Coelho, the topics and ideas dwell on reality and the spiritual realm. The journey to find what truly matters with the life that we have in this world. I like how Coelho incorporates Bible teaching into his works. There are some beliefs that I agree with and some that I disagree with when it comes to practicing one's faith.
Knowing someone's or something's purpose is what this book thought me at the end of my reading journey with The Pilgrimage. That before we realize our purpose, sometimes we have to go through difficulties and others are consequences of the wrong decisions we have made in life. We tend to be elusive in seeking answers to our questions and reasons for our sufferings, and we also have the tendency to complicate things more than they should be. We sometimes reject the simple answers and reasons in front of us, thinking these answers and reasons seem to be so easy and most of the time we are not used to them. We think there is something more.
God is more than willing to give us all the enlightenment we need if only we are willing to listen to Him and obey His command.
Petrus, as a guide and teacher, his character in the book reminded me that "Teaching is only demonstrating that it is possible. Learning is making it possible for yourself."
Paulo, as the main character, reminded me that we are all pilgrims in this journey called life. We have to be attentive and humble to receive what God wants to tell us or what He wants us to do.
As I read through this book, I could not help but dream of walking on that same road the main character did.
You should not read this.
But everything is up to you.
You have your own will.
You are not a robot to be controlled by anyone, in any way.
But discern wisely on how you use the free gift of your own will.
The narration is good. The writing style is superb. The different point of view of accounts talking about one certain is an odd thing for me to get a unifying story out of it, but it works. Everything is interconnected. I didn't miss a single thing about Athena, who is also the main topic of every narration of different people in this book.
I was hesitant to read this book because of how it was written, it was a first for me to encounter or to read a book written this way. I was afraid I would get bored and drop the book half-way, yet just like any other book of Paulo Coelho that I read, The Witch of Portobello did not disappoint me. I was hooked and eager to see how the story would end, what would happen to Athena, and how the author would wrap up the story in a way that it would not end up in tragedy.
It is a story about faith and I will not recommend this book for people who yet to have deep and rooted faith in the One and Only True God, and also a personal intimate relationship with Him.
It is so natural for Paulo Coelho to touch on the most controversial and sensitive issues in our society through his books. I thought maybe this book is some kind of analogy of what is happening truly in our society. Once you read this, you decide, but please consider my fair warning from the paragraph before this one.
Right now, I do wonder if I should still read his books. Should I finish the entire book set? Is it still worth it?
I'm saying yes.
But what do you think?
The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.
Unknowingly, I bought the same book with different editions. The Lord is my Sheperd by Adrian Rogers is such an amazing book that brings me to a better perspective of who my God is. This book is a study of one of the wonderful chapters in the Bible which is Psalm 23. David, a man who is after God's own heart, wrote this song of confidence and faith in God. His bold declaration renews anyone's faith and trust in God whenever they come across this chapter from the book of Psalm.
Adrian Rogers did an excellent job in analyzing Psalm 23 and presenting the one and only true Shepherd mentioned in this chapter from Psalm. He enumerated the different facets of God's characteristics as the Shepherd.
- The Shepherd We Need
- The Perfect Shepherd
- The Shepherd of Second Chance
- The Shepherd of the Dying
- The Shepherd of Plenty
- The Shepherd of Haven
All of these talked about how Jesus is the ultimate Shepherd that we all need. We are all lost sheep in this world of uncertainties and tragedy whether we accept it or not. The only true guide we need in living a blessed, happy, and content life in this temporal world is Jesus, of course also for eternity.
I had my doubts and denials before, and there are times that I still have them. But through my personal experience with Him, I have realized that He is the real deal, a loving Father who made me feel loved wanted and protected. That the faith I put in Him is never wasted, mine was never a blind faith.
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
May we all experience here on earth the true joy and peace that only comes from Him!
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