Face To Face Encounter With God
Book Review
Face To Face Encounter With God
By Shola Alao
I was expecting to read the life story of the author, Pastor Shola A. Alao, as the background of this insightful book, “Face To Face With God” instead he throws me into suspence throughout my readings.
Even though he has personal life experience, the author has chosen to relate the Biblical actors in telling a story that has to do with himself.
Suspense has always been the key element of a good movie or book, which of course the author has deliberately or otherwise inserted in this work to integrate the words of God into the minds of the readers.
He begins his writings with teachings, revealing his scholastic idea of the Bible, using various verses, especially the story and study of the life of Moses to capture the minds of the readers about the meaning the book.
The author later swerves to sermon and intermittently exposes his prayer instincts at every chapter of his “Face To Face With God’.
The 122-page-book, comprising eight chapters gives vivid account of what it means to have a face to face encounter with God from intellectual, personal experience and spiritual backgrounds.
In chapter one, the author dissects the story of the biblical Moses who sought the face of God but could only see the part the almighty showed him. In that chapter, the author uses Moses to capture the whole chapters that even though a man may seek the face of God, the creator chooses the one He will show himself too.
He also explains that the face of God could be the Glory of God, using various synonyms intermittently like a teacher to illustrate the concept of a face to face encounter with God.
In chapter two, “The concept of the Face of God”, which begins from page 17, Alao uses a lot of appositions, phrases and clauses to redefine the tittle of the book. This to him provides the same meaning but then carries numerous spiritual and inspirational meaning from one reader to another.
Here, the book speaks about the laws, the ten commandments and its implication of death while seeking the face of God and again the practicality of such adventure in the life of Moses.
In Chapter three, The concept of the face of man”, the author makes it clear that God has created man as man but has also given man the privilege to transform from being ordinary to extraordinary or natural to supernatural.
In chapter four, “An encounter with the face of God”, Alao divides chapter two and three and infuse in the middle the sermon into the teaching. Here, he turns himself to a preacher, calling on those who are yet to have encounter with God to seek His face. To him, no one can see the face of God without first knowing Him.
It is the second longest chapter with 14 pages and longest Bible quotes and verses that enlivens practical Christianity. The chapter collapses the concept of God’s face and the concept of man’s face together, using stories of Jacob in the old testament and the gospel of Paul in Romans to elaborate his position.
Chapter five, “Seven resultant effects of seeing God’s face is the longest with 40 pages. It is the closing chapter of the book that looks more like an altar call for those who seeks the kingdom of God and ready to see Him. It begins with the quote of the book of Revelation chapter 3:20. It allows a convert to open his door when Jesus Christ is knocking.
One after the other, this chapter lists seven effects, which encompasses blessings and glory put together; change of identity, change of level and divine shift etc.
The chapter six is about “Why must you seek God’s face while chapter seven is how to seek God’s face. These two chapters and the last chapter, “conclusion”, I recommend for readers to look out for in the book “Face to face encounter with God”.
Written in simple English. Short words in a more comprehensive manner that carries very deep inspiration from God.
