Memory's Door by James L. Rubart

This is the second novel in the Well Spring series, sequel to Soul's Gate (see my review here). The four, called Warriors Riding, continue to battle the enemy for the freedom and well being of believers. (You'll want to read the first book to receive the full impact of this one.)
The spiritual warfare in this novel concentrates on a few fronts. One is memories. Marcus is tormented by the memory of when he distractedly allowed his young son to ride his bicycle with others to a store down the street and out of his sight. Soon he heard sirens and found that his son was dead – struck by a car. Marcus must make the right choice at memory's door if he and his family are to be freed from the guilt of the past.

Another front is the spirit of religion in the form of legalism. It is personified

in the person of a popular Christian talk show host. He attacks the Warriors Riding, accusing them of occult practices with their spirit travel, etc.

Brandon and Dana both face the issues of success. For Dana, it is the distraction of getting a promotion. She must choose whether her success is more important than her spiritual calling. And for Brandon, he is confronted with the possibility of his career being in decline.

As in the first of the series, Rubart imagines scenes portraying spiritual growth and warfare. We might think of spiritual warfare as, for example, interceding for another. Rubart visualizes that spiritual battle as one entering into the soul of another and experiencing demonic confrontation and the ensuing battle. My understanding is that Rubart is not promoting the possibility of astral projection or anything like that, but is merely giving us an opportunity to visually imagine the spirit realm.

There are a couple aspects of the book that really impressed me. One was how deceiving the enemy can be. At one point even Reese is deceived by a demon masquerading as the Lord. At another point Marcus experiences a similar kind of deception concerning possible futures (even though the past was forgiven). Wow. Those were very powerful scenes.

Another section that impressed me was a discussion over a card trick. It was one of those tricks where you choose a card, shuffle, and the dealer picks it out. It was a simple card trick, the fellow said. The lesson it taught was the important thing: “[God] doesn't play fair and every choice is his choice, no matter how much it seems like it is yours.” (236) Again, wow. I have read essays on “free will” and the sovereignty of God yet have never seen it so simply explained as in that statement about a card trick.

There is plenty of action in this novel. The battle between Christians and demons never slows down. If you would like your imagination stimulated by a visual representation of what spiritual warfare might look like, read this book. It is entertaining and challenges your spiritual thinking. There is a discussion guide included and I can almost imagine the lively discussions reading groups will have.

Watch Rubart talk about his book here.

James L. Rubart is a professional marketer, speaker and writer. His passion for writing shows as he is an ECPA best-selling author and has won several awards. He is also a photographer, guitarist, professional speaker, golfer and semi-pro magician. He and his family live in the Pacific Northwest. You can find out more at www.jimrubart.com.

I am participating in a blog tour of this book. You can find other reviews here.

Thomas Nelson, 368 pages. Please visit your local Christian bookstore to purchase this book.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book through a publicity group for the purpose of this review.