I am very excited to kick off book reviews on Matthew515.com with Steven R. Taylor’s book, Alpha Predator: How To Be Victorious Over Life’s Ultimate Adversary And What To Do When You’re Not. Steve (as I know him) has been a friend of the family for many years and he and my dad have kept in touch even as Steve’s missionary adventures took him to Africa and all over the United States as well.
My dad told me about Alpha Predator even before the idea for this blog was given to me and not to long after Matthew515.com was off the ground I realized that I wanted to cover literature that was both inspirational and instructional in matters of faith. I am an avid reader and as I have gotten closer to God and more interested in strengthening my faith I have begun to seek out books and authors that inspire and challenge me to go farther and deeper in my daily walk with the Lord.
That’s why it’s such an honor and privilege to cover Alpha Predator here on Matthew515.com. Not only is the book written by someone I know personally it also happens to be interesting, instructional and real in the type of information it presents. It’s a very relevant topic that Steve is covering in Alpha Predator and because of his many years as a deep bush missionary in Zimbabwe, Africa, Steve is able to use his real life experience and bring firsthand accounts of adventure, danger and faith in action.
An alpha predator, if you didn’t already know, is the predator that sits at the very top of the food chain. The alpha predator of the African bush is the lion and it was the Apostle Peter who first compared the lion to our adversary Satan. It is these very verses from 1 Peter 5:8-11
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 11 To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
that Steve uses as the framework for Alpha Predator.
Steve begins his book with an account of a fatal lion attack that occurred very near his home in Zimbabwe one fateful day. As Steve learned of the circumstances surrounding the vicious attack and fatality he and the neighboring tribesman all agreed that the tragedy could have been avoided had the individual been vigilant, prepared and followed proper instructions on how to live in lion country.
Steve uses this story and others to parallel the Christian walk with his lion experiences and provides instruction and teaching on how to be victorious over Satan in everyday life and how to recover and move on when we fail. Coming through on every single page is the feeling that Steve has personally lived and experienced exactly what he is teaching and this makes his book all the more compelling for it’s authenticity. This is a deeply personal work from Steve and you will feel like you know him and have walked in his safari boots by the time you reach the last page.
You will travel with Steve in isolation through the deep bush, across lakes and remote rivers and into villages where the gospel has never before been preached and no Christian has ever gone before. You will see how God worked in a mighty way to bring salvation to hundreds of souls and how Satan and the forces of darkness opposed Steve and his family almost to the point of death. And through it all you will glorify God, as Steve did, that we have a God who has dominion over darkness and evil and who is personally interested in our salvation and restoration.
Although it is the alpha predator who gets the title role in the book it is we who are instructed and edified by it and more importantly it is God who gets the glory. Steve would be the first person to tell you that he is no hero even though some of the stories and deeds in Alpha Predator are indeed the work of a “gospel hero”. Steve would instead say that he was just a man who followed God’s call and by God’s grace and mighty power was able to overcome the worst our “alpha predator” could bring against him.
To read Steve’s story and to learn more about our “alpha predator” and how to be victorious in life’s battles with evil pick up a copy of Alpha Predator: How To Be Victorious Over Life’s Ultimate Adversary And What To Do When You’re Not from Amazon, Barnes and Noble or other fine booksellers.
ISBN-13: 9780988726109
Publisher: Blood Washed Khaki
Publication date: 12/13/2012
Pages: 234