Ted Dekker always amazes me with broad spectrum of genres he writes!  A Man Called Blessed, the sequel to Blessed Child, is no different.  Co-written by Bill Bright, the novel continues the story of Caleb, an orphan who won fame the world over for his ability to heal.  Of course, it was his devotion and complete faith in God that gave him that ability.

In this book, we find Caleb back at the monastery in the desert where he grew up.  He hasn’t performed a miracle since he arrived, and, unbeknownst to him, he has slowly walked away from the complete faith he had as a child.  The unexpected arrival of Rebecca Soloman, a renowned Jewish soldier who is intent on finding the lost Ark of the Covenant, forces Caleb to face the man he has become.

As he races off into the desert to avoid capture, Caleb runs into a tribe of nomadic Christians who have given up everything to follow Christ.  It is here that he faces the truth in one of the most captivating moments of the book.  After Caleb asserts that he does still believe, Father Hadane says, “Your beliefs are wrong.  You say that you  may not be living up to your beliefs, but by definition, this is impossible.  We always live up or down to our beliefs.  Beliefs are the rails which govern our lives.  Our trains roll on them whether we like it or not.  If your train is not rolling on the set of rails which you claim are yours, it’s because you have diverted your train to another set of rails–these are your true beliefs now, not the rails you left.”  WOW!

As Caleb reconnects with the faith and the power of his childhood, Rebecca is also forced to re-evaluate her own beliefs.  God has shown Himself to be powerful beyond her imagination, but she must choose whether to accept Christ as her Messiah.

Aside from the fact that this is yet another fabulous tale of adventure and spiritual depth, the book challenges the reader to, along with Caleb, really think about what our beliefs truly are.  Are we on the rails we claim to be on?  Or have we diverted the trains of our lives from our first Love?

**Disclaimer:  I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.**