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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
There are a lot of noteworthy points throughout this book, ones that I marked and plan to review in the future. However, those points are more like snippets that got me thinking and where hidden in chapters which were at times repetitive and at other times unrelatable. It was a very densely worded read as well, and for someone only just starting to pick up nonfiction it was a bit much.
This book works well for a discussion group, the points I mentioned above giving fodder for group thought. However, I am not as keen on it as a solitary read as it is fairly easy to get lost in the chapters.
This book works well for a discussion group, the points I mentioned above giving fodder for group thought. However, I am not as keen on it as a solitary read as it is fairly easy to get lost in the chapters.
This book came to me with incredible timing. While there were some small points I didn't necessarily fully agree with, I think that the main message is so important for long-time Christians to hear: we are unconditionally loved by God, and we are already fully saved and fully redeemed. We can rest in that identity and live our lives, pursuing holiness only out of pure love and gratitude for the one who loved us first.
"In our desire to live the Christian life, most of us have simply left Jesus behind." Im not saying we have "left him behind" because we've grown cold toward him or because we don't love him. I think we've left him behind because we can't figure out how he applies to our daily life. We know that the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension certainly ought to matter in some way; we've all heard that these things are relevant and we do believe that they are historical facts, but we just don't know how the realities they represent affect the vicissitudes of the here-and-now. We have trouble connecting the dots between Bethlehem, Calvary, the throne room of heaven, and our daily grind."
This is the second time I have read this book. This time was a lot slower with a lot more study. So encouraging and helpful to know my identity is in Christ and he loves me. Highly recommend.
A good centering book to remind ourselves that our hope for love, acceptance, and approval all lay in Jesus and his cross. Once we understand all of that rests in Him and not in us, that knowledge transforms us to be more like Christ and frees us to love others like he loves us. I wasn’t particularly drawn to the author’s style of writing, so this book took me a little longer than normal to read through. It has strong Biblical content and doesn’t pull its punches, so I would recommend.
"In your pursuit of godliness, have you left Jesus behind?"
"If you neglect to focus on God's love for you in Christ, your Christianity will soon be reduced to a program of self improvement - just one of many methods to help you 'get your act together' ".
This is the first of Elyse Fitzpatrick's books I've read, but not the last. I love her laser focus on the Gospel message and how it applies to every part of everyday life. I benefited greatly from Part 1: How God's Love Transforms Our Identity. I definitely relate to "gospel amnesia", her phrase for how we forget who we are and seek other ways to define who we are. Chapter 10, explaining practically how to apply Gospel thinking to common big problems was also extremely useful.
Some reviewers call this book repetitive. It is. But that's kind of the point. We need to hear the Gospel again and again and again because we are so quick to forget. I read this book a chapter at a time over 6 months, finding myself rolling the ideas around in my head in the intervals between my reading. While I'm sure this is also good for a quick "fire hose" reading, I know I benefited from the slow plodding through it, letting each chapter sink deep into my heart.
"When Christ is our treasure, when we believe that His love has been set on us, then worries about success and failure, gain and loss, will diminish drastically."
"If you neglect to focus on God's love for you in Christ, your Christianity will soon be reduced to a program of self improvement - just one of many methods to help you 'get your act together' ".
This is the first of Elyse Fitzpatrick's books I've read, but not the last. I love her laser focus on the Gospel message and how it applies to every part of everyday life. I benefited greatly from Part 1: How God's Love Transforms Our Identity. I definitely relate to "gospel amnesia", her phrase for how we forget who we are and seek other ways to define who we are. Chapter 10, explaining practically how to apply Gospel thinking to common big problems was also extremely useful.
Some reviewers call this book repetitive. It is. But that's kind of the point. We need to hear the Gospel again and again and again because we are so quick to forget. I read this book a chapter at a time over 6 months, finding myself rolling the ideas around in my head in the intervals between my reading. While I'm sure this is also good for a quick "fire hose" reading, I know I benefited from the slow plodding through it, letting each chapter sink deep into my heart.
"When Christ is our treasure, when we believe that His love has been set on us, then worries about success and failure, gain and loss, will diminish drastically."
God really used this book in my life to remind me of the gospel in a meaningful way. What a blessing!
Because He Loves Me explores God’s love through the gospel and how it is something we should ground our identities in it and how it can transform the Christian’s life. It reminds believers how the pursuit of godliness has to be rooted in the gospel and what God has done. The first section focuses on God’s love and the gospel and what that means for the believer, and the second section focuses on the application of the first section. It is a reminder that everything that we do ought to be motivated by the gospel. It also strives to show how the gospel can intersect with daily life . It also continually reminds readers that they are loved and have been cleansed from sin by God’s grace and love for us.
I liked rereading Because He Loves Me, and I definitely learned a lot from the first section of the book, however, the second section left a lot to be desired. Yes, there were some good truths there, but I also found the message to be confusing at times, and I also disagreed with the author on a few points. I won’t delve into that a whole lot because I am still trying to think through what would be a good response to those things. I think my biggest beef is the statement that anxiety is an issue of idolatry. And I’m sorry to say that there was a time I would have agreed the author. However, as someone who struggles with anxiety, I can that there are parts of it that do fall inline with this, but there are other aspects that I don’t what triggers my anxiety, or rather it is triggered by past trauma that I am working through. I also felt that sometimes there were verses and passages taken out of context, I can’t remember which ones, but there were definitely some that made me stop and think that they were being misused, but I could be wrong.
I also did not like chapter 10, which had several case studies in which the author shows how the different components of the gospel can be used by the individuals and be transformed by it. I do think it fails to show the importance of going deeper into those issues. Again, it could be because that was not the purpose of the book. While reminding oneself of the gospel is important, I don’t think that is the only action someone should take to recover from various issues. I think it can be helpful, but sometimes more needs to be done. I have no idea if I am making sense, and I apologize.
Alright, I fell like my review has been mostly negative, so I would like to take sometimes to share some of my favorite quotes from the book:
“True Christianity is not a program of self-improvement; it’s an acknowledgement that something more than self-improvement is needed. What’s needed is death and resurrection: gospel words, gospel constructs, gospel motives, gospel power – a loving Redeemer.” (p. 25).
“The purpose of our life is to reveal to others how wonderful He is and to glorify and enjoy Him eternally.” (p.56).
“His [God’s] disposition toward you today is what is has been since He made you His own: He loves you and longs for you to know it and savor every drop of it.” (p.91)
“…your growth inn holiness is firmly bound to your appreciation of the gospel and God’s love, for it is only an appreciation of His love that can motivate genuine obedience.” (p.109)
“Every one of the positive gospel imperatives in Scripture can be summed up in this: live a life of love because you’ve been loved.” (p.152).
Overall, I am on the fence when it comes to Because He Loves Me. On the one hand it contains some great truths that remind readers of God’s love for them and the gospel. But then there are things that I disagree with the author on, and there are parts that border on our faith being dependent on our feelings. 3.5/5 Stars,
I liked rereading Because He Loves Me, and I definitely learned a lot from the first section of the book, however, the second section left a lot to be desired. Yes, there were some good truths there, but I also found the message to be confusing at times, and I also disagreed with the author on a few points. I won’t delve into that a whole lot because I am still trying to think through what would be a good response to those things. I think my biggest beef is the statement that anxiety is an issue of idolatry. And I’m sorry to say that there was a time I would have agreed the author. However, as someone who struggles with anxiety, I can that there are parts of it that do fall inline with this, but there are other aspects that I don’t what triggers my anxiety, or rather it is triggered by past trauma that I am working through. I also felt that sometimes there were verses and passages taken out of context, I can’t remember which ones, but there were definitely some that made me stop and think that they were being misused, but I could be wrong.
I also did not like chapter 10, which had several case studies in which the author shows how the different components of the gospel can be used by the individuals and be transformed by it. I do think it fails to show the importance of going deeper into those issues. Again, it could be because that was not the purpose of the book. While reminding oneself of the gospel is important, I don’t think that is the only action someone should take to recover from various issues. I think it can be helpful, but sometimes more needs to be done. I have no idea if I am making sense, and I apologize.
Alright, I fell like my review has been mostly negative, so I would like to take sometimes to share some of my favorite quotes from the book:
“True Christianity is not a program of self-improvement; it’s an acknowledgement that something more than self-improvement is needed. What’s needed is death and resurrection: gospel words, gospel constructs, gospel motives, gospel power – a loving Redeemer.” (p. 25).
“The purpose of our life is to reveal to others how wonderful He is and to glorify and enjoy Him eternally.” (p.56).
“His [God’s] disposition toward you today is what is has been since He made you His own: He loves you and longs for you to know it and savor every drop of it.” (p.91)
“…your growth inn holiness is firmly bound to your appreciation of the gospel and God’s love, for it is only an appreciation of His love that can motivate genuine obedience.” (p.109)
“Every one of the positive gospel imperatives in Scripture can be summed up in this: live a life of love because you’ve been loved.” (p.152).
Overall, I am on the fence when it comes to Because He Loves Me. On the one hand it contains some great truths that remind readers of God’s love for them and the gospel. But then there are things that I disagree with the author on, and there are parts that border on our faith being dependent on our feelings. 3.5/5 Stars,
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
this was given to me by my biblical counselor and it has been one of the best books i've read lately. It also made me cry multiple times because of the truths that are in this book. I highly reccomend it. It provokes lots of thought and self-reflection. again, this book was really good