Scan barcode
akadventure's review against another edition
3.0
This book was a bit difficult to get through. It definitely had some good (and convicting) points, but there were other parts that I didn't really agree with. Not sure that I would recommend it to others without caveats.
leeman729's review against another edition
5.0
So let's be clear: I don't agree with everything in this book. But I've honestly learned to be even more careful about the books I completely agree with, than the books that I don't, for a whole number of reasons.
I don't want an author to tell me what I want to hear. And a downfall of Christian culture (not everywhere, it just tends to be common) is that we often feed into each other's ideas, and we only read things by people who agree with us, rather than challenging each other in the ways that we think and seeking to be challenged as well. You wind up with a whole lot of lazy, narrow-minded people as a result.
That being said: this book is written for Christians, and I would really only recommend it to somebody who is a Christian. It's not the kind of book that is looking to convert anybody (we probably don't need more of those); it's simply a message designed to challenge and even encourage people who already consider themselves believers. I've gotta give that disclaimer upfront, because if you are not already a Christian, this book just will not edify you.
So, why the five star rating?
Frankly, I haven't read a "Christian" book probably in about two years. Awhile ago I felt led to almost completely put down all of the books, sermons, and articles I was constantly reading and listening to, because I felt like God was trying to get me to see that I was far too reliant on other people (and other people's opinions) as my source of strength in my relationship with him. When I had a question, I would immediately try and find out what other people had to say about that question, rather than literally just talking to God about it and trying to understand it and find the truth for myself. It was a handicap and a problem for me, and I think it was something God wanted me to get rid of, and as a result, my own faith, ability to understand, and even my ability to just think for myself has definitely been sharpened. I honest these last two years I feel like have been some of the biggest times of growth for me as a person, period, because of it.
And this book, being one of the first non-fiction/Christian reads that I've done in a long time, resurfaced in me a lot of the lessons I've been learning this past year or two on my own. John Bevere seeks to get believers to rethink their ideas about so many things that Christians just take for granted. We talk about how good God is, and how everything good comes from God, without truly understanding what that even means. We talk about the grace of God CONSTANTLY, yet so many people completely misunderstand what grace has been given to us for in the first place.
And for a very long time, I was one of those people. I talked about the love of God, yet never felt it. I talked about the grace of God, yet didn't know how it applied to me or why it made a difference. I talked about how good God was, yet didn't really feel like he was especially good to me.
Basically, I was a complete and total hypocrite, even though I didn't want to be. This book is getting five stars from me because I think it's a message that could really help wake up a lot of Christians from that kind of unintentional hypocrisy. You don't need this book to hear that message, and it's something I learned on my own. But for a lot of people it could be helpful. There is so little empowerment in the church today, but Scripture promises us so much more than what we settle for.
"Grace", to me, was God choosing to ignore my faults and sins. It was the big rug under which he swept all the things I hated about myself. It was him moving on from all my problems and the wrongs that I've done, so that I could now (supposedly) have forgiveness and go to heaven.
But I didn't want God to ignore my faults. I didn't want him to sweep those things under the rug. I couldn't just let go and move on.
Frankly, I needed help.
Several years ago I started to dig on my own, and intentionally seek God for myself. I read the whole Bible. I started to pray consistently. I just wanted the truth, and I more or less tuned out all the other voices in my life for the sake of finding it. And I found out that God doesn't just sweep all of my sins under the rug, because that's not love. Grace is not ignoring our faults. That's honestly cruelty.
Love was God looking at me full in the face, seeing each and every one of those things, and saying, "I want you anyway".
Grace was him giving me the tools and the power that I needed to actually have victory over those things, whether it was addiction, or depression, or anxiety.
Redemption was him being willing to say that he would die just to help me get out of the hole I dug for myself, and actually doing it.
There are things I can't even go into in a brief book review, but so many of the typical "Christian" virtues go so much deeper what we settle for. We take something that looks outwardly "good", and accept it, instead to trying to find the fullness of God and his plan for us. Regardless of what you believe, it's worth pursuing it to the end, because otherwise we are setting for something less than what we could have.
It's something that I've learned to do on my own, but that I also want to see more Christians do for themselves, too. Because of that (and also because I'm lenient in my ratings with all non-fiction, as long as they're honest and not total garbage), I gave this book a full five stars. John Bevere's writing is honest, straightforward, and he doesn't hold back for the sake of the reader's feelings, which I personally like a lot. It's a kind of honesty that I try to have with other people, but also with myself, because I know from experience that the easiest person for me to deceive is myself. This book challenged me to keep digging deeper, without just spoon feeding me all the solutions that people normally want to hear, and for that I am grateful.
If you're a Christian, definitely highly recommend this!
Happy reading =].
I don't want an author to tell me what I want to hear. And a downfall of Christian culture (not everywhere, it just tends to be common) is that we often feed into each other's ideas, and we only read things by people who agree with us, rather than challenging each other in the ways that we think and seeking to be challenged as well. You wind up with a whole lot of lazy, narrow-minded people as a result.
That being said: this book is written for Christians, and I would really only recommend it to somebody who is a Christian. It's not the kind of book that is looking to convert anybody (we probably don't need more of those); it's simply a message designed to challenge and even encourage people who already consider themselves believers. I've gotta give that disclaimer upfront, because if you are not already a Christian, this book just will not edify you.
So, why the five star rating?
Frankly, I haven't read a "Christian" book probably in about two years. Awhile ago I felt led to almost completely put down all of the books, sermons, and articles I was constantly reading and listening to, because I felt like God was trying to get me to see that I was far too reliant on other people (and other people's opinions) as my source of strength in my relationship with him. When I had a question, I would immediately try and find out what other people had to say about that question, rather than literally just talking to God about it and trying to understand it and find the truth for myself. It was a handicap and a problem for me, and I think it was something God wanted me to get rid of, and as a result, my own faith, ability to understand, and even my ability to just think for myself has definitely been sharpened. I honest these last two years I feel like have been some of the biggest times of growth for me as a person, period, because of it.
And this book, being one of the first non-fiction/Christian reads that I've done in a long time, resurfaced in me a lot of the lessons I've been learning this past year or two on my own. John Bevere seeks to get believers to rethink their ideas about so many things that Christians just take for granted. We talk about how good God is, and how everything good comes from God, without truly understanding what that even means. We talk about the grace of God CONSTANTLY, yet so many people completely misunderstand what grace has been given to us for in the first place.
And for a very long time, I was one of those people. I talked about the love of God, yet never felt it. I talked about the grace of God, yet didn't know how it applied to me or why it made a difference. I talked about how good God was, yet didn't really feel like he was especially good to me.
Basically, I was a complete and total hypocrite, even though I didn't want to be. This book is getting five stars from me because I think it's a message that could really help wake up a lot of Christians from that kind of unintentional hypocrisy. You don't need this book to hear that message, and it's something I learned on my own. But for a lot of people it could be helpful. There is so little empowerment in the church today, but Scripture promises us so much more than what we settle for.
"Grace", to me, was God choosing to ignore my faults and sins. It was the big rug under which he swept all the things I hated about myself. It was him moving on from all my problems and the wrongs that I've done, so that I could now (supposedly) have forgiveness and go to heaven.
But I didn't want God to ignore my faults. I didn't want him to sweep those things under the rug. I couldn't just let go and move on.
Frankly, I needed help.
Several years ago I started to dig on my own, and intentionally seek God for myself. I read the whole Bible. I started to pray consistently. I just wanted the truth, and I more or less tuned out all the other voices in my life for the sake of finding it. And I found out that God doesn't just sweep all of my sins under the rug, because that's not love. Grace is not ignoring our faults. That's honestly cruelty.
Love was God looking at me full in the face, seeing each and every one of those things, and saying, "I want you anyway".
Grace was him giving me the tools and the power that I needed to actually have victory over those things, whether it was addiction, or depression, or anxiety.
Redemption was him being willing to say that he would die just to help me get out of the hole I dug for myself, and actually doing it.
There are things I can't even go into in a brief book review, but so many of the typical "Christian" virtues go so much deeper what we settle for. We take something that looks outwardly "good", and accept it, instead to trying to find the fullness of God and his plan for us. Regardless of what you believe, it's worth pursuing it to the end, because otherwise we are setting for something less than what we could have.
It's something that I've learned to do on my own, but that I also want to see more Christians do for themselves, too. Because of that (and also because I'm lenient in my ratings with all non-fiction, as long as they're honest and not total garbage), I gave this book a full five stars. John Bevere's writing is honest, straightforward, and he doesn't hold back for the sake of the reader's feelings, which I personally like a lot. It's a kind of honesty that I try to have with other people, but also with myself, because I know from experience that the easiest person for me to deceive is myself. This book challenged me to keep digging deeper, without just spoon feeding me all the solutions that people normally want to hear, and for that I am grateful.
If you're a Christian, definitely highly recommend this!
Happy reading =].
kindredspirit88's review against another edition
5.0
Full of truth and light that so many Christians lose sight of. Challenging to the current popular ways of life. I suggest this book to any professing Christian.
emilycsmith's review against another edition
3.0
"If you believe in the Gospel what you like, and reject what you don't like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself." - St. Augustine of Hippo
When I open a nonfiction book, I generally like to scan to the back to see how thick the bibliography section is. 🤷🏻♀️ This book doesn't have a huge stash of ODG references in the back, but it IS a good, thought-provoking read on worldliness, holiness, and truth. It definitely doesn't hit as hard as, say, R.A. Torrey, but I am happy regardless that books like these are being shared in mainline circles.
This is the second book I have read by this author, the first being The Bait of Satan -- now that's a book that was transformational for my spiritual life! Although I am still new to his teachings (via podcast, YT, books, etc.), I have found them always founded on the Word and not catering to popular opinion.
Happy reading! 📖
When I open a nonfiction book, I generally like to scan to the back to see how thick the bibliography section is. 🤷🏻♀️ This book doesn't have a huge stash of ODG references in the back, but it IS a good, thought-provoking read on worldliness, holiness, and truth. It definitely doesn't hit as hard as, say, R.A. Torrey, but I am happy regardless that books like these are being shared in mainline circles.
This is the second book I have read by this author, the first being The Bait of Satan -- now that's a book that was transformational for my spiritual life! Although I am still new to his teachings (via podcast, YT, books, etc.), I have found them always founded on the Word and not catering to popular opinion.
Happy reading! 📖
jobananers's review against another edition
5.0
John Bevere is an amazing writer that speaks directly to the heart. His message is a wake up call. This book changed the way I view the world and my relationship with the Lord.
Thank you God for the wonderful words you have given your servant, John, to share with us.
Thank you God for the wonderful words you have given your servant, John, to share with us.
skita's review against another edition
5.0
I’m currently in my second read through of this book. I first listened to it as an audiobook this spring. Now, I’m reading this book for a second time with a journal and a couple Bibles and with other Bible study resources handy so I can ponder the points at a deeper level than before.
Daily we are bombarded with what the world’s thoughts are on what is “good.” I soaked up the exhortation John gave with scriptural backing that encourages us to hold steady with going after God’s view of what is “good.”
John also makes sure to point out that it is imperative to still lovingly interact with others BUT without compromising our actively seeking to live a life full of what God calls “good”—sound hard to do?
It’s because it is—God never promised it would be easy but because it is so very hard I think that is what can make us different as Believers. It would leave a greater impact than if we were to “love” everyone yet have no convictions, standards, or boundaries.
Daily we are bombarded with what the world’s thoughts are on what is “good.” I soaked up the exhortation John gave with scriptural backing that encourages us to hold steady with going after God’s view of what is “good.”
John also makes sure to point out that it is imperative to still lovingly interact with others BUT without compromising our actively seeking to live a life full of what God calls “good”—sound hard to do?
It’s because it is—God never promised it would be easy but because it is so very hard I think that is what can make us different as Believers. It would leave a greater impact than if we were to “love” everyone yet have no convictions, standards, or boundaries.
imkatefrantz's review against another edition
5.0
John Bevere is without a doubt one of my favorite modern-day Christian speakers and authors. His work Fear of the Lord absolutely changed my life, as well as Driven by Eternity and Extraordinary Living. Maybe I should just list all of his books, that’s how Holy Spirit inspired they are. While reading them you know it isn’t coming from the mind of John Bevere, it’s coming from the heart of God.
Good or God is no exception. I have always held the belief that there is no gray area. That when you look closely enough you can separate the black from the white – the distance you are from the issue, question, or circumstance determines how gray it is based on your perspective. In Good or God John reveals God’s heart for us to be so close to God that we easily separate good from bad, white from black, evil from Holy.
Using stories, scriptures, and Holy Spirit charged admonitions and encouragement; this book reveals human error and how God’s grace empowers us to live in His perfect strength. It convicts, inspires, brings understanding, and draws you closer to Father.
I’m not saying you must read this book, but I am saying it would be a good decision. This is a message from the Throne to your life so your relationship with God can be radically changed. Are we satisfied with ‘good’ or do we want God – pure and unadulterated - not for what He can do for us, but for Him alone?
But really, read this book. Then give it away.
Good or God is no exception. I have always held the belief that there is no gray area. That when you look closely enough you can separate the black from the white – the distance you are from the issue, question, or circumstance determines how gray it is based on your perspective. In Good or God John reveals God’s heart for us to be so close to God that we easily separate good from bad, white from black, evil from Holy.
Using stories, scriptures, and Holy Spirit charged admonitions and encouragement; this book reveals human error and how God’s grace empowers us to live in His perfect strength. It convicts, inspires, brings understanding, and draws you closer to Father.
I’m not saying you must read this book, but I am saying it would be a good decision. This is a message from the Throne to your life so your relationship with God can be radically changed. Are we satisfied with ‘good’ or do we want God – pure and unadulterated - not for what He can do for us, but for Him alone?
But really, read this book. Then give it away.
kellsway's review against another edition
5.0
This was such a sobering read. I gain so much from this bless author. I'm going to have to re read this yearly to bring keep these truths in the front of my mind always. God Is so Good and his word is Truth.