As you know I’ve recently started to devote my time to books again as a former doom scroller and I wanted to share 5 things I found in my latest read “The Glorious Pursuit” Becoming who God Created Us to Be by Gary Thomas, who is one of my favorite Christian authors at the moment!
Chapter 13 Pure Perception: “When God isn’t first in our lives, then our priorities are out of whack and our understanding will be darkened accordingly. How do you know if you’re placing someone above God? Ask yourself these questions: Do I ever fail to speak the truth to someone because I fear his or her disapproval? (This could include children, spouses, bosses, church members, boyfriends, and girlfriends.) Am I prone to flattery? Am I willing to compromise on what is right if in doing so, I win someone else’s appreciation or affection, even while knowing that my actions are displeasing to God? In addition to streamlining, Buchman was insistent on absolute purity. “It’s amazing how these- I won’t call them sins, I just call them nice little vices- can sometimes be the key to a man’s whole life. When we depend on sin to get through the day, we bend out heart away from God and lose sight of his beauty.” Buchman saw clearly that the reason that so many Christians were well-meaning but powerless in the lives of their nations and even their families was because they professed Christ with their lips but compromised in their lives. He saw that any valid experience of faith carried deep moral change with it. He saw that those who professed faith but lived filth, denied before men the power of God as a force in their nature.” I’ve been guilty of this before and it’s not the same thing as trying to understand another person’s point of view who is different from your own and ultimately God’s. I definitely think there’s a way to reach people without having to compromise and it is through love, gentleness, and understanding that we bridge those gaps to create unity. I also understand that for centuries this has not been the case and I’m devastated because it’s not what Jesus set out to do and it’s not what I experienced when God showed me ultimately who He was.
Chapter 8 Energy of Your Soul: “Love is an overwhelming passion and commitment that directs your life according to your highest priorities. Love makes difficult decisions possible because it becomes the overriding factor of your life.” I’m going through this right now and making tough decisions through love is selfless as well. Whether it’s holding your tongue, deciding to not make decisions that will harm your relationship, giving a stranger the time of day when you’re busy are choices based on love and that’s very powerful. It’s what keeps the world from turning resentful and imploding in on itself.
Chapter 7 Freedom from Within: “Some of us live spiritually like a person on a diet who has a freezer full of Haggen-Dazs ice cream. If you’re serious about the diet, you’ll get the ice cream out of the house, right? Otherwise, you’ll simply make yourself miserable. We half-heartedly want to follow God and live holy lives, all the while surrounding ourselves with temptation.” We can all think of things that we may be keeping around us whether openly or secretly that could hinder us in our walk of faith. I literally wrote wow next to this highlighted part in the chapter because it was so well said and a perfect example.
Chapter 17 Enlarged Living: “If you truly want God to give you your life back, you must begin to pay attention to the DO NOT ENTER signs posted in front of certain behaviors, thought patterns, and attitudes. Stop at the first door. This isn’t legalism- it’s freedom!” And this is exactly what I feel when I think about how God gave me freewill. We can choose to listen and avoid a world of hurt, or we can keep doing what we think will make us happy and deal with the consequences as they come, not truly experiencing freedom or joy for that matter. We have a choice!
Chapter 14 Exuberant Living: “Thankfulness is one of the most beautiful, and spiritually strengthening, attitudes of Christ. It is true that God deserves our thankfulness, but duty and obligation are hardly good motivators. Thankfulness, as an attitude, is like a fuel that powers the Christian life and keeps us moving on the pathway of spiritual growth, even when the climb is steep and trail rough. Unless we learn how to cultivate a thankful heart, we become stuck in bitterness.” In all my years I would thank God for what I had and even went as far as thanking Him for my rough times but somehow it felt shallow and meaningless. It wasn’t until last year that I began to put my heart in it (and of course my trials helped to keep my eyes on the lord) BUT it felt different this time! I was finally cultivating a relationship with Him and he felt familiar to me, so when I thanked Him I actually meant it because I knew who He was. It’s hard to wholeheartedly thank a stranger (at least for me) because most of the time it’s just out of courtesy and then you usually move on about your day. But with a favorite relative or close friend? Your heart is overwhelmed with delight because you love them so and whatever deed or gift they bestowed on you really meant something to you so your “thank you” is full of love. I hope this makes sense!
If you are interested in any of my highlights, here’s the link on where to find the book below.
Thank you for reading and stay tuned for next month’s book review! Comment below or find me on social and let me know what book I should read next. Have a blessed one!
Promises He Made 
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