I just read a
refreshing book by Jefferson Bethke, with a take on the Gospel that seems so in
touch with the Gospel as presented by
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. This is
not a presentation of a gospel diluted by political correctness. In It' Not What You Think: Why Christianity Is
about So Much More than Going to Heaven When You Die (Thomas Nelson, 2015),
Bethke asks the readers to look at some of the ideas about God and Jesus that they
may have always taken for granted. He
asks us to take a look and then he challenges us to look at them in different
ways.
If we're willing to follow him, we open the boxes where we
think God has been confined and we get to experience Jesus in what is perhaps a
new way. Most people dream about going
to heaven after they die, but what if heaven starts when you become a Christian?
Is the communion meal just another ritual, or are people really changed when
they come to the table?
What if other people aren't what you think? What if there's
more to you than even you realize? And get this, God knows your story, and the
part you're playing in His story. And by the way, He knows you and loves you
anyway.
God knows when you hurt, where you hurt, and why you hurt. If
we let Him, He takes our wounds, and turns them into scars. And what are scars
but wounds that no longer hurt.
Bethke writes in a manner that engages the reader from the
very first page. Enjoy it by yourself,
with a small group, or perhaps, if you’re a pastor, as a sermon series.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for this review. I was not required to write a positive review.
5/5
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