Sunday, November 30, 2014

#59 Empty Shelf Challenge 10 [101 in 1001]

BookGod is Not Mad at You.

Author: Joyce Meyer

Info: Copyright 2013 Faith Words

Where acquired: Checked out of public library.

Why:  I heard someone say that we Christians tend to give those who do not believe as we do lots of grace.  Once they become a follower of Jesus Christ, we give them much less grace and we give ourselves none.  I think this is where our misguided impression that God is angry at us comes into play.  Unfortunately, I have fallen victim to this same type of thinking.  Meyer usually writes in a way that seems to reflect just what I'm thinking and why I am thinking it.  Hopefully this book will be no different.

Rating (on a scale of 1-4 hashtags):  # # # #

What it's about:  I'm sure we've all heard red-faced preaching about the wrath of God.  What is God's wrath and to whom is it directed?  Is He a loving Daddy with rules that guide us on the path of righteousness and fellowship with Him?  Or, is He an angry Father ready to crush and punish any hint of disobedience?  How do we untangle what the Bible says from what our own minds believe or what we've been taught?  Meyer strives to untangle the mystery. She says,
The single most important goal of this book is to unburden you of the baggage you have carried into your relationship with the Lord--hurt, bad teachings, flawed views of a father, a works-based faith, wrong fear of God and other things that are heavy items of baggage that steal our joy. - p. 116
Favorite Quotes

"...when I believe that God is angry with me because of my imperfections, no matter how much He loves me and wants to forgive and restore me, I will not receive it because I don’t believe it." - p. 9

"I believed that God loved me in some sort of general, impersonal way, but I did not know the fierce, fiery, all consuming love that God has for His children." - p. 11

"Many new covenant believers still live under the old covenant, or they mix the old with the new.  They have some grace and some law, but in reality they have neither one." - p. 179

"Grace is God's power available to you free of charge, enabling you to do with ease what you could not do on your own with any amount of struggle and effort." - p. 193

"...you don't have to sacrifice your future in order to pay for your past." - p. 196

What I Liked:
  • The message of the book is balanced.  Meyer doesn't preach a happy-go-lucky, floating on a glory cloud, life is easy message--what we call "greasy grace."  She mentions issues and struggles and the fact that this life isn't easy, but she also makes it clear that establishing a proper relationship with God is the foundation of dealing with life.
What I didn’t like: 
  • I understand that no one book, except the Bible, can answer everything, but while this book answered a lot of questions, it left some of mine unanswered.
To sum up:  My main takeaway from this book:  God is not mad at me.  My longing to please Him should be out of a heart of worship, honor, and love, not out of being terrified of retribution for failure.  I still have a long way to go.

Want to join the challenge?  Click the empty shelf photo on the right to learn more.  It's not too late!

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