Wednesday, January 30, 2013

The Utter Relief of Holiness (and a Give-a-Way!)

If you ever read any John Eldredge books you know they aren't a little light reading.  You don't just pick it up and expect to finish it in an hour.  You most definitely don't expect to walk away from it when you are finished unchanged.  Yes, you expect something in your heart or spirit to be different after reading his books (or the ones with his wife Stasi).

"The Utter Relief of Holiness: How God's Goodness Frees Us from Everything that Plagues Us" is no exception!

Another fantastic, deep read by New York Times Bestselling Author, John Eldredge!



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The author says: "Holiness may seem an unattainable goal, a perfection we humans can’t quite reach, or it may seem boring—the spiritual equivalent of flossing. What it proves to be is a relief. If we could recover a vision of what holiness is, we would be absolutely captured by it." 
 
What a book!  Not at all what I expected and EXACTLY what I expected at the same time!
 
  • He tackles the question:  "What is Christianity supposed to DO to a person?"
  • He shows us that we ache to be whole AND holy.  How both of these are our destiny.
  • He shows us what it would be like to live life if we never struggled with our "hard" things again.
  • He tackles forgiveness.  Describing how Jesus forgave his executors even BEFORE there was a hint of remorse on their part.  What if we learned to live like that?
  • He reminds us, through scripture, how we can learn to live life like Jesus.  In his words, "The way he does this is to give us HIS goodness, impart it to us, almost like a blood transfusion or mouth-to-mouth resuscitation."
  • He explains the difference in condemnation and conviction.
  • He invites us to pray a simple but incredibly powerful prayer from the heart: "Jesus, give me your holiness."  A power packed five words.
For me, the most powerful part of the book is detailed instructions on how to break strongholds and be released from "stubborn places".  He teaches us how to invite healing into our deepest wounds. 

This book is powerful.  This book will change how you look at things.  It will convict, but not condemn.  It's not always an easy read if you read it with your heart open! But the changes that come will be so worth it.

"The hope of Christianity is that we get to live the life of Jesus. His beautiful goodness can be ours. Jesus can heal what has gone wrong inside each and every one of us. He does this by giving us HIS goodness; he imparts it to us. We get to live HIS life---that is, live each day by the power of his life within us.  That's the hope: you get to live his beautiful life."

I'm excited to be able to offer one reader a copy of this book!  Simply just leave a comment that you'd like to be entered.  One winner will be chosen at random on February 6! Make sure and leave an email address so I can contact you if you are the winner!
 
 
 
 
 
 
"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
 
 
 

2 comments:

e said...

Enter me :) elainestone1@gmail.com

A Journey For Life said...

Please enter me. I have never read any of his books and I am liking what you have said about the book.