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Reflections on the Savior–three books in one
Reflections on the Savior
By Max Lucado
When I purchased Reflections on the Savior, I didn’t have a plan. I just wanted another book full of Biblical insights imparted in an engaging and sometimes anecdotal way by an excellent writer. As a bonus, I would actually be acquiring three books. I decided to read it over the course of three years, one Lent at a time. Lent is the forty days before Easter, a time of reflection and devotion for Christians as we anticipate Jesus’ death on a Roman cross followed three days later, as He predicted, by His resurrection.
And the Angels Were Silent: The Final Week of Jesus
Rating: 5/5
Category: Christian, Nonfiction
Notes: 1. Each chapter has a study guide.
2. Divided into sections by days of the week that correlate with the events in Jesus’ last week on Earth.
Publication: 1992—Multnomah
Memorable Lines:
The Pharisees were arrogant. They were arrogant because they were self-righteous. They were self-righteous because they were trying to make themselves righteous without God…They complicated the gospel with odd myths and superstition. They took pride when it came to tithing, but took naps when it came to serving.
The GIFT for All People: Thoughts on God’s Great Grace
Rating: 5/5
Category: Christian, Nonfiction
Notes: 1. The chapters are short, of devotional length. They get to the point quickly and with impact.
2. The book is divided into 4 sections:
The Gift of a Savior
Ransom for Sinners
Bounteous Grace
The Choice
Publication: 1999—Multnomah
Memorable Lines:
Jesus knows how you feel. You’re under the gun at work? Jesus knows how you feel. You’ve got more to do than is humanly possible? So did he. People take more from you than they give? Jesus understands. Your teenagers won’t listen? Your students won’t try? Jesus knows how you feel. You are precious to him. So precious that he became like you so that you would come to him.
Sometimes God is so touched by what he sees that he gives us what we need and not simply that for which we ask.
God is for you. Had he a calendar, your birthday would be circled. If he drove a car, your name would be on his bumper. If there’s a tree in heaven, he’s carved your name in the bark. We know he has a tattoo, and we know what it says. “I have written your name on my hand,” he declares (Isaiah 49:16).
No Wonder They Call Him the Savior: Chronicles of the Cross
Rating: 5/5
Category: Christian, Nonfiction
Notes: The book is divided into 3 sections:
The Cross: Its Words
The Cross: Its Witnesses
The Cross: Its Wisdom
Publication: 1986—Multnomah
Memorable Lines:
And, by the way, never were those arms opened so wide as they were on the Roman cross. One arm extending back into history and the other reaching into the future. An embrace of forgiveness offered for anyone who’ll come. A hen gathering her chicks. A father receiving his own. A redeemer redeeming the world. No wonder they call him the Savior.
It was easy for him [a farmer] to believe. I can see why. Someone who witnesses God’s daily display of majesty doesn’t find the secret of Easter absurd. Someone who depends upon the mysteries of nature for his livelihood doesn’t find it difficult to depend on an unseen God for his salvation.
The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith
The Prodigal God
by Timothy Keller
You may feel the urge to read that title twice. Wait, you say, the parable in the Bible is commonly referred to as “The Prodigal Son”! One of the meanings of prodigal, however, is “recklessly extravagant,” and that is the kind of love God has for us.
The Prodigal God is a fairly short book that uses Jesus’ parable about a spendthrift son who wastes his inheritance on immoral living to explain the good news of God’s love and salvation. If you are not familiar with the tale, it’s okay because Keller shares the story as told by Luke at the first of his book. As you read it you will be reminded that there are two brothers who both have bad attitudes. The younger brother engages in wild living, but the older brother who exemplifies the religious leaders listening to the parable has an attitude problem as well. These self-righteous scribes and Pharisees try to follow the letter of the law but not the spirit of the law. One of the chapter titles is “The Two Lost Sons.” Neither son shows the respect for the father that would be expected according to the customs of their culture.
This is a great book to read if you are seeking a personal relationship with God. It is also good for those who are already followers of Jesus. I particularly appreciated the examination of the characters’ actions in the light of the time and place where they lived. It made a story I have long been familiar with come alive. Keller compares the feast at the end of the parable with “the great festival of God at the end of history” and explains four ways in which salvation is like a feast. This book will challenge your mind and heart.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Christian, Nonfiction, Religion, Theology
Publication: 2008—Penguin Group
Memorable Lines:
…sin is not just breaking the rules, it is putting yourself in the place of God as Savior, Lord, and Judge just as each son sought to displace the authority of the father in his own life.
…the prerequisite for receiving the grace of God is to know you need it.
We must learn how to repent of the sin under all our other sins and under all our righteousness—the sin of seeking to be our own Savior and Lord. We must admit that we’ve put our ultimate hope and trust in things other than God, and that in both our wrongdoing and right doing we have been seeking to get around God or get control of God in order to get control of those things.
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