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.