Joseph M. Stowell

Joseph M. Stowell does an excellent job of taking several well-known examples out of the Bible and expanding on how not only Jesus showed love, but how others did/did not show love to Him. The book reminds us all not just to always be constantly striving to do good works, but to make sure that our motives are not for our own selfish gain, and also not to feel compelled to brag about them. I've been a Christian for many years, and yet by reading this book, I gained some new insights on where my own personal weaknesses were, and the complete depth of love portrayed throughout the Bible. I realized that most of of us don't relate to the woman who was a sinner, but we all are. We also don't relate to the Pharisee who thought he was better than the general population, but we all do act like that at some time and point in our lives. And, without disclosing too much more of the book, the examples of how Christ can test you to see if you are truly being Christ-like to others was heartwarming and did make me stop long enough to ask myself, "Am I really doing all I should be doing to be Christ-like?" If you are a Christian who has lost your joy in your life, you definitely should read this book. If you are searching for answers, you should read as well. It's definitely a book I wouldn't mind giving as a gift.… (meer)

Enjoyed meditating on this look at personal significance. Some of my favorite quotes include:

"It is safe to say that there is not an area of life that is unaffected by this primal need for significance. But apart from Christ, the passages through which we normally move to establish and maintain our significance, even when successfully negotiated, most often leave us with a sense of sorrow, loss and regret.
“Our need for significance is not the culprit. We were built for significance. The culprit is our struggling, stumbling attempts to manufacture our own sense of significance and in the process place at risk that very thing for which we strive, the very people we need and love, the society in which we move, and the cause of Christ for which we have been redeemed.”
“Our passions, pride, and desire for pleasure are powerful motivators, bubbling to the surface in our attitudes and actions. Like the search for significance, these forces are God-given and good in themselves. But unless they are submitted to God’s control, they will flow into destructive channels that not only rob us of their God-intended enjoyment, but cause us to damage ourselves and others. Just as there is no significance outside of Christ, there is no true fulfillment of these inner drives apart from Him.”
“We often think of hypocrites as those who say they believe one thing and do another. However, Scripture most often sees them as people who perform external religious acts (supposed redemptive responses) with no change (restructuring) of their hearts. Hypocrites exercise their religion to advance their personal significance. A Pharisee pursued perfection for the pleasure of moving up one more notch on the religious ladder. "
“Why are so few of us, even as Christians, genuinely content? Though Christ calls us to contentment in Him, the compulsion of more constantly threatens to pull us away from God. Many of us fall into empty searches for significance that more cannot supply.”
“Liberation from this compulsion comes when we understand the source of these desires for more.”
“None of us can deny our inner desire for more, and denial is not the answer. Like our drive for significance, and our need to fulfill our pleasure, pride and passion, our desire for more is built into us by the Creator.”
“We’re built for fulfillment in the more of Christ, but our fallenness drives us to seek more in the things around us. Only when we come to Christ in repentance and faith can our God-given longing for more be truly satisfied.”
“We maximize our pleasure when we focus it on Him – His glory and His gain – and when we minimize impulses to bypass Him in an effort to find pleasure apart from God.”
“Passion is usually taken to mean something from which human nature suffers; in reality it stands for endurance and high enthusiasm, a radiant intensity of life, life at the highest pitch all the time without any reaction.” Oswald Chambers… (meer)