"Jesus is_________ " by Judah Smith

I am such a blessed girl! In the last couple of months I've received advanced readers copies of books that came out from my top 3 favorite authors and speakers in exchange for some tweeting, facebooking, Amazon reviews and promotion. I am glad to promote what I already believe in and I loved "Jesus is _______" by Judah Smith.

I truly believe that Judah Smith is one of the greatest communicators and pastors of our generation. I say “our” as a 30-something mother of four who had the privilege of sitting under Judah’s teaching for a year and a half and who was profoundly impacted by his teaching on grace, which is the very heartbeat of this book. Much of the material I had heard before in sermons, but reading it again was incredibly impacting, especially as a person who likes rules and has depended more in the past on morality than Jesus. There is nothing that has changed my life more than hearing from Jesus, instead of trying to be good. And the message of this book is that grace is a Person. Yes, it’s quotable, tweetable and easy to read but also deep, profound and funny at times.

I will leave you with one of my favorite passages from the book : "...Rules are easier to deal with than grace. That’s a big part of their attraction. That’s why we keep making up rules even when we can’t keep the ones we already have. Rules are tidy. Grace is messy, unpredictable, unquantifiable. I can hold my life up against a set of rules and easily determine if I’m a good person or a bad person. I can do the same with your life, and I can do it from a distance, without having to mess with relationship and compassion and the grittiness of real life. Not so with grace. Grace risks its reputation.... it doesn’t get so distracted with doing good things that it forgets about people. But once you’ve embraced grace, you’ll never let go. ...we need help, so God gives us grace. And his name is Jesus"

You will not regret reading this book and I pray that it will bring you closer to the Person of grace in Jesus.

http://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Is-Find-New-Human/dp/1400204755/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361575621&sr=8-1&keywords=judah+smith

Girls With Swords by Lisa Bevere - by Molly

Lisa Bevere has long been one of my favorite speakers / authors and recently when her FB post asked for 100 people who would be willing to get an Advanced Readers Copy to review on amazon I jumped on it.  I was pretty grateful for my little "present" from Jesus that I happened to be looking at that exact time - only a couple minutes after she posted.  The 100 spots went quick. 

This book and it did not disappoint.   Women fight differently than men, have different gifts and talents.  Jesus’ kingdom and the power of the Cross is something worth fighting for.  And we fight with the Word of God against the enemy, not against people.

Her opening packs a punch, reminding us that “The attacks on your life have much more to do with who you might be in the future than who you have been in the past.  Becoming who God created you to be is… both your best offense and defense against the enemy’s strategy.”  Her illustration makes this point loud and clear.  Personally this is a great reminder of who I can be in Christ, not just who I am now (thankfully).

But quite honestly, the chapter near the end, regarding the sword of forgiveness is, one of the most powerful I've ever read.  As she recounts the story of her relationship with her father, her longing to see him saved and what God for a bitter, angry old man is truly mind blowing.   The power of a transformed life through forgiveness never gets old and still brings me wonder.

I will be buying copies for my friends and I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

http://www.amazon.com/Girls-Swords-Carry-Your-Cross/dp/0307457818