Book Review: Jesus Pure & Simple

Do you ever feel like you're being pulled in a million directions? Like you' re overwhelmed with various programs and ministries, or with studying the steps to good parenting or the best ways to share Jesus with your neighbors? These are all good things, but even good things can sometimes take us away from our number one responsibility--knowing Jesus better.

Wayne Cordeiro shares how to focus on the One who matters most and take part in the joy and fulfillment that He brings. But he also teaches how this leads to selflessness, a true love for others, and effective ministry. It will, in fact, change how you see the world around you.

When you focus on Christ, everything else falls into place. Your relationships. Your job. Your church. Your mission. It's all placed in the hands of Jesus, pure and simple.

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I have always admired how some people can take an any day event and draw a parallel to something from the bible. Author Wayne Cordeiro does just this.

It took me a couple of chapters before I felt myself enjoying this book. It has some great teachings in the early chapters, but it just didn't really capture me until the fourth chapter when things started to flow more smoothly. At this point he encourages us to really think about Jesus and who He was. To think of Him at specific times of His life. I stopped to ponder those things and it made Him more real to me.

One of the things the author talks about that struck me was the difference between isolation and solitude. I always thought they were the same thing. They're not. Isolation being when we need to just be alone, away from everyone because we're so tapped out. But solitude is a time set aside to be alone with the Lord, to be open to hearing what He is saying to us.

So many simple truths to get back to plain and simple truth about our Lord. It isn't about what we can or try to do for Him. It's about just being with Him in His presence. Encountering Him.

My favourite part of the entire book is when he talks about the Bedouin sheepherders that will break the leg of a lamb who continually strays. He will bandage it, and nurture the lamb until his healing is complete. By this point the relationship has changed; the lamb is now closer to the shepherd than ever. This has been on my mind since I first read it - how in my own life, I feel as though my Shepherd has broken a part of me so I will not stray again, and He is holding me close while I heal. And when it is all over, there will be a new intimacy. It will all be worth it.

I enjoyed this book so much that I will likely seek out other books written by this author.

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Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.  Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group