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God Loves You: He Always Has--He Always Will (2012)

by David Jeremiah(Favorite Author)

4.2 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0446565970 (ISBN13: 9780446565974)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

FaithWords

review 1: This is a well written & balanced book on God's Love. Its not technical as it was written for the average reader of todays non theological mind. This book has many chapters and I will highlight a few key ones. Chapter 3 is on the Ten commandments and how God shows us His love in them. The 10 commandments are what God uses to bring conviction to the conscience of the sinner. The goal of evangelism is not to persuade the intellect and make apologetics arguments, but to preach the word of God and let the word of God convict (Psa 19, Heb 4:12). In this chapter does Jeremiah successfully use the law to show the sinner that he is guilty before God in that he has lied, stolen, had false gods, blasphemed God's name and done other things deserving of eternal hellfire. The law must ... morealways go before grace in Biblical evangelism and it appears that Jeremiah has done this by going through the 10 commandments.In chapter 9 the chapter is on God wanting you to be with him forever. Jeremiah explains that sinners are headed to Hell just as the rich man is (Lk 16) at this time. Those that die in their sins without repenting and turning to Christ will not have an easy street there. Hell is more apart eternal punishment than eternal separation. Eternal punishment means that the fire and the destruction will be everlasting (2 Thes 1:9). But the good news is that there is a way to Heaven and that is only through Jesus Christ (Jn 14:6, 3:16). Heaven will not be boring but will be place where we will work and serve God for all eternity. Its a place that Christians eagerly desire to go.In chapter 10 God's Love Changes everything the chapter is basically about 2 Cor 5:17 and how those born in Christ are new creations. He started the chapter with a story of a man (Rick) that had thoughts of murdering a man that raped his daughter. Rick did not murder the young man as he experienced God's transforming love. God's love is far more than just talk for it is real and true converts will be known by their fruits (Gal 5:22). Its not as if works save them, but works only give a testimony of a true conversion (Eph 2:8-10). Jeremiah ends the chapter with the story of John Perkins. John was a man that was beaten near death and did not lash out and attack his avengers but instead showed them God's love and gives us a great example of someone that showed God's love.Over a great book, but it does not hit sin as hard as it could have. The Vanishing Conscience by John MacArthur fully explains and details Total Depravity and what it means and how lost sinners are depraved and headed to Hell. The book does not go into as much as God's love, but it does a better job addressing sin. However its weakness is perhaps it does not deal with grace as well as it should have. So for those interested I would encourage they read both books so that they understand both Total Depravity & Gods Love.
review 2: Like the book, this note was “written for everyone.” My thanks to those outside the church that take the time to read it. Please wish me luck regarding the commitment outlined below. To those inside the church; the prayer line is open. May you all have a happy, healthy, and blessed New Year.“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39-39, NIV). A section of this book was dedicated to the passage of Scripture above and it really got me thinking about 2012. There is a constant battle between self-sufficiency that promotes the arrogance and pride required for people to tear themselves away from even the thought of dependency on God and the lows of doubt and despair that could set in regarding God’s love for those that call on His Name while their faith is shaken (or falls apart in some cases). I represented the latter group in 2012. Long story short, I expect a certain amount of friction with and from the world around me, but in Late February of 2012 Eve and I both were betrayed at critical and vulnerable moments in our lives. We both let our guard down and were promptly stabbed in the back–repeatedly– by people that we trusted as committed Christians [a.k.a. believers] that were [ostensibly] there to help us through a few challenges we had been dealing with. Fortunately, these challenges were not with each other directly, but they did affect us both as a couple. I am happy to report that, in the aftermath of this betrayal, we will be fine. I also see the need to point out that, I became very adept at spotting pretenders a long time ago. These people were that good and, naturally, have a whole lot of other folks fooled. I withdrew from just about all people with a reaffirmed understanding of the following: The vast majority of people on this planet are of full of crap; the vast majority of the remainder are absolutely full of crap; a small percentage of people are actually honest about their crap; and only a teeny tiny sliver of people try to fix their own crap. I only have respect for the last two groups, but I suspect that those that think themselves qualified to [help] fix other people’s crap reside in the second group since they refuse to remove the planks from their own eyes before examining the specks in the eyes of others. Such people are not to be trusted under any circumstances whatsoever–though they are often careful not to reveal their true colors until there is little that can be done about it. (Yes, their bull crap still annoys me to this day.) Something tells me that I am going to spend the rest of my life refining this framework because I still have to live in this world and get a few things done while in it. Pastor David Jeremiah’s book was released on October 4, 2012. Something moved me to an early commitment to get it, but I did not finish it until today. I have appreciated Pastor Jeremiah’s exposition of God’s love for all people–especially the section taken from the Scripture noted above. I also appreciated the insertion of two briefly stated balancing points. First, while it is impossible for a person to separate themselves from God’s love, that fact does not give people carte blanche to act like complete fools just because it may suit them and still be “good to go.” Sooner or later, one way or another, there will be consequences for adventures in stupidity. Second, and this has been a little harder for me to work through, people can pay a high price just for playing ball by God’s rules to do what is right in His sight. This is attached to the ageless question of why bad things happened to good people. For clarification, I know hardship can and does result from being a stand up person, but trust betrayed really gets under my skin. Pastor Jeremiah made many excellent points that served as a series of solid reminders of truths that are dismissed as magical thinking by some or easily taken for granted over time by others. I am not going to claim that I was completely lifted out of the doldrums and set afire with a new lease on life by reading through it once, but it has helped to “control the bleeding” so I am better today than I was yesterday–even at the thought of running into those clowns in public as I have on six separate occasions since March 2012 (one of which at my church)! I am entering into 2013 with a deeper understanding of Jesus’ statement to his disciples as recorded in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (KJV) as well as the second half of 1 John 4:4, “greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world” (KJV). I have committed to reading more Scripture and spending more time in prayer in 2013 than I have in any previous single year of the 10 years that I have been a believer. That will be an easy mark from last year, but I have a ways to go when compared to other years. I figure that only good things can come from such a commitment. Pastor Jeremiah presents a balanced message that was written for any interested person that wishes to better understand God’s love and His love’s relevance to us all. While theologically sound, I dare say it is also very accessible because Pastor Jeremiah was not theologically dense at the same time. If you have ever wondered about the intricacies of God’s love for all people, I highly recommend this book as a place to start. less

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