Spiritual Discipleship: Principles of Following Christ for Every Believer by J. Oswald Sanders

Spiritual Discipleship: Principles of Following Christ for Every Believer by J. Oswald Sanders. 

• Print Length: 206 pages
• Publisher: Moody Publishers (January 1, 2009)
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• Originally published in 1990, Moody Publishers is reissuing this classic on discipleship. 
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• Sanders' contention is that many people have forgotten what it means to be a Christian. 
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• Being a Christian is not saying a magic prayer that gives us eternal salvation and then living life as usual. 
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• Christ did not commission his apostles to merely save people, but to make them disciples. There is a world of difference between the two. Unless there is a true change of heart, i.e. repentance and working toward the upward call in Christ, saying the magic prayer means absolutely nothing. Yes, we are saved by grace. But our works prove that our conversion was real.
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• The Christian needs to become more like Jesus day-by-day, and Sanders shows us how. Questions for reflection are included at the end of each chapter, which I found helpful for me, to think about and measure where I might be on the narrow path, and where I can do better. 
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• I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Finding the Real Jesus by Lee Strobel

I was glad to find this book. After stumbling upon and naively reading a book written by someone associated with the Jesus Seminar (of which I had no prior knowledge), thankfully I found this book, which addresses and refutes the Seminar's claims. 

Since reading Strobel's book, I have read the books of a good number of other pastors and scholars who also believe that the Jesus Seminar was way off base in its claims. 

If you are unaware of the Jesus Seminar, it was a group of about 150 Biblical scholars and laymen who, during the 1980s and 1990s wrote books and papers on the historical Jesus. (Note: not the Jesus of faith and Christian theology.)

When all was said and done, they refuted much of the gospels' claims about his life and sayings, reducing Jesus to basically a crackpot who was crucified, but definitely did not rise from the grave. Or that's what the book I read did. 

It was entitled, The Gospel Truth: On the Trail of the Historical Jesus by Russell Shorto. 

Who wants a God like that? I sure don't. What would be the point of being a Christian? Shorto seemed to think that people could relate better to a fully human Jesus than they could to the God-Man that traditional Christianity believes in. 

Well, that's sure not what I want from Jesus. I need him to be my redeemer, and I need to believe in the possibility of eternal life. Christ as fully God and fully man is our only hope.   

Anyway, Lee Strobel, a journalist and former atheist, examines some of the claims about Jesus through the centuries, beginning with the Gnostics. He then goes on to present a powerful case for believing in the accuracy of the Bible. He then demonstrates that Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophesies. He examines the historical Jesus, who truly lived and truly died on the cross. In the final chapter, he presents a very strong case for Christ's resurrection. 

Jesus: A Pilgrimmage by James Martin, S.J.

Jesus: A Pilgrimage by James Martin, SJ. Near the beginning of 2017, there were nine books I wanted to read about Jesus. My goal was to finish them all before Easter. This book was among them, but with it weighing in at a hefty 533 pages, I was tempted to save its reading until next year, beginning on Ash Wednesday and completing it during the Lenten season. 

Instead, I forged on with it as well as the other books. Though I finished the others first, it was mostly because they were shorter. This one had a unique charm that the others lacked in that Mr. Martin visited Israel and went everywhere that Jesus went. I loved "going along for the ride" to all of those places and learning so much about what is real about each one, and what is more than likely legend. 

Spending two weeks in the Holy Land, Mr. Martin visited Bethlehem, Nazareth, the Jordan River; the Sea of Galilee,; Gennesaret, Capernaum, Bethesda, Jericho, Bethany, Jerusalem, Gethsemane and Golgotha, among other places. 

Interspersed with the diary of his journey were teachings about Gospel passages that took place in the areas he visited. It opened the scriptures to me, enabling me to see Jesus' teachings in a way I wouldn't have, had I not read this lovely book. 

I caught glimpses of the historical Jesus as well as the Christ of faith. Mr. Martin's thoughts on historical Jesus scholarship (which I find disturbing) were very reassuring to me. 

So in every way, this was a wonderful book and definitely worth the extended time it took to read its 533 pages. 

The Last Days of Jesus: The Forty Days between the Resurrection and the Ascention by T.V. Moore

The Last Days of Jesus by T. V. Moore.

Paperback version ($13.57)
Kindle version ($.99)

What the publisher says: 

Thomas Verner Moore (1818-1871) was an American Presbyterian minister and theologian whose commentaries on Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi are still widely referred to. Here he writes practically and devotionally on the appearances of the Lord Jesus Christ to his disciples between the Resurrection and the Ascension. Each encounter deals with specific a spiritual condition in one or more of his followers and these still find their parallels in the experience of Christians at all times.

My thoughts:

This is an incredible book, no exaggeration. With Pentecost coming on June 4, I challenge you to buy the book and read it (only 184 pages) between now and then. It's the only book I have run across that focuses solely on the 40 days between Jesus's resurrection and his Ascension. And, Moore does such an amazing job at it, it's no wonder that the book is still in print, though first published in 1858.

I had never given much thought to who Jesus appeared to after the resurrection, and when, and in what order. T.V. Moore's thesis makes perfect sense. God surely had a hand in inspiring Moore's thoughts. Amazing book!