Monday Morning Musings - August 15, 2011
We just got back from nearly a week in the Blue Mountains of Pennsylvania. We were only a few hours from New York City, but it seemed that we were in another world. The purpose of our time away was to have a spiritual retreat in which we could read, pray, journal and reconnect to each other.
On the way out we stopped at a Christian bookstore, a novelty in our reality. I found two books (among the discounts) that caught my eye and became the focus of my reading while away.
The first book is “7 Saving Graces: Living Above the Deadly Sins” by Steve DeNeff. I tweeted that this was the best book I have read in 2011. The book is profound and simple at the same time. The author examines the seven deadly sins and points out that it isn’t a matter of practicing the opposing virtue, but through the power of the Spirit being transformed by the corresponding saving grace.
The second book is “Jesus Manifesto: Restoring the Supremacy and Sovereignty of Jesus Christ” by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola. I was convicted by how often I focus on the peripheral issues and forget that Jesus is our life and chief occupation.
The authors write: “The reality is that Christ trumps everything. All Scripture testifies of Him. The Father exalts Him. The Spirit magnifies Him. The angels worship Him. The early church knew Him as her passion, her message, and the unction of her life. Christ was her specialty. He was her Bridegroom and head. She specialized in nothing else. All told, there’s nothing worth pursuing outside of Christ.”
May Jesus be exalted in our midst as we live and move and have our being in Him!
