Encounters with Jesus - Book Review

I just devoured a book.

The book is called Encounters with Jesus: Unexpected Answers to Life's Biggest Questions by Timothy Keller and it was just great!  It is a series of encounters with different people taken from the life of Jesus. It includes such interactions as with the Woman at the Well and the nighttime meeting with Nicodemus. Many of these interactions come from the Gospel According to John, which is also helpful for the current series that we are going through at Edgewood Baptist Church.

My absolute favorite chapter in this book was called The Two Advocates. It is about a discussion that Jesus has with his disciples near the end of his earthly life. In that discussion, which occurred during the Last Supper, Jesus gives some incredible insight into His own relationship with the Father and with His people. He also introduces us to the Spirit of God as "another comforter" as the King James Version states it. Keller's explanation of the Spirit as a second advocate (or comforter) and the role of Christ as the first advocate was extremely enlightening.

This chapter, along with the rest of the book, was originally part of an ebook series and can be purchased individually under the title The Two Advocates (Encounters with Jesus Series). If you can't afford to get the entire book, this chapter is well worth its purchase price.

There were several other portions of this book that I found to be extremely helpful. Specifically the encounters after the resurrection that deal with the purposes of the Ascension. Also the encounters with Jesus and Nicodemus as contrasted with the Woman at the Well. Altogether, this book was not only educational, it was enjoyable to read.

Please consider clicking on through with the links that I have provided to pick this book up.

Our Advocate has a Great Case!

I am about two thirds of the way through the book Encounters with Jesus: Unexpected Answers to Life's Biggest Questions by Timothy Keller. I normally try to wait until I finish a book and then just give a nice little review, but this section I just read in the chapter "The Two Advocates" is well worth mentioning on its own.

This portion that I have included parallels some thoughts that I have also had, but as is the case with an exceptionally talented author, Timothy Keller has phrased it much better than I ever could have. I know this is a long quote, but it is worth it.

In the early days after becoming a Christian, I first heard of this idea that Jesus Christ somehow "intercedes" for me before the Father. I got this out of the book of Hebrews, where Jesus is depicted as our great high priest who stands before the Father for us, as priests in the Old Testament did for the people. When I first heard the idea of Jesus Christ representing me before the Father, it made me think of him going before the throne like this: "Good morning, Father, I represent Tim Keller. And my client, I admit, is having a very bad week. He's broken three or four promises he made to you. He has broken several of your laws that he knows and acknowledges. He has sinned a lot this week. He deserves to be punished -- but cut him a break, please, Father? For my sake? I really ask that you give him another chance." That's how I imagined him speaking. And I also imagined the Father saying in reply, "Well, all right. Okay. For you, one more chance." 

Now the trouble with that imaginary scenario is that Jesus does not have a case; he is simply pleading for another chance. And I remember thinking, "I wonder how long even Jesus can keep that sort of thing up?" I wondered when the Father would finally say, "That does it! I've had it!" But my imagination was ill-informed. It is not sufficient for a lawyer to just resort to tugging on the heartstrings of the jury or the judge, or to try to delay the verdict, or to appeal to technicalities. The lawyer doesn't need spin or emotional manipulation -- but a real case. And that is just what Jesus has. 

What is his case? John goes on to tell us in I John 2:2. First he says, "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins." When Jesus goes before the Father, he is not actually asking for mercy for us. Of course it was infinitely merciful of God to send Christ to die for us, but that mercy has now been granted, so Jesus does not need to beg for it. I John 1:9 says that "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins." Notice that it does not say that if Christians confess their sins God forgives because he mercifully gives them another chance. No, it says he forgives because he is faithful and just. To not forgive us would be unjust. How could that be? 

The best way for you to get an acquittal for your legal client is not to hope you can get some sympathy from the court. The best way is to show that your client must be acquitted under the law. You want to be able to say with integrity and conviction, "This is the law, and the law demands my client's acquittal." You want to make a case that is not based on how the court feels at the time but is open ans shut according to the law. And Jesus has one! Jesus Christ can say, in effect, "Father, my people have sinned, and the law demands that the wages of sin be death. But I have paid for those sins. See, here is my blood, the token of my death! On the cross I have paid the penalty for these sins completely. Now if anyone were to exact two payments for the same sin, it would be unjust. And so -- I am not asking for mercy for them; I'm asking for justice." 

That, if Jesus' claims are true, is an infallible case. This is why John could say that when Christians confess their sins they are forgiven because the justice of God now demands it!

If you are interested in reading the rest of this book, you can click on through to the Amazon site and have it on your Kindle or Kindle Reading App in under a minute.

Keep following this blog for the review of this book as soon as I am finished reading it.

eaten alive

In the book, Encounters with Jesus by Timothy Keller, there is a great quote concerning our propensity to worship things. The quote comes from a commencement speech given at Kenyon College by an American writer named David Foster Wallace.

Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And the compelling reason for maybe choosing some sort of god ... to worship ... is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive. If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough. It's the truth. Worship your own body and beauty and sexual allure, and you will always feel ugly. And when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before [your loved ones] finally plant you ... Worship power, and you will end up feeling weak and afraid, and you will need ever more power over others to numb you to your own fear. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart, you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out. Look, the insidious thing about these forms of worship is not that they are all evil or sinful; it is that they're unconscious. They are default settings.

These are powerful words, and some of those descriptions really hit home. Tim Keller goes on to say this after Wallace's quote:

Wallace was by no means a religious person, but he understood that everyone worships, everyone trusts in something for their salvation, everyone bases their lives on something that requires faith. A couple of years after giving that speech, Wallace killed himself. And this nonreligious man's parting words to us are pretty terrifying: "Something will eat you alive." Because even though you might never call it worship, you can be absolutely sure you are worshiping and you are seeking. And Jesus says, "Unless you are worshiping me, unless I'm the center of your life, unless you're trying to get your spiritual thirst quenched through me and not through these other things, unless you see that the solution must come inside rather than just pass by outside, then whatever you worship will abandon you in the end."

This is true. Forsake whatever else you are worshiping and turn your worship to the only one who deserves it.

Race and the Christian

A livestream even on March 28th, that I would like to watch at my house. (If I'm not still on vacation...)



Anyone interested in watching this with me?

It is not the religious act that makes the Christian...

It is not the religious act that makes the Christian, but participation in the sufferings of God in the secular life.  That is metanoia [repentance]: not in the first place thinking about one's own needs, problems, sins, and fears, but allowing oneself to be caught up into the way of Jesus Christ.

--Dietrich Bonhoeffer, as quoted by Timothy Keller in The Reason for God.

The Reason for God DVD: Session 1

Image via Amazon.com

I recently purchase The Reason for God DVD series by Timothy Keller for use at my church.  If you are not familiar with the book and the DVD click here.

I was interested in showing these sessions and working through the accompanying discussions because I believe that this is an area of great importance when it comes to sharing the gospel.  As Christians, we need to be able to handle... in a reasonable way... doubts and questions.

This past Sunday we watched the first session.  In this session the doubts related to science and the Bible were discussed.  Topics such as whether or not the Bible is simply myth and the idea that science has disproved the Bible.  I find these interesting because, in one version or another, many of the people that I meet outside of church consider these reasonable thoughts.  Embedded in these thoughts is the additional idea that it is OK to believe the Bible, even if it is just myth.  This idea is even supported by one of the members of the discussion group on the DVD.

After we watched the first session, we tackled the first two discussion questions from the guide that comes with the DVD.  I think it went well.  It even prompted some good discussion in our group.

I am hoping and praying for two results from watching these sessions.  First I am hoping that these will help to equip us as we encounter these questions.  Second, and this one might seem a little strange, but I hope that these sessions will build a compassion for those who have these questions and doubts.  Many Christians that I have met have a prideful attitude about their Biblical perspective.  This isn't only wrong, it is counterproductive.  People aren't going to listen to a know-it-all.  There needs to be a humility in what we know.  This can be seen on the DVD at the very end of the first session when one of the people asks the question of Timothy Keller whether or not he would consider changing his beliefs.

Wrestle with Doubts

Reading The Reason for God by Timothy Keller and found a good quote already.

Believers should acknowledge and wrestle with doubts -- not only their own but their friends' and neighbors'.  It is no longer sufficient to hold beliefs just because you inherited them.  Only if you struggle long and hard with objections to your faith will you be able to provide grounds for your beliefs to skeptics, including yourself, that are plausible rather than ridiculous or offensive.

New Book - The Reason for God

I just got my new book, The Reason for God by Timothy Keller.  Even though I have heard lots of good things about this book and I have read several great reviews, the biggest draw to this book wasn't what I was hearing about the book from other readers.  Sure, everything that I was hearing about the book was like the icing on the cake of my desire to have the book, but it wasn't the cake itself.  The sponge of my "want" was the premise of the book, which can be found in the subtitle: Belief in an age of Skepticism.

You see, I am a Geometry teacher. I have been committed to this occupation long enough that it has finally become a part of me.  It factors into how I think and specifically, how I reason.  That is what much of Geometry is dedicated to, the study of reason.  It is taking those mathematical and algebraic principles (which should have been learned) from the first several years of schooling and putting them into practice in a three-dimensional world.

I am rabbit-trailing though...

Here is a synopsis of the book from his website:

Why does God allow suffering in the world?

How could a loving God send people to Hell?

Why isn’t Christianity more inclusive?

How can one religion be “right” and the others “wrong”?

Why have so many wars been fought in the name of God?

These are just a few of the questions and doubts even ardent believers wrestle with today. As the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, Timothy Keller has compiled a list of the most frequently voiced “doubts” skeptics bring to his church as well as the most important reasons for faith. And in the New York Times bestselling The Reason for God, he addresses each doubt and explains each reason.

Keller uses literature, philosophy, real-life conversations, and reasoning to explain how faith in a Christian God is a soundly rational belief, held by thoughtful people of intellectual integrity with a deep compassion for those who truly want to know the truth.

When I read that, I was immediately intrigued.  I had several other books on my shelf that needed dealing with, so I waited, but I finally decided to get it.  While I was at it, I also purchased the Reason for God DVD, which contains 6 real conversations with real people and their doubts. Here are those 6 sessions on the DVD:

Session Titles and Descriptions:

1. Isn’t the Bible a Myth? 
2. How Can You Say There Is Only One Way to God? 
3. What Gives You the Right to Tell Me How to Live My Life? 
4. Why Does God Allow Suffering? 
5. Why Is the Church Responsible for So Much Injustice? 
6. How Can God Be Full of Love and Wrath at the Same Time?

Here is a trailer for the DVD:


The Reason for God Trailer from Redeemer City to City on Vimeo.

I also purchased the Study Guide and I am going to be showing this series at my church.  If you are a Danville reader and would be interested in joining us, I will have two different times that I will be showing this DVD.  I will start it during my Sunday School class, and then I will also pick a night during the week.  Let me know if you are interested.

The Prodigal God

I am almost finished with the book The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller.

I had heard of this book through several different sources: I had seen it mentioned on blogs, talked to people who had read it, seen it mentioned on Christian websites and magazines and had a few friends who kept recommending it. So, when I had an opportunity to purchase a few books, this one had to make it on the list.

I started reading it yesterday morning, and I am almost done.  I am in the last chapter right now, and only paused to give it a mention on the ol' blog.  I don't want to mention too much from the book, because I want you to purchase it and read it!  But... I will give you at least one quote, but before I do, let me give you a little intro, so that the quote might make sense.

Timothy Keller is writing about the gospel and is using the parable of (what we commonly call) the prodigal son as the conveyor of the gospel message.  Much of the book is dealing with the two lost sons... yeah two... not one.  Here is an excerpt:

The hearts of the two brothers were the same.   Both sons resented their father's authority and sought ways of getting out from under it.  They each wanted to get into a position in which they could tell the father what to do.  Each one, in other words, rebelled -- but one did so by being very bad and the other by being extremely good.  Both were alienated from the father's heart:  both were lost sons.

He goes on to say:

Do you realize, then, what Jesus is teaching?  Neither son loved the father for himself.  They both were using the father for their own self-centered ends rather than loving, enjoying, and serving him for his own sake.  This means you can rebel against God and be alienated from him by either breaking his rules or by keeping all of them diligently.  

It's a shocking message:  Careful obedience to God's law may serve as a strategy for rebelling against God.

I'll say no more and quote no more (for now), but I absolutely recommend this book!