One Powerful Book



Back in December, Teresa, Ripley, and I attended our small group’s Christmas party. Part of the celebration was exchanging gifts, but we made it a game. You could either keep the gift you got or take the one from the person who choose before you. After the dust settled, I came out ahead with a $15 gift card for Lifeway Book Store. No one wanted to take the card from the pastor; score!

I tend to order my books through Amazon.com because there prices are better than any Christian Book Store, but I left my book at the house on Thursday and I wanted to read so I went by the local store to see what they had. I prayed that God would have me pick the book that I could use to further His ministry. After looking at several sections, I found Max Lucado’s newest book “Outlive Your Life.” I’ve read several of his books and have never been disappointed so I used the $15 gift and paid the difference; $3.50. After working out at the YMCA, I relaxed and opened up the book.

I started reading it and finished it in five and half hours. Granted, I’m a very slow reader but this book has so many gold nuggets that I couldn’t put it down. This book is a study of the first 12 chapters of Acts. The book shows how a few faithful people can change the world. It’s a story of simple ordinary people, fishermen, and tax collectors. Acts is a story of a movement that exploded like a just-opened fire hydrant out of Jerusalem and spilled into the ends of the earth.

The content of this book hit me between the eyes several times. God convicted me on how I should be doing more for Him. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to do a small group study out of it.

I highlighted two sections of this book that hit me the hardest. The first one is in the 2nd chapter. The sentence is “God doesn’t call the qualified. He qualifies the called.” The second section is actually the last 4 sentences of the book. My eyes were so filled with tears; I had to wipe my eyes to read them clearly. It reads, “None of us can help everyone. But all of us can help someone. And when we help them, we serve Jesus. Who would want to miss a chance to do that?”

If you’ve been wondering what can the church do to reach the lost world; this books simply shows how the early church did it with examples of what is being done now. God is still at work.