"Jesus Today" (Sarah Young)

TITLE: Jesus Today: Experience Hope Through His Presence
AUTHOR: Sarah Young
PUBLISHER: Nashville, TN: Thomas-Nelson, 2012, (368 pages).

Written by one who has personally entered the trenches of illness and despair, and how she finds healing and hope, this book offers 150 devotional entries on how Jesus can be experienced today. Having suffered as a victim of Lyme disease and its coinfections, plus a bout of brain fog due to hyperparathyroidism, Young admits that if not for her own trials, this book will never have been written. She writes with one particular kind of reader in mind: the discouraged, the down, and the desolate. In the process, she invites others into the conversation, in the hope that different people will learn something from her sharing. More importantly, we all learn to experience Jesus's presence even when we are going through hard times. Each devotional piece is written in such a way that Jesus is the first party speaking, while the author is the second. Readers are free to eavesdrop or listen into the conversation. At the end of the brief session, several verses from the Bible are listed to strengthen the theme of the message. Actionable points are italicized for readers to pay extra attention to.

I find the words in the devotional packed with the author's personal experience. It takes one who has gone through substantial trial in order to be at peace with the practice of the presence of God. It gives healing for the soul, that amid the physical pains and emotional struggles, there is comfort by knowing that Jesus cares. It gives encouragement to one who is down and out. It provides a way for one to channel anxiety and unhelpful worries into trust and hope in God. Above all, the devotional affirms once again that God is not only able to work a miracle, there is more: God's very presence. When Jesus speaks, it is not simply about words flowing from mouth to ear. It is about the Word becoming flesh and dwells deep within our hearts. It is about experience and knowing that God cares, right where we are. One can also use the book as a praying device, getting a partner to read aloud the words of the devotional, after one has cried out in prayer to God.

This is one kind of a book that does not talk about the Christian life. It literally lives out the Christian life.

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book is provided to me free by Thomas-Nelson and NetGalley without any obligation for a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.