Moments with the Savior A Devotional Life of Christ
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Excellent Devotional Work
This book is a devotional work, written by the "minister" of a non-mainstream Christian "church" (I use the quotes non-pejoratively). The book does have a few rough spots in it. For example, the author, in the segment "An Instructive Moment About Faithfulness", presents a Meditation on Luke 19:11-27, the parable of the rich man who journeys to a foreign land to be made king, having entrusted to his servants certain sums of money to be cared for in his absence. To his credit, the author includes in his quote from scripture the notoriously difficult ending "But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king---bring them here and kill them in front of me." Since, in the Meditation, the "king" is Jesus, the contrast with all else that the author has to say about Jesus (most of which I, quite frankly, admire), is rather a jolt. Unfortunately, the Meditation does not deal with the intent of scripture on this point. There are also some truncations and inter-gospel combinations in both the scriptural materials, and the imagery drawn from them in several of the Meditations, which I found troubling, as glossing over textual difficulties. The reader may rest assured, however, that these are minor objections to the work. On the other hand, there are any number of insights into the life of the spirit which I can only characterize as exceptional. For example, in the Prayer segment of "An Intense Moment Entering Jerusalem", the author, addressing Jesus, writes: "Help me to understand that there is a communion with you that can only be shared through the sacrament of tears. And that the elements of that Eucharist come from the crushing experiences of life." Volumes could be written around that statement. To my mind, the greatest strength of the book is the care with which the author humanizes the life and mission of Jesus. Often, his descriptive details are graphic, but they serve to strip away the accretions of theologizing and "prettification" of the circumstances of key events in Jesus' life and ministry, all meant to bring us down to reality. For example, the shepherds who come to see the infant Jesus in the manger smell like the animals that they tend (who thinks of that when viewing a Christmas creche?). So, the implication is: how many of us, piously reflecting on the scene in our minds' eyes, would actually want to be there rubbing shoulders with these folks? The reader is invited to enter the Meditation from there. All said, I have yet to read a better work of its kind than this. Highly recommended.
October 6, 2012
I love this book. I feel like I am walking right along side Jesus as he travels through his life. Excellent read!
May 20, 2011
Wonderfully Written Devotional!
I have had this devotional for many years. I am just about to finish it for the third time. I pick it up every couple of years and am always humbly brought to my knees before our wonderful, loving, Creator each and every time. It has made me fall in love with Jesus even more! Ken Gire has such a creative imagination and is a very gifted writer! I highly recommend this book!
November 3, 2010
Excellent book. I ususally am critical of devotionals but I LOVE this one. In the 10 minutes it takes to read each chapter Ken Gire's words bring me to the feet of Jesus. His reflections are heartfelt, intelligent and researched and obviously well prayed over.
February 26, 2008
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