Abundant Life in Jesus: Devotions for Every Day of the Year - eBook

This devotional is written as if God is speaking directly to you and your heart. It is amazing, touching and details how much God cares for us.

I was hoping to be able to offer you the perfect companion to your Bible reading, but I think I may just have to issue a warning. This volume of devotions by Nancy Guthrie was very promising. It's beautiful, it's compact, and after having been challenged and encouraged by several of her books, I thought that Abundant Life In Jesus: Devotions For Every Day Of The Year would be something special.

Guthrie loves God and His Word. Her compilations of sermons designed for Advent and Lent have been a big part of my life for several years. I do not want to blemish her name.

That said, when I first opened the book I was excited to notice that every single day's title puts God at the very center. Guthrie makes it very clear that abundant life is found not in God's blessings, but in God Himself. She wants her readers to get to know God. My next stop was a careful reading of the introduction, where I was very impressed with the way that she described her hopes for the book.

Then I got to the part where she explained her choice to write the devotions as if God was the one speaking. This is where the book becomes too similar to "Jesus Calling" and steps too far away from "My Utmost For His Highest" for my comfort. She makes it clear that these are all HER words and DO NOT come from God, but again, the style just isn't something that I'm comfortable with.

This is one book that I cannot recommend. Keep your eyes out for Guthrie's Advent and Lent books and maybe even her future projects. In the meantime, join me in paying careful attention to what tools you use alongside your Bible reading.

* I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Purchased this as a gift on the basis of my high esteem for Nancy Guthrie's other writings--I really didn't review it because I was so confident that the content would be wonderful. The book itself is beautiful and a nice size/color/good quality. I finally perused the content before I wrapped it which was when I realized that it was written as if from the first person perspective from God and wasn't sure what I thought about that since I think we need to be careful to separate the infallible Spirit-breathed word of God from our own interpretations or personal experiences/insights--even Paul does this in the Scripture ("I, not the Lord...") (for more on this see excellent on the spot review by "tickmenot"/Draw Near to God). My husband and I still decided to give the gift to the woman we had hoped to encourage, but did mention our thoughts on this aspect to remind readers to apply discernment in reading the messages. I do appreciate that each devotion starts with Scripture and hope readers will ask God to speak to their own hearts from His Word while also considering insights from the author, whose faith, love for the Lord, and Scriptural knowledge I so admire from her many other works and published Bible studies. Since I have to choose an option of whether to recommend or not recommend in order to submit review, I'm only clicking "no" for now since I would need to try the study myself to determine how workable the first person approach is. I highly recommend Nancy Guthrie's other works.

I get a different daily devotional each year, and I must say this is my favourite to date, both in its portable size and attractive cover, and easily read daily words of great truth and encouragement. Love it!

Packed into this pretty little book, one will find a single page devotion for each day of the year. After the daily scripture, the devotional is written as if God Himself is doing the talking. Each page ends with suggestions to put what is read into action. The cover of this book is made of a leather-like material that is stamped with an intricate design of hearts, birds, and nature. It is soft to the touch, and pleasing to the eye.

Ready for a cool change?

Any time of the year is great to start spending time reading, and contemplating God's word. However, with the start of the New Year, a resolution could be made to do that now. Getting this book could help make that happen.

There are many things to like about this book, including the way it looks, its size and feel. Also, having a one page format goes a long way toward knocking down the roadblocks that come up when trying to consistently follow a daily devotional.

Just remember this...

There is one thing about this book that I both like, as well as, dislike--and that is the author writing as if God is speaking. I am always concerned when someone attempts to write words they think would come from God, it is a big responsibility. The reader needs to understand these words are written through the filter of the author's viewpoints, and not straight from God's mouth. On the other hand, hearing the scriptures expanded on in the "voice" of God brings a lot of realism and personalization to the reader. The bottom line: always check out anything one reads with God's actual words in the Bible.

With that said, I like this book, a lot. I highly recommend it to anyone, at any time of the year. If you would like something to use, along with the Bible, to draw nearer to God, I recommend you get this 5-star book!

Tyndale House Publishers has provided bookreadingtic with a complimentary copy of Abundant Life In Jesus, for the purpose of review. I have not been compensated in any other manner. All opinions expressed are my own, and I was not required, or influenced, to give anything but an honest appraisal.