Remember & Return: Rekindling Your Love for the Savior -A Devotional

"Remember & Return: Rekindling Your Love for the Savior" is a 31-day devotional that is fantastic. It is centered around growing your love for Christ and does just that. John MacArthur is a trusted pastor, teacher and as this is my first book of his that I have read, I can now add author to that list. His teaching in this devotional is very solid. I would not classify this as the typical "quick devotional" where you spend 5 minutes each day. Each of these devotionals is approximately 6 pages long (small dimension book of about 5 x 7), which for me personally, is perfect in content and depth. This devotional is 31-days long by design, so not something that you have to commit an entire year to like some devotionals. However, with that said, I can guarantee that I will be revisiting this devotional multiple times throughout the year. Overall, this devotional is highly recommended. I received a copy of this book in exchange for this review from Baker Books and all opinions are my own.

Forgetful, we fall away.

We center our faith around the responsibilities that we fulfill or the well-worn habits that frame the seasons, when Christianity, at its core, is not a job description, but, rather, a relationship. Love for God is foundational to all defining realities of the true believer, and if it has ceased to be, John MacArthur says that its time to Remember and Return to that love.

While a devotional book should never supplant the place of time in the Scriptures, this collection of thirty-one reflections begins each day with a Bible passage and then goes on to clarify the teaching with a focus on the deepening of a God-ward relationship.

Deep theological truth can be startling when it is presented as a warning, as it is to the church at Ephesus who, after a great beginning under the ministry of Paul the Apostle, had slid away from a rich, loving relationship with God by the time the Revelation was penned. Even in the midst of the Christmas season, when we are treated to a steady stream of reminders of the lengths to which God would go to make a connection with humanity, its easy to lose sight of the love of God and our love for Him. When we become cold, orthodox, and mechanical in our faith practices, apathy moves in and relationship wanes.

However, when viewed through the lens of Gods love, the process of sanctification becomes the mark of a love relationship, a desire to become like the Beloved.

The rescue of redemption is revealed as a loving sacrifice, made for the sake of reconciliation with a cherished people.

Dipping into a rich reservoir of quotations collected over a lifetime of study, MacArthur shares wisdom from a wide range of thinkers including D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, J.I. Packer, C.S. Lewis, Benjamin Warfield, and F.B. Meyer.

John Owens observation gives me all the motivation I need for pondering the love of God at this point in history:

If our future blessedness shall consist in living where He is, and beholding of His glory, what better preparation can there be for it than a constant previous contemplation of that glory as revealed in the gospel, that by a view of it we may be gradually transformed into the same glory?

May our love for God continue to increase for our joy and for His glory.

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This book was provided by Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, in exchange for my review.

"Love for the Lord Jesus is the defining reality in the life of every true Christian. But the fire of the first love for the Lord can grow cold and diminish the believer's power and blessing. This thirty-one day journey is designed to keep your love for Christ increasing for your joy and His glory." (8)

Remember & Return: Rekindling Your Love for the Savior by John MacArthur consists of thirty one days of scripture, readings and a daily challenge to open your eyes and focus on the Lord. Each day starts with scripture and the author dives into the meaning of the scripture, with references to theologians to explain. As a devotional, I believe this book requires a more in-depth focus for the reader. It is not an "easy" devotional to grasp, as many topics will require further investigation with scripture and other reference books. Personally, I would use this devotional as a challenge of one month of rejuvenation of your faith, and love for our Savior. And be prepare to spend double or more of your usual quiet time. Each day is approximately 4-5 pages, ending with a daily challenge that doesn't tell you what to do point blank, but requires further thought.

As a Christian, I understand times we need to rekindle our "first love" for Christ. The early fortitude and determination to focus on Christ is enticing. As time passes, sometimes our fever can be cooled as the author mentioned. So when I saw what this book focus on, I knew it needs to be read and used. So, yes, I would love for all to Remember & Return to your love for our Lord.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the author/publisher. I was not required to write a positive review, and have not been compensated for this. This is my honest opinion.

Love for the Lord Jesus is the defining reality in the life of every true Christian, MacArthur writes. (8) But what can we do when the fire of that love grows cold? MacArthur has written a thirty-one day series of devotionals aimed at reigniting that love and keeping it growing.

MacArthur reminds us what we have in Christ and what He has done for us. He takes us through several passages, exploring Greek terms and giving us a great deal of information. He also includes a Daily Challenge at the end of each reading.

MacArthur writes in a somewhat academic way. He writes from a framework of knowledge rather than passion. His style is one of instruction. He does not use any personal stories as illustrations or encouragement. (He does tell a few stories similar to sermon illustrations.) Rather than drawing us back to a passion for Jesus, he tells what we ought to be doing. A good example is the Daily Challenge of Day 5. He writes about our ultimate purpose of worshiping God and our reward in heaven. That was 'the goal' Paul strived for in this life, MacArthur writes, and it certainly ought to be the focus of those who would return to their first love. (39) I would have rather read an encouragement written with passion for the Daily Challenge.

I recommend this book to those who respond well to devotions written with intellectual rigor rather than personal passion. This book is a very good reminder of who Christ is and all He has done for believers. Reading this book will increase your knowledge of what Christ has done for you, or remind you of it. You will better understand what Christ has accomplished for you. I am just not so sure it will reignite love for Christ, unless that love arises out of increased knowledge and understanding. This would make a good book to read leading up to Easter.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

Remember & Return: Rekindling Your Love for the Savior by John MacArthur is identified as a 31-day devotional, although it doesn't really read like a typical devotional. Each day's reading is 4-5 pages, and ends with a "daily challenge". The main sections are used to explain a specific aspect or truth of Christianity, by relating Scripture verses, taking certain words back to their root meanings, and helping the reader re-identify with their own understanding of the topic at hand. The "daily challenge" is more of an important noteworthy idea, rather than an action step or suggestion for you to follow.

I personally would not categorize this as a devotional. It's more like notes from a theological lecture series. I would recommend it to someone who has been on the Christian walk for a long while, and has hit a personal "burn out" period where they are still going through the motions but don't feel the closeness and passion that they once did. I would not recommend it to a new believer or someone who has drifted from a pursuit of God for a season, and is trying to find their way back home. I think it would probablytoo deep and hard to follow for most of those cases. 3/5 stars. It's not a bad read, but it does seem to have a very specific target audience in order for it to be fully understood and appreciated.

*Disclaimer: I received a free print copy of this book from Baker Books to review. This specific customer review was not required, andall opinions stated- both positive and negative -are my own.*