I found with my first and doubly so with my second that the only reading time I get is while I’m nursing the baby. Actually, I usually end up being drafted to read Clifford books to Alexis during that time (“I’m going to climb up here and you will read this to me!”), but when she’s busy with something else or is taking a nap I get to read material of my own choosing. The book I’ve been reading lately is called Lifetime Guarantee by Bill Gillham. I started reading it as part of a discipling ministry through my church. It’s not the kind of book I generally pick out on my own…. I’m much more of a fantasy adventure type person (think Chronicles of Narnia, etc.). I often have to be coerced into reading non-fiction.
That being said, I’m having no trouble making myself read this book. It’s all about living a victorious Christian life, something which I think a lot of Christians, myself included, aren’t managing to do even though it’s right there within their grasp. Basically, the book deals with identifying your unique version of “the flesh” (old patterns of behavior based on trying to satisfy your needs your way instead of through Christ), and then allowing Christ to take the place of the flesh so those old patterns don’t rule your thoughts and reactions anymore.
One thing that hit me is that I’ve always assumed that “the flesh” means the same thing as “sinful nature”, but it doesn’t! I became a Christian when I was 3 years old. God took my sin away then, and I’ve been righteous in His eyes ever since. (The book addresses this… it’s really cool!) This doesn’t mean I’ve never sinned… on the contrary, I’ve sinned far more than I want to. But that’s just it! God took away the sin, covered it with His Son, but I kept trying to meet my needs via the world instead of Christ! I try to find acceptance in other people instead of realizing and relying on God’s acceptance for my self-esteem. I thirst for recognition from other people instead of allowing God’s recognition to be enough. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that Lifetime Guarantee addresses issues that I think many Christians would find interesting and could grow through, both for their own good and the good of their children.
Maybe I should mention the children part. One thing that’s mentioned in the book is that our “flesh patters” are basically formed at a very young age. They’re formed by what our parents and others around us do and say, and by how we perceive what they do and say. Often the things our parents did and said that affected us was caused by their flesh patterns. In other words, if we want to give our kids the best start we can in life, we need to recognize our own flesh patterns and allow Christ to take over and change us. Note: we cannot change ourselves. We cannot even change ourselves with help. He needs to do it completely on His end. That one’s hard for me, control freak that I am.
That’s probably enough on my current reading. 🙂 I just think this is a great book… very helpful, humorous, and easy to read… and I’d like to think that maybe someone reading this will find it a good read, too.