May 3

The Most Important Thing

6  comments

Somewhere along the way in my Cru Days I had heard a staff member say that the most important things I believe are the things I believe about God and about myself. This has stuck with me over the years.

If I believe wrong things about God or myself it will affect the way I live. Most of my emotional problems, trust issues and cause of anxiety stem back to wrong beliefs.

Many Christians have a very poor view of God. Their picture of Him is incorrect and small. A Santa Claus figure. A stern, angry disciplinarian. A distant, uninvolved father. A too-busy-for-me creator of all. An inadequate, hands-tied-behind-His-back-God who can only control certain things.

We must pay attention to how we view God, and continually be comparing it to the Biblical portrait of who He really is.

This is why I loved One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp.

Right off the bat, Ann points out some things about our enemy that I have never really thought of before (emphasis mine, in bold):

…I believe the Serpent’s hissing lie, the repeating refrain of his campaign through the ages: God isn’t good. It’s the cornerstone of his movement. That God withholds good from His children, that God does not genuinely, fully, love us…Ultimately, in his essence, Satan is an ingrate…Satan’s sin becomes the first sin of all humanity: the sin of ingratitude…Our fall was, has always been, and always will be, that we aren’t satisfied in God and what He gives.

We must get this right! Whether or not we REALLY believe God is good matters, so incredibly. It will make a difference in how we live. It will affect the view of God that we portray to our children, our friends, our neighbors.

One Thousand Gifts not only gives an accurate view of God, it gives a practice. Eucharisteo. Giving thanks in everything. In the good, the bad, the frustrating, the painful. I reluctantly started the practice of a thanksgiving journal. I am not poetic and although I love reading Ann’s gifts Monday after Monday, I was not sure how this would work for me. I have been surprised at how easy giving thanks for His gifts has come, and the transformation it is making on my daily attitude.

I love that this has become such a popular book. Too often, Christian trends are for things theologically incorrect and shallow. This one, this trend, I hope it sticks around for a long, long time. I pray it becomes a classic and continues to be used by God to transform lives.

As we read this book (again and again) and allow its truths to permeate our minds, souls and lives, there is much potential for God to be glorified in us. Lord, use this book, Your truths in it to change us! Change me.

If you don’t have a copy yet,  go now! Buy it. Join the hundreds, if not thousands of people who are right now, reading this book. You will not regret it.

Have you read this book yet? What are your thoughts on it?


Tags

Book Reviews, doctrine, Following Jesus


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  1. Loved the book! In fact, I just bought it for a friend for Mother’s Day. It was just one of those books that might you introspective–while inspiring and not beating you over the head.

    🙂

    1. There are so many that I want to give this book to!

      Thanks for your comment. *wink*

  2. I haven’t had many books change me…this one has. I’m reading it now the second time through, and the words penetrate deeper. One of the greatest practices I learned during my reading, besides numbering the graces, was living life open handed. Staying open to receive and give at His Will for His purposes and passion. Sometimes the hands tremble, sometimes the fingers begin to curl, but the hands must stay open for the easy and the hard, the delightful and the painful.
    Good to visit your sight.

    1. I am looking forward to reading this book again. I think I will get more out of it the second time around!

      “Sometimes the hands tremble, sometimes the fingers begin to curl, but the hands must stay open for the easy and the hard, the delightful and the painful.” Love the way you put this.

      Thanks for visiting!

  3. I was about halfway thru the book before I jumped on Amazon and bought copies for my closest friends. It’s a book that begs for notetaking, underlining, dogearring, etc. I imagine I’ll read it many times over, there are so many precious jewels throughout the pages. Right up there with Mere Christianity for me, and thats a huge statement. God undoubtedly penned this treasure thru the open vessel of Ann. So thankful!

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