'I guess it's OK to like Jesus'
340963
You might also call this book 'self-absorbed journalist works out truce with the Second Person of the Trinity.'

I bought 'Stalking the Divine' after reading the glowing reviews on Amazon and elsewhere.  What closed the sale was one reviewer's description of it as a latter-day 'Seven Storey Mountain.'

Yet for every expression of admiration for the Poor Clares, Ms. Ohlson is compelled to share, say, the icky feeling she gets when she utters the word 'Jesus.'

On page five, Ohlson describes stumbling into a Catholic church in Cleveland after a lengthy absence and being horrified to hear a priest wag his finger about the evils of abortion.  This reviewer has been a Catholic for thirty seven years, yet not once have I heard a priest address this subject outside the petitions at Mass.  A lapsed Catholic wanders into an anonymous church and hears a pro-life homily?  Call me skeptical.

When I was a stand-offish boy greeting my visting aunts at Christmastime, they'd tell me to 'quit arm-hugging' and to give them something real, heartfelt.  Ohlson's book is a 272-page Catholic arm-hug.
3613223
The characters were like people we come in contact with every day. Just average, believable people. I don't want bad language in every paragraph and this book was refreshing. As a Christian, I liked the story line and the message it carried.
2488119
This book is a friendly reminder of the fact that we walk ,talk and live with Jesus minute by minute if we choose to.
4877722
Having lived in a Muslim country, I felt uncomfortable when it was chosen by my book club to be read and discussed.  But a friend I trusted said it was good and to not be afraid.  Momen's experiences were even worse than I had anticipated.  But the Gospel of Jesus Christ changes people, helps them to endure, brings experiences into their lives that enable them to grow and become more like the Savior and to draw closer to Him. Well written and a fast moving read.  I still hurt that it is so true.
4501218
We've got to live like we know what's out there after.  George Ritchie did.  I want people to see Jesus's love through my eyes.
771342
From the title, I knew what I was getting into. I remember the first time I watched his youtube video that went viral. I liked it! Jefferson has talent and is a good, down-to-earth, communicator. I don't completely agree or disagree with everything he said. Like him, I hate self-righteous religion and hypocrisy. I also share his passion for the lost and his love for the church. However, we don't need to ditch religion or striving to live our lives trying to please God.

We should be striving to please God with trying harder and doing more. I mean, what's the alternative? Do your worst. Do less. Let Jesus take the wheel? In this sense, the message is just repackaged, antinomianism at worst, and a confused, false-dichotomous, misunderstood, view of sanctification at best.  I think Jefferson means well, and he has a lot of helpful things to say. He has just embraced a popular view of formulaic, sanctification that avoids legalism, but unknowingly strays towards antinomianism.

Either way, I liked his book, and I like the sound of his voice. He's from Seattle, but sounds like he's from the East Coast. I think Jefferson and I would get along well if we could sit down and have a coffee or beer.
4337320
"Churches are filled with people who seem content to have casual association with Christ and give nominal adherence to Christianity. Scores of men, women, and children have been told that becoming a follower of Jesus simply involves acknowledging certain facts or saying certain words. But this is not true. Disciples like Peter, Andrew, James, and John show us that the call to follow Jesus is not simply an invitation to pray a prayer; it is a summons to lose our lives" (p. 23)

It is possible to have a prayed a prayer to receive Christ with as much sincerity as you could muster and still not be a Christian. Following Jesus entails far more than repeating a short prayer. As David Platt makes clear in his booklet What Did Jesus Really Mean When He Said Follow Me?, there is a cost in following Jesus that is born out in one's life. When we come to Jesus in saving repentance and faith, our thoughts, feelings, and actions are decisively changed by Him.

"As we trust in Christ, he transforms our tastes in such a way that we begin to love the things of God that we once hated, and we begin to hate the things of this world that we once loved" (p. 30).

Platt is concerned by the stories of so many folks who have prayed a prayer and then went on to live as if nothing had changed. The reality is, maybe nothing did change! The evidence that one has truly come to Christ is found in how one lives, thinks, and feels.

Platt is careful not to say that salvation is based on the changes in our lives. We are saved by faith alone in Christ's finished work alone--in fact, no amount of works on our behalf can earn salvation in any sense. Faith trusts in what Christ has accomplished for us. We cannot save ourselves, and Christians know this.

Salvation happens apart from our works, but it always leads to works. Being a disciple of Jesus means that we will bear fruit. Not perfectly, but really bearing fruit. And ultimately, we want to bear fruit! In coming to Jesus, we taste and see that He is good and we begin to desire Him above all else! Our affections are decisively changed.

"We discover that Jesus is the supreme source of satisfaction, and we want nothing apart from him. We realize that he is better than all the pleasures, pursuits, plaudits, and possessions of this world combined" (p. 29).

All who profess to be Christians need to know these truths. Some may learn them, realize they were never saved, and truly turn to Christ for the first time. To God be the glory!

Platt's booklet is a great reminder and summary of all of these truths. Therefore, I recommend this resource as very helpful for evangelism and discipleship to aid folks in understanding that following Jesus involves one's whole being. In fact, this is one of the best, shorter resources I know of for such a purpose!
369872
I found it a lovely story but I also found that it was pushing Jesus a little too much. It is wonderful to know that he is there within us and for us at all times with unconditional love but I felt that it was being pounded at me. Otherwise, the story itself was very nice. For me, this is not a repeat read but I am glad I read it
4264712
In "My Year of Living Like Jesus," Ed Dobson self-consciously sets out to imitate the quest of  A. J. Jacobs, who wrote the hilarious and insightful "My Year of Living Biblically," this time applied to the New Testament. But Edward Dobson's homage to the earlier book comes a bit closer to imitation than I expected. Dobson, born into a fundamentalist Irish family, has been a conservative pastor for many years. He worked in Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority for over 10 years. So his fundamentalist bona fides are sound. Given that approach to Christianity, I expected to be drowned in narrow-minded and even hateful rhetoric about non-Christians. But Dobson fooled me. Surprisingly tolerant, his year-long journey embraced Roman Catholic and Orthodox prayer-forms like the rosary. This was remarkably broad minded and even bold, though his exploration of those traditions seems to have stopped at a basic knowledge of Incarnational theology and a primer on how to "say one's beads."  But Dobson dove deep into the well of Judaism. Wanting to live as much like Jesus as possible, he grew his beard, ate kosher and attended synagogue. His evident love and respect for Judaism was admirable. And I appreciate that he never tried to convert the rabbis who advised him.

But is shunning pork, wearing tassels and not shaving tantamount to living like Jesus? Dobson barely dipped a toe into the hard work of discipleship as outlined in the gospels. Not that he is ashamed of his faith -- it seemed more that he was afraid of looking at it too closely. While he did try to give away extra clothes (John the Baptist's advice, actually), he did not try to put many of Jesus's teachings into practice. Some -- like gouging out your eye if it causes you to sin -- are not intended to be practiced literally. But Dobson never wrote about turning the other cheek, or walking two miles when asked to walk one. He did not go out preaching, eating what as set before him and shaking the dust off his feet if rebuffed. He went nowhere near the Sermon on the Mount with its admonitions to consider blessed the meek, the mourning, and the poor, some of Jesus's major themes. And Dobson went nowhere near the issue of Jesus the deliberate Sabbath-breaker.

Still, Dobson's stories of suffering with ALS were quite touching. His illness may well have softened his heart and opened his mind to the experiences of those unlike him. His wrestling with his vote for president in the 2008 election showed a man who was less interested in the ideological position of his fellow fundamentalists, than in a one committed to empirical comparison of gospel teachings to each candidate's platform. And his decision to hang out in bars was not only Jesus-like, but brought him into contact with the kind of people Jesus would have sought out -- the rejected, the sick and the alienated.

Dobson's book is not the definitive look at applying gospel teaching to ordinary life. But it does show how one disciple can take a few baby steps outside the boundaries of his own culture and religious training and see the good in all kinds of people -- a *very* Jesus-like thing to do.
869125
This is a good, easy to read devotional that cover 4 weeks + 1 reading for Christmas day - making it quite good for Advent - though I've used it as part of my daily devotions over the past month or so. It is of late 19th Century Anglican origin, though I find the language and approach quite relatable.

The only down side was that I thought his argument for our Resurrection Body was a little too spiritual for my taste. Yes I agree that our Resurrection body will be different, but I see Scripture arguing for a much tighter link between body and soul (both now and later) then the Author appears to have.
1208544
this cd isn't bad at all and very good if you like this sort of gospel.
1584484
Was a good late evening movie. Yes, Jesus is the way before all other.  Put Him first in your life and everything else will work out just find.
982838
My liking for this come because it is referenced off of the Bible, being the people that made these quotes either followed Jesus of they greatly respected God. Also, it is saying like these that can get you through the hard time, times of dispair!
2551450
This is a DVD which will probably offend the close-minded Bible thumpers, but for those who have an interest in all perspectives on Jesus, this DVD will deliver.
1965719
Jesus, Bread, and Chocolate is has very nice appeal; its basically incorporating industrialized concepts from food to music in our everyday lives to the REAL life of a Christian; the author takes the faux-ness of things we use every day and shares how un-organic they are and how people are also basically faux today in their faith. I personally liked parts of this book and didn't feel I learned much from others. I think that more people today should read the Bible instead of books regarding the Bible or books that have verses from the Bible; its all about going back to the good stuff, which is in the Bible and living that out in our daily lives. Overall, I think this book was just ok, there wasn't anything fantastic that stuck out to me, but nothing really bad either. I think certain people could grow from this book while others would just read it for fun.

Disclosure: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review from BookLook Bloggers; all thoughts and opinions herein are that of my own.
2802532
I really liked the story.  I am not big into Jesus this Jesus that, but it was not too much and this was well written.  it is a good heart warming story.  thank you, I truly enjoyed this book.
4080509
I follow this strip on Facebook. I knew it would be good. And it is. Love the reality of what seems to be simple conversation. Jesus cuts to the heart of the matter in a calm quiet voice. Truly God inspired. Thank you!