I finished reading Rediscover Jesus by Matthew Kelly and I enjoyed it very much!
I gleaned a few things I’d like to tell you about and I will in a minute. First though, the book is a nice, easy read but it asks tough questions and offers ways to learn more about Jesus and grow into a, dare I say, better Christian. Each chapter ends with action items: Point to Ponder, Verse to Live, Question to Consider, and Prayer. If you thought, learned and prayed those four items each day for forty days (which is the number of chapters in the book) I think you would be a different person, hopefully better, at the end of that time. I suppose I could have done that, but I am a book glutton so I can’t just read one chapter a day. Ideally, I’ll go back to those chapters which challenged me the most and read those again.
Onto my list of nuggets from the book!
- “Jesus is the ultimate new beginning.”
- “He (Jesus) wants to perform miracles in you and through you.”
- “Who do you say that Jesus is?”
- “When is the last time you were awestruck by Jesus?”
- “Who does Jesus say that you are?”
- “Jesus says you are a child of God.”
- “Jesus says you are infinitely valuable.”
- “Jesus says you are free.”
- “If we could just learn to recognize people’s needs and pain, there are so many prayers that God want to use us to answer. Too many go unanswered because ordinary people like you and me don’t allow the Holy Spirit to guide us.”
- “God is not in the business of tweaking. He is in the business of transformation.”
- “We don’t see ourselves as we really are, and God’s ways are not man’s.”
- “Few things will have more impact on your life than what you allow to occupy your mind…ponder the ways of God and you will find yourself living them.”
- “If you want to be a better Christian, start by denying yourself.”
- “What do I want? What does God want?”
- God is more interested in your future than he is in your past – but he is most interested in your now!”
Chapters 24, The Gap and 28, Spontaneous Prayer , were probably my favorite. The Gap was full of practical tips which Kelly explains fully in successive chapters. Spontaneous Prayer made me think about and ponder Gospel verses in a new way.
If you’d like a copy of the book, go to Dynamic Catholic. They’d make great stocking stuffers
