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The Power of a Focused Heart: 8 Life Lessons from the Beatitudes
Looking to simplify your life? quiet your mind? find your unique spiritual gift(s) and make a difference? Turn to the Beatitudes!
Sometimes teachings from well-known biblical passages are so obvious and preached so often that we overlook other helpful, not-so-obvious lessons. The Beatitudes are celebrated as being the template for humble Christian living. Dig deeper and you'll also find practical applications for living a simpler yet more spiritually engaged life, especially in this distraction-heavy and frenzied world.
"…the Beatitudes are not easy sayings we can glibly incorporate in our way of life," writes Redding. "Like so much of what Jesus said, they invite us to move beyond first impressions and surface meanings. They challenge us to explore."
Using Jesus' teachings about the kingdom of heaven and how that message spurs us to critically evaluate our priorities, Redding says we must learn to say no to some things to say yes to God.
The book's brief chapters are just-right for today's busy schedules and can be read in minutes. Daily exercises following each chapter will help you consider and practice lessons learned and respond to scripture in a self-guided study. Also included are meeting plans for an 8-session small-group study of the book.
Sometimes teachings from well-known biblical passages are so obvious and preached so often that we overlook other helpful, not-so-obvious lessons. The Beatitudes are celebrated as being the template for humble Christian living. Dig deeper and you'll also find practical applications for living a simpler yet more spiritually engaged life, especially in this distraction-heavy and frenzied world.
"…the Beatitudes are not easy sayings we can glibly incorporate in our way of life," writes Redding. "Like so much of what Jesus said, they invite us to move beyond first impressions and surface meanings. They challenge us to explore."
Using Jesus' teachings about the kingdom of heaven and how that message spurs us to critically evaluate our priorities, Redding says we must learn to say no to some things to say yes to God.
The book's brief chapters are just-right for today's busy schedules and can be read in minutes. Daily exercises following each chapter will help you consider and practice lessons learned and respond to scripture in a self-guided study. Also included are meeting plans for an 8-session small-group study of the book.
- GenresChristian
160 pages, Paperback
First published February 28, 2006
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April 24, 2013
A great daily devotional. It's a LOT, not that you have to do it daily, but I really enjoyed this last summer. I found it very helpful in taking time to reflect on the person I am, in comparison to the person I want to be. It also gave me some great pieces of scripture to meditate on, and prayers to lift up in repetition to help me move toward becoming more the one that I was created to be.
The reading was quite simple, which made it easy to understand and get through, so I could spend more of my time in reflection on each of the lessons from the Beatitudes. After I completed the study on my own, my small group completed the study together, and it provided for some great discussion, as well as opportunities to help us get to know one another better, to provide for one another better, and to support one another in our journey.
The reading was quite simple, which made it easy to understand and get through, so I could spend more of my time in reflection on each of the lessons from the Beatitudes. After I completed the study on my own, my small group completed the study together, and it provided for some great discussion, as well as opportunities to help us get to know one another better, to provide for one another better, and to support one another in our journey.
Displaying 1 of 1 review