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If: Trading Your If Only Regrets for God's What If Possibilities
The word If is a powerful little word. Some people are stuck in if only, trudging through lives marked with regret. But God wants us to live lives marked with possibilities, with the what if attitude that looks forward to the future with confidence. Why? Because the answer to "If God is for us, who can be against us?" is "No one." God is always on our side, every day, in every way.Young people especially need to hear this life-changing message of hope and freedom from Mark Batterson and his son Parker. With his trademark enthusiasm and contagious joy, Batterson helps teens and young adults overcome those feelings of guilt, fear, and doubt that plague them and embrace the truth that in Christ there is no condemnation. Unpacking the promises of Romans 8, he shows young readers that they are more than conquerors--right now and forever. And because of that, the possibilities for their lives are limitless.
146 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2015
662 people are currently reading
1957 people want to read
About the author
Mark Batterson
188 books1,117 followersMark Batterson is the lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC. One church in seven locations, NCC owns and operates Ebenezers Coffeehouse, The Miracle Theatre, and the DC Dream Center. NCC is currently developing a city block into The Capital Turnaround. This 100,000-square-foot space will include an event venue, child development center, mixed-use marketplace, and co-working space. Mark holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Regent University and is the New York Times best-selling author of seventeen books, including The Circle Maker, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, Wild Goose Chase, Play the Man, Whisper, and, most recently, Double Blessing. Mark and his wife, Lora, live on Capitol Hill with their three children: Parker, Summer, and Josiah.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 156 reviews
March 6, 2022
Re-read. I just read this one last year but I found myself coming back to it again and again so I re-read it. Mark addresses "What if", "As If", and "If Only". All the "IF's" you can imagine, he lays it out in this one. He also goes verse by verse through the greatest chapter in the bible, Romans 8! The way he tackles each verse and uses examples and illustrations is amazing. It is full of great things to learn and tools to use. I highly recommend.
August 14, 2017
Good stuff. Encouraging. Lots of historical examples
October 3, 2015
In his newest book If, author Mark Batterson uses Romans 8 and the powerful little word “if” to challenge readers to live the Christian life with more obedience, faith, and abandonment.
Section headings “If only,” “As if,” “What if?” and “No ifs ands or buts” focus on four sides of the idea. In the “If only” section Batterson challenges us to live without regrets. In the “As if” part, the gauntlet is to live as if the unseen and invisible were true. The “What if?” parts are about dreams coming true, about the bigger-than-we-expected results of giving ourselves to God and the working of the Holy Spirit. In the “No ifs, ands or buts” Batterson gives us his bottom line—the things about which he feels there are no ifs, ands, or buts, and challenges us to name and live by our own.
Batterson explores these facets of “if” through a slice-and-dice of Romans 8 and stories (taken from history, his early life, and his experiences as a pastor of the multi-campus National Community Church of Washington DC). Each of If’s 30 chapters begins with a verse or part of a verse from Romans 8 and he also draws our attention to the prominent themes and “if” phrases of this chapter.
The writing is lively with a chummy tone that lends itself to cliché and trendy expressions. In other words, it doesn’t read like a textbook or theology tome.
The exegetical feature does make the book feel a bit rabbit-trailish as far as idea flow is concerned. Perhaps that was by design, for Batterson says in the Introduction: “If is not a systematic theology ... If is not a commentary; it’s more of an impressionist painting ... a landscape of faith, hope and love with right brain brush strokes” – Kindle Location 246.
I enjoyed the stories and illustration though numerous times here too I found myself puzzling over exactly how the story I was reading related to the idea or principle being discussed.
Batterson excels, though, at inventing catchy phrases and sayings. My ebook is full of highlighted passages. Here are a few:
Full of energy, enthusiasm, faith, and challenge, If is a great book for Christians in the 20-40 crowd—or those finding themselves at a life crossroad or stuck in a backwater.
I received an ebook version of If as a gift from the publisher for the purpose of writing a review.
Section headings “If only,” “As if,” “What if?” and “No ifs ands or buts” focus on four sides of the idea. In the “If only” section Batterson challenges us to live without regrets. In the “As if” part, the gauntlet is to live as if the unseen and invisible were true. The “What if?” parts are about dreams coming true, about the bigger-than-we-expected results of giving ourselves to God and the working of the Holy Spirit. In the “No ifs, ands or buts” Batterson gives us his bottom line—the things about which he feels there are no ifs, ands, or buts, and challenges us to name and live by our own.
Batterson explores these facets of “if” through a slice-and-dice of Romans 8 and stories (taken from history, his early life, and his experiences as a pastor of the multi-campus National Community Church of Washington DC). Each of If’s 30 chapters begins with a verse or part of a verse from Romans 8 and he also draws our attention to the prominent themes and “if” phrases of this chapter.
The writing is lively with a chummy tone that lends itself to cliché and trendy expressions. In other words, it doesn’t read like a textbook or theology tome.
The exegetical feature does make the book feel a bit rabbit-trailish as far as idea flow is concerned. Perhaps that was by design, for Batterson says in the Introduction: “If is not a systematic theology ... If is not a commentary; it’s more of an impressionist painting ... a landscape of faith, hope and love with right brain brush strokes” – Kindle Location 246.
I enjoyed the stories and illustration though numerous times here too I found myself puzzling over exactly how the story I was reading related to the idea or principle being discussed.
Batterson excels, though, at inventing catchy phrases and sayings. My ebook is full of highlighted passages. Here are a few:
“God has blessings for us in categories we don’t even know exist” – KL 2798.
“Our destiny has far less to do with what we do than who we become” – KL 3292.
“For better or for worse, your deepest held beliefs will define who you become” – KL 4142.
“Convictions are lessons learned from experiences we’d never want to go through again, but we wouldn’t trade for anything in the world” – KL 4161.
Full of energy, enthusiasm, faith, and challenge, If is a great book for Christians in the 20-40 crowd—or those finding themselves at a life crossroad or stuck in a backwater.
I received an ebook version of If as a gift from the publisher for the purpose of writing a review.
October 9, 2015
I absolutely positively cannot put this book down, I read a chapter and then go back to read it again. This book is full of life changing words and sayings. I love Mark Batterson's writing style. I have watched several of his teaching seminars and he writes just like he talks, most people do not do that. And he talks just like an all around cool guy you want to hang out with. "Katy bar the door", "smoke screen of doubt", "tipping point" everyday phrases with spiritual applications. I am happy I have two copies of this book, that means I don't have to share, my highlighted, marked up, book. This book is vying very hard for my favorite Mark Batterson book, edging out the 40 Day Circle Maker Devotional. Get your copy today!! Don't wait, you are missing valuable reading time in this great, life changing book. 5 stars from this reviewer. This book was provided by the publisher for review purposes only, no payment was received for this review. I also purchased a copy of this book, so I wouldn't have to share my review copy. YES it is that good!
September 15, 2015
I quickly discovered that each chapter serves as a stand-alone teaching, so I found it helpful to write down a main point from each of the thirty chapters. I will refer back to my notes often to encourage internalization of the powerful truths shared.
January 18, 2016
So many metaphors..... I'm drowning in them. But , if you have patience you'll get to what he was intending to say 15 minutes ago lol
June 24, 2019
Great motivational book!
June 25, 2024
“God doesn’t bless us so we can raise our standard of living. He blesses us so we can raise our standard of giving.”
“God wants us to get where God wants us to go more than we want to get where God wants us to go, and he’s awfully good at getting us there.”
“Pray as if everything depended on God. Work as if everything depended on you.”
“God wants us to get where God wants us to go more than we want to get where God wants us to go, and he’s awfully good at getting us there.”
“Pray as if everything depended on God. Work as if everything depended on you.”
March 9, 2017
Had this book on my "To Read" list through a recommendation. I wish I could remember who recommended it now due to concerns with the book. As many have said, it has a lot of good stories and sayings but for a book that claims to be about Romans 8, it contains very little scripture. A lot of interesting life stories but almost to the point of boasting at times. He throws in enough "this is because of God" type things to make you wonder but still left me wanting more Jesus and less Mark Batterson in a book about the greatest chapter in the Bible.
September 5, 2021
This book was recommended to me by my pastor. It gives new hope in any season of faith that you are going through, reminding you that even in what seems like the lowest moments God is working it for good and that you should always be on the lookout for the opportunity that God gives to you. Let God stretch you in your faith, you never know who you're reaching.
April 28, 2019
This book reads like one of my college papers I procrastinated. Some good thoughts all scrambled together while trying to have a cohesive point. A few good thoughts and quotes sprinkled in amongst a lot of rambling stories.
January 6, 2023
Life is full of "ifs" and we can do a lot with those ifs. :)
September 26, 2016
This book set in Romans 8 will challenge you to dive into the Ifs that are possible with God.
May 12, 2018
Good devotional on Romans 8.
August 1, 2019
Excellent book!! Very motivational. A MUST READ for entrepreneurs or anyone challenging themselves to dream beyond themselves!
July 10, 2024
It took me awhile to get thru this book, but there were many inspiring moments in it. I enjoyed hearing stories of how God shows up when people need him to do something Big!
September 30, 2017
"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." Those are Paul's opening words to the eighth chapter of Romans, and those are the words that inspired this work by Mark Batterson. "If" is a study of the impact of realization. Batterson advocates for Christians to recognize the power of the entire eighth chapter of Romans, focusing on each "if" statement, and pondering its influence and guidance on our decisions and the responsibility that we have to "not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."
My biggest eye-opening moment as a reader was in Chapter 4, where Batterson expounds upon the value of grace in a chapter titled "Double Jeopardy." Paul says in Romans 8:1 that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, and qualifies that statement by reminding us that those who are in Christ Jesus do not walk according to the flesh. They walk according to the Spirit. When we, as Christians, realize the freedom we have from sin's power, through the grace of Christ, it ought to be evident in how we live our lives. At this point, Batterson alludes to the story in Matthew 18:21 where Peter asked Christ how many times we should forgive someone. Jesus responds with the "seventy times seven" directive that essentially instructs Peter to stop keeping tabs on how many times someone offends you. Jesus then immediately tells Peter a story of man who owed a debt of 10,000 talents.
10,000 may not sound like an infinite number, but 10,000 talents is an insurmountable debt. 1 talent was worth 60 minas. 1 mina was three months' wages. So, to earn 1 talent would take 60 times 3 months' wages, or 180 months (or 15 years). Then, 10,000 talents would take 150,000 years to pay back. In Matthew 18:26-27, the servant realizes the consequences for his debt and in anguish promises to pay everything back. It is only the master who recognizes the hopelessness of the man's plea and the impossibility of ever paying it back. He is moved with compassion and forgives the debt. Jesus is trying to get Peter to understand that as human beings, we have that same sin debt to God.
At minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 per hour, a worker would earn $15,080 per year working 40 hours per week and every week of the year. After 150,000 years, the amount earned would be $2,262,000,000. That's right, over $2.2 billion. That's the "modern-day value" of that 10,000 talent debt in Jesus' parable. As you know, the life expectancy in the 21st century is around 80 years. In fact, the latest information estimates a life expectancy for females at 81.2 years (females have a longer life expectancy). Considering that you have to be 16 years old in most places to begin working, that only gives you about 65.2 working years in a lifetime. So it would take about 2,300 lifetimes to pay back your sin debt. Unfortunately, Hebrews 9:27 tells us that we only get to live once. At the rates above, at the end of your life, you would have paid back about $983, 216. This would leave you about $2,261,016,784 short (or 2,299 lifetimes) in paying back your debt. And that's not even taking into consideration that you would have spent essentially all of that $983,216 in living expenses during your lifetime, leaving you with nothing to put toward your debt.
So, we start to see how terrible our sin debt is before the Lord. But we also start to appreciate the value of grace that He has bestowed upon us. The hymnist penned a song about grace that is greater than all our sin! Paul writes in Romans 5:20 that where sin did abound, grace abounded much more!
In that parable (which continues all the way through Matthew 18:35), Jesus is telling Peter that we need to stop focusing on who has wronged us and start thinking about how we've wronged God by living a sinful life. Our focus is often on self, and it shouldn't be.
Getting back to scope of this book, which is Romans 8, you can start to see that what Paul is saying in Romans 8:1 is that because of Christ and this grace, "there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."
Batterson explains that condemnation is guilt over confessed sin, but conviction is guilt over unconfessed sin. Because of what Christ did, we don't have to live condemned lives! Jesus took care of that for us on the cross. But that's not where Romans 8:1 ends. Because of what Christ did, we have a responsibility to not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. We DO need to tune in to the conviction we feel over our unconfessed sin. To those outside the faith, many look at believers and mockingly say that people who get "saved" seem to just live however they want. According to Paul's teaching in Romans 8, a true believer would recognize the value of Christ's grace and as a result, the believer's wants, desires, and actions should have changed. God's grace is not a blank check to go and do whatever you want to do. Instead, it's a call to recognition and responsibility. If we recognize and truly grasp what Christ has done for us, we cannot help to respond by living our lives in obedience to the Spirit.
That's what Mark Batterson's book is about, and that was just Chapter 4!
I enjoyed the book and would recommend it, however, I would also recommend that you thoroughly study Romans 8 (and the entire book of Romans) and pray and fast as you read Batterson's thoughts and Batterson's real-life examples. I believe that Batterson does a great job of piquing your interest and making you want to study more of God's word, but with any book of this nature, it is still your responsibility to go back and study the context of the Scriptures referenced and pray and ask God what He would have you, personally, to learn from this study. And then, there's an inherent challenge to share what you've learned with someone else. That's what gives you an extra opportunity to grow as you study.
My biggest eye-opening moment as a reader was in Chapter 4, where Batterson expounds upon the value of grace in a chapter titled "Double Jeopardy." Paul says in Romans 8:1 that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, and qualifies that statement by reminding us that those who are in Christ Jesus do not walk according to the flesh. They walk according to the Spirit. When we, as Christians, realize the freedom we have from sin's power, through the grace of Christ, it ought to be evident in how we live our lives. At this point, Batterson alludes to the story in Matthew 18:21 where Peter asked Christ how many times we should forgive someone. Jesus responds with the "seventy times seven" directive that essentially instructs Peter to stop keeping tabs on how many times someone offends you. Jesus then immediately tells Peter a story of man who owed a debt of 10,000 talents.
10,000 may not sound like an infinite number, but 10,000 talents is an insurmountable debt. 1 talent was worth 60 minas. 1 mina was three months' wages. So, to earn 1 talent would take 60 times 3 months' wages, or 180 months (or 15 years). Then, 10,000 talents would take 150,000 years to pay back. In Matthew 18:26-27, the servant realizes the consequences for his debt and in anguish promises to pay everything back. It is only the master who recognizes the hopelessness of the man's plea and the impossibility of ever paying it back. He is moved with compassion and forgives the debt. Jesus is trying to get Peter to understand that as human beings, we have that same sin debt to God.
At minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 per hour, a worker would earn $15,080 per year working 40 hours per week and every week of the year. After 150,000 years, the amount earned would be $2,262,000,000. That's right, over $2.2 billion. That's the "modern-day value" of that 10,000 talent debt in Jesus' parable. As you know, the life expectancy in the 21st century is around 80 years. In fact, the latest information estimates a life expectancy for females at 81.2 years (females have a longer life expectancy). Considering that you have to be 16 years old in most places to begin working, that only gives you about 65.2 working years in a lifetime. So it would take about 2,300 lifetimes to pay back your sin debt. Unfortunately, Hebrews 9:27 tells us that we only get to live once. At the rates above, at the end of your life, you would have paid back about $983, 216. This would leave you about $2,261,016,784 short (or 2,299 lifetimes) in paying back your debt. And that's not even taking into consideration that you would have spent essentially all of that $983,216 in living expenses during your lifetime, leaving you with nothing to put toward your debt.
So, we start to see how terrible our sin debt is before the Lord. But we also start to appreciate the value of grace that He has bestowed upon us. The hymnist penned a song about grace that is greater than all our sin! Paul writes in Romans 5:20 that where sin did abound, grace abounded much more!
In that parable (which continues all the way through Matthew 18:35), Jesus is telling Peter that we need to stop focusing on who has wronged us and start thinking about how we've wronged God by living a sinful life. Our focus is often on self, and it shouldn't be.
Getting back to scope of this book, which is Romans 8, you can start to see that what Paul is saying in Romans 8:1 is that because of Christ and this grace, "there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."
Batterson explains that condemnation is guilt over confessed sin, but conviction is guilt over unconfessed sin. Because of what Christ did, we don't have to live condemned lives! Jesus took care of that for us on the cross. But that's not where Romans 8:1 ends. Because of what Christ did, we have a responsibility to not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. We DO need to tune in to the conviction we feel over our unconfessed sin. To those outside the faith, many look at believers and mockingly say that people who get "saved" seem to just live however they want. According to Paul's teaching in Romans 8, a true believer would recognize the value of Christ's grace and as a result, the believer's wants, desires, and actions should have changed. God's grace is not a blank check to go and do whatever you want to do. Instead, it's a call to recognition and responsibility. If we recognize and truly grasp what Christ has done for us, we cannot help to respond by living our lives in obedience to the Spirit.
That's what Mark Batterson's book is about, and that was just Chapter 4!
I enjoyed the book and would recommend it, however, I would also recommend that you thoroughly study Romans 8 (and the entire book of Romans) and pray and fast as you read Batterson's thoughts and Batterson's real-life examples. I believe that Batterson does a great job of piquing your interest and making you want to study more of God's word, but with any book of this nature, it is still your responsibility to go back and study the context of the Scriptures referenced and pray and ask God what He would have you, personally, to learn from this study. And then, there's an inherent challenge to share what you've learned with someone else. That's what gives you an extra opportunity to grow as you study.
September 28, 2017
3.5 stars. I listened to the audio version, which is read/narrated by the author. He has a decent speaking voice, which I was familiar with from the DVD which accompanies the study of this book. (We are currently doing the study in Sunday School.) Mark Batterson does a great job of conveying the Holy Spirit's potential in your life, which you have to be willing to ask for and accept. There are lots of illustrations of situations in which he, his church, and/or historical figures achieved great things through God.
My main complaints are that, of all the politicians in DC, where he lives/has his church, the one he chooses to name-drop as a customer of his coffee shop is Al Franken. Really?
Also, there are several instances of Batterson mispronouncing words, which is distracting. It makes you wonder how it was missed during the editing process. Oh well. It's a good book, chock full of helpful teaching and advice. Recommended.
My main complaints are that, of all the politicians in DC, where he lives/has his church, the one he chooses to name-drop as a customer of his coffee shop is Al Franken. Really?
Also, there are several instances of Batterson mispronouncing words, which is distracting. It makes you wonder how it was missed during the editing process. Oh well. It's a good book, chock full of helpful teaching and advice. Recommended.
September 24, 2017
This was a good book, although I am not the target audience. The book is designed for a very, very general Christian audience, who is likely not used to reading. It is also designed to cover those at all (myself included) stages of faith. Thus, it is challenging and encouraging. It challenges Christians to actually be so, by following and trusting God. And, it encourages Christians in their walk, even when things appear to be failing, or even when we mess up. The book is intended to be read one short chapter per day as a devotional. So, while the book did not challenge my mind, it did speak to my heart regularly. Throughout, the author seemed to dance dangerously close to prosperity gospel teaching, although I don’t think he ever went over the edge, and ultimately I cannot complain.
May 16, 2017
I admittedly only was able to make it to page 40 of this book before giving up after I read the line "the next time the enemy reminds you of your past, remind him of his future." I'm a writer and avid reader and give every book a chance. This one happened to be reccomended to me, but I could not get past the rambling metaphors or oversued cliches such as the one quoted above from page 40. This book would have made a great series on a blog because the foundational concept is powerful, but there's not enough meat here for a book.
May 17, 2020
The individual chapters are decent, but the collection of these as a book is weakly tied together by Romans 8. Every chapter feels to quickly cover a new thought that could be great if expanded on for more than a dozen or so pages, but instead it's replaced by a new one. It reads as if the author read a verse daily of Romans 8 writing his train of thought reflecting on said verse in a journal, then published it as a book.
tl;dr - decent thoughts pertaining to individual verses of Romans 8 and cool book design idea, but poor book execution that doesn't keep my attention long
tl;dr - decent thoughts pertaining to individual verses of Romans 8 and cool book design idea, but poor book execution that doesn't keep my attention long
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 5, 2016
Probably one of my favorite practical, nonfiction books ever! Based on Romans 8. He draws on a wealth of historical, philosophical, and scientific examples. It's unapologetically Christian, but not in a judgmental way. Rather in a "God is for you" way!
October 31, 2022
Good concept—it definitely had some valid and intriguing points. However, it was very repetitive and felt like he was droning on and on.
January 24, 2023
If you want a quality, act as if you already had it. Act as if what you do make a difference. I does. -William James. -page 98
God brought us more than two thousand miles from Bethesda, Maryland, to Modesto, California, to be the answer to your prayer! -page 118 (this was a story that illustrates how God works through people.)
I used to trade options in my early twenties. Before my brokerage firm even allowed me to start trading, I had to read a document called Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options. I think it was designed to scare investors into a safer strategy, but I didn't have the patience to wait for traditional stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. I wanted a get-rich-quick scheme. My first month trading, I had the fortune and misfortune of turning $1,500 into $5,000. The next month I turned $5,000 into nothing! I learned a $5,000 lesson. Unlike traditional investment vehicles, options have expiration dates. If an option doesn't hit the strike price by the call date, it expires worthless. You have an expiration date. Whatever you don't invest in the kingdom is an option that expires worthless. Whatever you invest in kingdom stock earns compound interest for eternity, and the dividends are out of this world. To reckon any other way is an eternal miscalculation. -page 128
Most of us know next to nothing about our great-great- grandparents. We might know their names and perhaps a story or two. But that's it. I think one of my great-great-grandparents had the surname of Kimmerly The only thing I know about him is that he was a trait conductor. Only one little piece of family folklore has survived the generational gap. The backyard of the Kimmerly home bordered the train tracks, and when my great-great-grandfather went by, he'd blow the train whistle. It was a signal to my great-great-grandmother to set the dinner table because he was almost home. That's it. That's all I've got. l want my great-great-grandchildren to know what I lived for. I want them to know my hopes and dreams. I want them to know my story line so they can figure out theirs. I want them to know my if only, my as ifs, my what ifs, and my no ifs, ands, or buts about it. That's why I write. To me, a book is a time capsule to the next generation. I want my books to have a long shelf life, and that means lots of life has lo go into them. I want them to stand the test of time, and that takes time. And that's true of every what if. -page 163
I have a longstanding conviction that dates back to my undergrad days at the University of Chicago: every ology is a branch of theology. In other words, every realm of creation reveals something of the Creator's power, personality, and purpose. That's why my bookshelves are filled with volumes from a wide range of disciplines-theology to psychology, business to biography, neurology to entomology, physics to genetics. -page 167
What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. "The pursuit of God and The Knowledge of the Holy" by A.W. Tozer. -page 247
I have a handful of core convictions, my kernels of truth. With each repetition, they become more and more engrained, like a memory trace. The one I repeat most often is probably, "Pray like it depends on God and work like it depends on you." But there are others, such as, "Criticize by creating," "Thou shalt offend Pharisees," and "Catch people doing something right." I also believe that "Playing it safe is risky," "There are ways of doing church that no one has thought of yet," and "When God gives a vision, He makes provision." If you reverse engineer Mark Batterson, those core convictions are my key code. What are your core convictions? -page 272
"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." When his daughter found the words, John Bruce told her to hold his finger there. He passed away with his finger on that promise.5 What a way to enter heaven, the eternal what if. My advice, at the end of this book, is to fetch that Book. Put your Finger on the Great Eight, and anchor your soul to its promises. In time, your if only regrets will fade to black. In eternity, your what if dreams will come to light. No if, ands, or buts about it. -page 282
God brought us more than two thousand miles from Bethesda, Maryland, to Modesto, California, to be the answer to your prayer! -page 118 (this was a story that illustrates how God works through people.)
I used to trade options in my early twenties. Before my brokerage firm even allowed me to start trading, I had to read a document called Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options. I think it was designed to scare investors into a safer strategy, but I didn't have the patience to wait for traditional stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. I wanted a get-rich-quick scheme. My first month trading, I had the fortune and misfortune of turning $1,500 into $5,000. The next month I turned $5,000 into nothing! I learned a $5,000 lesson. Unlike traditional investment vehicles, options have expiration dates. If an option doesn't hit the strike price by the call date, it expires worthless. You have an expiration date. Whatever you don't invest in the kingdom is an option that expires worthless. Whatever you invest in kingdom stock earns compound interest for eternity, and the dividends are out of this world. To reckon any other way is an eternal miscalculation. -page 128
Most of us know next to nothing about our great-great- grandparents. We might know their names and perhaps a story or two. But that's it. I think one of my great-great-grandparents had the surname of Kimmerly The only thing I know about him is that he was a trait conductor. Only one little piece of family folklore has survived the generational gap. The backyard of the Kimmerly home bordered the train tracks, and when my great-great-grandfather went by, he'd blow the train whistle. It was a signal to my great-great-grandmother to set the dinner table because he was almost home. That's it. That's all I've got. l want my great-great-grandchildren to know what I lived for. I want them to know my hopes and dreams. I want them to know my story line so they can figure out theirs. I want them to know my if only, my as ifs, my what ifs, and my no ifs, ands, or buts about it. That's why I write. To me, a book is a time capsule to the next generation. I want my books to have a long shelf life, and that means lots of life has lo go into them. I want them to stand the test of time, and that takes time. And that's true of every what if. -page 163
I have a longstanding conviction that dates back to my undergrad days at the University of Chicago: every ology is a branch of theology. In other words, every realm of creation reveals something of the Creator's power, personality, and purpose. That's why my bookshelves are filled with volumes from a wide range of disciplines-theology to psychology, business to biography, neurology to entomology, physics to genetics. -page 167
What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. "The pursuit of God and The Knowledge of the Holy" by A.W. Tozer. -page 247
I have a handful of core convictions, my kernels of truth. With each repetition, they become more and more engrained, like a memory trace. The one I repeat most often is probably, "Pray like it depends on God and work like it depends on you." But there are others, such as, "Criticize by creating," "Thou shalt offend Pharisees," and "Catch people doing something right." I also believe that "Playing it safe is risky," "There are ways of doing church that no one has thought of yet," and "When God gives a vision, He makes provision." If you reverse engineer Mark Batterson, those core convictions are my key code. What are your core convictions? -page 272
"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." When his daughter found the words, John Bruce told her to hold his finger there. He passed away with his finger on that promise.5 What a way to enter heaven, the eternal what if. My advice, at the end of this book, is to fetch that Book. Put your Finger on the Great Eight, and anchor your soul to its promises. In time, your if only regrets will fade to black. In eternity, your what if dreams will come to light. No if, ands, or buts about it. -page 282
March 23, 2017
Some good material. Some of it very thought-provoking.
A bit repetitive and the overarching theme seems to be unclear at times. Also a few typos?
Quotes:
He said “Everything I rejected about God was not God.”
This half-empty mindset causes us to focus on forgiveness, but Jesus didn’t die on the cross just to forgive you. His aim is much higher than that. He died to change you. And He didn’t die on the cross just to keep you safe. He died to make you dangerous— a threat to the enemy. He died so that you could make a difference for all eternity.
What if you started acting like an agent of grace— looking for opportunities to love people when they least expect it and least deserve it?
Satan is a complex personality, but one of his monikers is “the accuser of our brethren.” Condemnation is his native tongue... The irony of his accusations is this: he leaves our unconfessed sins alone. Why wake a sleeping dog? He’d rather you don’t deal with unconfessed sin at all. So he doesn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole. His accusations pinpoint confessed sin, sins that have already been forgiven and forgotten.
We waste 83.2 percent of our emotional energy on things we cannot control. All right, I totally made that percentage up, but I think it’s a ballpark number. Don’t worry about what you cannot control.
If you feel like your dream is in a holding pattern, try fasting. If you feel like your marriage is maintaining the status quo, try fasting. If your heart is breaking for your kids, try fasting. If you need a breakthrough, try fasting. If you need to make a big decision, try fasting.
Spiritually speaking, nothing will take you further, faster than fasting. You must fast unto God, but it breaks strongholds and yields breakthroughs. At its core, fasting is the way we declare to God that we need Him and want Him more than food itself.
Your first prayer will probably look like a kindergartener's painting. Of course, God still puts it on His refrigerator! But if you keep practicing prayer, your faith will become fluent.
...no matter what your age, your sound waves of worship will reverberate for all eternity!
If you feel like your life is in chaos, the Spirit of God is hovering— just like He did at the dawn of creation.
Since we’re on the subject of the fruit of the Spirit, let me put this in agricultural terms. Sin is a seed. If you plant it and water it, it will grow. If you starve it, it’ll die. And the same is true of holiness: It’s a harvest.
Goodness is not the absence of badness. After all, you can do nothing wrong and still do nothing right.
Every promise is yes in Christ.
Pray that I don’t let fear dictate my decisions.
How do you overthrow greed? The coup d’état is the tithe. You give the first 10 percent of your income back to God.
Anything less than God-sized goals constitutes a lack of faith.
You don’t have to figure out where to go or what to do— that’s God’s job. He’s preparing good works in advance. Your job is to simply keep in lockstep with the Holy Spirit.
A bit repetitive and the overarching theme seems to be unclear at times. Also a few typos?
Quotes:
He said “Everything I rejected about God was not God.”
This half-empty mindset causes us to focus on forgiveness, but Jesus didn’t die on the cross just to forgive you. His aim is much higher than that. He died to change you. And He didn’t die on the cross just to keep you safe. He died to make you dangerous— a threat to the enemy. He died so that you could make a difference for all eternity.
What if you started acting like an agent of grace— looking for opportunities to love people when they least expect it and least deserve it?
Satan is a complex personality, but one of his monikers is “the accuser of our brethren.” Condemnation is his native tongue... The irony of his accusations is this: he leaves our unconfessed sins alone. Why wake a sleeping dog? He’d rather you don’t deal with unconfessed sin at all. So he doesn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole. His accusations pinpoint confessed sin, sins that have already been forgiven and forgotten.
We waste 83.2 percent of our emotional energy on things we cannot control. All right, I totally made that percentage up, but I think it’s a ballpark number. Don’t worry about what you cannot control.
If you feel like your dream is in a holding pattern, try fasting. If you feel like your marriage is maintaining the status quo, try fasting. If your heart is breaking for your kids, try fasting. If you need a breakthrough, try fasting. If you need to make a big decision, try fasting.
Spiritually speaking, nothing will take you further, faster than fasting. You must fast unto God, but it breaks strongholds and yields breakthroughs. At its core, fasting is the way we declare to God that we need Him and want Him more than food itself.
Your first prayer will probably look like a kindergartener's painting. Of course, God still puts it on His refrigerator! But if you keep practicing prayer, your faith will become fluent.
...no matter what your age, your sound waves of worship will reverberate for all eternity!
If you feel like your life is in chaos, the Spirit of God is hovering— just like He did at the dawn of creation.
Since we’re on the subject of the fruit of the Spirit, let me put this in agricultural terms. Sin is a seed. If you plant it and water it, it will grow. If you starve it, it’ll die. And the same is true of holiness: It’s a harvest.
Goodness is not the absence of badness. After all, you can do nothing wrong and still do nothing right.
Every promise is yes in Christ.
Pray that I don’t let fear dictate my decisions.
How do you overthrow greed? The coup d’état is the tithe. You give the first 10 percent of your income back to God.
Anything less than God-sized goals constitutes a lack of faith.
You don’t have to figure out where to go or what to do— that’s God’s job. He’s preparing good works in advance. Your job is to simply keep in lockstep with the Holy Spirit.
October 21, 2025
This book took me longer than I am willing to admit to complete. I started it with plans of wrapping it up in the first half of the year and I realized months just flew by. I do not know why I put it down. I think maybe I thought the subject while important was not something that I should be worried about “right now”. Well, turns out I needed to wait so that when I reopened it, my mind would be in the right mindset to soak up the knowledge. I will say there are many different good points in this book. More than the few I will highlight, but some information just hit very hard and definitely gave me pause in how I am approaching my days.
I have no facts, but this book may be the result of an intense study of the book of Romans that Mark gave to his congregation and then further flushed out. It covers the book of Romans, chapters 1 thru 8. But the way that information is presented, is not the too high to reach theory that sometimes makes the information hard to digest.
"Studies suggest that just 3 percent of life events are highly memorable. Approximately 17 experiences on an average year will make it to our long-term memory."
"Condemnation is feeling guilty over confessed sin. Conviction is feeling guilty over unconfessed sin."
"It does not matter whether the system is a church, a family, or your workplace, there needs to be at least 2.9 positive feedbacks for every negative feedback."
There are a lot of What If’s that can make us better. I felt reading this book helped me highlight both some of the things I am doing well and some I can seriously work on. You will get the very important Christian living topics by reading this book, and to me that makes it even better to not only read for oneself, but to maybe even give a gift to a friend and see if anything sticks. I will say sometimes there is repeat moments, but I don’t know if it was intentional to drive home into memory or just reusing thoughts from an earlier chapter.
I have no facts, but this book may be the result of an intense study of the book of Romans that Mark gave to his congregation and then further flushed out. It covers the book of Romans, chapters 1 thru 8. But the way that information is presented, is not the too high to reach theory that sometimes makes the information hard to digest.
"Studies suggest that just 3 percent of life events are highly memorable. Approximately 17 experiences on an average year will make it to our long-term memory."
"Condemnation is feeling guilty over confessed sin. Conviction is feeling guilty over unconfessed sin."
"It does not matter whether the system is a church, a family, or your workplace, there needs to be at least 2.9 positive feedbacks for every negative feedback."
There are a lot of What If’s that can make us better. I felt reading this book helped me highlight both some of the things I am doing well and some I can seriously work on. You will get the very important Christian living topics by reading this book, and to me that makes it even better to not only read for oneself, but to maybe even give a gift to a friend and see if anything sticks. I will say sometimes there is repeat moments, but I don’t know if it was intentional to drive home into memory or just reusing thoughts from an earlier chapter.
January 15, 2025
I found this book in a little library. I’ve been a huge fan of Batterson, so I grabbed it with excitement! I was doing a gig delivery and ended up on a different side of my city that I never go to, and happened to find this book.
It was full of confirmations. Mark prayed I would have this book at just the right time. It was the perfect time.
I have a song called “No Doubt” based on Romans 8 and this book was all about that. We have a mission callled “Culture Shift” and he mentions this phrase several times. I was honestly blown away each day as I visited the short yet incredibly engaging chapters. It helped grow my faith, give me courage, confirm my convictions of what the call on my life is. Thank you Mark for reading all the books you’ve read, the years of being obedient to Gods call and being so wise to speak into somebody like me. You’ve made me more confident of my identity and further equipped me to the mission field.
It was full of confirmations. Mark prayed I would have this book at just the right time. It was the perfect time.
I have a song called “No Doubt” based on Romans 8 and this book was all about that. We have a mission callled “Culture Shift” and he mentions this phrase several times. I was honestly blown away each day as I visited the short yet incredibly engaging chapters. It helped grow my faith, give me courage, confirm my convictions of what the call on my life is. Thank you Mark for reading all the books you’ve read, the years of being obedient to Gods call and being so wise to speak into somebody like me. You’ve made me more confident of my identity and further equipped me to the mission field.
November 11, 2022
This was so hard to read (listen to). If I didn't have the audio, I wouldn't have finished, and I only finished because I wanted to see if there was anything valuable.
Mark Batterson has written lots of books...he apparently wants you to know this because he says it many times. His church used to be poor but now has a lot of money and valuable property. Famous people have read (or at least carried) his book. He's done chapels for professional sports teams. He lives in Washington DC, a really important city. He has met other important people. He was a really good basketball player.
As for God, I can't remember a whole lot from the book. I know he mentioned God here and there, but it really felt like a book about Mark Batterson.
Disappointing.
Mark Batterson has written lots of books...he apparently wants you to know this because he says it many times. His church used to be poor but now has a lot of money and valuable property. Famous people have read (or at least carried) his book. He's done chapels for professional sports teams. He lives in Washington DC, a really important city. He has met other important people. He was a really good basketball player.
As for God, I can't remember a whole lot from the book. I know he mentioned God here and there, but it really felt like a book about Mark Batterson.
Disappointing.
April 24, 2024
“As a child of God, you aren’t just a manifestation of your biological family. You are a manifestation of your spiritual family—your true family of origin. If you let Him, the Spirit of God will manifest the Father and the Son through you.” - Mark Batterson, If: Trading Your If-Only Regrets for God's What If Possibilities
If is a powerful little word. Some people are stuck in "if only," trudging through lives marked with regret. But God wants us to live lives marked with possibilities, with the "what if" attitude that looks forward to the future with confidence. Why? Because the answer to "If God is for us, who can be against us?" is "No one." God is always on our side. Every day, in every way.
My first time reading a Mark Batterson book, I had no clue of his previous work or reputation. His insights are good, but only a handful seemed revelatory to me. After realizing he was going to use Romans 8 for a guidepost in the chapters and discussions, I was hoping for something a little more academic. Personal preference.
Overall, because I agreed with most of what he said and didn't actively hate it, I gave it a 4.
If is a powerful little word. Some people are stuck in "if only," trudging through lives marked with regret. But God wants us to live lives marked with possibilities, with the "what if" attitude that looks forward to the future with confidence. Why? Because the answer to "If God is for us, who can be against us?" is "No one." God is always on our side. Every day, in every way.
My first time reading a Mark Batterson book, I had no clue of his previous work or reputation. His insights are good, but only a handful seemed revelatory to me. After realizing he was going to use Romans 8 for a guidepost in the chapters and discussions, I was hoping for something a little more academic. Personal preference.
Overall, because I agreed with most of what he said and didn't actively hate it, I gave it a 4.
December 15, 2024
"Pray like it all depends on God and work like it all depends on you"... His life philosophy, the book summarized in one sentence, and a great idea to ponder. This book is so good and really walks the like of self help/reliance on God well. A lot of books lean too far into "depression isn't real you just don't love God enough" or "if you worked harder God would reward that" and Batterson does a fantastic job of NOT doing that. His writing is witty, conversational, and I've already convinced two other people to read it. He explains well how to how to live out your faith and nicely addresses the dilemna of reconciling the goodness of God and the pain of this world.
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