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Just Give Me Jesus
After two pressure-filled, life-changing years of professional exhaustion and personal turmoil, Anne Graham Lotz found herself with only one heart-cry, "Please, just give me Jesus." In this faith-inspiring book, she stares intently at the realities of life with her Savior. To those needing a fresh start, to those still searching for happiness, to those in need of forgiveness, to the suffering and the self-righteous alike, Jesus was, is, and will always be the answer.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
211 people are currently reading
458 people want to read
About the author
Anne Graham Lotz
151 books281 followersLotz is the child of Billy Graham & Ruth Bell Graham
Anne Graham Lotz (born May 1948) is an American Christian evangelist. She is the second daughter of evangelist Billy Graham and his wife Ruth Graham. Anne Graham Lotz accepts speaking invitations worldwide, is founder of AnGeL Ministries, and an award-winning author.
Anne Graham Lotz (born May 1948) is an American Christian evangelist. She is the second daughter of evangelist Billy Graham and his wife Ruth Graham. Anne Graham Lotz accepts speaking invitations worldwide, is founder of AnGeL Ministries, and an award-winning author.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
November 5, 2017
One of the best books I have ever read. Anne Graham Lotz clearly explains who Jesus is, using the gospel of John as her source. But what I liked the most is that this book became a bit of a devotional, challenging me to live out what I believe.
August 18, 2021
I found Mrs. Lotz’s teaching to be scripture based and inspirational. She takes us through the Gospel of John giving wonderful insight into those writings as well as some personal experience. She struggles with many of the same things I do making her very relatable. She definitely is gifted with some of her Father’s ability to share the gospel. This is one I will definitely read again.
May 20, 2023
Trying to find a mentor, I found Anne Graham, Billy Graham's daughter. The author is on fire, and every page is filled with the power of His Word. Anne Graham's teaching is refreshing, and yes, this is my second time reading this book about the Gospel of John. At this point, it's crystal clear that I believe in a God who is beyond my understanding, but we have Jesus Christ; He's the clear revelation of what is on the mind and the heart and in the will of God. And because Jesus Christ has been physically absent from the world for 2,000-plus years, people from all walks of life say He has saved them from suicide, illness, depression, etc.
In this book, the reader discovers how to know the Lord, drink from His living water, and eat the bread of life.
In this book, the reader discovers how to know the Lord, drink from His living water, and eat the bread of life.
August 22, 2015
I wanted to like this more. There was a lot of good stuff in the book, but also an overwhelming amount of AGL. Countless mentions of her Bible study of 500 women, many references to her husband's stellar years as a college athlete, "I did", "My husband did", "I did", "Daddy did", "I did"...
Please, just give me Jesus.
Please, just give me Jesus.
December 17, 2021
Format: 📕 paperback
I took this book slow and in little chunks each day, or mostly each day. I used it more as a devotional even though the book isn’t set up that way. It’s very dense reading so breaking it up that way gave me more time to digest what I was reading.
It’s not that this a terrible book, this book just isn’t one of my favorites. There are some great points made and places where I did highlight the text, but those are few and far between for me.
I’m glad I finished this book as it’s been on my shelf for quite some time.
I took this book slow and in little chunks each day, or mostly each day. I used it more as a devotional even though the book isn’t set up that way. It’s very dense reading so breaking it up that way gave me more time to digest what I was reading.
It’s not that this a terrible book, this book just isn’t one of my favorites. There are some great points made and places where I did highlight the text, but those are few and far between for me.
I’m glad I finished this book as it’s been on my shelf for quite some time.
Read
January 1, 2024I am giving this book 3.5 stars because at this time in my life, I know who Jesus is and I want MORE of Him. For those of you who also feel this way, I recommend Anne’s book, My Heart’s Cry, which applies more to people who have a personal relationship with Jesus and are longing for more of Him.
January 29, 2009
Great examples out of real life and a simple way of applying the truths of Jesus' walk on this earth. She has her father's way of explainihng truth (Billy Graham's daughter)
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August 12, 2011Wow!!! If you ever need a reminder about how unbelievable Jesus is, this would be the book!
July 29, 2025
The wisdom in this book and the subtle yet powerful way she brings a point home.
This is book feels like getting a warm 90s church kid hug.
This is book feels like getting a warm 90s church kid hug.
October 11, 2019
I want to know this. Jesus
Through this. Book Anne opened my eyes to who Jesus really is. He is to be the love of my life. Anything less will not do. God said we should put no god before Him. After reading this book I know in my personal life I have been guilty of putting other gods before Him. I know I can never truly have Jesus living in my life until I put Him first. I hope as you read this book and put yourself in the passages God will reveal to you the people, places and things you put before him everyday. As I have read this book and the referenced verses and footnotes I have prayed God for forgiveness and have rededicated my life to be the disciple He has called me to be. Just give me Jesus He is all I truly want and need.
Through this. Book Anne opened my eyes to who Jesus really is. He is to be the love of my life. Anything less will not do. God said we should put no god before Him. After reading this book I know in my personal life I have been guilty of putting other gods before Him. I know I can never truly have Jesus living in my life until I put Him first. I hope as you read this book and put yourself in the passages God will reveal to you the people, places and things you put before him everyday. As I have read this book and the referenced verses and footnotes I have prayed God for forgiveness and have rededicated my life to be the disciple He has called me to be. Just give me Jesus He is all I truly want and need.
November 25, 2013
Anne Graham Lotz, the daughter of Billy and Ruth Graham, gives us a wonderful insight into the writings of the Gospel of John. She uses personal experiences along with detailed interpretations of the scriptures which makes it perfect for personal read or as a study book. She has a poetic and lyrical style of writing which appeals to me. I loved the book.
September 3, 2018
I read this book, borrowing it from my public library.
It was SO very good that I purchased her book so I could HIGHLIGHT
and UNDERLINE portions that were extremely inspiring to me.
Her teaching and writing so HONOR God. I highly recommend this book.
I will be taking this with me when we get away on the next vacation. I will re read it then.
It was SO very good that I purchased her book so I could HIGHLIGHT
and UNDERLINE portions that were extremely inspiring to me.
Her teaching and writing so HONOR God. I highly recommend this book.
I will be taking this with me when we get away on the next vacation. I will re read it then.
January 18, 2016
Beautifully written. I read this as a devotional - reading a few pages every morning.
January 7, 2017
Cites all scripture references
December 31, 2021
I thought I bought this at a Christian bookstore out of town, but it was second-hand, which confuses me some. I enjoy the topic. I find it refreshing to go back to basics and just enjoy Jesus for awhile, and in that, this book succeeded in its goal.
Some of it I enjoyed very much; some of it I had minor concerns with.
I ended up sharing the ABCs she listed for our self-image with a friend who was struggling with the concept that her worth is more than what she earns. Normally, I'd rather contemplate God rather than ourselves, which can shift into either self-centeredness or idolatry. But, there is a place for an appropriate view of the ways God has loved us.
Anne Graham Lotz had: Accepted by God, Beloved by God, Chosen by God, Delivered by God, Enlightened by God, Forgiven by God, have the Grace of God, Hope, Inheritance in heaven, Justification, Knowledge of God, Love, Mercy of God, Nearness to God, Oneness with God, Peace, Quickening of the Spirit, Redeemed, Sealed with the Holy Spirit, Treasured by God, United with other believers, Validated as an authentic child of God, have Wisdom.
I don't know why she stopped there. I would have added Yearning for God and Zealous for God. I have a caveat about the Oneness with God in the list. We can have unity with Him, but we are not Him, not a part of Him. The Creator is always more than the created. I would venture to say that she probably understands this, but it wasn't clear in the reading.
I appreciated the beautiful reminder of the Holy Spirit being the Comforter.
I enjoyed the story of Robert Louis Stevenson, as a child, telling his nanny about the lamplighter, "That man is putting holes in the darkness."
I liked the idea of putting someone's name into 1 John 4, particularly those with those we have frustrations. I had done that before with 1 Corinthians 13 but not 1 John 4.
I liked the quote: “Their superficial examination of ‘the fruit’ leads them to a shallow faith that believes Jesus is a good man, a great man, perhaps even a prophet from God, but they stop short of truly being convinced He is the unique, only begotten Son of God – God Himself in a man’s body. Like Nicodemus, they believe Jesus can help them find what they are looking for, but it never occurs to them that all they are looking for can be found in Jesus Himself – Jesus alone.”
I thought that the description with the last few chapters were beautiful in appreciating Jesus, (those chapters raised this rating from a 3 to a 4), but early in the book, it troubled me when she had description that didn't come from scripture. We don't know whether Martha's hair was messy from working in the kitchen or not. She might be offended with that portrayal of her... I know that might be a little thing, but there were many such little things. These were real people and real events and some things maybe we were not told for a reason, and maybe the author didn't always guess right.
I felt a little sorry for her husband in her talking negatively about him. I wondered if she had his permission to share those things about him.
There is the topic of women in ministry. She gave a more serious consideration of the verses on the issue towards the end of the book. Before that, mostly she marveled at men's negative attitude towards her as a Christian woman speaker. At that earlier point in the book, she seemed to put them down for that understanding without doing the hard work of trying to understand the other side of the issue.
Eventually, she did ask God to give her an understanding of 1 Timothy 2:12 in which she grappled with those harder verses on the topic. But ... it didn't feel like it followed a mathematically logical understanding of the statement. It can be parsed as "not (statement P or statement Q)." ~ (P v Q) would be the mathematical symbolic notation of it. Somehow, she felt that ~Q was the important aspect of it and felt free to ignore ~P. But logic, even grammatical logic, doesn't work that way. I feel like it's a little off-kilter to me because it's a command and not truth statements, that it can be read more ~P n ~Q. Plus, I am always suspicious when people wave their hands and say this or that part of scripture doesn't matter.
Sigh. There are other, more intellectually honest, intellectually satisfying ways to get at that passage. The most convincing one, to me, is the first part of the passage, "I do not permit ..." in which Paul made it clear that it was his own rule, not God's. A similar construct would be when he said, "To the rest, I say this (I, not the Lord) ..." in 1 Cor. 7:12. In his writings, Paul distinguished what was from him and what was from God.
I do think that there are valid points on both sides of that argument, and it's not really an issue I want to argue here or elsewhere. My point was more that her approach on this issue didn't seem to come from the scripture itself, and she seemed to be more focused on what others were doing wrong and not on what she was doing wrong herself. It just didn't feel balanced to me, although it is hard to find balance in this world.
Some of it I enjoyed very much; some of it I had minor concerns with.
I ended up sharing the ABCs she listed for our self-image with a friend who was struggling with the concept that her worth is more than what she earns. Normally, I'd rather contemplate God rather than ourselves, which can shift into either self-centeredness or idolatry. But, there is a place for an appropriate view of the ways God has loved us.
Anne Graham Lotz had: Accepted by God, Beloved by God, Chosen by God, Delivered by God, Enlightened by God, Forgiven by God, have the Grace of God, Hope, Inheritance in heaven, Justification, Knowledge of God, Love, Mercy of God, Nearness to God, Oneness with God, Peace, Quickening of the Spirit, Redeemed, Sealed with the Holy Spirit, Treasured by God, United with other believers, Validated as an authentic child of God, have Wisdom.
I don't know why she stopped there. I would have added Yearning for God and Zealous for God. I have a caveat about the Oneness with God in the list. We can have unity with Him, but we are not Him, not a part of Him. The Creator is always more than the created. I would venture to say that she probably understands this, but it wasn't clear in the reading.
I appreciated the beautiful reminder of the Holy Spirit being the Comforter.
I enjoyed the story of Robert Louis Stevenson, as a child, telling his nanny about the lamplighter, "That man is putting holes in the darkness."
I liked the idea of putting someone's name into 1 John 4, particularly those with those we have frustrations. I had done that before with 1 Corinthians 13 but not 1 John 4.
I liked the quote: “Their superficial examination of ‘the fruit’ leads them to a shallow faith that believes Jesus is a good man, a great man, perhaps even a prophet from God, but they stop short of truly being convinced He is the unique, only begotten Son of God – God Himself in a man’s body. Like Nicodemus, they believe Jesus can help them find what they are looking for, but it never occurs to them that all they are looking for can be found in Jesus Himself – Jesus alone.”
I thought that the description with the last few chapters were beautiful in appreciating Jesus, (those chapters raised this rating from a 3 to a 4), but early in the book, it troubled me when she had description that didn't come from scripture. We don't know whether Martha's hair was messy from working in the kitchen or not. She might be offended with that portrayal of her... I know that might be a little thing, but there were many such little things. These were real people and real events and some things maybe we were not told for a reason, and maybe the author didn't always guess right.
I felt a little sorry for her husband in her talking negatively about him. I wondered if she had his permission to share those things about him.
There is the topic of women in ministry. She gave a more serious consideration of the verses on the issue towards the end of the book. Before that, mostly she marveled at men's negative attitude towards her as a Christian woman speaker. At that earlier point in the book, she seemed to put them down for that understanding without doing the hard work of trying to understand the other side of the issue.
Eventually, she did ask God to give her an understanding of 1 Timothy 2:12 in which she grappled with those harder verses on the topic. But ... it didn't feel like it followed a mathematically logical understanding of the statement. It can be parsed as "not (statement P or statement Q)." ~ (P v Q) would be the mathematical symbolic notation of it. Somehow, she felt that ~Q was the important aspect of it and felt free to ignore ~P. But logic, even grammatical logic, doesn't work that way. I feel like it's a little off-kilter to me because it's a command and not truth statements, that it can be read more ~P n ~Q. Plus, I am always suspicious when people wave their hands and say this or that part of scripture doesn't matter.
Sigh. There are other, more intellectually honest, intellectually satisfying ways to get at that passage. The most convincing one, to me, is the first part of the passage, "I do not permit ..." in which Paul made it clear that it was his own rule, not God's. A similar construct would be when he said, "To the rest, I say this (I, not the Lord) ..." in 1 Cor. 7:12. In his writings, Paul distinguished what was from him and what was from God.
I do think that there are valid points on both sides of that argument, and it's not really an issue I want to argue here or elsewhere. My point was more that her approach on this issue didn't seem to come from the scripture itself, and she seemed to be more focused on what others were doing wrong and not on what she was doing wrong herself. It just didn't feel balanced to me, although it is hard to find balance in this world.
March 16, 2019
Wonderful!!!
August 26, 2020
This is the second book by Anne that I have read. I really enjoy her writing style and her open honesty and she shares personally experiences. I found this book very inspirational and eye opening.
January 23, 2021
Excellent! Even though it was written about 20 years ago, it is still very relevant today. If you haven't read or done the Bible study I recommend that you do. And if you have, maybe do it again!
March 26, 2021
Yes, just give me Jesus!
March 19, 2023
I loved this book and God really spoke to me through His and Anne’s words at a very difficult time in my life and helped me put feet to my faith
Thank you Anne
I love your books !!!
Thank you Anne
I love your books !!!
June 13, 2024
Sad....
December 31, 2024
Very convicting! She paints such a complete picture that you understand it so much better
August 25, 2012
Really like AGL. She is effective at analogies.. and I love a good analogy. :) Can't remember if this is in the book or in the notes at the end.. I think it's in endnotes, but there is a piece where she talks about malnourishment... plenty to eat, but still malnourished and discusses the spiritual parallels. It's pretty powerful, and convicting.
July 22, 2017
THE GOOD: Author Anne Graham Lotz (Billy Graham's daughter) uses the book of John to give us an in-depth and personal look at the life of Jesus and who he is. My book even came with a large devotional guide for daily studies in personal or group use.
THE BAD: Definitely geared more towards women.
THE UGLY: Nothing extraordinary. Nothing really ugly. This book is just.... meh.
May 20, 2009
Excellent!
Read
August 21, 2010yes, i can have everything in this world but GIVE ME JESUS! very good!
October 25, 2012
Read for women's study group at church
March 28, 2013
Wonderful Book!!!
June 11, 2013
Great author. Great book based on the gospel of John. It will have you saying "Just Give Me Jesus!"
September 28, 2013
One of my favorite books. Highly recommend reading it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews