Status Updates From Found in Him: The Joy of th...

I had really liked using this book as a devo to set me pondering particular aspects of Christ’s incarnation in the mornings, however, there have been a few too many interpretive liberties taken. Biblical filters needed.

“He lived the life of the faithful Jewish son; he died the death of an unfaithful, unbelieving infidel – for you, so that you might be found in him.”

“Generally ignored, he toiled without complaint, suffering humbly on our behalf…His life as a young man with sawdust in his eyes, serving his widowed mother and siblings, was no meaningless placeholder while he counted the days until he could step onto the scene to do something really important…He was living life for us, and he was being perfected through the suffering of life, in a sin-cursed world.”

Overall this book is a good morning devotional, though in an effort to apprehend more than dry facts, the author might be taking some imaginative liberties at times.
“Whenever we struggle with submitting to unwise or sinful authority, whenever we feel that we’re stuck in some dead-end, mundane life, we can remember that Jesus understands. He sawed wood and hammered nails and swept up shop for 18 years…”

“He could have come as a wise Chinese, a powerful Roman, or a philosopher Greek, but he didn’t. Instead, he came…first to the Jews among whom there were not many wise, not many powerful, not many of noble birth (1Cor1:26), and then to all the gentile races who would hear the message through them…All of Israel’s history demonstrates how willing Christ was to be humbled.”

“The incarnation sets Christianity apart from every other religion. The thought that God would become man is simply without parallel in any other faith. In no other religion does a god do more than tell his subjects what to do to be like him, earn his favor, or give instruction on how to avoid ticking him off... He came to serve you and win you with his love. He became one of our own so that we could be his own.”

Reading this one a bit at a time as a morning devotional.
“In Christ, Jehovah-Jireh has provided all we need: a savior, a Redeemer, a friend, and a husband. We are no longer alone, trying to offer sacrifices that prove our love and fidelity. We are his. We have been found.”