Rediscover Jesus: An Invitation

Great Lenten reading.

I couldn't have found a better way to spend this Sunday morning than I did reading this book today. I feel energized. I feel inspired. I feel joyful.

I took away so many ideas from this book. I want to write down some of them (I urge you, though, if you feel the tiniest bit of desire to read this book to not use this little summary of my thoughts as a replacement for the book) so that I can think about them a bit and put them into action.

1. “Generosity and forgiveness are two of the most radical invitations the Gospel makes. They are also among the most difficult to live.”
2. “Jesus wants you to...astonish people with your generosity. He wants you to be generous with your time, talent, and treasure. But he invites you to be generous with your praise and encouragement. He wants you to be generous with your compassion and patience. He wants generosity to reach into every area of your life so that through you he can love and intrigue the people in your life.”
3. ‘(Jesus) calls us beyond forgiveness....”Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)'
4. We should be giving preferential treatment to the least of people.
5. “Jesus promised us suffering.” But he tells us that suffering has value.
6. If we just followed Jesus' command, “Do not judge,” we would change the world.
7. Jesus doesn't just want to tweak our lives; he wants to transform our lives.
8. We can live holy lives. Moment by moment. Holy moment by holy moment.
9. Ways to get close to Jesus: Read the Gospels. Pray fully. Deny yourself.
10. The presence of God is joyful.