Thursday, August 25, 2011

Book Review - "Live Loved" A Devotional by Max Lucado

As I stated in my last post, Max Lucado is one of my favorite authors and this is a new devotional book by him.  I purchased Mr. Lucado's "Grace for the Moment, Vol. 2" for my husband a year ago and liked it so much I got "Live Loved" for myself.  I love how he takes a snipet from his other books and adds a prayer and some bible verses for some quick daily inspiration for the casual reader.  These are not "deep" devotions, but are a great way to start or end your day or provide a short spiritual break during the daily grind. 

There are five sections:
     1. Loved with a Steadfast Love
     2. Loved with a Perfect Love
     3. Loved with a Wise Love
     4. Loved with a Merciful Love
     5. Loved to Love Others

The excerpts are taken from Mr. Lucado's books:  It's Not About Me, Facing Your Giants, 3:16 Numbers of Hope, Every Day Deserves a Chance, Fearless and Outlive Your Life

Overall, great devotional!  9 out of 10

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Review - "Max on Life" by Max Lucado

Max Lucado has quickly become one of my favorite authors of all time.  I love that he is a long-time pastor and the books he writes seem to talk right to me.  He doesn't write in big, theological language that I don't understand.  He writes in the language I talk.  Any chance I get to review one of his books, I jump at it.  I actually saw him in person in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at a special event for pastors on his "Outlive Your Life" book and concert tour.  Very nice man.
Anyway, in his book "Max on Life", he publishes the answers to many questions he has received over the years.  I wasn't sure what to expect with this book as it is a different type of book than I usually read.  I shouldn't have doubted.  Some of the questions are funny, some are deeply serious and Mr. Lucado answers all of them with grace.

For example:  #128 Our family is exhausted.  We run from one event to the next.  How do we slow down?  Answer:  Jesus understands  He knew the frenzy of life.  People back-to-backed his calendar with demands.  But he also knew how to step away from the game.  Mr. Lucado goes on with biblical quotes and how to relate them to our busy lives today.

Example 2:  #57 Why is there so much chaos and evil in the world?  It seems that no one cares about what God wants, and humanity is imploding.  Answer:  Sin works proportionately to the number of opportunities it is given.  As communication and technology grow, sin expands with it.  So while the world appears to be spinning out of control, it is only behaving as expected.  He goes on with his answer, but you get the idea.
Overall 8 out of 10

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”