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Today's New Book Friday has been shared previously.  However, I am using the book in a class I am teaching beginning this Sunday.  This is a great book on relationships because it is not like any other relationship book you have read.  Thompson does a great job of focusing on the "DONE" prior to the "DO".

I recently finished reading Everyday Grace by Jessica Thompson. The adult class I teach will be going through the book in the Spring of 2016.  Below are some thoughts on church, work, and those difficult people in our lives from Thompson: The truth of our belovedness is what sanctifies. The truth of the wonderful story of redemption is what sanctifies...In your struggle against sin, in your struggle to be a more "sanctified Christian," remember the truth of God's love for you in Christ...Our sanctification is completely about him and his work in our lives, his completed work, his ongoing work. Instead of fixing each other's broken parts, what if we started bearing with each other's broken parts?  So we are humble with one another, not thinking we are better than others. We are gentle with each other, instead of beating each other over the head with a long list of "you-should." A. W. Tozier writes, "one of the greatest hindrances to internal...

I am thoroughly enjoying Everyday Grace by Jessica Thompson.  It is a great book on relationships that focuses on the gospel rather than "how to fix" things.  Here are some quotes from her chapter on marriage: And yet, the truth is that I am aware of God's unmatched love for me, of his good and plentiful gifts, and yet every day I run after other loves. Wrath is what you and I deserve...In fact he did have legitimate wrath that needed to be poured out on somebody. Praise him for sending his only Son to bear that wrath on our behalf so that we might forever know his love. Women are not sanctified by what their husbands do or don't do... Men and women are sanctified by believing the gospel. We are made holy by what Jesus did for us, by how he has loved his church.  We are made lovely by his love. Marriage is not one-size-fits-all. Each marriage is unique as each person sins uniquely and has unique strengths. Unrealistic expectations kill grace. The c...

How does Jesus as a friend impact our relationships?  Jessica Thompson in Everyday Grace has some thoughts.  Here are a few chapters from her chapter on friendship: God doesn't feel obligated to be our friend; it is his joy to be in relationship with us. This obedience is not what makes them friends; it is what characterizes his friends...If we are true believers of Christ, we will obey. His love for us is what engenders a heart of obedience. Being obedient will obviously lead to a better life for us. God has given us rules for living so we can know how to enjoy him and life the most. Relationship with God is the ultimate goal of Christianity. There is one Messiah, and you and I are not him, and we shouldn't expect our friends to be our Messiah either.  Beloved friends of Christ, may we never forget that all of the love and acceptance we look for in each other can be found only in the arms of Christ.         

Jessica Thompson's chapter on "God Our Father" in Everyday Grace is so good.  She reminds us about God as Father to us as how that should affect our parenting.  There are so many good things, but I will just share a few.  Pick up a copy for yourself.  Those on whom God has set his love are no longer children of wrath, but have been brought into God's family and are now referred to as "children of God". J.I. Packer writes, "To be right with God the judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the father is greater. God is a good father who loves blessing his children...He is a good father who gives good gifts, always...He loves each of us as he loves Jesus. The biblical definition of discipline, however, has no negative connotations at all. As a matter of fact, whenever God talks about disciplining his children, it is always in the context of love and delight. We confuse God's wrath for his enemies and his discipline of his ...

I am continuing to read Everyday Grace by Jessica Thompson.  It is a good book on how grace affects all of our relationships.  Here are some quotes from Chapter 2: God's grace comes crashing into the darkness of deception and blame-shifting. Instead of only giving judgment for their sin, he gives hope of redemption. This hope of redemption is the only hope we have in relationships. Either way, when we are doing well or doing badly, we are focused on ourselves. This inward focus will be the very thing that keeps us from the end goal of having a healthy, thriving, God-glorifying relationship. Owning our own mess will make us gracious toward everybody else who is a mess also...We won't withhold forgiveness, because we will see how much we have been forgiven. God does not wink at sin. He takes our sin very seriously, to the point of demanding that blood be shed to pay for our sin...God demands complete perfection, a complete fulfilling of the Law. He doesn't ask...