Grace Transforming by Phil Ryken

Grace Transforming by Phil Ryken began as a series of messages from chapel at Wheaton College where he is the president. Throughout this book Ryken looks at eight different aspects of God's life-changing grace; 1) Grace's Humbling Necessity, 2) Grace's Costly Provision, 3) Grace's Justifying Righteousness, 4) Grace's Sanctifying Power, 5) Grace's Clarifying Perspective, 6) Grace's Perpetual Abundance, 7) Grace's Precious Testimony, and 8) Grace's Endless Kindness. This isn't a long book, it's easy to read, but at the same time it's challenging. It is also a refreshing book to read as you reflect on how the grace of God has already changed you. As I continue to read books on the grace of God I am continually blown away at how much God loves us to freely offer us something we truly don't deserve. The subject of grace and my identity has been a subject heavily on my mind this year and throughout this book Ryken clearly links the two together. He writes this at the very beginning of the book; "Instead of being defined by who we are and what we do, we are defined by who Jesus is and what he has done for us in his death and resurrection." I don't think there is any way to ever exhaust the subject of God's grace, but through books like Ryken's we are challenged to never forget it. "Grace is not something we leave behind once we decide to follow Jesus. Grace is our present need as well as our past experience." "We never outgrow our need for God's life-changing grace―the gospel of the cross and the empty tomb." "Grace is not just the way into the Christian life; it is also the way on in the Christian life. So as we seek to live in a way that is pleasing to God, we never stop needing his mercy."

Special thanks to Crossway for providing this complimentary book to read and review. You can purchase the book here on amazon.com.

Grace by Max Lucado

"God answers the mess of life with one word: grace." In Max Lucado's latest book Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine, Max tackles this truly amazing subject. As you read through the pages of this book, Lucado challenges our understanding of grace. Instead of just asking if we believe in grace, we're challenged to ask deeper questions: Have you been changed by grace? Shaped by grace? Strengthened by grace? Emboldened by grace? Softened by grace? Snatched by the nape of your neck and shaken to your senses by grace? Grace encompasses the Christian life. We can't do anything to earn it and we certainly don't deserve it, yet we have a gracious, loving God who freely offers it to us. Grace is so much more than saying a prayer and accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior. It is also something that sustains us each day we live. Lucado puts it this way, "Saving grace saves us from our sins. Sustaining grace meets us at our point of need and equips us with courage, wisdom, and strength." Because of his grace, we can come to Him as His children and He will always love us. Because of His grace you no longer have to fear things in this life. We can rest in Him and know that He will look out for us. We come to God because of his grace and because of how amazing and life-transforming it is, the next step is to share that grace with others. Lucado shares with us the of love of God for His children and the free gift of grace He offers for everyone. I don't claim to understand everything when it comes to grace and even after reading this book I still don't. At the beginning of one of the chapters Lucado quotes Anne Lamott who says, "I do not at all understand the mystery of grace--only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us." That is true for me and anyone else that has accepted His grace and can be for you too if you would accept His grace.

"God's grace has a drenching about it. A wildness about it. A white-water, riptide, turn-you-upside-downness about it. Grace comes after you. It rewrites you. From insecure to God secure. From regret-riddled to better-because-of-it. From afraid-to-die to ready-to-fly." Max Lucado

Special thanks to Thomas Nelson and BookSneeze for providing this complimentary book to read and review. You can purchase the book here on amazon.com.