Book number 31 for 2024; 3/5 stars (barely)
There were parts of this devotional that I really enjoyed, but overall, it was quite disappointing. It was recommended by a Lutheran friend, so I decided to try it. There is actually a free PDF version available, but I chose to pay $3 for the Kindle version.
First, what I liked. I like the whole theme of this devotional. Focusing on the suffering of Christ in the days leading up to the crucifixion is a worthy Lenten theme. This book gives us a daily devotional for all forty days of Lent, plus each of the Sundays during the season. There are some readings that really spoke to me. One, in particular, spoke of baptism. “It is said, ‘Jesus was baptized into our dirty bathwater.’ Which means, He had no need of baptism, but in submitting to baptism He took our sin upon himself. In doing so He left the water clean. Thus, purifying baptism and making it a life-giving flood.” This was something that had never been presented to me, before.
Regarding our sinfulness and wickedness: “As the devil, the world, and even your own sinful flesh pick at your brain, telling you how wicked you are, do not let it drive you to despair. Confess your sins. Cry out that yes, you are wicked and guilty, but it is of no concern. Jesus has given you His righteousness. Jesus has declared you just. Jesus has done for you what you could never do for yourself. Those voices may harass you all your days on earth, but they will stop one day. And all you will hear is the voice of Jesus who has declared you righteous.”
Regarding the cup that Jesus drank: “When His blood pooled upon the ground at Golgotha it did not pool into the curse of death. It formed the pool of life. Jesus drank the cup of death and out of it poured the cup of life. As His blood flowed from His body it filled another cup; the cup of life. This cup our Lord gives us to drink.”
What I didn’t like: There were some statements that I simply disagreed with. At one point, it was stated that Judas had sought a means to consume money that he was taking from the treasury (John accuses him of having sticky fingers). There is no evidence at any point that Judas had made plans to spend the money.
There’s another point where the author of the reading says this in regard to Jesus stooping to write on the ground when the woman caught in adultery was brought before Him: “Jesus bends down and writes in the dirt, symbolizing that He is the one who wrote the Law in the first place, and that He is the ultimate authority on what it means to read, interpret, and enact the Law of the Old Testament.” This is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. There is absolutely no reason given as to why Jesus wrote on the ground or what He wrote. This is pure speculation.
One my biggest complaints is the number of typos in the Kindle version. There are quite a few, which tells me that editing was either not done at all or done very poorly. More than once the word “though” appears, where it should clearly be “through.” In one place, the word “statue” appears, and it should be “statutes.” There are more of those, throughout the book. Simply sloppy editing.
This book could have been better. I don’t plan to use it in future Lent seasons and would not recommend it to anyone.Â
TTFN, y’all!
The Constant Reader 