Rating: 
Summary: Another runner's perspective
Review: I'm really enjoyed this book. It's has huge implications for my life and the life of anyone, especially those who claim to be Christians. As a long-distance runner, I appreciate the analogy of running the race of life. I run for enjoyment when the weather is good and I persevere at running when the weather is miserable, because I know that I have to if I want to run races successfully. When I am in a race I'm running a race. I'm no longer training. I love the exhilaration of hitting the tape first (or even finishing well). I love the feeling that comes with knowing that I have done my very best. I love the congratulations and plaudits that come only by persevering months and years before with hard training.
This book has shown me that life is not a jog. It is a race. That there will be rewards for all time based on how we do in this race. Who would want to be a spiritual couch potato and miss out on the great blessings God has for us.
People choose how they will spend their time here. God desires to bless us. How and when He decides to bless us is His sovereignty. We are responsible for responding to the knowledge and calling He has placed on our lives. If there is one danger to this book, it is reading it! Now we must take responsibility for what we know.
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Summary: "The Jones" do not live in the Kingdom of Heaven
Review: I've been to a few Promise Keeper Conventions where "many" men (not all) pour forth their hearts to God. If you've never had the awesome experience of listening to 48,000+ people worship and sing songs such as "Holy, Holy, Holy" to their Lord, you won't understand. It's truly awesome and unique, very different from worshipping with a group of 30 or 700 people in church. That said, if you're not "satisfied" with what heaven has to offer and you have to think about rewards during a Promise Keeper Convention, then your life is meaningless. In the presence of God, you're there to do only one thing: worship Him. That's what the Promise Keeper Convention is all about, worshipping Him and losing your old self and desires. I have two siblings. Much like that one reviewer said, one of my sisters is more interested in getting "rewards" from my parents whenever she meets up with them. They always anticipate this. The other could care less, as she's only there to love them. Which one of these is found with favor? My heart bled with love for God at the Promise Keeper Convention because my entire focus was on my Father. My heart will bleed when I can bow down in Heaven and worship in His presence, amongst an infinite sea of love. At that point, "who gives a rip about the rewards." "The Jones" do not live in the Kingdom of Heaven, so you won't have to keep up with them.
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Summary: A Great Followup!
Review: If you liked Jabez and Secrets of the Vine, then this book will take you to the next level. There is enough here for me to mull over for the rest of my life! I'm definitely a Wilkinson fan now!
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Summary: It's ok to accept God's reward
Review: In the back of this cogent little book, C.S. Lewis is quoted:"If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is not part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak." Through sound exposition, Wilkinson demonstrates, in a gentle yet rigorous way, the radical nature of God's grace: Our limited minds struggle grasp the simple but awesome truth that we are true heirs to the Kingdom and we should act accordingly. That is, we should act with the freedom and confidence that comes from knowing that we live according to God's will, with unconditional love and sacrifice of self, even for our enemies, yet joyously accepting his undeserved favor now and in eternity.
I'll be giving this book to many of my friends.
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Summary: IT'S NOT AN "EITHER/OR" PROPOSITION
Review: Isn't it just like MANY Christians to willingly admit that indeed the Scriptures teach MANY times about our rewards, yet we are ONLY supposed to submit to some altruistic notion of concentrating ONLY on the race! However, it's interesting to note that these same people have no problem with earthly rewards, as his first work in this series (Prayer of Jabez) deals with. Let's just not deal with our eternal rewards! Thankfully Wilkinson provides necessary balance to a subject as wide as Christian rewards. It's not an "either/or" proposition....it's both! Understanding the author in the context of his writings, he clearly points out that attention to the race brings blessings/rewards both in this life and the eternal life. In "A Life God Rewards" he astutely points out that rewards which are eternal far outlast anything obtainable on this earth. Isn't that worth racing for? ...and yes, concentrating on? I might have an occasional issue with Dr. Wilkinson's theology, but I still rate this book a "4". It is definitely worth the price of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome book; read it more than once.
Review: It's all about Him and the privileges we will have to rule with Him and serve Him in heaven. It's about using wisely what He's entrusted us with temporarily in order to enjoy forever what He so graciously wants to give us: opportunities to rule with Him and serve Him forever. The returns - the rewards that we will experience in heaven are far out of proportion to what we give to His purposes and for His kingdom...His more is so much more than our more.. This book will cause you to fall deeper in love with a gracious , awesome God and on top of that it's evangelistic. The last couple of chapters describe an encounter Bruce had with a seeker and the simple Gospel presentation that resulted in the seeker's salvation. MUST READ!!!
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Summary: C.S. Lewis' needed to get a reality check.
Review: No one is arguing whether it's ok to accept God's rewards. That's a moot point. C.S. Lewis' needed to get a reality check. We're merely stating that you need to take the focus off of the "me" and place the absolute focus back on God, period! This is the real world with Christian struggles, not a Christian fantasy land of verbose semantics and philosophy. So here is THE BEST real-world illustration I have: When I worked at EMC Corporation in "the real world", I had a lunchtime conversation with a Christian brethren in which he praised God greatly--greatly--for his dad's $10,000 gift. He stated that God was good to his family and that he felt immensely blessed. [Does this sound familiar, in your particular life?] He was so tickled. I rejoiced with him. The following day, during lunchtime, he told me that he became infuriated when he found out that his "non-Christian" brother also received a $10,000 gift from his father. With his anger boiling over (literally, beet-red face) he emphatically stated, "That [reward] belongs to me!!!" I would never forget that moment, the voraciousness of the anger that came from a Christian. It was a subtle reality check, as I realized then that we've all become desensitized in our Christian walk...I leave you with a couple of thoughts. In Hebrew, when the phrase "kingdom of heaven" is used, it is a phrase that has been transformed into an idiom that most often means "people of God." In the beattitudes, when Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Jesus meant that of those whose hearts yearn for their Lord and Savior, they shall be called the "people of God". You see, God sets those people aside to become His bride. You don't inherit the kingdom of Heaven. Interestingly enough, as human beings by nature, we seek rewards. God seeks us, His kingdom. Learn to be godly. Lastly, in the real world, when Christians pray for God to bless their finances, how many of them would prefer to hear the words "Ka Ching! Ka Ching!" over their spiritual well-being? It's a rhetorical question, that can be answered if authors would more often reference Jesus in their discussion instead of someone like C.S. Lewis. Here we go, Jesus said, "Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Jesus was referring to the rich man's selfish attitude, not the status of the rich man. After all, your mind is a "Civil War Battlefield" in which Satan attacks (picture a Civil War Battlefield). I'd like to ask a rhetorical question to all of those who think that talking about rewards in heaven is a good thing. So, here it is: As you stand before God, and He gives you a choice between collecting the rewards you've amass throughout your Christian walk, or to give them up and refocus your entire life on bringing others to Christ, which would you choose? If you pray that God would guide your life towards the latter selection, then lose yourself COMPLETELY. How your Lord chooses to pay you (method, plan, or criteria) for your day's work in the hot field is ENTIRELY up to Him, so why are people writing books about this? My father and mother are non-Christians. I am a first generation Christian. My only desire is for them to know and accept Christ as their Lord and Savior, not to lose their souls to Islam or Buddhism, in the real world. That said, if my Father rejoices in heaven to give my parents a greater reward in the end, as the angels shout with joy over their salvation, it is His will.
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Summary: A breath of fresh air
Review: Now I know why it matters what I do here on Earth. It's slowly starting to come together and this book (as well as his other 3 and Philip Yancey's books) have really dialed me into forming a cohesive picture of who God is and what He wants to accomplish in my life. If there is any weakness, it would be that it was too short. It's such a huge subject, but I think Wilkinson handles the material deftly.
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Summary: What Wilkinson should address in future editions...
Review: Review on "The Prayer of Jabez" and "A Life God Rewards". The intent to convey the beauty of a prayer or a righteous life that God honored (or is honoring) is wonderful! But the objection that a few others have that Wilkinson should address in future editions VIGOROUSLY is what happens when a Christian doesn't experience the blessings that they so desire, whether it be for healing or financial blessing. As we are all aware in life, we see an abundant amount of people become blessed who may not be Christians and yet, at the same time, see our own Christian brethren lose his/her job, even a home, family and/or marital support. If you deny this, turn back to the Bible and look at the trials that many of God's people went through. Bottom line is this: (Some would argue) Since God poured His blessings upon King David (even after all the brutal sins that were committed), why wouldn't they receive blessings "above and beyond" what King David was anointed? Because it is additionally based on God's will, along with our prayer requests. So, it isn't just based on our prayers or the way we live life, but how God chooses--by His own will--to bless His children.
Rating:
Summary: Give for what you can get.
Review: Synopsis: God will reward you 10,000 fold in heaven for what you give up and away in this life. If you want to learn much else you may learn a lot more elsewhere. You likely won't get a good return on giving from a motive of greed for heavenly rewards and stature as this book came across to me as promoting. The book would have done well to inspire a motive of love from a pure heart as the reason for giving.
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