The Journals of Jim Elliot

Rating:
Summary: A different time - to our shame
Review: "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."

And so was Jim Elliot, martyr at the hands of South American Indians who later gave their lives to Christ. In this, his autobiography via his journals, we see the life this young man led and the preordained road that led him to gain what he could not lose.

"The Journals of Jim Elliot" had a profound effect on me as a young man as I happened to be at a similar stage in life as Elliot during most of the pages. What I found on those pages - the lifeblood of a man fully sold out to God - changed my life.

A long book, "tJoJE" calls anyone who wants to know how to live a committed Christian life throughout the slow unfolding of Elliot's life. As an encouragement to young men, it is peerless. Its only detraction is due to the very nature of the autobiographical style as derived from journal entries. While you see God's hand moving in Elliot's life, sometimes the nature of the entries is lost, slow-moving, or repetitive. Such is the style of the book.

However, what I found most helpful in reading this book is the stark contrast between Christian practice of fifty-plus years ago and today. Elliot was distinctly a man of his time, but he was not alone in his complete surrender to God. He was surrounded by many people who were like him. How he lived, thought, and died seems foreign to today's Christians. In fact, he shares more with a Christian of two hundred years ago in David Brainerd than anyone you typically find in a pew today. His example is so profound that it is hard not to feel that something has changed in the last couple decades. Somewhere there are men like Jim Elliot today; I hope I can find them and learn from their examples, as well.

Anyone who stays with "The Journals of Jim Elliot" will find a great reward in its pages. It has always been one of my favorite Christian books. If you want a book that offers something different, it is a soul-stirring story made more compelling by its truthful historicity.

Rating:
Summary: A different time - to our shame
Review: "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."

And so was Jim Elliot, martyr at the hands of South American Indians who later gave their lives to Christ. In this, his autobiography via his journals, we see the life this young man led and the preordained road that led him to gain what he could not lose.

"The Journals of Jim Elliot" had a profound effect on me as a young man as I happened to be at a similar stage in life as Elliot during most of the pages. What I found on those pages - the lifeblood of a man fully sold out to God - changed my life.

A long book, "tJoJE" calls anyone who wants to know how to live a committed Christian life throughout the slow unfolding of Elliot's life. As an encouragement to young men, it is peerless. Its only detraction is due to the very nature of the autobiographical style as derived from journal entries. While you see God's hand moving in Elliot's life, sometimes the nature of the entries is lost, slow-moving, or repetitive. Such is the style of the book.

However, what I found most helpful in reading this book is the stark contrast between Christian practice of fifty-plus years ago and today. Elliot was distinctly a man of his time, but he was not alone in his complete surrender to God. He was surrounded by many people who were like him. How he lived, thought, and died seems foreign to today's Christians. In fact, he shares more with a Christian of two hundred years ago in David Brainerd than anyone you typically find in a pew today. His example is so profound that it is hard not to feel that something has changed in the last couple decades. Somewhere there are men like Jim Elliot today; I hope I can find them and learn from their examples, as well.

Anyone who stays with "The Journals of Jim Elliot" will find a great reward in its pages. It has always been one of my favorite Christian books. If you want a book that offers something different, it is a soul-stirring story made more compelling by its truthful historicity.

Rating:
Summary: Doesn't have the flow of "Through Gates of Splendor."
Review: But it is more autobiographical. Excerpts from Elliot's diary are interspersed with Elisabeth Elliot's explanations of what was going on in Mr Elliot's life at the time. Does give good insight into the life of the man whose death may have done more for modern missions than his life ever could have.

Rating:
Summary: Need a copy!
Review: I'm a native missionary kid from India, and I would love to read this book. I searched and tried every possible way to get it in India, but couldn't. To buy online, the shipping charges are unaffordable for me. Do you know of any store that ships to India? I would deeply appreciate your help. Jim Elliot's life has been a challenge and example to me

Rating:
Summary: Good for Jim Elliot Fans
Review: This book exceeds most devotionals simply because it is was not written as a devotional. Instead, it is the true and emotional journey of a man struggling to conform to the will of the Lord while dealing with his human needs and wants. Jim Elliot has captured here his private thoughts as he records his response to his own daily devotionals. He resonds to scripture, seeking it's meaning and the application into his own life. What impressed me was the listing of his progress through key books in the bible and his reasons for beginning the work in each of those books. He, like Elisabeth Elliot (as seen in Passion & Purity & Through Gates of splendor) cites Amy Carmichael and others who have impressed him throughout his journal. Excellent book for anyone desiring to understand what leads up to and sustains to life of Missions. Also excellent for anyone seeking a devotional plan that is very realistic, humbling and genuine.

Rating:
Summary: Candid and encouraging
Review: This is a really challenging and at times humorous read. I was encouraged to find that this man of God struggled with the very same things that I often find myself struggling with. It will challenge you to a greater thirst for God and it will make you laugh. Let another real life for Christ point you to Him!