Give It All to Him

Rating:
Summary: Overcome Emotional Buildup
Review: "Worry divides the mind," Lucado tells us on page 15. In fact the two words in the Bible for worry are "merizo" to divide and "nous" the mind. Combined, they become "merimnao" which means worry he tells us. Resentment is another negative emotion that he compares to cocaine because if its addictive nature. He points out that resentful people are in the habit of sharing their misery with everyone.

His "Good Riddance" chapter explains the solution to toxic emotions, i.e., that Jesus Christ had those unhealthy elements annulled when His hands were nailed to the Cross. This chapter is so clear in making a case for how to receive God's abundant life promise. This book is a large does of encouragement in a small package.

Rating:
Summary: another winner from Lucado
Review: Have you allowed some trash to accumulate in your life? Are you carrying the weight of past or present hurts, anxiety, anger, lust, guilt, greed? We allow small fragments of mental trash to clutter our lives until we are carrying around sacks of it. We can't quite explain how it all got there, and aren't quite sure how to get rid of it.

Based on one of the stories from Next Door Savior, here Lucado expands the story by dividing it into several scenes and weaving powerful lessons into each section. It is a beautiful story of how God's grace allows us to "take out the trash" by giving the burden to Jesus.

What makes this story truly effective that it does much more than advise the reader to "give it to God" and leave it at that. It clearly illustrates the extent of Jesus' sacrifice for us. We aren't called to simply acknowledge our trash, then continue to drag it along with us. We are called to give our burden to Jesus, and to accept God's offer of a new beginning. If you are ready to take out the trash in your life, start by reading this little treasure.

Larry Hehn, Author of Get the Prize: Nine Keys for a Life of Victory