from A Meal with Jesus - Tim Chester

I am slowly working my way through Tim Chester's book, A Meal with Jesus.  It is a useful book from which I think many  people would find benefit in learning how to share their lives with others as Jesus shared His with us.  Below are a couple of quotes that particularly impacted my thinking today:

The effect of this ritual cleansing was not only to create boundaries with Gentiles, but also with the poor. The religious elite had created a system of moral respectability that only the wealthy could ever hope to maintain. Only the rich had the time and money to do all the required ritual cleansing. You can’t be ritually clean in a slum. This was bourgeois spirituality. We can do this too. Our expectations of clothing, behavior, literacy, and punctuality can exclude the poor.

...

But we can’t condemn these things at a distance. That’s legalism. We must come alongside, proclaiming and demonstrating the transforming grace of God.

...

Suddenly it isn’t uncleanness that’s contagious. That’s how it was in the old Levitical system. If you touched anything unclean, you became unclean. But with Jesus it’s his holiness that’s contagious.

Chester, Tim (2011-04-05). A Meal with Jesus: Discovering Grace, Community, and Mission around the Table (Re:Lit) (Kindle Locations 278-282, 288-289, 332-334). Good News Publishers/Crossway Books. Kindle Edition. (Emphasis mine)

the incredibly important interests of pagans

   According to Philippians 2:3-8, Jesus looked out for the interests of His pagan enemies more than His own interests as the Creator-Prince of Heaven and Earth!  Do I count the unbeliever's (and believer's) interests as more significant than my own and live accordingly?

    Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:1-8 ESV) 

(These thoughts were spawned from yesterday's sermon on Humility by Ben Toomer.)

Recommendations for the New Year, from 2011

I have several recommendations for you from across the spectrum of my interests from this past year's reading and viewing and listening, for your coming year:

KJB: The Book That Changed the World is an excellent documentary on the making of King James' Authorized version of the Bible and its lasting impact; it is a well done, respectful film with lots of great information and video footage.

"Blessings" by Laura Story is my most-listened-to song of the year; it contains powerful truths that can be meditated on extensively.

The Earth Shall Weep: A History of Native America by James Wilson is easily the most beneficial historical book that I have read this year.  I have been stunned by the amount of (negative) history that school textbooks neglect to teach.  The book seems to me to be fair to all sides and balanced in its critique in spite of the fact that Wilson is emphasizing a particular perspective and section of history.  I'd highly recommend it though I have not finished it yet! (The audio session "Theological Reflection Through the Lens of Native Spirituality" by Richard Twiss that got me considering the topic is here.)

Constant Fellowship by Miriam K. Champlin, my sister, is one of my top two devotional books of 2011 and the top 'spiritual help' one.  It is a useful help for both training and aiding the heart in pursuing Christ.

The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ by James Stalker is a powerful meditation on Christ; I hope to read more of Stalker's extended meditations on Christ in the coming years.  [Honorable mention to Lilias Trotter's Parables of the Cross].

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand is a gripping biography which showed its excellence through every review I heard and its extended time on the NYT Bestseller List.

The Gospel of John by D. A. Carson was the most helpful commentary for me this year; though I was also grateful for and impressed during my interaction with James McKeown's commentary on Genesis as well. (related post)

Holiness by Grace by Bryan Chapell was my favorite theological reading this year, being an excellent exposition of the doctrine of sanctification, at least as far as I have gotten; I'm hoping to finish this one in the New Year.

The Sword by Brian Litfin (in process) and Hostile Witness by Rebecca Forster were my top new novels for the year.  Both are by authors I hadn't read before, and both were either free or very cheap through Kindle promotions.

If you are looking for some useful or fun or thought-provoking interactions with others this year, try some of these.  I would be surprised to find anybody disappointed in any of these recommendations.  Happy New Year!