A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson

In this work Peterson, who spent ten years creating the Message translation of the Bible, writes about the fifteen Songs of Ascents (Psalms 120-134) which the ancient Jewish people memorized and sang on their annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Passover. Of the impetus to write the book, Peterson says,

"I knew that following Jesus could never develop into a "long obedience" without a deepening life of prayer and that the Psalms had always been the primary means by which Christians learned to pray everything they lived, and live everything they prayed over the long haul."

Peterson uses Psalms 120-134 as a frame to show us what Christian discipleship is. Though the book I reviewed yesterday, Spiritual Discipleship: Principles of Following Christ for Every Believer by J. Oswald Sanders, is also about discipleship, there is a stark contrast between the two in what each author does in expounding the basic concept of discipleship.

If Sanders’s book reads like a cookbook, Peterson’s reads like philosophy and poetry.

And, indeed, Peterson draws from poetry to talk about discipleship. Of the Psalter, which I have heard some refer to as a mini-Bible within the Bible, he says,

"There is no literature in all the world that is more true to life and more honest than Psalms, for here we have warts-and-all religion. Every skeptical thought, every disappointing venture, every pain, every despair that we can face is lived through and integrated into a personal, saving relationship with God-a relationship that also has in it acts of praise, blessing, peace, security, trust and love."

Psalm by psalm from 120-134, Peterson goes deeply into the meaning of each one as it relates to discipleship. I loved that his is not a shallow treatment, as I've often seen  in books that talk about the entire book of the Psalms.

Dealing with only 10% of them gives him plenty of pages to bring out the meat of each one, especially in relation to our walk with Christ.

Highly recommended,

Spiritual Discipleship: Principles of Following Christ for Every Believer by J. Oswald Sanders

Spiritual Discipleship: Principles of Following Christ for Every Believer by J. Oswald Sanders. 

• Print Length: 206 pages
• Publisher: Moody Publishers (January 1, 2009)
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• Originally published in 1990, Moody Publishers is reissuing this classic on discipleship. 
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• Sanders' contention is that many people have forgotten what it means to be a Christian. 
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• Being a Christian is not saying a magic prayer that gives us eternal salvation and then living life as usual. 
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• Christ did not commission his apostles to merely save people, but to make them disciples. There is a world of difference between the two. Unless there is a true change of heart, i.e. repentance and working toward the upward call in Christ, saying the magic prayer means absolutely nothing. Yes, we are saved by grace. But our works prove that our conversion was real.
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• The Christian needs to become more like Jesus day-by-day, and Sanders shows us how. Questions for reflection are included at the end of each chapter, which I found helpful for me, to think about and measure where I might be on the narrow path, and where I can do better. 
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• I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Seed to Vision: How God-Inspired Ideas Become Reality by Steve Flynn

Seed to Vision: How God-Inspired Ideas Become Reality by Steve Flynn. 

Print Length: 192 pages

• Publisher: New Hope Publishers (May 1, 2017)

What the publisher says: 

Seed to Vision is a must-read for anyone with a God-sized idea who is unsure what to do next. Peppered with personal stories, former metro-Atlanta police special unit gang officer turned boys’ home and school founder Steve Finn shares the eight key tools God uses to turn a seed of an idea into a vision and ultimately to a reality. Be inspired to see that with God nothing is impossible—the idea He gave you can become reality.

My thoughts: 

I so enjoyed learning about how God inspired Steve Flinn, who in 2016 was recognized as one of the top three leaders in the country by the John C. Maxwell Leadership Award committee. 

A nearly impossible idea that began as a seed became, after many years, Chestnut Mountain Ranch, a 225-acre school and home for troubled boys that is located in one of the poorest and highest drug use areas of the U.S.   

But the book is not solely about how Chestnut Mountain Ranch came to be. It's also an inspiring road map for any person of faith who feels he or she is being called to execute an idea, no matter how big or small, that can be accomplished only with God's oversight. And that's all of us, isn't it? 

Each of the book's eight chapters focuses on a tool that Steve used. Tools include the need to refine the idea, to gather a team, to develop patience, discipline, perseverance, wisdom and persepective.  

He gives examples about how each tool was used in scripture. Then he discusses how he applied the tool to the development of Chestnut Mountain Ranch. 

In all, it was a very inspiring book. 
I was given this book to read by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.