All In: You Are One Decision Away From a Totally Different Life - Softcover

Batterson, Mark

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0310341825 ISBN 13: 9780310341826

Publisher: Zondervan, 2015

Synopsis

The Gospel costs nothing.  You can’t earn it or buy it.  It can only be received as a free gift which is compliments of God’s grace.  It doesn’t cost anything, but it demands everything.  It demands that we go “all in,”  putting all that we have into God’s hands. And that’s where we get stuck―in spiritual no man's land.  We’re afraid that if we go all in that we might miss out on what this life has to offer.  It’s not true. 

The only thing you’ll miss out on is everything God has to offer.  And the good news is this: if you don't hold out on God, God won't hold out on you.  Readers will find Batterson’s writing filled with his customary vivid, contemporary illustrations as well as biblical characters like Shamgar and Elisha and Jonathan and . . . Judas.

No one has ever sacrificed anything for God.  If you always get back more than you gave up, have you sacrificed anything at all?  The eternal reward always outweighs the temporal sacrifice.  At the end of the day, our greatest regret will be whatever we didn’t give back to God. What we didn’t push back across the table to Him.  Eternity will reveal that holding out is losing out.

The message of All In is simple: if Jesus is not Lord of all then Jesus is not Lord at all.  It’s all or nothing. It’s now or never.   Kneeling at the foot of cross of Christ and surrendering to His Lordship is a radical act of dethroning yourself and enthroning Christ as King.  It’s also an act of disowning yourself.  Nothing belongs to you. Not even you.   

Batterson writes, “For many years, I thought I was following Jesus.  I wasn’t.  I had invited Jesus to follow me.  I call it inverted Christianity.  And it’s a subtle form of selfishness that masquerades as spirituality.  That’s when I sold out and bought in.  When did we start believing that the gospel is an insurance plan?  It’s a daring plan.  Jesus did not die just to keep us safe. He died to make us dangerous.”

About this title

About the Author:

Mark Batterson is the New York Times bestselling author of fifteen books, including The Circle Maker, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, and Chase the Lion. He is the lead pastor of National Community Church, one of the most innovative and influential churches in America. One church with seven campuses, NCC also owns and operates Ebenezers Coffeehouse, the Miracle Theatre, and the DC Dream Center. Mark holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Regent University. He and his wife Lora, have three children and live on Capitol Hill. 

 

 

From Publishers Weekly:

While leading a growing ministry on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., the author (The Circle Maker) preaches and teaches about the committed life of faith. He sees the Christian life as playing offense in the community, living each day with integrity and hope that the world can be changed. Success is spelled stewardship, and stewardship is spelled success, he writes. Taking examples from his congregation, National Community Church, Batterson examines the faith journeys of lay people who have been able to make a difference in an inner-city church. Using the scriptures, he makes a convincing argument that Christians need to move from beyond the pew to put faith in action. According to the author, good works are the fruit of a strong belief system. The tough decision about putting faith into action is one that each person in the community needs to make. This is an exciting text for the Christian reader and should appeal to those who need a boost in their faith. Agent: Esther Fedorkevich, Fedd Agency. (Sept.)

About this edition

• Publisher: Zondervan
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0310341825
• ISBN 13: 9780310341826
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192