The Pursuing God: A Reckless, Irrational, Obsessed Love That's Dying to Bring Us Home - Softcover

Butler, Joshua Ryan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0718021606 ISBN 13: 9780718021603

Publisher: Thomas Nelson, 2016

Synopsis

Is God lost? Many of us feel that way. It's as if God's gone missing, out in theuniverse somewhere--and we must pick up the hunt, following anytrail of breadcrumbs to go find him. We speak of "searching for God,""exploring spirituality," and "finding faith." 
 
But what if we have it backward and God is the one pursuing us?What if our job is not to go find God, but to stop running and hiding?Not to discover the light, but step out of the shadows? Not to earnGod's love, but simply receive it? 
 
Jesus reveals a God who comes after us, who is on the prowl, huntingdown his world for reconciliation. And the question we're left withis not whether we've been good enough, jumped high enough, orsought hard enough... 

The question is: "Do we want to be found?"

-- 

Along the way, the book tackles tough topics like:

• Exclusivity: "Is Jesus the only way to God?" Jesus is not the one and only way we go out into the universe to find God; Jesus is the unique and decisive way God has come to us.

• The Fall: "Does God run away when we mess up?" It's not that God can't stand the presence of sin, so much as sin that can't stand the presence of God--God comes for us in our distance.

• Atonement: "Is the cross divine child abuse?" A mature account of Jesus' bearing our punishment within the broader framework of God's reconciling love.

• Sacrifice: "Is God a bloodthirsty carnivore?" Israel's sacrificial system was not how we clean ourselves up so God can stand to be in our presence, but how God cleanses us so that we can stand to be in God's presence--and it points to Jesus. 

• Wrath: "Why does God get angry?" God's wrath arises from his love for the world, not in contradiction to it.

• The Church: "What is the Church?" The Church is not a group of individuals pursuing God together, so much as the body of people through whom God pursues the world.

• Tough Passages: Abraham's call to sacrifice Isaac, Noah's flood, Jesus' cry of forsakenness on the cross.

 

Reclaim a greater confidence in the unrelenting goodness of God.

About this title

About the Author

Joshua Ryan Butler serves as pastor of local and global outreach at Imago Dei Community, a church in the heart of Portland, Oregon. Joshua oversees the church's city ministries in areas like foster care, human trafficking and homelessness; and develops international partnerships in areas like clean water, HIV-support and church planting. Joshua is also a worship leader who enjoys writing music for the life of the church.

Edition details

• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0718021606
• ISBN 13: 9780718021603
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240