Just Give Me Jesus - Softcover

Lotz, Anne

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0849920930 ISBN 13: 9780849920936

Publisher: Thomas Nelson, 2009

Synopsis

How did the apostle John know that, two thousand years after he lived, your life would need a fresh touch from God?

How did John know that, at the beginning of a new millennium,

our lives would be so busy,

our focus so divided,

our bodies so tired,

our minds so bombarded,

our families so attacked,

our relationships so strained,

our churches so programmed . . .

that we would be desperate for the simplicity and the purity, the freedom and the fulfillment of a life lived in Jesus’ name?

John probably didn’t know. But God did. That’s why He gives us Jesus! And that’s why, as Anne Graham Lotz reveals, John’s eyewitness account of Jesus’ life is unmistakably relevant to your life today. The same Jesus who turned water into wine is the One who provides for your needs at this very moment. Enter into His life and find your soul refreshed with Living Water.

This new edition of Just Give Me Jesus contains an in-depth devotional guide to help you explore the words of John in a personal and practical way, either on your own or in a group. You’ll find inspiration and revelation as you study the Scripture more closely and record your reflections in space provided at the back of the book.

About this title

About the Author

Called “the best preacher in the family” by her late father, Billy Graham, Anne Graham Lotz speaks around the globe with the wisdom and authority of years spent studying God's Word. The New York Times named Anne one of the five most influential evangelists of her generation. Her Just Give Me Jesus revivals have been held in more than 30 cities in 12 different countries to hundreds of thousands of attendees. Anne is a best-selling and award-winning author of 18 books. She is the President of AnGeL Ministries in Raleigh, North Carolina, and she served as Chairman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force from 2016-2017. Whether a delegate to Davos’s Economic Forum, a commentator to the Washington Post, or a groundbreaking speaker on platforms throughout the world, Anne’s aim is clear--to bring revival to the hearts of God’s people. And her message is consistent--calling people into a personal relationship with God through His Word. 

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

CHAPTER ONE: Jesus Makes God Visible . . .
To Me John 1:1–9
Years ago my mother was invited to a very prestigious dinner party in London, England. The glittering affair included members of the royal family as well as other aristocrats and leaders from British society. The dinner, softened by candlelight, with the tinkle of silver and the sparkle of crystal accompanying the sounds of accented conversation, had an ambiance of elegance.

The occasion might have been intimidating for someone unaccustomed to such a setting, but my mother was as at ease as a queen holding court. Dressed in a simple black gown with a triple strand of pearls around her neck, she looked stylish and sophisticated. Heads turned as people whispered their curious inquiries about who she might be.

But my mother was so interested in the other guests at her table she was oblivious to the small stir she had created. Her expression was not the duly bored, arrogant look adopted by many of the socially elite. Nor were her words stilted and self-conscious. Instead, her eyes danced with the joy of life, and her conversation was lively and peppered with questions as she sought to draw the others at her table into a discussion.

As she conversed, Mother discovered that the distinguished-looking older gentleman seated beside her was the former head of Scotland Yard, Great Britain’s equivalent of the FBI. Fascinated, she respectfully began to probe him for anecdotes. As he opened up under her genuine interest, he revealed that the departments under his authority had included those for forgery and counterfeiting. When she surmised that he must have spent a lot of time studying counterfeit signatures, he corrected her. "On the contrary, Mrs. Graham. I spent all of my time studying the genuine thing. That way, when I saw a counterfeit, I could immediately detect it."

Today, our world is cluttered with lies, deceit, hypocrisy, and fraud at almost every level. From government leaders to salesclerks   to airline ticket agents to restaurant maître d’s   to business associates to secretaries   to friends to neighbors   to advertisers,
everyone seems to play loose with the truth.

This "whatever works is right" attitude has even crept into the Christian community. Too often, we focus on methods instead of missions, programs instead of prayer, organization instead of inspiration, pragmatism instead of power. Many preachers preach to be popular, instead of preaching to change lives. Their sermons are 95 percent their own thoughts and 5 percent God’s truth. And the average church member cannot tell the difference because he or she is biblically illiterate!

Sadly, this also tends to twist our perception of Who Jesus is. While some have softened and sentimentalized Him until He is barely recognizable, others have distorted and doubted Him until He is undesirable.

My mother’s dinner partner had unwittingly touched on a very important principle. If you and I want to be able to detect counterfeit Christs and counterfeit truth, we need to immerse ourselves in the real thing. We need to saturate ourselves in the truth of the Word of God. This applies to our faith in general, as well as to our understanding of Jesus.

Who is Jesus? He lived two thousand years ago, in an obscure town, in an obscure country, during a relatively dark period in human history that was dominated by the Roman Empire. Yet He stands unequaled and unparalleled in the phenomenal greatness of His life as well as in the stunning impact He has had on history.

As we turn the corner into a new millennium and gaze back at the last two thousand years, a handful of individuals seem to rise up from our history pages—individuals whose lives or words or accomplishments impacted the entire human race, for good or for bad. Names like Julius Caesar, Martin Luther, Muhammad, Christopher Columbus, Orville and Wilbur Wright, Adolf Hitler, Alexander Graham Bell, Jonas Salk, Joseph Stalin, Mahatma Gandhi, Mao Tse-tung, and David Ben-Gurion come readily to mind. Yet I would heartily agree with Reynolds Price, who in the introduction to his Time magazine cover story on Jesus, wrote, "It would require much exotic calculation . . . to deny that the single most powerful figure—not merely in these two millenniums but in all human history—has been Jesus of Nazareth." Even today’s date is based on the calculation of the date of His birth.

So Who is Jesus? What is there about Him that makes Him so compelling that . . . . . . a Yugoslavian nun would give her life to comfort the dying in Calcutta for His sake?
. . . some of the greatest architectural achievements in Europe were built for worship of Him?
. . . some of the world’s most beautiful art was created to honor Him?
. . . some of the world’s most glorious music was written to praise Him?
. . . 167 years after Rome crucified Him, He was acknowledged as the only God in the Roman Empire?
. . . Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, rotting in a Siberian work camp, said the very thought of Him was enough to keep his sanity?
. . . in an outburst of physical pain, frustration, anger, or just disagreement with the officials at a ball game, His Name—not Buddha’s or Muhammad’s—is used in cursing?
. . . two thousand years after He has been physically removed from the world, people from all walks of life say He has saved them from drugs, illness, suicide, depression, and hopelessness?
. . . in His Name, people forsake personal gain to feed the hungry, house the homeless, clothe the naked, heal the sick? Who is Jesus? How can we know who He really is? We know by studying the truth. The only legitimate source of historical information on His life is found in the four New Testament Gospels. This book, Just Give Me Jesus, focuses on the fourth Gospel, written by John, who witnessed firsthand the events he recorded. And John’s Gospel is the truth.

So who is Jesus? Decide the answer for yourself as you read the apostle John’s clear, confident, certain, and compelling biography. His stirring account begins by leaving no doubt that Jesus makes God visible to all, because Jesus is God as Man. 
Jesus is Bigger Than I Think John’s Gospel begins with a verbal trumpet flourish: "In the beginning was the Word" (John 1:1). These words immediately take us back to the vastness of eternity before there was anything at all. They also take us back to Genesis, where God began to reveal Himself to all mankind. In Genesis, the Bible itself opens with the exact same phrase, "In the beginning . . . ," as it introduces perhaps the most dramatic chapter of the entire Book. As the passage unfolds the mysteries of creation, the phrase "And God said" is repeated no fewer than ten times in the first chapter. The phrase shows God’s awesome creative power as He spoke into existence everything that is or ever has been or ever will be. We might assume that the "word" He spoke, the "word" by which He called everything into being, was a language of some sort with nouns and verbs and pronouns and adverbs conveying His will to empty space.

Not so! John stuns us in the very first verse of his Gospel, which reveals, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning" (John 1:1–2; emphasis added). How awesome that the "Word" that was in the beginning, by which and through which God created everything, was—and is— a living Person with a mind, will, emotions, and intellect. He Is Eternal The Gospel of John states this living Person was not from the beginning, but that in the beginning of time, space, the universe, eternity, and history, He was already there! He is eternal!

John’s choice of wording in the Greek language makes his opening declaration astounding. His Greek for "Word," which he emphasized by repeating three times in the first verse, is logos, the outward expression of the mind and will that rules the universe. Plato, whose writings were popular in John’s day, had said he hoped that someday a "logos" might come forth from God that would make everything about life clear. John, who had perhaps read Plato, began his Gospel by stating in Greek that a "logos" had come from God. And not just a "logos" but the "Living Logos"—an outward revelation of the heart and mind of God expressed perfectly for us in a living Person.

As we meditate on John’s words, our sense of awe increases when we realize that "out of the . . . heart, the mouth speaks." So our conclusion is that the Logos who was in the beginning with God is a living Person . . . but He is more. He is the living expression of what is on God’s mind. But He is more. He is the living expression of what is on God’s heart. But He is even more. He is the very heart of the Almighty God of the universe laid bare for all to see!

Do you want to know what is on the mind of God? Then look at Jesus! Do you want to know the will of God? Then look at Jesus! Do you want to know what is in the heart of God? Then look at Jesus! Jesus is the exact revelation of what is on the mind and heart and in the will of God!

Jesus makes God visible. But that truth does not make Him somehow less than God. He is equally supreme with God. He Is Equal Each word John used, including the prepositions, becomes weighty with treasured truth: "He was with God in the beginning." Because you really can’t be with yourself, John implies there were two People, two separate supreme Beings Who are equal in power, activity, personality, and intelligence in a face-to-face, eye-to-eye existence. One was not more and One was not less. They were and are equally supreme, sharing the glory and splendor of heaven’s throne, because "the Word was God."

What a wondrous mystery! Our God is one God, yet at the same time He is more than one. Throughout the ages people have engaged in an intellectual wrestling match with this astounding truth. But those who do so miss the blessing that comes from simply worshiping an infinite God Who is beyond our finite understanding. He Is Enduringly the Same As John continued his trumpet flourish, we learn that Jesus, the Living Logos, is enduringly the same today as He always has been: "The same was in the beginning with God" (John 1:2 kjv). There was no personality change in this Person from the beginning of time until John’s day to our day to the last day of human history on into eternity.

The One Who spoke all things into existence and then transformed Planet Earth from a formless, empty, dark, water-submerged blob dangling in space to a beautiful place that reflected His own image is the same Person Who has power today to transform your life and mine.

The One Who offered all men salvation from the storm of His judgment if they would come into the ark is the same Person today Who offers salvation from His judgment if we would come into Him at the cross.

The One Who called Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees, promising to fully bless him if he would follow Him in a life of faith is the same Person Who today calls us out of the world and promises to bless us if we follow Him in a life of faith.

The One Who delivered His children from bondage to slavery in Egypt with a titanic display of power is the same Person Who was crucified then rose from the dead to deliver His children today from bondage to sin.

The One Who halted the entire invasion of Canaan by the Israelites while He extended His grace to one Canaanite prostitute is the same Person today Who stops to care for and extend His grace to sinners.

The One Who elevated David from a shepherd boy to a shepherd king is the same Person today Who places His people in positions of leadership, honor, and authority.

The One Who answered Elijah’s prayer and sent down the fire to consume the sacrifice on Mount Carmel and then sent down the rain to end the three-year drought in Israel is the same Person today Who hears and answers prayer. Do you know Him? If Adam knew Him as a beloved Father,
if Eve knew Him as the original Homemaker,
if Noah knew Him as the Refuge from the storm,
if Abraham knew Him as a Friend,
if Moses knew Him as the Redeemer,
if Rahab knew Him as the gracious Savior,
if David knew Him as his Shepherd,
if Elijah knew Him as the Almighty,
if Daniel knew Him as the Lion Tamer,
if Mary Magdalene knew Him as the Bondage Breaker,
if Martha knew Him as the Promise Keeper,
if Lazarus knew Him as the Resurrection and the Life,
if Bartimaeus knew Him as the Light of the World,
if John knew Him as the glorious King upon the throne,
Surely you and I can know Him too! The living Person Whom John heard and saw and touched was the same in ages past as He will be in years to come. There is not one God for the Old Testament, another God for the New Testament, another God for today, and still another God for the future. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is enduringly the same! Praise God! You and I can know Him!

About twenty-five years ago, without a crisis experience but with an unexplainable, intense yearning, I made the decision to seek to know God. Personally. Intimately. Accurately. Experientially. I decided that if each of these Bible characters could know Him then I could too.

If God hasn’t changed, if He is enduringly the same, then if they knew Him and I didn’t, the fault must lie with me. So I began a pilgrimage to know God, and that pilgrimage continues to this day. I don’t know Him today as well as I want or should, but I know Him better today than I did twenty-five years ago. I know Him better today than I did one year ago. I am growing in my knowledge of God, and I say without hesitation or qualification that knowing God is my joy and reason for living. He is...         the Wind beneath my wings,         the Treasure that I seek,       the Foundation on which I build,     the Song in my heart,   the Object of my desire, the Breath of my life— He is my All in all! Please join with me in this life-changing
discovery as, through the Gospel of John,
God just gives us Jesus. Although we may
have many preconceived ideas of Who Jesus is, John will show us He is actually bigger than we think and greater than we think. 
Jesus Is Greater Than I Think The One Who was with God and was God and is the same today as He was in the beginning is the Creator: "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made" (John 1:3). He Is the Source of Life It can be mind boggling to contemplate the vastness of the universe, from the greatest star to the smallest particle. It is so vast that astronomers are now saying that it stretches beyond what we are capable of penetrating, even with sophisticated telescopes like the Hubble. And every bit of it was created by the Living Word of God, Who, even as He hung the stars in space, counted them and called them each by name!

Not only did He create objects of massive size, but ...

About this edition

• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0849920930
• ISBN 13: 9780849920936
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 514