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Outlive Your Life

Outlive Your Life: You Were Made to Make A Difference by Max Lucado

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have a library of Max Lucado books. To say I am a “fan” would be a huge understatement, but this book, "Outlive Your Life" surpasses them all! It is timely, poignant, passionate and impacting. Unfortunately the book is also so uncomfortably stirring, that it made me squirm in my seat with each chapter until I finally fell to my knees to weep before the Lord in repentance. Be prepared!

This is a book that studies the early Christians in the book of Acts and implores Christians today to model their behavior; to be an ”Acts Church”, not just say it, but actually DO IT! One example I took to heart was in the Chapter “Open your door, open your heart”. I am a Martha-type and I don’t extend invitations unless my house is in order. There I’ve said it,… but Lucado says, “If we wait until everything is perfect, we’ll never issue an invitation. Remember this: what is common to you is a banquet to someone else.” It tweaked a nerve with me. I have fallen short in the hospitality department because I’m more concerned with the dust bunnies in the corner than sharing conversation and fellowship with someone who just wants to be invited in and listened to. Shame on me.

The book is filled with those type of “shame on me” realizations. The book brings readers to realize where they’ve fallen short as compassionate Christians, but it also encourages us that we don’t need to be super-human to make a difference. We can outlive our lives! His book is filled with stories of individuals who saw a need, acted on the need and did extraordinary things as a result. It is about people, who listen, pray, respond and act out their faith daily.

Lucado has a gift of taking a Biblical story and telling it in a contemporary way. He is humorous in places but there is always a serious undercurrent throughout the book.

The last quarter of the book is filled with questions for discussion, so this book can be used as an individual or small group Bible Study. Again, be prepared for hard-hitting questions that force you to come out of your seat of complacency and demands that you act out your faith!

If that was not enough to motivate you to read this brilliant book, 100 percent of the author’s royalties from "Outlive Your Life" products will benefit children and families through World Vision and other ministries of faith-based compassion.

If you must read one book this year, make sure it’s "Outlive Your Life"!

Lynn Dove

Shoot The Wounded

(I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.)

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