I can still remember the freshness of the very first time I ever read through the Bible. Everything was so new to me! I could easily spend an hour reading the word, taking notes, being totally in awe of all that I was discovering about the Lord Jesus within those precious pages.
That was just over 20 years ago now, and although I am grateful for the familiarity and experience that comes from reading God’s word and being under his teaching for those years, I do find myself feeling a complacency and even a staleness in my faith.
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For the last month or so I have been enjoying the addition of a daily devotional to my morning Bible time. It’s title, Remember and Return: Rekindling Your Love for the Savior, really caught my eye. It sounded exactly like what I needed!
From the preface:
Love for the Lord Jesus is the defining reality in the life of every true Christian. But the fire of the first love for the Lord can grow cold and diminish the believer’s power and blessing. This thirty-one-day journey is designed to keep your love for Christ increasing for your joy and His glory.
A Brief Overview of Remember & Return by John MacArthur:
- 201 pages
- Hardcover
- 31 daily devotionals, each containing a scripture reading, devotional thoughts and a daily challenge
My Thoughts:
- This book is Christ focused, unlike many other devotionals that tend to be more “me focused”.
- It is not light, fluffy reading. Each chapter is 5+ pages of meaty, theological content.
- It is heavy in scripture quotations, as well as many other quotations from other christian writers and theologians.
- This book is adapted from a previous publication by the same author – A Simple Christianity (2009). This is my first book from John MacArthur, but if you own or have read most of his others, you may want to skip this one.
The One who is the object of our love was born contrary to the laws of nature, was reared in obscurity, lived in poverty, and only once crossed the boundary of the land in which He was born — and that was in His childhood. He had no wealth or influence and had neither training nor education in the world’s schools. His relatives were inconspicuous and uninfluential.
In infancy He startled a king. In boyhood He puzzled learned doctors. In manhood He ruled the course of nature. He walked upon the billows and hushed the sea to sleep. He healed the multitudes without medicine and made no charge for His services.
He never wrote a book, yet if everything He did were written in detail, the world itself couldn’t’ contain the books that would be written. He never founded a college, yet all the schools together cannot boast of as many students as He has. He never practiced medicine, yet He has healed more broken hearts than doctors have healed broken bodies. Throughout history great men have come and gone, yet He lives on: Herod could not kill Him, Satan could not seduce Him, death could not destroy Him, and the grave could not hold Him.
-Remember & Return, John MacArthur
I was provided with a complementary copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Please see my disclosure statement for details.
