Title: The Blessings of Humility
Author: Jerry Bridges
Publisher: NavPress
Publication Date: June 1, 2016
Amazon Link: here
Cost: $8
Pages: 144
Rating: 4/5
Provided by: Tyndale
Synopsis:
We all admire humility when we see it. But how do we practice it? How does humility―the foundational virtue of the normal Christian life―become a normal part of our everyday lives?
Jerry Bridges sees in the Beatitudes a series of blessings from Jesus, a pattern for humility in action. Starting with poverty in spirit―an acknowledgment that in and of ourselves we are incapable of living holy lives pleasing to God―and proceeding through our mourning over personal sin, our hunger and thirst for righteousness, our experience of persecutions large and small, and more, we discover that humility is itself a blessing: At every turn, God is present to us, giving grace to the humble and lifting us up to blessing.
Opinions
I would not typically read a book about humility. Yet this cover looks so innocent, right?
Its actually pretty intense, first claiming humitility to be fundamental and then describing the why and how.
The author even goes so far as to say that "All other character traits, in one way or another, are built upon love and humility."
It is not a particularly happy book, but it will cause you to slow down and reflect and perhaps that is even more valuable. I have not read any of his other books, but understand that they are all written in a similar fashion.
There is a very nice passage that explains the idea of "fleeing from sin but not focusing on the sin which you are fleeing from" which is better explained than I have likely ever seen. The gist of this is to focus not on ourselves and our shortcomings, but our God and how big he is.
When I was reading the book, the "America is going down the drain" attitude felt overpowering and for that reason I cant give this book a 5 star rating. Still, I later learned that the author, recently deceased, was on older man who would have seen many era's of America and therefore much more qualified to make these statements than many of the rest of us.
Although short, this book demands that humility must be practiced and there are discussion questions to further a personal or group study of the book.
In the end, I can give the book 4/5 stars and recommend it to those who wish to study the Beatitudes. It would be useful for either a personal or group study.
Amazon link
About the author: The Bible teacher and speaker served with The Navigators discipleship ministry for nearly 60 years, and wrote the popular book The Pursuit of Holiness among many others. You can read more about Jerry Bridges here:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2016/march/died-jerry-bridges-pursuit-of-holiness-navigators-obit.html
Author: Jerry Bridges
Publisher: NavPress
Publication Date: June 1, 2016
Amazon Link: here
Cost: $8
Pages: 144
Rating: 4/5
Provided by: Tyndale
Synopsis:
We all admire humility when we see it. But how do we practice it? How does humility―the foundational virtue of the normal Christian life―become a normal part of our everyday lives?
Jerry Bridges sees in the Beatitudes a series of blessings from Jesus, a pattern for humility in action. Starting with poverty in spirit―an acknowledgment that in and of ourselves we are incapable of living holy lives pleasing to God―and proceeding through our mourning over personal sin, our hunger and thirst for righteousness, our experience of persecutions large and small, and more, we discover that humility is itself a blessing: At every turn, God is present to us, giving grace to the humble and lifting us up to blessing.
Opinions
I would not typically read a book about humility. Yet this cover looks so innocent, right?
Its actually pretty intense, first claiming humitility to be fundamental and then describing the why and how.
The author even goes so far as to say that "All other character traits, in one way or another, are built upon love and humility."
It is not a particularly happy book, but it will cause you to slow down and reflect and perhaps that is even more valuable. I have not read any of his other books, but understand that they are all written in a similar fashion.
There is a very nice passage that explains the idea of "fleeing from sin but not focusing on the sin which you are fleeing from" which is better explained than I have likely ever seen. The gist of this is to focus not on ourselves and our shortcomings, but our God and how big he is.
When I was reading the book, the "America is going down the drain" attitude felt overpowering and for that reason I cant give this book a 5 star rating. Still, I later learned that the author, recently deceased, was on older man who would have seen many era's of America and therefore much more qualified to make these statements than many of the rest of us.
Although short, this book demands that humility must be practiced and there are discussion questions to further a personal or group study of the book.
In the end, I can give the book 4/5 stars and recommend it to those who wish to study the Beatitudes. It would be useful for either a personal or group study.
Amazon link
About the author: The Bible teacher and speaker served with The Navigators discipleship ministry for nearly 60 years, and wrote the popular book The Pursuit of Holiness among many others. You can read more about Jerry Bridges here:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2016/march/died-jerry-bridges-pursuit-of-holiness-navigators-obit.html
