Review by Amazon reader:

Nancy Guthrie writes in her latest book, "It's this disappointment with God, or with our experience or understanding of God, that creates real inner conflict. It seems so terribly unspiritual to admit that the Christian life, as we've experienced it so far, does not seem to really be what Jesus meant by "abundant life." It often feels as if we've missed it somehow, as if everybody else must be experiencing something we can't seem to achieve, but we don't want to admit it to ourselves or anyone else."

Guthrie's solution to the spiritual doldrums is a fresh look at Jesus through the letter to the Hebrews, one of the most interesting and challenging books in the Bible! "In studying Hebrews, we find that considering Jesus--looking at him, valuing him, running after him, drawing near to him--is the secret to surviving and even thriving when life is hard."

Guthrie explains the background of Hebrews and what we know of the recipients of this letter to show that we really aren't very different from them. We have our own traditions and ways of doing things, we must dethrone the idols in our hearts, we want to hear God speak, we face trials, etc. Therefore, this letter called Hebrews is written for our benefit, to teach us that Jesus is better and more desirable than we understand or imagine. Guthrie works her way through each chapter of Hebrews to show how this is true and what it looks like to live a life of faith in Jesus. She wants to encourage women to see Jesus by going deeper in God's Word, drawing closer to Jesus, and holding tighter to Jesus.

This is not a self-help book. This book is primarily a call to repentance and faith in Jesus. Guthrie presents the gospel in almost every chapter, and without the overused "sinner's prayer" approach. Because each chapter of Hebrews teaches how Jesus is better than the old system, her plea for placing one's faith in Jesus is from a different aspect in each chapter. She speaks uniquely to women and issues facing women, so her illustrations and examples are centered around family, relationships, feelings, and other issues to which most women can easily relate. Her writing is heartfelt and sincere. Guthrie has a genuine desire to serve God's Word to women. Each chapter ends with something personal about herself and how she applied the truths found in Hebrews to her own life.

Description by Publisher:

Who wants to merely go through the motions of religion? We long for something authentic--something worth opening our hearts to, filling our minds with, and giving our lives for. We hope for something better than the "churchianity" of our parents and the vague spirituality of our neighbors, something better than guilt-induced, holier-than-thou morality, better than here-and-now, health-and-wealth promises.

In her thought-provoking and authentic style, Nancy Guthrie shows that Jesus himself offers the something better weve been looking for, applying the truths of Hebrews to real-life issues such as guilt, shame, disappointment, hardship, unhealthy obsessions, personal ambition, and fear of death.

SaltRiver (June 4, 2007), 240 pages, paperback

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