Paperback , pages. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Oct 28, Bob rated it really liked it Shelves: This is an instance of a good title that is an accurate depiction of the book.
Kirk maintains that we often create burdensome lives and further burden one another. And then we have the audacity to attribute this to the demands or requirements of God. And finally we tire of the whole thing. Kirk maintains that the teaching of the Bible is entirely different. It is a call to ease or rest in God. God's work is to believe in "the One Sent" John 6: Even believing is a relinquishing of our futile This is an instance of a good title that is an accurate depiction of the book.
Even believing is a relinquishing of our futile efforts into the care of Jesus, as Peter does in his wavering faith as he attempts to walk on water. The easy life is one "yoked" to the one God sent, where we share our burdens with him. I would differ in one point with Kirk here--yoked animals do work but less hard, more 'restfully' than an unyoked animal alone. Jesus promise in Matthew We often struggle with this, thinking we need to do more, pray more, be better. And we don't help each other with this in the church.
Here, perhaps as much as anywhere we need to just say "no" to embrace the easy burdens of God. Kirk mixes careful handling of biblical passages with very down to earth illustrations from her own life and that of her family. She can be almost raw in her vulnerability at times, confessing struggles with mental illness resulting from a sexual assault and difficulties loving an elderly parent with dementia and her struggles as she gave up a stimulating life overseas for a husband and an Oklahoma farm.
All this makes her account of the slow, patient grace of God all the more convincing. My hunch is that the cover art and endorsements reflect the publishers estimate that this is a "women's book". I would maintain that it is just as important for men to read, both to understand the burdens we sometimes impose on ourselves and others, and the challenges our wives and sisters face in experiencing the grace of God in their lives.
Mar 30, Becky Johnson rated it it was amazing. Lovely, freeing book for Christians who struggle with a demanding view of God. Calling on the images of parenting, in her beautiful writing style, Patty Kirk helped me see God in fresh new, peaceful ways. A thoughtful, well-written book to use as a Spring devotional or inspirational companion. Aug 14, Clint Walker rated it really liked it. Sometimes we make things more complicated than they should be, or than they need to be. Patty Kirk says that there are some people who are making the Christian faith a spiritual equivalent of a Rube Goldberg design.
So she has written The Easy Burden of Pleasing God as a counterargument against complex systems of spiritual ascent or demanding paths of discipleship. Kirk argues that we need to live our faith as a life, not a job description.
Too often, we have a to-do list of what we need to do to Sometimes we make things more complicated than they should be, or than they need to be. Too often, we have a to-do list of what we need to do to be a good Christian. We organize our lives to just enough of this, or do give this much, it an attempt to please I would say appease God. She goes on to say what God really wants is for us to live with him, walk with him, trust him, and accept his love.
If one truly walks in grace, and lives one's life as God's beloved, immersed in God's love, than good works naturally spring from that. Our devotion will lead us to love our neighbor, serve in missions, and the like. But the beginning has to be about being willing to allow God to make us his. Everything else flows out from that.
The Easy Burden of Pleasing God
At least, this is the lesson I get from the book. This book is one of several books to come out in recent months that is a part of IVP's Crescendo line of books. This line of books is a set of books that has a target audience of Christian women. Look for several other high quality books to come from this line from IVP in the coming years. In the meanwhile, grab this treasure with a cup of coffee, and read it slowly, bathing in the grace of God. Jul 09, Leah Beecher added it Shelves: I had high hope for this one, and only got about two chapters in.
Review: The Easy Burden of Pleasing God
Something in her style did not really jive with me. I keep saying I will give it another try. It currently has a thin layer of dust as it sits on my living room coffee table. Not saying I will not pick it up in the future, but for now I think I will officially stick it my over-flowing bookshelf till the mood strikes or Spirit moves. I believe the right books find you at the right time, not the other way around. Oct 02, Cara rated it really liked it. I love the way Patty delves deeply into the Bible, really seeking after the true meaning there, what Jesus is really saying, what others are saying to Jesus.
Coupled with stories from her own life, and a deeply humble attitude, I enjoyed this book.
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It is a book of joy, which I will be returning to. Hope rated it it was amazing Mar 26, Tera Myers rated it liked it Jul 26, Mallory Gooden rated it liked it Apr 07, Lauren Emily rated it did not like it Jul 16, Linda rated it liked it Apr 19, Ashley Bertilson rated it it was amazing Jul 09, I've been reading Kirk's books since 's Confessions of an Amateur Believer, and I love the rigor she consistently brings to her readings of the Bible. Her work serves as a reminder of the richness of sincere biblical inquiry and its capacity help Christians understand how God's service is perfect freedom.
Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. I am continuing to enjoy reading this book I enjoy the authors flare with words. I feel to be a kindred spirit in her relationship with, "The One That God Sent" and how that relationship plays out in her practical, everyday life. I have always been perplexed by Jesus' promise that his yoke is easy and his burden light. I often can't think of anything heavier or harder than the Christian life.
Forgiving people who have hurt me to the core. Sharing the Gospel through my shyness. Serving others and seeking their good. Getting to church with three children under 4 after a weary week, not to mention volunteering for the never-ending activities and events. Being honest and encouraging and kind when it's easier to be passive aggressive or sarcastic. Squeezing in time to pray and then the guilt of not praying enough , Bible reading, Bible study, Bible memorizing, helping my toddlers start all of these spiritual disciplines.
I've had this book for three months now and have struggled to write a review of it because of my own ambivalence. I just don't know. Kirk's premise is that our work is to believe in the One God has sent. And I agree--all the work that was vital was done by Jesus, and we cannot add or take away from our salvation. The most helpful to me sentence of the entire book: If they did, then they would think my love for them less if they ever failed The parent-child relationship teaches us so much about God's love for us.
Obedience to rules doesn't make up the whole of the relationship. How I need to hear this daily! But the rules are still important. They are protective and good and beautiful. That's why there are rules in the New Testament to the Church. The works are important, though they don't make up our salvation. They are an evidence of an internal working and transformation by the Holy Spirit, and not something we can muster up by sheer will. I think Kirk would agree with my assertion--the problem is, I'm not totally sure.
It seemed unclear to me. The whole way through, I wanted to sit down with her and ask her questions about what she meant regarding this or that.
I felt there was not enough discussion of the role of the Holy Spirit - who is the one who empowers us and transforms us for these good works, nor of the book of James, where the relationship between faith and works is discussed. I also felt some of this book was spent trying to make God's commands not so hard for us to swallow rather than pointing us to the powerful Spirit of God in us. Her chapter on forgiveness--a hard work, indeed--was an explanation on who we were not required to forgive based on omissions from Jesus' commands on forgiving. It seemed that a lot of space was dedicated to explaining what we didn't have to do.
It seemed like excuses not to do hard things. God's holiness means his expectations are high--perfection, actually. But we don't respond to failure by lowering God's expectations. We use our failures as an opportunity to point to Jesus, our righteousness. And the thing is, God calls us to do hard things. And while there are many precious saints who need this message of rest, I think most of us need to hear a prophetic call to work in the power of the Spirit for the glory of God.
I think we already devise our own excuses for why this or that passage of Scripture doesn't apply to us. I fear people will interpret it as a cop-out to just kick back and keep doing what they're doing--building straw kingdoms that will have no eternal value. Kirk is right to point out our obsessive need to always be doing something. We throw ourselves into a frenzy of Bible studies, church programs and ministries, and a flurry of private devotional activities.
I'm having to daily preach to myself that God's acceptance of me doesn't depend on my faithful Scripture reading and memorizing, or how many things I can get involved in at church all of which have decreased with the birth of my third child under 3. I'm now resting from my wrongful burden of thinking that I needed to do those things to please God and be accepted by Him. I still do them--but in short snippets as my busy days and needy babies allow, and bringing the guilt and shame of not doing them some days to the cross and leaning on the Perfect One instead.
Because when I get into that shame cycle, I find I withdraw from God completely. Resting from the wrong burdens thinking I need to do this or that to get God's approval leads me to take on obedience with joy. I'm walking 3 miles in Texas heat with a double stroller and a baby carrier to the park to tell moms about Jesus--when I'm not exhausted from the daily home stuff or nursing a baby constantly.
Which is a lot. But I love my neighbors--a love that has taken years to develop in this shy woman enough to drive me to tell them about Jesus. And that's just it. It's a work God has grown me into, which makes the burden light. I like this book. It spoke peace to my must-earn-it mentality with God.
My only real concern is that it doesn't seem clear enough on the importance of works without making them the benchmark for God's acceptance of us. I see too much apathy within the Church, possibly because Christians assume these good works are too hard. But He who started the good work in us will see it to completion, and carry us in grace the whole way. I was provided with a copy of this book by the publisher, but my opinions are my own.
I was not paid for this review. Sometimes we make things more complicated than they should be, or than they need to be. Patty Kirk says that there are some people who are making the Christian faith a spiritual equivalent of a Rube Goldberg design. So she has written The Easy Burden of Pleasing God as a counterargument against complex systems of spiritual ascent or demanding paths of discipleship.
The Easy Burden of Pleasing God - PATTY. KIRK - Google Книги
Kirk argues that we need to live our faith as a life, not a job description. Too often, we have a to-do list of what we need to do to be a good Christian. We organize our lives to just enough of this, or do give this much, it an attempt to please I would say appease God. She goes on to say what God really wants is for us to live with him, walk with him, trust him, and accept his love. If one truly walks in grace, and lives one's life as God's beloved, immersed in God's love, than good works naturally spring from that. Our devotion will lead us to love our neighbor, serve in missions, and the like.
But the beginning has to be about being willing to allow God to make us his. Everything else flows out from that. At least, this is the lesson I get from the book.