Jeff Lucas

I found this book encouraging, thought-provoking and very readable. Filled with a mixture of personal anecdotes, Scripture references and gentle teaching, Jeff Lucas explains around thirty different things he really wishes he'd known forty years earlier when he was a new believer.

Each section is just a few pages long, and includes both fairly obvious things as well as some more surprising or possibly controversial ones. The title (and one of the chapters) is a clear nod to John Ortberg's classic book with a similar name - as is explained in the relevant chapter.

Very highly recommended to all believers, new or not-so-new.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2023/06/staying-in-boat-by-jeff-lucas.html… (mais)

Great stuff. Written in the early stages of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Christian writer and speaker Jeff Lucas shares anecdotes and incidents from both the past and present, with a focus on kindness, acceptance and avoiding judgementalism.

Thirty-four short chapters make very engaging and thought-provoking reading, each one taking up only a few minutes of time. I read two or three each day for a couple of weeks, and while I've forgotten most of the details, I hope the underlying messages will have entered my subconscious.

Definitely recommended; a book I hope to read again regularly.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2021/02/specks-and-planks-by-jeff-lucas.htm...… (mais)

This is a bit heavier than other books I’ve read by this author, with very little of his usual self-deprecating humour. The introduction demonstrates the difference between theory and practice as far as God's grace goes. Subsequent chapters explain ways in which we can experience grace for ourselves, and also show it to others.

Lucas writes, in nine chapters, about accepting and giving forgiveness, and being open to touches of unexpected grace. He shares personal anecdotes, and by the time I was about halfway through I was finding it quite thought-provoking.

Well worth reading for anyone who struggles with the concept of grace, or who finds it difficult to experience grace in day-to-day living. Useful as a reminder for any believer.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2023/02/grace-choices-by-jeff-lucas.html… (mais)

Thoughts and observations about the infamous 'strong man' of the Bible, Samson. Jeff Lucas paints a picture - some of it inferred from Scripture, some from knowledge of ancient history, some of it guesswork - of this strange man who had a calling, yet made so many mistakes. It’s not a pleasant image; Samson comes across as boorish, greedy, immoral and violent.

There are ‘lessons’ throughout the text, outlined in chapter headings, such as: secrets can make us sick; dissatisfaction is likely to lead us into temptation; anger can be inflammable; even the strongest can fail. They make good points although few of them were relevant to me.

While it’s not a bad book, I found the style a bit annoying; the sentences are mostly quite short, and there is enormous text on most pages that looked as if it should be section headings, but was so big that it was disturbing. Moreover, the book lacked Lucas’s usual dry humour and is almost devoid of anecdotes.

Not up to his usual standard, in my opinion.… (mais)