By Mark Atteberry
Moments with the Savior: A Devotional Life of Christ
By Ken Gire
Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998Â
Every summer my wife and I attend the International Christian Retail Show. We love it because we get to rub shoulders with many of our favorite authors and because we never come home with fewer than 60 or 70 brand-new, just-released books. It”s like Christmas in July.
But it isn”t quite as great as it might sound.
It always turns out that at least half the books we ship home aren”t worth the paper they”re printed on. For some, the problem is wacky doctrine. For others, the problem is a boring, irrelevant topic. For many the problem is atrocious writing. I never cease to be amazed at the drivel that gets published. Even more disheartening is the amount of that drivel that hits the best-seller list. As much as anything, this causes me to fear for the future of civilization.
And so it is that when I run across a truly wonderful, life-changing book, I feel like the person who discovers a priceless antique at a garage sale. Such was the case the day I found Moments with the Savior: A Devotional Life of Christ by Ken Gire in a thrift store. I”d never heard of Gire, but the cover wasn”t too dog-eared, it was a devotional about the life of Jesus, and I had enough pocket change to cover the cost. Sold!
Now, about 10 years later, it sits alone (behind the Bible, of course) as my favorite book of all time. It is gorgeously written, which is saying something in this age of language mutilation. But what I really love are the insights it offers into the critical moments of our Lord”s life and ministry.
After Bible college and almost three decades of preaching and teaching, Moments with the Savior took me to a whole new level in my understanding and appreciation of our Lord”s ministry. Simply put, this book makes me love Jesus more, and I can”t think of a higher compliment.
Mark Atteberry serves as senior minister with the Poinciana Christian Church in Kissimmee, Florida, and is author of several books, including Let It Go, So Much More Than Sexy, and Free Refill (all from Standard Publishing).
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