BOOK REVIEW: Life rhythms for serious spiritual growth …

If you want to walk with God, there need to be some rules.

And you need to set them up.

Once a person surrenders their life to Jesus Christ, they don’t become a mature Christian with a rich, deep faith overnight. We have to grow up in Christ, and learn how to live out our faith.

That’s the challenging part, because it takes discipline.

It takes a few rules.

In that case, “God In My Everything” by Ken Shigematsu (published by Zondervan) could be a great book to help you exercise enough discipline in your life to practice the spiritual disciplines you’ll need to grow in your faith.

Just the mention of “rules” is enough to immediately scare away many who call themselves believers, but without establishing certain practices in your life, it’s not likely you will successfully live out a consistent faith. Inspired by a visit to an Irish monastery, Shigematsu shares solid Bible teaching and good ideas about “how an ancient rhythm helps busy people enjoy God.”

Borrowing from ancient monastic practices, Shigematsu walks his readers through how to develop a rhythm of life that will draw them closer to God.

“And don’t forget that developing your rule is not a gimmick, a technique, or a shortcut to spiritual growth. It’s a rhythm of spiritual practices that helps center your life on Christ, enabling you to become more receptive to the work of the Spirit,” Shigematsu writes.

Shigematsu explains those spiritual practices by using the illustration of a living plant growing with the help of a trellis, with the trellis being the “life rule” or rhythms we develop. As he guides you through the different sections of the trellis, the author does an excellent job of illustrating each rule or spiritual practice in easy-to-understand language and interesting stories.

You may not agree with every idea Shigematsu offers, but reading the book will likely not only challenge you to grow in spiritual maturity, but also provide you with helpful steps in how you can bring God into all aspects of your life. This book can also be used by a couple of Christians studying together or a small group in which each person is hungry for spiritual growth.

If you don’t adequately have God in your “everything,” then I recommend you read “God In My Everything” and use it to help you more fully enjoy your relationship with God.

Scotty

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of
their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not
required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed
are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal
Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use
of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”