[.ca] Just Like Jesus (ISBN 0849942527)

From Amazon.com:
"What if for 24 hours Jesus wakes up in your bed, walks in your shoes, lives in your house, assumes your schedule?... What if for one day Jesus lives your life with his heart? Within these opening lines lies the premise of Max Lucado's book about the possibility of becoming "just like Jesus." In recounting the biblical stories of Jesus' life and deeds, Lucado then explains how Jesus' acts of compassion, forgiveness, honesty, and faith can be reflected in anyone's everyday life. Lucado's concrete analogy of "just like Jesus" helps many readers grasp the fundamentals of Christianity in a new and inspiring way. Furthermore, in taking on the values, heart and deeds of Jesus, Lucado believes, Christians can expect a richer, more accessible relationship with God. "Jesus had unbroken communion with his father," writes Lucado. "Do you suppose the Father desires the same for us? Absolutely ... God has the same abiding intimacy with you that he had with his son." One of the reasons that Lucado's popularity has soared is that he combines straightforward storytelling skills with simple, unfettered theology to explain how Christianity influences modern life, from marriage and career to golf games and traffic jams. Fans will also appreciate his companion study guide at the end of the book, which offers provocative questions relating to the themes of each chapter. --Gail Hudson

Healing for the Troubled Heart:
There are times when you wonder how God could love us. We are so very human. This book starts with the premise that God loves you just the way you are, but he refuses to leave you in the state he found you in. Jesus felt no guilt. He didn't have any bad habits. He had no fears. Jesus wasn't afraid to die. If you are a Christian you will at times feel very troubled. As if you are changing and sometimes you just want to stay the same. You reach a comfortable place and then your heart seems troubled. Max Lucado says God is just remodeling your heart. "What if, for one day Jesus were to become you?" What would you be like? Would anyone notice a change in your behavior. The Contents Includes: A Heart Like His Loving the People You are Stuck With (A Forgiving Heart) The Touch of God (A Compassionate Heart) Hearing God's Music (A Listening Heart) Being Led by an Unseen Hand (A God-Intoxicated Heart) A Changed Face and a Set of Wings (A Worship-Hungry Heart) Golf Games and Celery Sticks (A Focused Heart) Nothing but the Truth (An Honest Heart) The Greenhouse of the Mind (A Pure Heart) Finding Gold in the Garbage (A Hope-Filled Heart) When Heaven Celebrates (A Rejoicing Heart) Finishing Strong (An Enduring Heart) One sentence really stood out about Jesus Christ: "He spent over three decades wading through the muck and mire of our sin yet still saw enough beauty in us to die for our mistakes." -pg. 6 Being like Jesus is a real challenge. It seems you can become like him in some areas and then you struggle like crazy with other issues. It is a good thing God loves me, because I have a way to go and he is sure doing a job on my heart. Dear God: "Do we get coffee breaks?" Sometimes I wish Jesus was still on earth and he could just give you a big hug. I see him that way. By reading this book, you will figure out which room God is trying to remodel. I guess you can't really lock any doors, cause God has all the keys.

Just Like Jesus:
In yet another wonderfully inspirational book, Lucado urges his readers to live a life that Jesus would be proud of. He doesn't tell the reader what he needs to do however, just reminds us of the way that Jesus lived and that we should look at him as an example of how to live. Enhancing this message is a very useful study guide perfect for small group study or even individual contemplation. Lucado's illustrations using his own family and experiences really help to fit his words and the words of the Bible into our own lives and remind us that "He loves you just the way you are, but he refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be just like Jesus." Why 5 stars?: Lucado has turned out another powerful book concerning how we can become like Jesus. The study guide make the reading of the book even stronger by challenging the reader to look deeper into his own life. Recommended for those strong in their faith, but still wanting to improve their walk with God, all the way to those who are just curious about who Jesus is.

Good but not Lucado's best:
Just Like Jesus can be inspirational at times, mundane at others. I think this is a book that would have a better message with fewer pages. It seems the author sometimes begins to ramble in his stories looking for space filling material instead of staying focused simply on the message. However, the next to last chapter does stay on target and is some of the best, most inspirational reading I've had in some time. Just Like Jesus takes you from the here and now to a view of eternity. Can you be like Jesus? Well, no one can be perfect but Jesus demonstrated so many qualities and traits that anyone should be willing to emulate to be like Jesus. Afterall, Jesus now lives in heaven and isn't that where we want to be? We want to be just like Jesus...living with God and in a wonderful place. To do that, we must also try to emulate what Jesus was while He was on earth. Through this book, Lucado shows us some of the qualities we can attain to...if we desire. While this may not be the best book I've read, it's certainly worth reading if you are on a spiritual quest to follow Christ.

Easy Read:
A great book! I was told that Max Lucado writes great, easy to read books...and it's true. I flew through this book in a couple of days. Very entertaining and eye-opening. May we all strive to be "Just Like Jesus!"

Change My Heart:
Max Lucado's novel Just Like Jesus is a nonfiction work about the author's own religious beliefs. He wrote this book in the form of many personal experiences to convey his message of spiritual obligation and religious opportunities. Lucado's main idea of this novel is the idea that, "God loves you just the way you are, but he refuses to leave you that way. He wants us to be just like Jesus." The entire content of the novel is based around the idea of have a heart just like Jesus. He writes of ways of humbling, opening, focusing, rejoicing, purifying and filling our hearts with hope. Some of Lucado's ideas were awe-inspiring at first. The way Lucado broke down daily pray was inspiring. The way he took such an important, spiritual issue and put it into such a plain three-step process (regular time and place, open Bible, and open heart) was absolutely incredible. Max Lucado was able to an inspiring novel that is easy to relate to because it deals with the religious life we all desire. He writes in a very down to Earth manner that makes his stories and truths more believable to his audience. Overall, Lucado and I share many important religious beliefs, and some of his beliefs and procedures were introduced to me for the very first time in my life. Lucado's book focuses on the major goal of any spiritual person. He suggests several ways in which we can change our heart to fulfill the will of God, to make our hearts more like his heart.