Review-Jonathan R. Bailey-Dwelling in Christ

 

Jonathan R. Bailey’s “Dwelling in Christ: Discover the Threefold Path of Spiritual Transformation” is a new book scheduled for release September 1, 2026.

At its heart, Dwelling in Christ asks a simple but important question:

Are we merely trying harder to be Christians, or are we actually being transformed by Christ?

I like the way the author worked in his own struggles with repeatedly trying to recommit himself to God and do better, only to find himself caught in the same cycle. I believe this is a struggle that all Christians face.  It is a relief to read about others facing the same problems and learning how they deal with it. He came to see that Christian growth isn’t just a matter of making stronger resolutions. It is a lifelong journey of transformation with God.

The book draws on the ancient Christian Threefold Way. I was not familiar with that title but the concepts are very familiar.

1.      Purgation - being cleansed or pruning for growth. Anyone with trees or shrubs are familiar with this concept. We learn to confess and surrender sinful patterns, attachments, and false identities. Any time we “cut away” something, it can be hard. But until we start surrendering the sinful behaviors, we can’t start making room for the traits we should be focused on.

2.      Illumination - learning to see and begin receiving transformation. As we become more attentive to God, we begin to see ourselves, others, Scripture, and the world differently. God’s truth changes from something we “know is right” to something that actually changes our life. Spiritual practices help train our attention toward God.

3.      Union - abiding in and deepening our oneness with God. The goal isn’t simply becoming a better person. You can become a “good” person without this. The goal is deeper communion with Christ. As true believers we need to learn to dwell in God’s love and live from that relationship.

Bailey presents these not simply as three boxes to check but as movements within an ongoing journey toward Christlikeness. I like this approach.  Too many times it can be easy to adopt the “check the box” lifestyle.  As Christians we should be striving to be more like Christ everyday.

One of the strongest ideas in the book is the contrast between transactional Christianity and transformational Christianity.

Bailey describes his former approach as essentially:

“I’ll try harder this time.”

But the Christian life is not about trying harder to impress God. It is about learning to live with God so that His presence gradually changes us.

I would recommend this book as a good place to start, after the Bible, on developing a closer relationship with God.

Bailey also mentions many other books that inspired him.  I will be looking them up to add to my to be read list.

Review-Max Lucado's Tame Your Thoughts

 

We all have thoughts that we wish we could turn off.

Sometimes it’s worry about something that hasn't happened yet. Sometimes it’s replaying something that happened yesterday. Sometimes it is fear, discouragement, anger, or simply wondering, “what if?”

Our minds can be a noisy place.

That is what makes Max Lucado’s book Tame Your Thoughts so timely. Lucado deals with something every one of us faces, the battle that takes place in our minds.

The basic message of the book is simply that we don't have to allow every thought that enters our minds to control us.

That is an important distinction. We cannot always control what thoughts come into our minds. A troubling thought may suddenly appear. A memory may come back. Fear may creep in. But just because a thought enters our mind doesn't mean we have to believe it, dwell on it, or allow it to determine how we live.

The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 10:5 to “take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

That is really at the heart of Lucado's message.

We need to learn to recognize our thoughts and ask, “Is this true? Does this agree with God's Word? Is this helping me trust God, or is it pulling me away from Him?”

One thing I appreciate about this book is that Lucado doesn't pretend that Christians will never struggle with negative thoughts. We all do. Living in a fallen world means we will have struggles, worries and, at times, become discouraged.

It means we don't have to face those thoughts alone.

When worry says, “what if everything goes wrong?” faith reminds us that God is still in control.

When fear says, “you can't handle this,” Scripture reminds us that God is with us.

When discouragement says, “there is no hope,” God's Word reminds us that our hope is found in Him.

That is where this book becomes very practical.

Lucado encourages us to replace unhealthy thinking with biblical thinking. Philippians 4:8 tells us to think about things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise.

That doesn't mean we ignore the problems around us. It means we don't allow our problems to become bigger in our minds than our God is.

I also appreciated the author’s emphasis on prayer.

Philippians 4:6–7 tells us not to be anxious, but to bring our concerns to God through prayer and thanksgiving. God's answer isn't always to immediately change the situation. Sometimes He changes us in the middle of the situation by giving us His peace.

That is a lesson for all of us.

Sometimes we spend so much time thinking about a problem that we forget to pray about it.

We replay the problem over and over in our head.

We think about it constantly.

We imagine every possible outcome.

And then we wonder why we are anxious.

Lucado reminds us to take those thoughts to God.

Like previous Lucado books, one of the strengths of Tame Your Thoughts is that it is easy to understand. Lucado writes in a conversational way, and his illustrations make the subject relatable. You don't have to be a theologian or a psychologist to understand what he is saying.

At the same time, I don't think this book is intended to be a deep academic study of the human mind. It is much more practical than that. Lucado's goal is to help Christians understand that our thought life matters and to give us biblical tools for dealing with the thoughts that can control us.

And that is probably what I appreciate most about the book.

It reminds us that our thoughts are important, but they don't have to be in charge.

We will have thoughts of fear.

We will have moments of doubt.

We will have days when discouragement gets the better of us.

But we can bring those thoughts to Christ, compare them to Scripture, and replace the lies with God’s truth.

And we can choose to focus our minds on the One who is greater than whatever we are facing.

One of my favorite examples is the chapter where Lucado imagines receiving a letter from Moses that deals with complaining. 

Overall, I found Tame Your Thoughts to be an encouraging and practical reminder of the importance of our thought life.

The book doesn't promise that we will never have another negative thought. Instead, it points us toward something more realistic and biblical: learning what to do with those thoughts when they come.

We may not always be able to control the first thought that enters our minds.

But with God's help, we can control what we do with it.

And sometimes, the battle we need to win today isn't happening around us.

It's happening between our ears.

The NEW Bedford Review

 First off, an explanation.

If anyone read my last post and is still reading, I owe you an apology.  Due to various work and health situations, I dropped the ball. 

Many life changes have led me to get back into reviewing.

1.The biggest change my family has experienced is our oldest son going to his eternal reward. A few years ago, he was diagnosed with leukemia. Joel was a high school teacher, married to the love of his life, an elder at the church they attended, and started preaching. His battle with this disease and how he and his wife handled it inspired many others. The only advice I can give to parents watching their child go through this is hold tight to your spouse and keep God at the center of everything. My wife and I could not have survived it without God's help.

2. As I prayed about why Joel had to go through this, I questioned God. He led me to start speaking at various local churches that don't have pastors. God has used me to help others who are suffering with loss.  I am now speaking 3 to 4 times a month and it is a blessing to me.

3. At the end of 2025 I retired from my secular job.  Now I have the time to devote to additional reading and writing reviews.

I will be covering books (new and old), movies, etc. If it works out, I might be adding some interviews.

Thank you for joining me on this journey of faith.

 

Return of the Bedford Review

Once again, health issues and personal life have prevented me from posting on this blog.  Things in general have finally settled down.  The doctor have my Raynaud's Disease under control so I plan on returning to blogging for 2017.  I am already working on some posts so I can start the year off on the right foot.

Silence and Beauty

Author:  Makoto Fujimura

First Publication:  May, 2016

Publisher:  InterVarsity Press

Source:  Netgalley

One of the great classics of Christian literature is "Silence" by Shusako Endo.  Fujimura reflects on and examines it through a lens of pain, art and culture.  "Silence and Beauty" gives the reader a unique insight into Endo's classic work.