Noteworthy: Sometimes I Don't Feel Like Praying
Good or bad, the printed page is no longer our primary source of information, education, or entertainment. More and more, books are available on CD or MP3 format. In addition, both Amazon and Sony have come up with electronic gizmos that enable you to download books in a matter of minutes without ever leaving your home (details in an upcoming column). The gizmos in and of themselves are note.wor.thy.
Most important, though, my goal is to remind you that your media choices do matter. Not just for your entertainment and enjoyment, but for your spiritual edification. “By beholding we become changed” is not just a nice saying. Second Corinthians 3:18 says: “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” That principle works the other way too. If we behold the ugliness of Satan versus the glory of the Lord, we’ll change into that. As you read this column, I promise to give you a heads-up on what’s note.wor.thy. Not just because it’s a good read or listen, but because it is significant in terms of your walk with God.
So, keep reading. I’ll tell you what’s note.wor.thy
 This is one of the most honest and candid Christian books I’ve read. The author, Mike Jones, says it’s about grace. And I guess he should know; after all, it’s his story.
Mike asserts that living the Christian life without understanding, and, more important, living grace, is impossible. He believes that as Christians we must “ingest and absorb grace, not just read about it.” But the grace that Mike talks about is much more than the standard “unmerited favor” we have been hearing for years. Mike’s brand of grace is transforming. It requires submission, and even death, but it’s incredibly freeing and life changing at the same time. Accepting—no, engaging—God in receiving His grace is what will ultimately impact your life so that you don’t just know about grace. You know the God of grace.
One aspect of the book that I really like is that as he tells his story (we’ll get to that in a minute) he infuses it with steps, lists, hints, and tips. The information is not forced upon the reader or even presented as an end-all. Rather, he provides the information in order to help the reader along his or her own personal journey, and he seems genuinely interested in helping readers to avoid some of the mistakes that he made along the way. The tips are things that Mike found helpful as he journeyed from a graceless existence to a grace-filled life.
Now, for a little of his story.
Author Mike Jones knows the church from the inside out. He was a popular pastor, writer, and former editor of a Christian magazine. He was serving in the Ministerial Department of his local conference when he went through a divorce. Because of his circumstance he handed in his resignation.
It might be obvious that he eventually came around, but I won’t tell you how it happened. This book really isn’t as much about the end of the story as it is about the beginning and middle. It’s about his journey.
He also points out some things about how the church could have handled his situation better, not as a bitter and scathing rebuke, but a chiding from the perspective of helping the church, on the whole, to be about the business of extending grace.
In the end, this book is about what to do when grace eludes you. It’s about those times when you feel like Mike Jones, and you just don’t feel like praying. By the way, he tells you exactly what to do when you don’t feel like praying.
I encourage you to read, enjoy, and be transformed by Sometimes I Don’t Feel Like Praying. It is indeed note.wor.thy.
LORETTA PARKER SPIVEY writes from her media room in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. From there she reads, listens to, and writes about all things note.wor.thy.
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