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The Book and its Topic
Henry Blackaby’s Experiencing the Cross deals with the subject closest to God’s heart. If we could ask God: “What is the Bible really all about? What is the point of it all?” I am sure He would answer: “The cross of My Son Jesus Christ.”
See, the cross is the diamond on the timeline. It is God’s plan for the redemption of His Creation. It was all planned before the creation of the universe. Is it possibly what everything was created for?
The cover of Experiencing the Cross says “Your Greatest Opportunity for Victory Over Sin.” This is the only part of this book that I absolutely do not agree with. What other opportunities are there to man for victory over sin?
What other entity or religion even comes close to having a solution for man’s sinfulness and the fact that we are in debt with our Creator?
The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is definitely, without any doubt, our only opportunity for victory over sin. And that is what this book is about. Victory over sin – both your sinful nature, and the daily sinful actions that we have come to believe is acceptable.
We all sin, right? But the Bible says that when we become Christians, we cannot sin any longer. Henry Blackaby shows you that you cannot base your view on this subject on your past experiences, but you must (with God’s help) raise your experiences to the level of the Scriptures.
Henry has seen his 70th birthday come and go. He is definitely not the Speaker that the X generation would choose if we could have our way. However, he is a faithful servant of God and has all the experience in the world to teach a young generation about what is closest to God’s heart.
We need to listen...
Blackaby starts the book by viewing the cross from God’s perspective, and then goes on to show the effect it had in the life of Jesus. The most important section of the book deals with the cross the life of you and me.
What really helped me understand my need to change and to start living the way Jesus enables me to, are the chapters discussing the Father’s blessing and discipline.
Henry then closes the book with an excellent discussion on how to take the cross and your experience of it forward in your life.
We sometimes tend to focus a bit too much on what we are against and what we as Christians should not do. Dealing with this book might feel like that, but it is necessary to get our house in order.
The last few chapters look forward to the amount of good we need to go and do passionately for God. Our very own mission.
These chapters conclude an excellent all-round discussion of the cross, with built in encouragement to go and sit at God’s feet. It looks deep into the Holy Bible, and encourages you to ask God to reveal His meaning and message in these passages to you.
BookDisciple.com Power Quote
get nervous when I hear people say they’ve accepted Christ into
their heart and will now go to heaven, but make no reference to
their sin. And it’s why I’m so concerned when I see tracts and
evangelism methods that don’t mention repentance of sin.
radically with our sin!
yet believe they are saved. But if they have never dealt with
sin in their lives, if they have never repented and turned
away from their sin, salvation is impossible.”
So, how does it read?
It is not the easiest book I have ever read, but not too thick or too difficult either. It is a 173 page book, with plenty (and I mean plenty) of Scripture. I think that the fact that you need to stop and pray every now and then can be a distraction (to your reading experience), since you are not used to books that encourage this.
However, these interactions with God are what make Experiencing the Cross special.
Whenever Henry encourages you to spend time in God’s presence and to ask Him for guidance or a revelation, please do this! The book would lose a lot of its power if you neglect this.
Remember, the Holy Spirit is our Teacher, and we need to have Him reveal the deeper mysteries of God to us if we want to have any chance of grasping them.
What did this book mean to me personally?
I just finished reading Experiencing the Cross a second time.
When I first read it (quite a while before I started this website), I did not realise how serious my remaining habitual sins were in God’s eyes. I was still smoking, and I could not claim living a moral life. God has used this book to change that.
Experiencing the Cross did not solve these problems, but a better understanding of the cross was the first step toward a solving these issues and a holier life.
This experience changed me. I became more radical in my fight against sin. I have not yet won the war, but I am winning more battles than I am losing... My prayer is that this book will do the same for you.
My second reading again pointed out some issues that need my urgent attention. Maybe I should read this book annually...
Conclusion
If there are just three books that I am ever allowed to review and recommend to Christians, Experiencing the Cross would be one of them. The church of Jesus Christ is not living as Jesus, the apostles, and the Holy Spirit tells it to.
No! This is not okay. Everybody sins all the time is not a valid excuse. Christ did not die in vain! We are missing out on so much that God has in store for us, in this live and the next. God’s Kingdom is struggling to advance. We must all take this message serious. Now!
If all Christians everywhere read this book, and really experienced the cross with God, we would be the good example we need to be. We would be the light of the world. We would see the power of God in the church again. But most of all, the rest of the world would look at us, and have reason to believe that the Christian faith is alive and real.
I do not even want to remind you of what Jesus warns in Matthew 7:21. Go read it and think about the implications of this.
This book, and the experience of the Living God that it encourages, has the power to make you see the cross in a new light. It will help you start living as a true disciple of Christ. Buy one for yourself, and encourage others to do the same...
After you have read Experiencing the Cross, ask yourself “Where is the evidence that my life has been transformed?” as Blackaby encourages you to do on page 62. And be honest!
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