Becoming Like Jesus: How to Think and Live Like Jesus Christ by John Avery

This collection of forty short inspirational devotionals by the author provides thought-provoking reflections on what made Jesus tick. It answers two important questions: What was Jesus’ worldview and how did it shape His ministry? In what ways can we share the eternal truths that motivated and directed Him and how will they affect our everyday Christian lives? The goal of Christian spiritual discipleship is transformation into Christlike maturity. For us to live more like Jesus, we must start from the inside and work outwards. That means examining the life of Jesus in the Bible to see how His divinity and humanity interacted and how He thought. The author filters out aspects of our individual personalities that will and should always remain, and Jesus’ pure divinity, which we can never share. What’s left are ways in which we can become more like Jesus. From His incarnation to His crucifixion and ascension Jesus is presented as the Son of God. His faith in that fact and His relationship with the Father inspired everything He did and spoke. This book is not primarily about how to be like Jesus. Rather, it reflects on who He is. But don’t miss a key point—contemplating and imitating the inner life of the Who is the how. Each piece can be used for daily reading, meditation, and reflection. Most of the pieces are just two pages long and focus on New Testament Scriptures from the Gospel accounts and the Acts of the Apostles. They provide a thought-provoking commentary on Jesus’ worldview, teachings, miracles, parables, ministry, and what He taught His disciples. This book can also be used as a pastoral resource for teaching ministry and discipleship in churches as well as for personal spiritual growth in the Christian life. The author assumes that being like Jesus in the way we listen to God in prayer, dodge the world’s distractions, resist Satan, and make disciples results in confidence and fruitfulness in His kingdom work. We will only escape the impotence and irrelevance of superficial religion to the extent that we make Christlikeness our goal.