All In: You Are One Decision Away From a Totally Different Life - Softcover

Batterson, Mark

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0310338654 ISBN 13: 9780310338659

Publisher: Zondervan, 2015

Synopsis

The Gospel costs nothing.  You can’t earn it or buy it.  It can only be received as a free gift compliments of God’s grace.  It doesn’t cost anything, but it demands everything.  It demands that we go “all in,” a term that simply means placing all that you have into God’s hands.  Pushing it all in.   And that’s where we get stuck―spiritual no man's land.  We’re afraid that if we go all in that we might miss out on what this life has to offer.  It’s not true.  The only thing you’ll miss out on is everything God has to offer.  And the good news is this: if you don't hold out on God, God won't hold out on you.  Readers will find Batterson’s writing filled with his customary vivid, contemporary illustrations as well as biblical characters like Shamgar and Elisha and Jonathan and . . . Judas.

No one has ever sacrificed anything for God.  If you always get back more than you gave up, have you sacrificed anything at all?  The eternal reward always outweighs the temporal sacrifice.  At the end of the day, our greatest regret will be whatever we didn’t give back to God. What we didn’t push back across the table to Him.  Eternity will reveal that holding out is losing out.

The message of All In is simple: if Jesus is not Lord of all then Jesus is not Lord at all.  It’s all or nothing. It’s now or never.   Kneeling at the foot of cross of Christ and surrendering to His Lordship is a radical act of dethroning yourself and enthroning Christ as King.  It’s also an act of disowning yourself.  Nothing belongs to you. Not even you.   

Batterson writes, for many years, I thought I was following Jesus.  I wasn’t.  I had invited Jesus to follow me.  I call it inverted Christianity.  And it’s a subtle form of selfishness that masquerades as spirituality.  That’s when I sold out and bought in.  When did we start believing that the gospel is an insurance plan?  It’s a daring plan.  Jesus did not die just to keep us safe. He died to make us dangerous.”

About this title

About the Author

Mark Batterson serves as the lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C. Recognized as "one of America's 25 most innovative churches," NCC is one church with seven locations. Mark's blog (www.markbatterson.com) and webcast (www.theaterchurch.com) also reach a virtual congregation around the world. Mark is the author of several bestselling books, including New York Times bestsellers The Circle Maker and In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. He and his wife, Lora, live on Capitol Hill with their three children. You can follow Mark on Twitter: @markbatterson

Edition details

• Publisher: Zondervan
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0310338654
• ISBN 13: 9780310338659
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 192