Not by Sight: A Fresh Look at Old Stories of Walking by Faith

There are probably only two books Ive read with a depth of discipleship untouched by the Church at large in America. Not By Sight by Jon Bloom is one of those. More than once, I found myself unable to continue reading as tears filled my eyes, my heart being so deeply moved and encouraged by Jons soothing words about the surprising, but always trustworthy ways of God. More Christians need to understand these truths if they are to walk firmly into every good work God has prepared for them. If you only read one book this year, I strongly recommend it be this one.

What happens when we humbly and expectantly meditate on the stories of the Scriptures while wearing the lens of the gospel? Ask Jon Bloom, or better still, buy his new book, Not by Sight, and discover for yourself. This treasury of short devotionals is the nourishing fruit of a man smitten with Jesus and hungry for gracea brother whose words make the gospel beautiful and believable, to believers and non-believers alike. This is a book youre going to want to give to a whole lot of friends, no matter where they are in their faith story.

Do you, like me, feel the futility of straining to get hope from the things you can see? Using the voices of those who have gone before us, Jon Bloom describes the better waywalking by faith with Jesus, our Blessed Hope. Not By Sight takes you on a walk through the cloud of witnesses whose testimony of Gods always sufficient grace, echoes through the ages. Im grateful for this meditation on the precious promise of Gods provision to enable us to put one foot in front of the other by faith.

There is nothing quite like the gritty, grace-filled stories of Scripture to awaken our hearts to the all-sufficiency of Jesus Christ. And there is hardly anyone I know more gifted or capable of bringing them to life and making poignant, and often painful, application of them than my good friend, Jon Bloom. This is a wonderfully insightful, powerfully edifying, and above all Christ-exalting book that I cannot recommend too highly.

Forgetfulness and familiarity. Faith is often plagued by these twin faults. We easily forget what we know about who God is and what hes done for us in Jesus Christ. When we turn to Scripture for help, our familiarity dulls the wonder in the splendid story of Gods mercy to mere men. We need to be reminded of the old stories of Scripture, that they might irrigate our parched souls and ignite our faith. In Not By Sight, my friend Jon Bloom shatters our familiarity with the Bible by helping us see afresh how the drama of Scripture unfolds in the gritty reality of human experience and how those stores are infused with grace as they fit into the greatest story: Gods plan to save sinners by his Son. Do you need to be reminded of what you already know? Do you need to be shaken from your familiarity? Jons fresh tellings of the old tales will help you recover surprise and delight in the stories of Scripture.

Not By Sight creatively and winsomely invites readers into the realities of the gospel accounts, enabling us to hear the rocks of the adulterous womans accusers fall to the ground, feel the tingle of health rushing through the lepers body, see the panic in Peters eyes as he begins to sink, smell the fragrance that has been poured on Jesuss feet, and taste the fish Jesus serves to the disciples for breakfast.

Jon Bloom is a Christ-centered, God-worshipping, kingdom-oriented guy. And since not all writers are, those are good reasons to read this book! But its more than that. Jon is a gifted writer of something we need more oftruth-telling nonfiction thats full of imagination. For years I have read Jons Desiring God blogs and pondered them, saving some of them to quote from in future books. I love how Jon repeatedly takes me back to Scripture. God says his words wont return to him empty without accomplishing his purpose. He never says that about our words. Thats why Not By Sight will endure beyond this worldit is infused with the life-giving Word of God that will never die.

Spurgeon said, My books are my tools. And the book you hold in your hands is one wise match for the journey. Blooms stories and insights igniteignite fire in bones, and ignite the old and best paths, and ignite glimpses of His glory that make us want to run this walk of faith!

To live by faith is no small thing. Jon Blooms Not By Sight provides brief readingsone per day would be idealto help us rethink our lives in the light of Christs faithfulness. The audacity of this book is that it simply but thoughtfully takes Christ at his word. How rare, how powerful.

Vivid, nourishing sketches of Bible characters learning to live with their sometimes startling Lord.