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Customer Reviews for FaithWords Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential
FaithWords Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential
In Your Best Life Now Joel Osteen reassures you that living life to your fullest potential is within your reach. He explains how your journey to a brighter future begins with these seven steps:
- Enlarge your vision
- Develop a healthy self-image
- Discover the power of your thoughts and words
- Let go of the past
- Find strength through adversity
- Live to give
- Choose to be happy
Average Customer Rating:
(11 Reviews) 11
Rating Snapshot (11 reviews)
5 stars
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2 out of 2100%customers would recommend this product to a friend.
Customer Reviews for Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential
Review 1 for Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential
Overall Rating:
Give this book a chance!
Date:December 11, 2012
Jason Matters
Location:Kansas City
Age:35-44
Gender:male
Quality:
4
out of
5
Value:
4
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
I just finished reading Joel Osteen's bestseller Your Best Life Now: 7 steps to living at your full potential. I have to admit that at the outset I was skeptical. After all, I was taught to be suspicious of faith teachers who have no formal theological education and yet amass widespread popularity. (Sometimes I wonder if that skepticism isn't fueled by a bit of jealousy (of a Christian kind, of course)). Having read the entire book (a feat that I doubt many of its harshest critics have accomplished) I can say that I was encouraged, inspired and challenged. Hopefully I am smiling more. I won't however, attempt to grow a cool mullet; only Joel can pull that off in 2012.
My first assumption that needed some correction concerned the title of the book. The whole notion of being able to live our best lives right now seems a bit heretical for a classic evangelical like myself. I firmly believe that our best life is still to come, in the perfection of the future fullness of the kingdom and presence of God (also called heaven). However, it is clear from reading the book that Joel is not downplaying heaven, but merely attempting to teach how to live the best life that is possible during this life, here and now, pre-heaven.
Many of Joel Osteen's critics label him as a "faith teacher," argue against the classic teachings of this movement, highlight the abuses, heresy, or outright sins of other similar teachers, and then declare them all guilty by association.
You may wonder what is a "faith teacher." So-called faith teachers focus their teaching on biblical themes and stories of blessings, healings, abundance, and prosperity. They regularly quote, and over-quote, Jesus' teaching on mustard-sized-faith that can move mountains. The key to the God-blessed life (the good life) is to develop faith, by which a person can ask God for anything and get it. God is then viewed as a genie, with faith as the golden lamp. The hypocrisy of such teaching is evidenced in the self-indulgent lifestyles of its preachers, including their private jets, sprawling mansions and air-conditioned dog houses.
Part of the problem is that by constantly teaching on these topics, preachers ignore other important issues and these topics are abused by over-use. This is true of any tradition, and the reality is that focusing on one aspect of theology, whether it is blessing, the sacraments, or even holiness, leads to misuse of other important aspects of the Christian faith.
This forms the basis of my thoughts: if Your Best Life Now is presented (by Rev. Osteen) or received (by his readers) as merely one aspect of Christian living, and not as an encyclopedic tome of all that is true, then there is tremendous value. For the person who claims to be a Christian, the book is a good kick-starter to living out what we claim to believe. Osteen encourages readers to expand their vision of God's power in their lives, to learn to see themselves as God sees them, to harness their thoughts and words and use them for good, to forgive others, to persevere, to give generously, live compassionately, and to always do what is right. He does not portray God as a mere distributor of blessings. He does not advocate living the good life while neglecting the poor. If we need to use formal theological terms, we could say that he encourages an emphasis on the nature and character of God, a godly self-consciousness, forgiveness, reconciliation, social justice, and holiness! Most theologians would agree that those might be pretty good themes to encourage a person to live in their daily lives!
Throughout the book I enjoyed Joel's honest use of personal stories. He regularly shares his own struggles and faults. He shares stories of personal victory and successes, including some of his giving, but there is never a hint of arrogance. He regularly honors both his mother and father and their influence in his life. He regularly refers to his own times of prayer and devotion, and the insights, guidance, and rebuke that he receives from God. He does not advocate a mere power-of-positive-thinking that excludes God.
I do have one big critique, though. I really wished Joel would have spent more time, or at least some time, describing the importance of the gospel of Jesus Christ revealed to us in his death and resurrection, and the sin that necessitates it. I know that Joel believes in the gospel and shares it at his church in Houston, so he is not heretical nor ignorant. I just didn't see it in the book. That makes me wonder who he believed his audience to be? Maybe he assumes that his readers know the gospel and believe they have accepted the gospel. (He does minister in Texas, after all.) I was really hoping that he would conclude with a telling of the centrality and necessity of the gospel. That didn't happen. I am not sure why, and I assume he had a good reason. It probably would have been helpful for that reader who once again needs to be confronted with the reality of Jesus.
In the end, though, the book is one helpful ingredient in growing as a follower of Jesus. I have purposefully chosen the word ingredient for what it implies. Recipes have multiple ingredients. A lifelong pursuit of following Jesus has multiple influences as well. For the person whose only exposure to the Christian life is Joel's book, they shouldn't expect a rich, lasting, growing faith. But when viewed as one helpful ingredient among many, this volume is helpful and encouraging!
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Review 2 for Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential
Overall Rating:
Date:January 31, 2012
Angie
Location:St. Louis, MO
Age:45-54
Gender:female
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
I highly recommend this book. It is a very good guide line for making your life better.
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0points
0of 0voted this as helpful.
Review 3 for Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential
Overall Rating:
Date:September 27, 2010
Francis
The good news of the Gospel is that even though we are sinners, we are forgiven and promised eternal life because of Jesus' work on the cross. The "good news" Joel Osteen preaches is that God wants you to prosper on earth and obtain what your will desires. This book is filled with lies from a false teacher. I pray for Joel, and with all that I am I advise against this book.
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+9points
12of 15voted this as helpful.
Review 4 for Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential
Overall Rating:
Date:July 21, 2009
Chris
I always thought my bes life would be in heaven. I wonder how this books teachings explainActs 14:22 when it says ...We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.
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+9points
9of 9voted this as helpful.
Review 5 for Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential
Overall Rating:
Date:August 12, 2008
Joel Osteen provides simple steps to help you change your attitude towards Christ, life, and those around you. Instead of getting lost in anger, depression, and negativity, he provides a variety of passages to uplift your outlook and spirit. What this book provides is a baseline for changing your attitude towards life. However Joel proposes that positive thinking, with God's will, is also self-fulfilling. This is an uplifting and encouraging book worth reading. I highly recommend this book to share with your family, your friends, & with those who need hope & encouragement in their lives.
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-3points
1of 5voted this as helpful.
Review 6 for Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential
Overall Rating:
Date:August 4, 2008
Leah Eden
This book is a repulsive corruption of the Gospel. You cannot possibly believe a word of this heretical book if you know anything about the life of Jesus
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+11points
11of 11voted this as helpful.
Review 7 for Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential
Overall Rating:
Date:March 25, 2008
Laren Martin
Very practical, down to earth read. It replaces about 8 other self-help books in my library.
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-2points
0of 2voted this as helpful.
Review 8 for Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential
Overall Rating:
Date:March 15, 2008
Ola Martin
This book can change your life!!! Joel Osteen puts the teachings and laws of Jesus into a format that we can understand and use in our own lives today.This is not"prosperity"teaching. This is the way Jesus taught people to live so that they can be blessed the way God wants to bless his children.
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-2points
0of 2voted this as helpful.
Review 9 for Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential
Overall Rating:
Date:February 25, 2008
Sue Mort
Our Bible Study group is reading the book and the leader has the study guide book with the questions. Most of our group really likes this book and find it very encouraging. One person is going through a difficult time and having a problem with the 'name it and claim it' (not called that in the book) aspect. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who has an open heart to the things of the Lord.
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-1point
1of 3voted this as helpful.
Review 10 for Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential
Overall Rating:
Date:November 28, 2007
Joy Boots
A wonderful book illustrating the need to correct one's attitude if it is less than positive. Shown are the wonderful blessings of submitting to the will of God. I highly recommend it.
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-3points
0of 3voted this as helpful.
Review 11 for Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential
Overall Rating:
Date:August 18, 2007
Margie A Mayes
Has so much information and is so well written, I reread so much in order to gain knowledge of it.A great book - WELL WRITTEN!
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-2points
0of 2voted this as helpful.