What God Promises You: Seven Truths That Will Change The Way You Live

The flimsy latest from pastor Jeremiah (The Great Disappearance) points to seven divine promises to help Christians live more faithfully. He devotes a chapter to each of these promises—provision, inner peace, forgiveness, eternal life, closeness to God, protection, and purpose—unpacking their scriptural foundations before outlining how readers can prepare to receive them. For example, those hoping for divine provision, whether material or spiritual, should communicate their needs to God through prayer and offer generosity to others. While such advice is sensible and Jeremiah’s biblical analyses is solid, odd anecdotes and metaphors frequently make it seem like the author’s stretching for substance. The chapter on protection, for example, includes a short history of Charles Ponzi’s rise and fall in a roundabout illustration of why earthly promises of monetary “security” pale in comparison to God’s eternal protection. (Jeremiah also cautions readers to be wary of a culture that “tries to sell us the spiritual Ponzi scheme of good works, claiming that we can feel confident in eternity so long as we do more good things than bad things.”) Jeremiah’s devotees won’t find anything new here. (Feb.)