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Eyes Wide Open: See and Live the Real You

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Pastor of a large church in Sin City, Jud Wilhite tells stories of God's amazing grace in his second book, Eyes Wide Open.

If you enjoy hearing real-life stories followed by biblical teachings, this book is for you. It felt like I was reading a mix between Jim Cymbala and Max Lucado. Wilhite has the ability to pull you into the personal stories and then hit you with the foundational biblical truth we all need, no matter what stage of life, to understand the grace of God.

You'll find stories about Johnny Cash, Evil Knievel, bounty hunters, strippers and many more.

Someone saw what I was reading and asked, "I wonder what is must be like being a pastor in Las Vegas." You can find out the true stories by picking up Jud Wilhite's book Eyes Wide Open.

I must say, I was not familiar with Jud outside of Deadly Viper. He is pastor of Central Christian Church in Las Vegas. The first thing I noticed in reading the book is how open and free Jud is sharing who he is, not just the good stuff, but the challenges. I can appreciate that.

The book is divided into four parts. Wide Open to God sets the tone for understanding that we need to change how we see the Father and what He has put in place for us. The focus of Part I is to help us begin to see how the Father created us. "The real you emerges as you see yourself in light of who God says you are in His written Word". A powerful statement that captures the essence of Part I.

Part II is Wide Open to Identity. Once we understand who God created us to be, we must get rid of the wrong ways we have view ourselves in the past. Jud does a great job of driving home the point that it is not our works or actions that create our new identity, but rather God Himself and Him alone.

While I enjoyed the first two parts of Eyes Wide Open, Part III- Wide Open to Change is where is starting really picking up for me. This is where Jud was phenomenal at breaking a part a myth we have all lived with. To sum this myth in my own words, it's the thought that when we decide to follow Christ, we become boring, plain people. It is quite the opposite, as Jud states, "As I embrace God's view of me, I become more fully my own self." How truly freeing! Everything that is already in me, that I already enjoy doing, comes more to life with my acceptance of God's view of me.

Last, Wide Open to Influence. For those who are missional focused and committed to creating communities of change, this will be the best part of the book. Profiling everyday people who have in their own way changed the world because they saw themselves thru God's eyes was my favorite thing about Part IV.

Overall, this book was not just an enjoyable read, but an informative one that changed my own mindset. Jud is easy to read and very conversational in his approach to the subject. I would encourage anyone who is at a fork in the spiritual growth as it pertains to purpose and view to pick this one up. It's a keeper!

This is a book about grace. It's one of those books I believe every Christian needs to read, especially if you've ever entertained doubts about how God sees you, if you've ever tried to be perfect to satisfy others or because you believe perfection is what God demands, or if you always feel guilty and live with chronic spiritual remorse.

Wilhite uses scripture, examples from the Bible, his own journey, and stories of the people he meets as a pastor in Las Vegas to encourage the reader that we all can become fully ourselves as the unique people God created us to be when we learn to see ourselves as He does. We don't have to prove our worth to God or anyone else because His love and grace already has it covered.

This is a book I will read a second time, and as many times as I need to until the message sticks.

I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher but the opinion of it is my own and was not solictited. If I didn't like it I would say so.

I hadn't heard of Jud Wilhite before reading Eyes Wide Open, but that didn't detract at all from my enjoyment of this short, encouraging reading. Written accessibly, Eyes Wide Open isn't the deepest theological treatise you'll ever read, but it is easy to dig into, filled with illustrations from the lives of real believers, and explores the believer's identity in Christ.

The short chapters and fresh writing make me recommend this title to anyone looking for a sound, realistic, and transparent look at the Christian life. A life filled with grace, forgiveness, and love but not devoid of challenges, pain, and shortcomings (this is a fallen world after all). After exploring our standing in God's eyes as His redeemed children, Wilhite then goes on to touch upon the impact that believers can have on the individuals (and culture) around them as they reach out and touch others with the love of Christ.

I enjoyed this book so much! It was inspiring, on-target, and to the point. This is a great place to start for believers who are struggling with condemnation, false-guilt, or feeling like they must earn God's love through performance. I highly recommend it!

Eyes Wide Open: See and Live the Real You
If you like Max Lucado books, then you will probably like Jud Wilhite as well. I am not sure why I did not initially warm to this book right off. Perhaps it was just not the right time or perhaps it was that Wilhite lives in Las Vega (can any good thing come out of Las Vega? John 1:46) but, after a couple of weeks delay, I again picked it up and read it straight through. And I am glad I did!
Though he never uses the word, this book is really about sanctification, or how we Christians are to be changed into His image (to borrow the title of another book). This little book provides a good mini course on how to grow into the person God wants you to be. The chapters are short, pithy and contain good scriptural support along with human interest stories to move the point along. The reader will find helpful information in almost every chapter like this one in chapter 14: "Scripture says to confess our sins, not broadcast them." (p. 123). Even seasoned teachers of the Word will find little surprises along the way as I did on page 154 where he points out that Luke concludes the book of Acts by telling us that Paul continued for two years teaching and preaching, then finishes the book off with the last Greek word meaning "unhindered." Think of it--in prison, bound by a chain but unhindered from doing the work God called him to do!
From the negative side only two issues caught my eye. First, I really wish he had expanded chapters 9 and 11 more--they left me feeling like he could or should have said more. Second, from the beginning I was expecting our Vegas author to slide quickly into 21st century hip language but to my surprise he used very little. But somehow, having the father of the prodigal son shouting, "It's party time" just adds too much levity to the story in my estimation. (p. 14). I also would not have chosen the word "tale" in the following sentence on page 12: "One of my favorite stories that Jesus told is a well-known tale about two brothers...." But aside from a couple of instances like this, I was very pleased.
On the whole I give this book a thumbs up and recommend it for Christians new and old as a help in their Christian growth.

So I got this book a few months ago to review. I figured I could read it over spring break. Then it didn't get here before school started again, and thus it took me a while to get through it.

In spite of how long it took me to read it, I definitely recommend it. It's actually a rather short book, easily read in a week or two if you're busy. And it has a really good message.

That message is simple, learn to see yourself the way God sees you. As in keep your Eyes Wide Open.

Jud uses many personal stories from his life, and the lives of people he knows to illustrate how God sees us. He talks about famous people who's lives were transformed by God when they surrendered to His view of them. It's an easy and encouraging read, even if the main message is challenging.

This book was especially good for me because for the past few years I have been trying to learn to see myself as God sees me. I've been hearing sermons on it, reading Bible verses on it, and just generally being told that it is something I need to learn. It's not easy. I'd say I've taken the first steps, but I still have a long ways to go. But I know that it is something I need to do, and it is something you need to do.

So, during these hot days of summer, pick up a copy of this book and be reminded about what God sees.

I had never heard of Jud Wilhite, but I have to say I am blessed to get to know him through is book Eyes Wide Open. In this book he challenges veteran Christians and non-Christians to open their eyes and really see who God is.

The book is divided into four sections--learning to see God; seeing ourselves and our forgiveness from God's perspective; being wide open to change and influence and influencing others. If you are a veteran Christian none of the concepts will be new to you, but I have to say it was a refreshing to read.

Throughout this book, Wilhite a minister in Las Vegas, often draws from situations he has experienced. The real life stories are what make this book real and appealing. I especially found my self tearing up with a story about Dog the Bounty Hunter. God is a God of salvation and a God of forgiveness. This is a book I looked forward to reading each time I picked it up. I believe groups of all ages, from teens to middle aged audlts will be blessed by Jud Wilhite's book Eyes Wide Open.

We're all familiar with the Bible verse "If God be for us, who can be against us?" But do we really stop to think about what it means? Try it this way. "If God be for me, who can be against me?" Well the answer is that a lot of people can be, but those people are no match for Almighty God. And He's there to watch over us.
That doesn't mean we won't have problems, and sometimes we'll fall. God didn't spare His own son, so why should expect our lives to be trouble free. But the Bible actually says nothing can separate us from God's love in Christ. Isn't it awesome that God should love me, should love you, that much?
So then why are our lives such a mess sometimes? There aren't any easy answers, and the authors don't try to pretend there are. They're not big on empty little Christian cliche's. Instead they present an easy to read and understand confirmation of how much God loves each of us. They use stories about real people, some you'll recognize. I strongly recommend this book to anyone looking for answers. You'll find them here.

Eyes Wide Open ended up containing more content than I expected. Not for the steeped in church doctrine crowd, but a solid little resource for brand new baby Christians or seekers. Similar in content to Purpose Driven Life but geared more toward those who don't quite know how all this Christian stuff is supposed to play out, Eyes Wide Open is full of anecdotal stories and examples from Jud Wilhite's life, town and various friends.

Written conversationally and with plenty of contemporary language and slang, it's lacking Christianese. It begins with the assurance that God loves us, to our new creatureship in Christ, to the assurance that we are designed to be unique beings with created purposes, to our response to all of this truth. This 180 page quick read would be a very good resource for a small fellowship group study/discussion and it would lend itself to a mentoring/discipling relationship. No discussion questions are presented but some could easily be put together. There are four sections and twenty-one chapters which could be adapted into a month long study with homework.

Eyes Wide Open by Jud Wilhite is a beautiful look at just how much God loves each and every one of us. This book was such a joy to read. Wilhite uses Scripture after Scripture to show the loving nature of God and just how much He really wants a personal relationship with each of us. By reminding readers that they are members of a royal priesthood and God's own possession, he offers a wonderful gift that sometimes gets lost in the message of Christianity. Yes, we are sinful, but He loves us anyway, loves us huge, beyond anything our minds can imagine. He uses stories of people like Evil Kneivel and Johnny Cash to show what God's real love looks like, along with personal anecdotes. The true loving face of Jesus shows on each page and in every story, like the one about the former stripper who goes into strip clubs and pays girls for their time to talk to them and share the Gospel. Sometimes faith doesn't look like we expect it to, but we need to judge a tree by its fruit. I will be looking forward to more books by this author. This is a book to take to your heart and then pass on to a friend.