27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A different time - to our shame, November 20, 2002
This review is from: The Journals of Jim Elliot (Paperback)
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."
And so was Jim Elliot, martyr at the hands of South American Indians who later gave their lives to Christ. In this, his autobiography via his journals, we see the life this young man led and the preordained road that led him to gain what he could not lose.
"The Journals of Jim Elliot" had a profound effect on me as a young man as I happened to be at a similar stage in life as Elliot during most of the pages. What I found on those pages - the lifeblood of a man fully sold out to God - changed my life.
A long book, "tJoJE" calls anyone who wants to know how to live a committed Christian life throughout the slow unfolding of Elliot's life. As an encouragement to young men, it is peerless. Its only detraction is due to the very nature of the autobiographical style as derived from journal entries. While you see God's hand moving in Elliot's life, sometimes the nature of the entries is lost, slow-moving, or repetitive. Such is the style of the book.
However, what I found most helpful in reading this book is the stark contrast between Christian practice of fifty-plus years ago and today. Elliot was distinctly a man of his time, but he was not alone in his complete surrender to God. He was surrounded by many people who were like him. How he lived, thought, and died seems foreign to today's Christians. In fact, he shares more with a Christian of two hundred years ago in David Brainerd than anyone you typically find in a pew today. His example is so profound that it is hard not to feel that something has changed in the last couple decades. Somewhere there are men like Jim Elliot today; I hope I can find them and learn from their examples, as well.
Anyone who stays with "The Journals of Jim Elliot" will find a great reward in its pages. It has always been one of my favorite Christian books. If you want a book that offers something different, it is a soul-stirring story made more compelling by its truthful historicity.
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29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good for Jim Elliot Fans, July 22, 1998
By A Customer
Much of the content of this book are straight for the Journals of Jim Elliot. This is not the book for the casual reader. Many entries are the written impressions or feelings that he got from his morning devotions. Unlike a devotional, these thoughts were from Jim's experience and are obscure in many instances. For someone new to the Jim Elliot story, probably Shadow of the Almighty or Through Gates of Splendor would be a better choice. The Journals give you a glimpse into the private side of Jim Elliot but I fear the casual reader wood tire of this long before the end of more than 500 pages.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Devotional Aid & Exposure to Mission Preparation, June 15, 1998
This book exceeds most devotionals simply because it is was not written as a devotional. Instead, it is the true and emotional journey of a man struggling to conform to the will of the Lord while dealing with his human needs and wants. Jim Elliot has captured here his private thoughts as he records his response to his own daily devotionals. He resonds to scripture, seeking it's meaning and the application into his own life. What impressed me was the listing of his progress through key books in the bible and his reasons for beginning the work in each of those books. He, like Elisabeth Elliot (as seen in Passion & Purity & Through Gates of splendor) cites Amy Carmichael and others who have impressed him throughout his journal. Excellent book for anyone desiring to understand what leads up to and sustains to life of Missions. Also excellent for anyone seeking a devotional plan that is very realistic, humbling and genuine.
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