"Imagine my surprise at learning that I needed to get to know my God a lot better."
Despite lifelong Christian devotion, Maricle came to this startling realization after experiencing a crisis of faith.
"I needed answers that are so fundamental to Christian living," he writes. "Why is this life, at times, so hard? Why isn't my faith helping me? Why am I finding no comfort in prayer? These questions—and the struggles behind them—challenged all my notions of faith, my perception of God and the purpose of this life."
After many desperate and pleading Gethsemane prayer moments, Maricle turned to the Gospels again to see what Jesus said and did since these scriptural passages are the best windows to truth for Christians. His findings point toward a way of transforming your life in the midst of living it.
Here are the Jesus priorities evidenced by the words he most frequently spoke and the acts Jesus most often demonstrated. Allow your life to be an instrument of God's grace in the world as you learn the Jesus priorities and make them your own.
Succinct summaries, scripture, questions to consider, and prayers make this book ideal for personal study, groups or a churchwide challenge.
Can Jesus change your life—your everyday, going-to-work (or school or the grocery), taking-care-of-the-kids life? The resounding answer found in this warm spiritual survival guide is, "Yes!"
Christopher D. Maricle is a Catholic layman who has been involved in church ministry since high-school days. He has served as a musician, retreat planner and Christian summer camp counselor.Professionally, he began working in Catholic schools in 1986 and has been a teacher, elementary school principal and assistant superintendent of schools. Currently, Maricle is governance consultant for the California School Board Association.He is a graduate of California State University in Sacramento. Maricle has a master's degree in educational leadership from St. Mary's College in Maraga, California.He lives in California's Sacramento Valley with his wife, Anne, and two children, Sarah and Nicholas.