EBOOK
The Ache for Meaning
How the Temptations of Christ Reveal Who We Are and What We're Seeking
Tommy Brown(0)
About
Will I have enough? Am I enough? Do I matter?
Deep in our souls is an ache that longs to be noticed, filled, transformed. And that ache boils down to these three fundamental questions.
The extraordinary thing is that we find the answers to all three questions in the temptations of Christ. As Jesus faces the wilderness, the core needs of every human being are on display: the ache to be secure, to be approved of, to have some control over our lives. But the ways that we are tempted to fill these needs inevitably fail.
In The Ache for Meaning, Tommy Brown journeys through our questions and temptations into the deeper invitation Jesus offers. In the mindsets and practices Christ embodied, we discover what kept him centered on his identity and purpose-and what equips us to do the same. Because when you know where you've come from and where you're going, daily temptations toward security, approval, and power to control pale in comparison to your most significant reality: You are a child of God.
- A rich discipleship resource.
- Includes questions for reflection and discussion.
- Features invitations into spiritual disciplines and practices, like Scripture meditation, Sabbath taking, worship, and gratitude, among others.
Deep in our souls is an ache that longs to be noticed, filled, transformed. And that ache boils down to these three fundamental questions.
The extraordinary thing is that we find the answers to all three questions in the temptations of Christ. As Jesus faces the wilderness, the core needs of every human being are on display: the ache to be secure, to be approved of, to have some control over our lives. But the ways that we are tempted to fill these needs inevitably fail.
In The Ache for Meaning, Tommy Brown journeys through our questions and temptations into the deeper invitation Jesus offers. In the mindsets and practices Christ embodied, we discover what kept him centered on his identity and purpose-and what equips us to do the same. Because when you know where you've come from and where you're going, daily temptations toward security, approval, and power to control pale in comparison to your most significant reality: You are a child of God.
- A rich discipleship resource.
- Includes questions for reflection and discussion.
- Features invitations into spiritual disciplines and practices, like Scripture meditation, Sabbath taking, worship, and gratitude, among others.
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Reviews
"Brown writes, "In my suffering, I came to understand that sometimes we experience God's power through his protection, but in a broken world, sometimes we experience God's power through his consolation." These words are not quick fixes and don't offer fake escape. Instead, The Ache for Meaning gives us a refreshing spaciousness in suffering and offers an invitation to move more fully into people of faith living in the ordinary hard of life. Brown brings realistic, clear, and grounded hope and reminds us that Jesus meets us right where we are."
Sara Billups, author of Orphaned Believers
"Like a scalpel, a good question has the power to cut to the quick, exposing the sicknesses that lie just beneath the surface of our lives. And like a skilled surgeon, Tommy Brown leverages that most cryptic and evocative of Gospel texts, the temptation of Christ, to show how the questions posed to Christ are in fact our questions-Will I have enough? Am I enough? Do I matter? In so doing, he exposes the lies, fears, compulsions, and contradictions that might otherwise drive our lives into ruin to the gaze of the Healer. A wise and much-needed book."
Andrew Arndt, pastor of New Life East, author of All Flame and Streams in the Wasteland