I was so excited to find a place on the launch team for this book! John Mark Comer has been a guiding voice for me the past few years while my country as a whole is moving toward progressivism.

This book is convicting, heart-breaking, and encouraging all at once. Simply put, we aren't going back. We now live in a post-Christian culture, and this comes as no surprise to God. He has called and equipped the Church to be an alternative light in a deconstructing culture. We have the tools to fight these spiritual battles: spiritual disciplines and community with other believers.

What hope that gives my heart! I often watch the news and feel utterly helpless, but JMC has reminded me that thru faithful connection with the Father, I can actively fight against the lies of the devil, flesh, and world that seek to destroy me. Praise God for His providence.

Netgalley review

John Mark Comer is an author and pastor from Portland, Oregon. He is an excellent communicator. I have read several of his books and they are always well researched and yet easy to follow. There was so much good content in this book that I hardly know where to begin.

Comer begins the book by explaining that we are in a spiritual Babylon. We are not at home where we belong. We are in exile. We are at war. The devil’s signature weapon is the lie. And to paraphrase Comer, “All good lies are full of truth.” In other words, they are deceptive.

Spiritual disciplines are a way we engage in spiritual warfare. How do we wage war against the world, our flesh and the devil? Through community, meditation, fasting and prayer.

“It is absolutely crucial for us to recapture the idea of spiritual war; because as long as we deny the reality of demonic evil, we will demonize people - the very people we are called to love and serve…instead of fighting back the hate and violence and darkness of the three enemies, we will just add even more hate and violence and darkness to a culture in desperate need of healing.”

This particular quote gave me pause: “If Jesus’s anthem is ‘On earth as it is in heaven’, then the devil’s is ‘On earth as it is in hell.’” I had never thought of this correlation, but it was a powerful reminder that there is an enemy who has evil intent against you and me. I think it’s very easy to walk around as if there is no devil. But as Comer said, “For Jesus, the devil is the archetype of a villain who is hell-bent on destruction. He just wants to watch the world burn. His motto: ‘Tear it all down.’ Wherever he finds life, he tries to stamp it out. Beauty? Deface it. Love? Corrupt it. Unity? Fragment it into a million pieces. Human flourishing? Push it to anarchy or tyranny; either will do. His anti-life, pro-death, pro-chaos agenda is an insatiable fire. Jesus, on the other hand, is the author of life itself and an advocate for all that is good, beautiful, and true. Specifically, for love. God is love, and the devil is in rebellion against all that is God. Ergo, his intent is to wreck love: one relationship, one community, one nation, one generation at a time.” We need to wake up to the spiritual war and fight back.

Here is where our fighting back comes in. We devote ourselves to God. “The poet Mary Oliver once said, ‘Attention is the beginning of devotion.’ The starting place of devotion to God and movement into his kingdom is simply to set our attention on Spirit and truth…And this is not the drudgery of religion or onerous obligation; remember, we’re already filling our minds with inputs all day long, and many of those inputs are creating in us hearts that are fractured, anxious, distracted, and angry. When we curate our attention on Jesus and allow the flow of his thoughts into our minds, we begin to experience his peace, his love and compassion for all, and his deep, pervasive joy. We become calmer, more loving, and plain happier. Just by abiding.”

We meditate on scripture. “The goal of reading scripture is not information but Spiritual formation. To take on the ‘mind of Christ’. To actually think like Jesus thinks. To fill your mind with the thoughts of God so regularly and deeply that it literally rewires your brain, and from there, your whole person”…”The key is not just to think about scripture but to think scripture.”

I will end with this thought from John Mark, “It will cost us to follow Jesus, but it will cost us even more not to follow him.“

Pick up this book and you will find much to ruminate on. I’m my opinion, the discussion of these ideas is very timely in the history of believers. The reminders are much needed.

I received an arc copy from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.

John Mark Comer is my favourite pastor and teacher. I have such a high respect for him. In this book he addresses three enemies of the soul: the devil, the flesh and the world. Each of the three sections is summarized with the main points making it easy to follow the obviously theologically deep and well researched text. John Mark also provides practical steps to take to help fight and overcome these enemies.

I was thrilled to receive an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. I read John Mark Comer's, "God Has a Name" and it really opened my eyes to things in the Bible I'd never noticed before so I was looking forward to the same adventure. This one was much more difficult, heavy. It could be because it revealed some things about my flesh that I didn't want to see. I discussed many of the thoughts in this book with my husband and I am always thankful for books that lead to deep thought and conversation. Admittedly I was uncomfortable in parts and I think that was the goal of the book to move you a bit and make you examine your heart, flesh, and view of the world as well as the role you play in it as a follower of Christ.

The epilogue really summarized everything nicely and I love the quote the author used below:

"Honestly written and courageously presented words reveal reality and expose our selfish attempts to violate beauty, manipulate goodness and dominate people, all the while defying God...Honest writing shows us how badly we are living and how good life is." - Eugene Peterson

I am looking forward to reading other books by Comer as well as Bonhoeffer whose life and legacy he referenced multiple times throughout this book.

This may be the most important, perceptive and hopeful book I have read this year! Mark Comer is an engaging, intelligent writer and his take on Spiritual Warfare is brilliant and timely. Even a casual observer can sense that our world is increasingly divided and sick and John Mark provides a compelling diagnosis and compassionate prescription. In this book, Comer unpacks what is known to followers of Jesus as the three enemies of the soul: the devil, the flesh, and the world. In doing this, Comer calls in conversation partners from Scripture, the early church, the reformation and our own time. Rather than wringing his hands and lamenting, the author directs the reader to spiritual formation in a way that encourages and inspires.