Fixing My Eyes on Jesus (Review)

Fixing My Eyes on Jesus, by Anne Graham Lotz, is a 366 day devotional book. Each daily reading is short (100-150 words) and begins with a Bible verse.

I found a few devotionals that were insightful and really spoke to me.

One of my favorite passages tells of a scene from Pilgrim’s Progress in which a man is too engrossed in picking through garbage for some sort of tidbit to notice that behind him is an angel offering him a solid gold crown studded with jewels. Lotz says, “ When we get to heaven, will we be ashamed of our preoccupation with garbage in this life—garbage that prevented us from turning around, leaving it all behind, and reaching out for what God wanted to give us? !1 Cor. 2:9 says, ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.’”  Very convicting!

Anne Graham Lotz’s passion and personality come out in the readings. I have seen her in videos and listened to her read books on cd and as I read, I can “hear” her speaking. She has a passion for Jesus, and the theme of this book emphasizes that.

Many of the daily readings, however, seemed somewhat uninspired. While the content was doctrinally sound, the readings reiterated themes that I’ve read many times before instead of giving me fresh insight into the scripture passages. It was hard at first for me to put my finger on just why the book didn’t grab me. Then I realized that other devotional books that I’ve read are more personal. The authors share personal stories from their lives that bring the topics to life. In this book, I didn’t see as much of that.  Anne Graham Lotz did some personal sharing, but so much of the content was more like commentary. This style would likely be what some others would prefer in a devotional, but left me wanting more.

I received a free (e-book) copy of this book from the Booksneeze blogger program in exchange for my honest review.