Recently, I’ve been reading a lot of stuff by Timothy Keller.

And I am impressed!

A friend of mine recommended that I pick up a copy of Counterfeit Gods and read it. So I purchased a copy almost a year ago, and promptly forgot about it. It’s been sitting on my shelf ever since.

I decided to take it with me to Wilderness a couple of weeks ago and read it while I was there. As it turns out, I had unknowingly brought the book that most of the sessions were drawn from. I read it entirely that weekend.

All I can say is “Wow!”  This book may be one of my all time favorites, and one of the most challenging I’ve read recently.

Keller has dug deep into our innermost beings and identified our idols. This isn’t simply a surface level examination. He goes straight to the heart.

And what he uncovers is painful, and yet cleansing.

If you’ve never read Counterfeit Gods, I suggest you get a copy immediately. It’s worth your time.

Here are a few quotes that I found especially poignant.

Idolatry is not just a failure to obey God, it is a setting of the whole heart on something besides God.

We know a good thing has become a counterfeit god when its demands on you exceed proper boundaries.

At every point in the Bible, the writers are at pains to stress that God’s grace and forgiveness, wile free to the recipient, are always costly for the giver. From the earliest parts of the Bible, it was understood that God could not forgive without sacrifice. No one who is seriously wronged and “just forgive” the perpetrator. If you have been robbed of money, opportunity, or happiness, you can either make the wrongdoer pay it back or you can forgive. But when you forgive, that means you absorb the loss and the debt. You bear it yourself. All forgiveness, then, is costly.

Rejoicing and repentance must go together. Repentance without rejoicing will lead to despair. Rejoicing without repentance is shallow and will only provide passing inspiration instead of deep change.

Chapter 6 contains an excellent look at the story of Jonah, and it digs into the details of this narrative like few other examinations do. This chapter was worth the price of the book alone.

I absolutely loved this book. Grab a copy today and read it. It will change your life!

Have you read this book, or any others, by Timothy Keller? If so, what are your thoughts? You can share your thoughts in the comments section below.

If you are interested in reading Counterfeit Gods, you can purchase it at Amazon.com.

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