Foreword by Paul Miller
The gospel changes how we live each day. That's the premise of Saving Grace and the legacy of Jack Miller's ministry. Founder of Serge and the New Life Presbyterian network of churches, Miller believed that Christians need to hear the gospel by faith every day, and he preached what he believed.
These 366 gospel-saturated selections from Miller's pioneering sermons offer a fresh exploration of the everyday life of faith. With topics like forgiveness, relationships, temptation, prayer, joy, and perseverance this daily devotional will help readers to catch Miller's hope-filled vision for living in light of the gospel.
"When it comes to daily devotional books, I look for short vignettes that are truly personal, yet have a powerful punch from God's Word. And the book you are holding in your hands does just that. I have long admired the teachings of Jack Miller, a heroic and godly saint of our age from whom I have gained much in my walk with Christ. And now, Jack's best insights from years of studying the Word of God are collected in this one important volume. If you are looking for a daily devotional that will frame your day in wisdom and godly guidance, this book is for you I highly recommend Saving Grace!"
Joni Eareckson Tada, Founder/CEO Joni and Friends International Disability Center
"We are simple people. We can truly learn, believe, and do only one thing at a time. That's why this book proves to be so wise and helpful. It invites you to take in one good thing today. This one good thing, taken to heart, changes you. You become brighter, calmer, steadier. You become more grateful, more purposeful, more generous. It's simply true."
David Powlison, Executive Director, CCEF; author
"An opportunity to spend a small portion of each day with Jack Miller! What a gift! Reading Jack's words is like moving from a storm into a safe harbor and resting in the ancient truths of the gospel . . . words that remind me that no matter where I've gone and no matter what I've done, I'm loved profoundly by Jesus. Jack 'smells like Jesus' and never more than in this little book. Read it and rejoice . . . and then worship."
Steve Brown, Key Life radio broadcaster; professor, Reformed Theological Seminary; author of Three Free Sins
"Jack Miller was the most influential pastor and mentor in my life, and, through this devotional, his care for my soul continues."
Edward T. Welch, PhD, CCEF Faculty; psychologist; best-selling author
"What could be better than having Jack Miller help us 'preach the gospel to our own hearts' daily? This is a treasure of grace in daily devotionals that continually take us from self to Christ our holiness, righteousness, and redemption."
Bryan Chapell, Pastor, Grace Presbyterian Church; president emeritus, Covenant Seminary; author, Christ-Centered Preaching and Holiness by Grace
"Okay, I'll own my bias up front. No one has had a greater impact on my life for the gospel than Jack Miller no one. That being said, I am thrilled, stoked, fired-up, and many other appellations of joy about the publication of Saving Grace: Daily Devotions from Jack Miller. Finally, many of you who never got to hear Jack preach will get to savor the gospel-sanity, kingdom joy, and missional vision of the man who threw the curtains wide open on Jesus and his grace for so many of us. This book may very well become a contemporary gospel classic in devotional literature. Want to understand more about the radical implications and transforming power of God's saving grace? Then order Jack's new book soon."
Scotty Ward Smith, Founding Pastor of Christ Community Church; Teacher in Residence at West End Community Church; author of Everyday Prayers: 365 Days to a Gospel-Centered Faith
"Jack Miller was a work of God's Spirit, and the Spirit used him to change my life. When he preached, he had a way of catching you up in his contagious joy a joy that flowed directly out of the grace of the gospel. These daily doses of his sermons will have that same humbling, liberating effect. Read them and your life will change!"
Charles Morris, Speaker & President of HAVEN Today
"The gospel is simple, but we often write long and complicated books explaining it. Jack Miller's gift is to take the great truths of the gospel and make them sing again to a simple tune. These short devotions are easy enough for anyone to read, but at the same time as profound and heart-warming as the Scriptures upon which they are based."
Iain Duguid, PhD, Professor of Old Testament, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia
"One of the things that has impacted me the most about Jack Miller's preaching is that he so naturally interweaves our need for spiritual renewal with the expansion of God's kingdom. That message the gospel needed to restore my heart is the same gospel that is needed to restore the world is what first brought me to Serge. In the years that I've been the Executive Director of Serge, I have become more deeply convinced sharing God's love with the nations is intimately linked to how I experience his love as a beloved son."
Bob Osborne, Executive Director, Serge
"This is a wonderful book. It not only captures the heart of Jack Miller's cross-centered preaching, but it takes us day-by-day back to the cross. Jack urged us to learn to 'preach the gospel to ourselves every day.' I can hardly think of a better way to do that than to wake up in the morning or go to sleep at night with the truth of these readings ringing in our souls."
Stephen Smallman, Author; assistant pastor, New Life Presbyterian Church, Glenside; former executive director, Serge
"I learned from Jack Miller how the gospel is not just a gate we walk through once but a pathway we walk every day of our lives. And how God takes pleasure in pouring out his power on those who will dare to radically align their purposes with his for the nations. I've never been the same, and neither will you if you prayerfully read and take to heart the riches of the gospel found in these pages."
Steve Childers, Founder and President, Pathway Learning; associate professor of practical theology, RTS-Orlando
"Like Jacob, who refused to let go of God until he had received a blessing, Jack Miller was tenacious about receiving God's power and grace. And like Jacob, who was permanently wounded by the angel, Jack found out how powerless he really was in himself to accomplish the goals of holiness and faith. Again, like the patriarch, Jack grew from being a somewhat legalistic person to one who could boldly risk everything for the sake of the gospel. These devotions are brutally honest. Jack was remarkably transparent about who he was, and thus he leads us into our own candid self-appraisal. But he never dangles us in guilt. Instead, he rushes to tell us the good news of God's unconditional love in Christ. And then, when we falter, he tells us to stop acting like orphans. Savoring these excerpts and then trying them out in practice ought to make new persons out of each of us."
William Edgar, John Boyer Chair of Evangelism and Culture, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia; author of Truth in All Its Glory
"Jesus keeps on giving us hope to make our own lives overflowing in love, first for him and then for everyone; that we learned from Jack. Left to ourselves, we can't possibly live with hope in our hard and unloving worlds, but Jesus is there for us. Jack kept on learning that and teaching and living it before us, simply and clearly. The overly familiar gospel became the newest and most beautiful part of our lives."
D. Clair Davis, Professor Emeritus, Westminster Theological Seminary
"Jack Miller writes: 'Cheer up! You are worse than you think' and 'Cheer up! God loves you more than you know!' And after reading Saving Grace, I want to add: cheer up, this is NOT one of those 'of course, I've heard it all before' daily devotional books. If you can reflect on these mini-exhortations and not come out a more effective servant of God with greater joy, you need to read them again!"
Rev. Dr. Greg Livingstone, Founder, Frontiers
"This daily devotions out of the walk of Jack Miller with Christ is one more contribution from God's practical servant who had a great impact on our lives and ministries in India. I believe it will be of great encouragement to many fellow pilgrims in finding God's Saving Grace is enough for our journeys."
Isaac Shaw, Executive Director, Delhi Bible Institute; Senior Pastor, Bible Bhavan Christian Fellowship
Content is good; have always appreciated Jack Miller's ministry. However, the print is too fine, too light; not easy to read.
I wish I knew this man. Jack Miller has an amazing ability to keep the beauty of Christ's Saving Grace at the center of everything. His awareness of broken people and the majesty of Christ make this devo unique. I've personally given away over 40 copies.
This is my absolute favorite devotional. Simple but very challenging gospel filled nuggets. I have been blessed over and over again by this book.
Jack Miller specialized in the simple Good News of Jesus and how it changes EVERYTHING, including us, albeit never at quite the pace we sometimes desire. This little book has simple, short, one page devotionals for each day of the year. While short enough to read in just a few minutes, the Gospel tidbits often occupied my thinking for hours afterwards.
Very helpful. A daily dose of the gospel message with practical application of how to access the gospel for yourself is always needed and wanted. This book is just that, like having an IV of the gospel attached to your veins. I would highly recommend it.
When it comes to living out of Grace, I am like a leaky bucket. It is really easy for me to get back on the performance treadmill which is incredibly exhausting if I stay there. Saving grace has been a wonderful way of dunking myself into the pool of grace and coming up with quick, gentle, and daily reminders of why joy is rightfully mine because of the gift of Jesus. This book is a gem that I hope will end up in the hands of many weary folks like myself.
I bought this for my husband for Christmas. He is a fan of Jack Miller. The daily devotions are encouraging and helpful to read as one starts the day. I would recommend this to anyone who is needing something devotional to start each day - it is short and insightful. Jack Miller was a very humble and gracious man of God and one can learn much from his teaching.
I've lost count of how many of these we've bought so far... 15, I think, including one for me, one for my wife Becky - and a bunch for friends. At 72 years young and in ministry since my 20's, believe me, I've been around the block with devotional books. Well... this is THE daily devotional book I've been waiting for. I'm prejudiced, though, since it was Jack Miller that, in 1990, "gave me back the Gospel of Grace" I had lost - in a sea of self-serving legalism. This little book gives you a Scripture verse and a brief commentary - a concentrated dose of "Spiritual Goodum" for every day of the year. It's not child's pablum, but solid GOSPEL MEAT. It is at once convicting and refreshing. I'm confronted with my lack of faith and the waywardness of my heart - then led to Jesus and dependence on the Holy Spirit (that vs. kicking me in the booty and telling me I really should "do better"). This very portable little book consists of excerpts from Jack's sermons. (He moved away to live with Jesus in 1996.) Often, you'll be doing what Jack prescribed, "sitting on a text until it hatches - like a hen sits on and egg" - 'till it "hatches in your heart." For instance, December 8,9 and 10, you're "sitting on" Ephesians 1:18 to draw out what it means to have "the eyes of your heart enlightened" and to "know the hope of your calling." Rich! Every morning I find myself looking for it this bright yellow-green (read: GAWDY!) little tome, wondering what word of encouragement awaits. I just hauled it along on a 2 1/2 week trip to Africa because the Kindle version wasn't out yet. Indispensable Christian Kit. Get one for yourself (you'll be glad you did), for your spouse (he/she will be glad you did), and get more for friends (they'll be glad you did)! P.S.1 - I would say to this book, "On thing thou lackest" - a ribbon place marker. P.S.2 - This book is not intended to be a substitute for your daily Bible reading & study. For that we use the McCheyne ESV Daily Reading Bible. Think of it as "One A Day Gospel Vitamin Supplement" - something like that.