Untamed by Lisa Harper

Have you met the real Jesus--the One who is wild enough to set you free?
Too many people settle for relating to Jesus merely as a comfortable friend and companion, when what we all need is an untamed Savior, a fearless champion tough enough to conquer our shame and compelling enough for us to follow him without hesitation.
"I finally realized my caricature of Jesus wasn't big enough to calm my anxiety or heal my wounds or defeat the wickedness in our world. Pretending Jesus is less than He is resulted in someone I wasn't compelled to worship. So I began a journey to discover the whole Jesus--including the seemingly rough and wild parts--revealed in the Bible. And I found Him to be bigger and better than I ever dreamed."
--Lisa Harper
Through a powerful blend of storytelling and biblical insights, Lisa Harper invites you to engage with the Jesus of the gospels, a person so provocative that no one left an encounter with Him unchanged. Pharisees fumed, paralytics turned cartwheels, and pariahs found love and acceptance.
Come meet the Jesus who is both safe and strong--and learn how this radical Redeemer can liberate you to live and love with abandon.
"Includes questions for group discussion or personal reflection."

think a lot of times we try to put Jesus in a box. We like him better that way. He's easier to manage... easier for our brains to understand. It seems that Lisa Harper used to like him that way to until she realized that her "caricature of Jesus wasn't big enough" (pg. 9). As Lisa takes us on a journey of discovering just how big God is in her book Untamed: How the Wild Side of Jesus Frees us to Live and Love with Abandon, she does so in a way that captures and holds the readers attention.

I appreciated the way the book was filled with Scripture. As Harper presented Jesus' "wild side" it wasn't just her view of it... it was all backed by God's Word. With that said, she also connected those scriptures well with explanations and very humorous examples that make sense in today's culture. You won't get bored reading this book!

Untamed seems as if it would be especially great for someone who is curious about Christianity, but isn't quite sure what to think of who Jesus is or maybe they think Christianity is just about a bunch of rules. This book shows how Jesus is big enough for all our needs ... and then some. And for those of us that already have a relationship with him, it definitely helps break down that box we try to shove him in.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.