Look and Live: Behold the Soul-Thrilling, Sin-Destroying Glory of Christ

If you want your mind awakened and your heart to start searching for answers then this is the book. It was eye opening and a easy read to understand I think everyone should read this book once if not twice.

What I liked the most about this book was it revealed a 3rd dimension or “room” as I would best call it. Desperately seeking the glory of God was always a mystery to me. I remember singing the worship song….”I’m desperate for You” but what does that really mean? I still have not grasped it, not even in a small way. My life was all about news and Facebook, my first room. I repented of that and committed my life to a second room, Gods word and devotionals daily. Then came this third room. Wow. I have a much longer way to go and have not even scratched the surface.I guess the only thing I would say that I disliked would be that a great percentage kinda went over my head, a far less problem then what I overall liked about it.I would recommend this book to anyone who wants much more in their relationship with God… period!I chose this rating because of the deep content and I may read it again to be more clearer on how to apply what I’ve read in seeing the Glory of God realizing it is not something I can do on my own. But I can with Gods help through the Holy Spirit!

This book is a down to earth, step by step vision-casting to guide to help us get a glimpse of the glorious God that we serve. Every serious Christian should read this book!!!

This book is surprisingly good. Most young authors who try to write a book about the Christian life have too little depth. That's probably doubly true if the young author is known for something other than writing books. Look and Live, on the other hand, was written by a young man who had drunk deeply of the Bible and of some of the best authors. The book is full of quotable lines, such as, "The triune God is the only thing large enough and interesting enough to bear the weight of glory, and ultimately worship. Anything else will break your heart." (page 33) or "Hell is merely the continuation of earthly rebellion. Hell is eternal idolatry." (p. 76)There are places where I'm not sure the author is right, but the book is definitely worth reading. I'm thankful that the Lord enabled me to read this book. I needed its urgent call to look on the glory of God in Jesus Christ.

Is this a book about the importance of Bible reading and prayer? Yes. Er, no. Kind of, but not exactly. It's really a book about seeing the Bible as a window through which we gaze and see magnificent vistas of the glory of God and stunning glimpses of the God of glory. It's about discovering that bible reading is not a lifehack to wealth, wisdom, strength, or anything else. It is a spiritual exercise meant to lead us to God and, in the process, expose and destroy every idol har bored in our hearts that compete with - and far too frequently - receive the glory and the worship from us that belongs to God. When viewed this way, reading the Word of the Living God has the power to humble us, break us, change us, and ignite in us a flame of passion with which no lesser affection can compete.I highly recommend this book. While I do not endorse every doctrine held by the author (thus only 4 stars), if you hunger for a more deeply satisfying relationship to Jesus, this book will satisfy. The writing style is engaging. The truth is presented with freshness, with an occasional dose of roughness or saltiness to insure the author has your attention. If you read it once, I believe you will find yourself referencing it again and again, as I have.

I have to be honest here. Oftentimes I buy books that I assume will be garbage in order to better enjoy the great books that i read. When I ordered this book my assumptiin was that I would probably be adding this book to my junk pile. However, by chapter two, i was sold on Matt Papa.This book is a very practical, very assessable, treaties on the glory of God. Not only does Papa provide solid scriptural and theological truth; he also give practical advice on pursuing the one and only thing that can satiafy our sin-sick souls.I highly recommend this book to all people, young and old. Whether you are a new believer or a seasoned veteran of scholarly theology.Ive been a Christian for about seven years. I've read all the greats - Calvin, Edwards, Owens, etc. I plan on putting Papa's book on my shelf right next to the masters.Read this book and... Look and live!

Excellent. I love the writing style and the evident passion that Matt brings into his writing. But mostly, I loved the content. A simple, but stirring, look at all the ways that God shows us in His Word what it truly means to look and live. That is, only looking at Him, beholding Him, reveling in Him gives us a vision for life that leads to - you guessed it - life. Real life. Life lived with purpose and passion. Life that kicks sin in the tail because it just doesn't satisfy anymore. Life that is consumed with knowing God and seeing more of Him on a daily basis. Life that is an intimate walk with the Creator, our Father who art in Heaven. Hallowed be His Name.

Look and love is a surprising gem. Simple enough for lesser educated person to understand but with a powerful message: look to Christ and live! Matt breaks down what looking is and how we will always look to something. He shows us a picture of God so that He becomes that much more desirous for us to behold. He points us to the Word of God and gives practical application on how to behold Him (hint: it's not just looking at the sky). I highly commend this book as it helps you to understand and behold the glory of Christ in simple yet necessary terms.

Matt Papa speaks to the centre of the human heart. His words touched me thoughtfully and deeply. I've never felt more encouraged to seek the Lord, see the Lord, enjoy the Lord!

This book contains the single most important lesson for Christian living, namely that it is personal occupation with the glory of Christ/God that will produce godliness in the believer. Undoubtedly hell’s legions are opposed to the Christian learning this message.However, while the message is good, the value of a book of this sort lies also in the accessible way in which the message is communicated. Undoubtedly the author is a skilled wordsmith whose ability to write has been honed by his song-writing. This book was very easy to read, and most enjoyable.A few points will suffice to review the book:As to the writing itself, Matt Papa mines the works of well-known authors such as Tim Keller, C S Lewis, John Piper, John Newton, C H Spurgeon, George Muller, etc. to obtain quotations which are very relevant and memorable. He also masterfully illustrates his points from his own life, and with other relevant and easily understood analogies. This makes it difficult to misunderstand the instruction he gives and adds tremendously to the readability of the book.The message he communicates is the importance of seeing God’s/Christ’s glory, and the power this possesses to wean us from the lesser glories of the idols of our heart. This is considered biblically and powerfully. In Ch 1 he considers how occupation with glory produces worship in our hearts. Ch 2 introduces us to God’s glory by considering some of His attributes. Ch 3 examines idolatry. Ch 4 turns our attention to the cross of Christ, the "Blazing Centre" of God's glory. Ch 5 shows how the enjoyment of lesser glories can distract or hinder occupation with that which is much greater. Ch 6 is a call to consider everything in life as turning our minds back to God, and as being sourced in Him. These are the "Scattered Beams" of God's glory. Ch 7 shows the link between seeing God’s glory and mission in the world. Ch 8 examines the link between present suffering and glory. Ch 9 gives very practical suggestions as to how what has preceded may be inculcated into life experience.By way of qualification, there are one or two points on which I would disagree with the author: He seems to suggest, or at least offer as a possibility, that God is the ultimate author of sin. Also, he speaks of the sufferings of Christ emotively and imaginatively, with many of his statements being speculative, and others just plain wrong.Having said this, my overall opinion of this book is that it is beneficial, spiritually edifying, Christ/God-exalting, and very easily read. I have given five stars in spite of the fact that there are (in my opinion) some unhelpful statements concerning the cross because I think this book would be truly beneficial and accessible to any Christian.

I wouldn’t say that this book changed my life the Way the Bible did, but it helped me take a fresh look at God in a much needed way. Very easy to read and assimilate. Looking forward to going back to it sgsin

I recently took Matt Papa’s book on holiday with me having been recommended it by a friend. I found it to be tremendously refreshing and a delight to read. I appreciated Matt’s honesty throughout. In the busyness of ministry, and in life in general, it is so easy to be driven by the desire to get things done rather than by the joy of the Lord. Matt testifies to being in this place once upon a time, but a spectacular vision of the all surpassing greatness of the glory of God captured him. I found myself underscoring this little gem of a sentence several times as I read it;‘Real Christianity shows us a glory so great that it effortlessly eclipses all other would-be glories, and a God so ineffable that He can forever satisfy us, enthral us, and ultimately, change us.’ - (p.80)Matt takes his readers on a glory-trail throughout Scripture ultimately arriving at the crescendo of the Cross which he describes as the ‘blazing centre of the glory of God.’ . Matt was constantly coming back to the wonder of the gospel and calling us to behold Jesus! He exhorts his readers, and certainly convinced me, not to move on from the gospel but rather to plumb the depths of the grace and love of God that we see on full display there.‘Look at the cross. He didn’t give 10 percent, he gave it all. God’s love for you will produce more activity in your life for the Kingdom than all the little checkboxes in the world.’ - (p.183)I found Matt’s language extremely accessible and punchy throughout. Matt writes in a real ‘heart on sleeve’ kind of way that makes you feel like you are in conversation with him in which he is just pouring out his heart. Mixed in with some wonderfully rich theology are some great one liners and helpful illustrations that help make this book a fantastically enthralling and enriching read.Perhaps you are feeling dry in your Christian walk. Perhaps the glory of God isn’t the pearl of great price that it once was. Perhaps you’ve lost sight of the wonder of the cross. If so, can I highly recommend that you read Matt’s book. Look and live!Glory be to God!

I’ve read it through twice, underlined much of it and copied out many sections. It will be one I read regularly- creative, soul-satisfying