I wrote an endorsement of the RED letters: the sayings and teachings of JESUS, edited by Tim Beals. Tim is my friend who helped me get my second book Out of Print: A Novel published.

I wrote for the RED letters:  “In reading the RED letters I was struck again by the brevity, wit, creativity, and courage of Jesus. Jesus’ words strip away all false reality and confront us with the greatest reality of all–the Person and Kingdom of his Father. Tim Beals, in this collection and arrangement of Jesus’ sayings and teachings, makes it possible for us to sit quietly with Jesus and listen to, reflect on, and be transformed by his words.” 

I think two kinds of readers will be drawn to this little red book. The first will be the curious seeker who wonders what Jesus Christ, a first century Jew and Son of God, really said. The RED letters present first of all a chronological arrangement of Jesus’ sayings from the beginning of his ministry to the end. The second section of the RED letters offers the teachings of Jesus arranged according to some broad topics. Anyone who wants to know what Jesus said/taught will find the little red book a handy, ready resource.

The second kind of reader is someone who is familiar with the Gospels and who is acquainted with the life and ministry of Jesus as presented in the New Testament. These readers appreciate the context, culture, language and revolutionary genius of Jesus in which his sayings and teachings were first spoken and recorded. For example, as I read through section of the RED letters–the sayings of Jesus–I was challenged in my thinking to put Jesus’ words in context.  I think this must be done by all readers at some point. Can you imagine just having the dialogue of a movie like The Mission without the profound context, history and culture presented in that gripping film?

Tim writes, “I hope the red letters become the read letters.” This is an important hope. When we immerse ourselves in the Gospels, the sayings and teachings of Jesus are placed with a huge, panoramic sweep of God’s gracious actions in this world. Jesus himself was born into a huge Story already in swift motion. The genealogies of Matthew and Luke tell us as much. And the grand Story into which Jesus was born propels us into a glorious future where some mysteries will be cleared up and other mysteries just begun.

I’d encourage you to get a copy of the RED letters. You can read it devotionally, you can read it curiously, you can read it challenged by the words of the One Who said, “My words are spirit and they are life.”

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