My Books
The Jesus You Need To Know
What makes this book unique enough that anyone would want to read it?
There was nothing unique about the words in Dickens's novel A Tale of Two Cities. "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times," as all the words of his book had been used countless times before. However, the arrangement of his words gave a new perspective and, thereby, special meaning to the things of which he spoke.
The Jesus You Need to Know is a fresh, new perspective on Jesus the man, His character, integrity, devotion to God, love for His enemies, and even His reason for existence. Greg Treat is a very good friend, a Christian brother, and a co-author of the upcoming book, I Will Build My Church. He is a devoted Christian, husband and father, lawyer, and graduate of the Master's College. In his review of this book, he said, "You set up these Biblical categories, and then show how Christ was the greatest of all time ...I could see myself as being a Jesus fanboy."
I know what Greg was saying, and he was in no way undermining the reality that Jesus Christ is Lord. Those who come to Him must believe that He is such and thus submit their lives to Him. Greg was saying that the perspective found in this book gave him a fresh zeal for Jesus.
Of all the men that have lived in human history, only one is declared risen from the grave. His death is the most attested event by atheist and religious historians alike. As you read the pages of this book, you will sit with Jesus as he sat with His disciples on the night before He was betrayed. You will see Him in His glory as He made the greatest sacrifice the universe will ever behold. You will see the brokenness of Mary, the mother of Jesus, that has profound significance as it relates to all penitent sinners. You will consider the humility and love of Jesus Christ as He offered Himself up to be an intercessory High Priest forever.
If you receive the words of scripture as true, explained as they are in this book, your heart will draw nearer to the man who is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Therefore, let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author, and perfecter of faith.
Nothing is better than for a person to draw close to the God who created it all. The divine person who sacrificed it all, to prove His love, guarantees unending joy throughout eternity and recreate repentant sinners in his perfect image. My hope and prayers are that you will read this book with the faith and confidence necessary to bring the Jesus you need to know near and dear to your heart.
The person who, through rebirth by the Holy Spirit, finds their identity in the person who offered Himself as a living sacrifice will experience unending joy in His presence, the judgment having passed by Him. SO READ ON!
I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH
- Jesus Christ
Joe Durso has teamed up with a faithful brother in the Lord, a good friend, and co-author Greg Treat to write I Will Build My Church. Greg is a graduate of the Master's College and McGeorge School of Law; he practices law in sunny Texas. He has a lovely wife and is the father of three darling girls two boys and a new baby boy. He is the pastor of a home church and an ardent student of Roman history and culture at the time of Christ.
What Joe and Greg have attempted to do in I Will Build My Church is to analyze the Old Testament model of a nation as God proposed for His people. Israel failed because only a remnant was saved. Satan quickly corrupted the majority because they never came under Jesus' control.
Likewise, the Church did not grow only with regenerate believers but enlarged artificially as Satan has contaminated the Church with false converts. Therefore, most people not adhering to God's plans for the Church set in motion systemic problems that even corrupt Authentic followers of Jesus Christ.
By identifying the Old Testament model of growth and government and integrating it into a New Testament Spirit-filled, prayer-filled people of repentance and faith; the Church, not as a nation but as an organized group of families, can fulfill God's plan as it has during periods of revival in the past. To this end, Joe and Greg have written I Will Build My Church.
When Jesus preached His Sermon on the Mount, He identified the reprobate Church. Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by people" (Matthew 5:13).
May the Church arise like never before and heed Jesus' words of victory as an alternative to failure. "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:14-16)
I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH is a look at the church that Jesus' perfect will builds in contrast with that of men who go off track. The caution that all God's people who read Romans 12:2 receive is, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."
God's will is always good, acceptable, and perfect. However, God's will is not fulfilled through His people unless they are not being conformed to this present world system. Honesty is the key element that must be present if God's people are to escape the snares of the devil who prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.
If the readers of this book are as honest about the shortcomings of the church in the West as the writers who penned them, repent of their errors, and trust Christ to restore faithful behavior, there will be less smoke at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
