A ten-year-old devotional written
in the voice of God suddenly became a commercial juggernaut. Now, its
publisher is trying to reconcile its New Age origins with evangelical
orthodoxy.
The
seventh-best selling book in America last year was a 10-year-old
Christian devotional written by a woman who claims to have written down
the words of God. Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence sold more copies in 2013 than the much more buzzed-about titles Lean In, the latest Stephen King book, and 50 Shades of Grey,
according to Nielsen BookScan. Overall, more than 10 million copies in
26 languages have been sold since the book’s inauspicious debut in 2004.
Jesus Calling is a devotional, a mainstay genre in Christian
publishing and in the daily lives of many Christians. Best-selling
devotionals like Our Daily Bread, My Utmost for His Highest, and The Purpose-Driven Life
consist of short sections that are meant to be read each day for
encouragement and contemplation. Christians who value the idea of
nurturing a personal relationship with Jesus—or of the idea of spending
time each day in quiet contemplation—often use devotionals as a tool to
accompany prayer and Bible-reading. Continue at Ruth Graham
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