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“Look at that!”

Who can ever resist responding to those words? It seems no matter what else we are doing at the time, whenever we hear those words, we can’t help but turn our eyes toward the object of attention.

In his book, Admiring and Applauding God, Bruce is basically saying to us, “Look at that!” It is so easy to rush past verses without stopping to truly look at what they are saying—especially verses which are familiar to us. In the following pages, over and over again, Bruce says, “Look at that! Look at the amazing view of God that we find in this verse.” The descriptions will fire your imagination!

Some will sound impressive—Awesome, Refuge, Protector.

Some will sound well-known—Shepherd, Light of the World, Creator.

Some will sound puzzling—Fire-master, Panic-sender, Light-wrapper.

Some will sound politically correct—Orphan-defender, Counselor, Animal-lover.

Some will sound so downright curious that we will be tempted to jump ahead to read them—Moth, Lopper, Stooper.

(Be honest, have you ever thought of God as a Curdler?)

But these 300 pictures of the Person of God are not designed to entertain us. Each one is chosen to help us see the Lord just a little more clearly so that we will adore him more deeply. It’s that simple. The images are drawn straight from the Bible. The insights Bruce gives are straightforward and uncluttered.

I have known Bruce for many years. He was one of my early mentors during my time at seminary. I sincerely appreciated him then, and that appreciation has only grown deeper over the years. As I learned the ropes of ministry serving alongside him, several aspects of his character were consistently evident. He was approachable, thirsty for God, lovingly truthful, all with a life marked by integrity. Not surprisingly, those same words come to mind as I read these pages.

One of the things I love about this book is that it didn’t start as a tool for teaching others. Bruce began collecting these thoughts as a learner. It was born out of a personal desire to become better at adoring his Lord and Savior. It was only later that God planted the idea in his heart that there were others who had similar struggles in focusing on his character, who could benefit from these glimpses into God’s extraordinary nature. And thus this book was born.

If you are like me, you will be grateful for this book, in which Bruce taps us on the shoulder to get our attention and then points to a verse and says with wonder, “Look at that!”

Darrell Bustin