Live No Lies: Recognize and Resist the Three Enemies That Sabotage Your Peace

John Mark Comer is one of the foremost voices for followers of Jesus in today’s world. He deftly and expertly unpacks complex post-modern / post-Christian thought and makes it approachable, understandable, and helpful for anyone. But it’s not enough to just biopsy it and help us understand – he continually points us to Jesus and the practices of Jesus, which have the power to change us over a lifetime. He wrecked all of us (in the best and most gentle way) with “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry”, and now he takes all of us on a deep dive about “the three enemies of the soul”.JMC has given us a gift with this book. His ability to curate, simplify, and synthesize content is astounding. There are over 400 footnotes in this book, and it is not a long, dense read! And yet, his words and thesis are the throughline of it all, and his down-to-earth, approachable style make what could easily be a heady topic one that is easily accessible and applicable to your life today.I so want to regurgitate quotes and insights from my myriad of highlights, but I wouldn’t be doing JMC’s beautiful narrative justice. I’ll leave you with two heater quotes though…“Lies, that come in the form of deceptive ideas, are the devil’s primary method of enslaving human beings and entire human societies in a vicious cycle of ruin that leads us further and further east of Eden. This is why Jesus came as a rabbi, or teacher. What is a teacher? A truth teller. A moral cartographer. Teachers give us mental maps to reality. In doing so, they set us free to live in congruence with how life actually works. When Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free,” he was simultaneously saying that we’re enslaved by lies.”“…giving in to the desires of our flesh does not lead us to freedom and life, as many people assume, but instead to slavery and, in the worst-case scenario, addiction, which is a kind of prolonged suicide by pleasure.”This is not a book you read quickly and remark, “That was a great read!” It is deep content to wrestle with, re-read, and prayerfully apply to your life.Simply put, this is a must-read.

If you're a Christian and someone tired of "Christianese", words used in sermons so much that they lose their relevant meaning, this is a super helpful book.Pastor John Mark Comer humbly and thoughtfully explains the 3 enemies of the soul, the devil, the flesh, and the world in language easy for a modern reader to understand. He balances the tension of fire and brimstone teaching with the nuance of the cultural moment we live in.My favorite parts were the summaries he has at the end of each subsection of the book. I strongly recommend it, if you're a thoughtful Christian trying to figure out what living that looks like in a time not the most friendly to Christian ethic and thought processes.He anchors on scripture but uses context from thought leaders of our day, secular, and otherwise to make his points.I found it a thought provoking book for me and am sure others will find it that way too.

Inspiring and insightful.

The secular world’s democracies are waking up to the truth that its most dangerous threat is not terrorism, communism or some other external threat. It is lies. In this book, John Mark Comer places the devil as the driving force behind this deception in his ongoing campaign to up the entropy in our cosmos. However alternative facts and misinformation isn’t the focus for this author—it is the renovation of the Christian heart that he’s investigating. What is happening to the Christian heart? What lies haves crept into our understanding of what it means to follow Jesus? How do those insidious Screwtape victories leverage the natures of our flesh? And how, through generations of subtle twists in our Christian culture, do these lies have the potential to wreak more havoc on the human soul than the easily recognised lies of the world ever could?It should be no surprise that John Mark Comer draws on the tradition of the church, and giants like C. S. Lewis and Dallas Willard, to inform his thesis. It’s also no surprise that’s he’s able to make these ideas accessible to a modern reader. Finally—if one has read anything from Comer recently—one would know that Spiritual Disciplines (or, as he prefers: practices) are on offer as a salve.What was surprising to this reader was the insight into the underlying theology of the author, which paints a world-view and understanding that finally brings the likes of “human nature”, “the devil”, “good and evil”, “sin” and “the kingdom of heaven” together in a way which doesn’t require hand-waving or conveniently ignoring parts of Scripture.
This is a remarkable piece of work from John Mark Comer that revives the gospel and confronts the reader with a striking question: am I living the gospel, or a lie?

Easy to read. Practical.We use it for group study/discussion.

It’s crazy that’s it’s gone this fast, but almost 2 years ago on a family vacation in Cuba, a light turned on for me. I picked up a book that my wife had just read called “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry”. The content of that book could have done two things. Allow me to get defensive of my lifestyle and values, or open me up to change and evaluating what’s truly important to our family..Thankfully and prayerfully, it was the latter. Evaluating our lives in Christ and what’s important not only to us but to God as towhat we do with the time we have. It lit a fire. A fire to change. I think I’ve always known who I am, but certainly not to the depth I’ve come to appreciate now. Life isn’t perfect and neither are the all decisions we make. But I know now exactly who I am in Christ and that the practice of being closer to Jesus is just that. Practice. It won’t be perfect. But you certainly can train with the help of the Spirit to be more aware of God’s love and the nudges you get to love better, serve and feel more intimately close to those around you. To be more grateful.John Mark Comer has come out with a new book. Live No Lies. I have been fortunate to be on the early book launch team for this project. Just like The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, this book has so much food for thought. It discusses and gives you practices on how to notice how the devil lies to us about who we are. How the desires of our flesh play a role in cementing those lies. And how the world around us backs those desires up and tell us they are not only normal, but encouraged. This book is a modern explanation of Spiritual Warfare and how to be counter anti culture to the world under the lens of Jesus..It is a book not only helpful for our time, but necessary. If you are a Jesus follower or in any way curious about knowing who you are in Christ, this book is for you. And I appreciate John Mark’s heart for sharing it with us. May it help me to press against the lies the devil puts in my head, and lean more into the identity I have in Jesus.

Slightly more academic than Comer’s other books.

A great read and enormously helpful for understanding our culture and how to spiritually respond to it.

John Mark invites readers to think deeply about what keeps us from joy, and gives a framework and the tools necessary to help us thrive. He reminds readers that walking with Jesus among many things, includes a battle. Each section explores the three historically understood within Christian tradition, enemies of the soul: the devil, the world and the flesh. He brings ancient thought to a contemporary audience, balancing academia and relatability with finesse. His thoughts are masterfully researched, defended and communicated. He writes with an invitational style and does not leave readers wanting with the question “now what?”, but supplies readers with practical steps to move toward a deeper sense of joy. Thank you John Mark. I’ll be handing out and recommending this book for years to come. A must read for pastors and church leaders.

Such a thought provoking book. Love JMC's style of writing and how he holds us accountable for paying attention to what is going on in our lives, how we are being influenced and where we should look for guidance. I know I'll need and want to re-read this.