Seven-Mile Miracle: Journey into the Presence of God Through the Last Words of Jesus by Steven Furtick applies Christ’s seven statements from the cross to our lives. Steven takes a fresh look at these sayings of Jesus with a relevant application to our everyday lives. Here is an outline of the book with the topic of each chapter,

The Seven Last Words of Jesus from the Cross
1. A word of forgiveness: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).
2. A word of salvation: “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).
3. A word of relationship: “Woman, here is your son. . . . Here is your mother” (John 19:26–27).
4. A word of abandonment: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).
5. A word of distress: “I am thirsty” (John 19:28).
6. A word of triumph: “It is finished” (John 19:30).
7. A word of reunion: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46).

The author writes with a pastor’s heart, keenly aware of the struggles people face in seeking to live the Christian life. “So many times when we sin, it’s not a lack of knowledge. It’s a lack of passion in our hearts” (p. 28). Steven writes in an engaging style helping the reader to apply God’s truth to their lives.

The book is strong on application but lacks precision at times to the biblical text. For example, as he’s describing the people complaining about the lack of water in Numbers 20 he writes, “We’re not sure what exactly Moses did wrong. Maybe the problem was that Moses struck the rock twice, because once should have been enough if he really trusted God” (p. 112). The context of this passage reveals that God did not tell Moses to strike the rock but to speak to the rock, “Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink” Numbers 20:8).

Seven Mile Miracle is a good resource to draw the reader into a closer relationship with God. A helpful forty-day reading guide to Jesus’ death and resurrection is included in the book. This book would make an excellent study leading up to Easter. (I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review).

Associate Pastor – Discipleship.  The Church at LifePark

Professor of Discipleship, Columbia International University

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