Sharing His Secrets: Intimate Insights from the Women Who Knew Jesus

This book was exceptional. I read it in the car outloud to my husband while we were driving back from a long journey across country where we had a devastating experience. We both felt the information, perspectives, and guidance were very helpful. It lifted out spirits!I only wish it was also published in an audio version so I could share it with a friend who is sight impaired. If the author does have this book in an audio format, I'd like to know!I highly recommend this book.

Vickey Banks used to envy the New Testament women who knew Jesus."I wanted to know what He looks like when He's moved with compassion," she says. "I wanted to see His eyes fill with tears. I wanted to see His face break into a huge old grin when children climb on His lap."So she did the next best thing. She dug into the lives of nine women who knew Jesus in search of the secrets that He revealed to them.The result of her quest is a new book called "Sharing His Secrets: Intimate Insights from the Women Who Knew Jesus" (Multnomah Publishers).But this is not another biographical Bible study. The focus is not on the vices and virtues of the woman at the well or the widow of Nain. The focus is always on Jesus. And the women are merely guides through whose eyes the reader sees Him in a "revelationary" new light.For Vickey Banks, personal intimacy with Jesus is what Christianity is all about."He does have secrets that He wants to share and things that He wants to let you know. He understands you and cares for you better than anybody else. He has loved you all the way to the cross and back again and longs to be part of your everyday life."And she realized in the midst of writing "Sharing His Secrets" that she no longer has to envy her nine guides."These women had to wait and hope for Jesus to come back into their town to talk with Him and see Him again. And I don't have to do that. Because the Holy Spirit lives within me, I can walk and talk with God anytime and anywhere I go. I can pray in a cab. I can pray in the shower. I can read my Bible on an airplane. He can speak to me and I can speak to Him absolutely anywhere, anytime."If you ask Vickey the obvious question of which of the nine women she identifies with most, she turns to chapter 8 without missing a beat."The crippled woman was sitting in church, and Jesus was teaching. When He saw her, He called her close. And I thought, why did He call her close? He didn't need her close to heal her. He healed other people that He didn't touch. But it suddenly stood out to me that the reason He called her close is that He wanted her to have a fresh touch from Him that day

I had often read about Jesus raising the son of the widow in Nain, but never through the lens of a call to compassion as Vickey Banks develops in her book, "Sharing His Secrets." If you feel nameless and unimportant in this big, wide world, you need Vickey's book as an affirmation that you are named and known to God. Her book draws spiritual lessons from the lives of ten who knew Jesus, including seven whose names are lost to history. They aren't lost, however, to the Lord, who cared for them genuinely in a time when women were second-class citizens. Despite the gap of 2,000 years between our lives and theirs, we share their needs: salvation, compassion, faith, intercession, forgiveness, friendship with God, ways to love God, spiritual warfare, and spiritual intimacy. Vickey mines the few verses devoted to each biography for lessons for today's woman. Her concluding prayers and "Getting Personal" application sessions will help anyone, or any group, embrace their truths.

This is not just another devotion book for women. Vickey has brought the stories of these biblical women to life in a way that will meet many needs for contemporary, busy women today. I learned something from each woman she wrote about that helped me deal with my own issues. Each example she wrote on seemed to meet me right where I am now. The bottom line is, no matter who you are or what you are dealing with, it is so encouraging to be reminded that God truly loves us as women and only wants His best for us. This book is exciting, and I found myself wanting to continue on until I finished the whole thing!

I was instantly drawn in by the gentle life lessons Vickey Banks drew from women in the Bible. It's not a book of fluff, but rather a book full of parallels that spark your desire to know God more. Her writing is honest, and Vickey opens her heart to the reader, demonstrating the depth of her relationship with God. I planned to read only one chapter the first time I picked it up, but before I knew it I had read halfway through the book. The questions at the end of each chapter caused me to stop and examine my heart. This is a wonderful book to simply read, to study, or to share with women of all ages in a Bible group setting.

We are in the middle of a small group study of the women described in this book. Not only is the book wonderful by itself, but to meet and discuss and share it in a small group setting is incredible. Vickey does a wonderful job of making you look twice at familiar stories and to learn from them, and to leave a changed person.

I was recently asked if I would head up a small women's Bible study. Even though my time is limited these days, I said yes! Mainly because I had just read Vickey Bank's book, Sharing His Secrets...and I wanted to SHARE!!!Vickey Banks has done a marvelous job of sharing with her readers special insights from the women who knew and touched Jesus. And whom Jesus knew and touched.You won't regret reading this book!

Vickey does an outstanding job of bringing you face-to-face with Jesus and the women who encountered Him. You'll not only get great Biblical insights into the women Jesus met, but you'll be personally challenged to grow more intimately acquainted with the Savior. The prompted prayers at the end of each chapter will hit you in the face and bring you closer to the One who continues to make a difference in the lives of women today.