After God's Own Heart Book Discussion

I am so excited and just have to share.  Just before the summer started I felt the Lord impressing upon me the desire to study David, specifically his heart and why God Himself called David a man after His own heart.

At one point I mentioned this to my house church and we decided as a group to pursue this.  We've spent the summer and fall reading through 1 Samuel and are starting 2 Samuel now.

Then I stumbled across a book by Mike Bickle called "After God's Own Heart".  After just the first few pages I knew this book was going to be used by God to change my entire perspective about God's Love for me and how to have a deeper and more intimate relationship with Him.

I've shared what I've been learning and some of the ideas from this book with friends at work.  Three of us decided to read this book together and discuss it as we go along.  We decided to open it up and throw out the idea to the entire building.  I pulled together a synopsis of the book, my reasons for doing the discussion and a couple reviews and sent an email.  Now we have ordered our books and should have them next week (I was reading a copy that belonged to a friend, but kept wanting to take notes in it so I figured I need my own copy anyway.)  We have 11 people who have committed to reading this book and meeting 2x a month to talk about what the Lord is revealing to us!  WOW!!!!  God is amazing and I think He is up to some pretty cool stuff this year.  I can't wait to find out what it all is!

Here is one of my favorite reviews of this book, which I found on the Forerunner Store website  -

WARNING: This book will warp your mind. Do not read it if you plan to live a normal life. It is dangerous. I use to be a normal Christian. But now I am ruined for anything else.  ~ Daniel Erwin

Gazing on His Beauty

Awhile back I had the desire to study the life of David. Specifically his heart, since he is described by God Himself as being a man after God's own heart.  The more I journey down this path with the Lord the more I desire to have that type of relationship with Him.

As I read about David and his relationship with God, I realize the key to having a heart after God's is to understand God's Heart.  The more I understand how passionately He loves me, even in the midst of all the "junk" in my life - the more I will begin to love Him.  The more I will desire to spend time in His presence and to follow Him.

For too long I've allowed my perfectionist tendencies to drive me to try to be righteous and holy.  The problem with this is I am focuing on myself instead of Christ.  I've focused on being a "good" christian for so long and when I've stumbled I've focused on how much of a failure I was because of it.  I've heard for so long how I need to focus on Jesus and not myself, that God loves me no matter what.  But it was not until this last week that this finally clicked for me!  I've been preaching this concept to others but without realizing it I was not living it myself.  I was still focusing on my failures and running from God when I failed instead of running to Him.  I was still focused on my efforts to be "good" for God, trying to earn His love.  A love that is greater than I can even begin to imagine and which is already wholly mine - no strings attached!

Now, instead of expending so much energy on being a "good" christian I want to spend my efforts gazing upon God, understanding His emotions and His love.  The rest will happen naturally as I fall more and more in love with this amazing, awesome God who loves me.

Remember your first love?  The giddy feelings?  How you wanted to know as much as possible about the person and could not stop thinking about them.  How your heart would flutter everytime you saw them.   Remember how when they expressed their love for you, it would increase your love towards them?  Our relationship with God is to be like this, but soo much more.  And more permanent.  It is not a fleeting feeling that fades after a few months when we get to know each other.  There is always more to learn about God and His love for us.  There is always something new to inspire us.

That is how I've been feeling lately.  I've been giddy with excitement for no apparent reason.  I'm excited to spend time in His Word, praying, worshiping and just sitting in His Presence.  I crave it and run after it.  I want more! 

Do you feel that way about your Lord and Savior?  If not, ask Him to begin to reveal His heart to you.  Ask Him to show you His beauty and to give you understanding of how great is His love for you.  How passionately He pursues and woos you.  Ask Him to give you more understanding of Psalm 27, to truly place this desire deep within your heart.

Psalm 27:4
One thing I ask of the Lord; this is what I seek:  that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.

One book I'm reading right now that I recommend to anyone who wants to take this journey is "After His Own Heart" by Mike Bickle.  I leave you now with a quote from this book:

"The heart of God is a wonderland, a universe of beauty like no place mankind could dream up.  All beauty on earth is merely a reflection of Him..."

Finding Yourself

"Finding yourself" or understanding who you really are will never come from examining yourself.  Looking within yourself, looking at your heart, your surroundings or those you know will not bring true self-understanding or true purpose to your life.

Our identity flows from Him, His heart.  The only way to truly find yourself is to find Him.  Understand Him and His heart and you will truly find yourself! 

Instead of focusing on trying to "find yourself", focus your energies on understanding our God and His heart and He will reveal who you truly are and your purpose.

Jesus = Passionate Bridegroom
Me/You = Cherished Bride

"Intimacy with God is not just an option, but it is the very essence of true Christianity."  ~ Mike Bickle

30 Days - The Mind of Christ

A blog that I find very dear to my heart and has been a great blessing over the past couple years to me is starting what I believe is going to be an amazing journey tomorrow.  Over the next 30 days we are going to explore how to put Christ on the throne of your life.  Spiritually Unequal Marriage (SUM) is hosting this "experiment".  Please consider joining us in this journey.  It is not just for those who are unequally yoked, although some of the experiences shared will be related to this.

To read more about this please take a look at Lynn's first post introducing this journey

30 Days - The Mind of Christ

Then scroll through the other posts made by Lynn and Dineen leading up to the kickoff which will happen tomorrow, Friday, October 2nd.

I pray you will join us and run after having a mind and heart after Christ.

P.S. I have been asked to be a guest contributor on Monday's through this journey.  My first post will appear on Monday, October 5th.

Tormented in Your Righteous Soul?

2 Peter 2 starts off talking about false teachers and their destruction.  It speaks of the righteous and godly who were spared when God's judgment fell on the wicked.  It speaks of Noah being spared when God brought the flood to destroy the world.  It speaks of Lot being spared when the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.

While reading this chapter, one verse stuck out and a question whispered through my mind.  Verse 8 says about Lot:

for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard.

The question I keep coming back to is "Am I tormented in my righteous soul by the deeds I see and hear all around me?"

In the past when I saw or heard things that were evil, things that went against God's Truth, I would become indignant.  How could they?  I would speak out at times, other times I would not, but either way I would smolder with righteous anger.

But lately I've noticed that has changed.  As I've prayed for the Lord to give me His Eyes and His Heart for others I've found that while I do still get angry about certain things, I am filled with an even more powerful emotion.  A soul wrenching sadness.  It is as if the Lord has begun to open my eyes to the person beneath it all.  Instead of seeing someone evil and defiant of God, I now more often see the deceived and lost soul underneath - the person who is hiding behind a facade of defiance and self-reliance.  A person just like I used to be and honestly still am at times.

There are times I actually find myself in horrible internal agony for a person, tears and sometimes sobs rise up in me for a particular person and the only relief is for me to pray for that person.

I would not say that I am necessarily in torment all the time regarding the evil around me, but the Lord has begun to transform my heart and open my eyes to how He sees others.  It is amazing and heartbreaking at the same time.

I never would have thought in the past that I would find myself praying for more torment in my soul, but I do find myself desiring this - to more fully understand how God sees and feels for others.  To feel the love He has for them and along with that the sadness that He feels when those He loves dearly choose to turn away from Him.