Review of Primal by Mark Batterson

Is this book for the complacent? Nope. But if you are hungry for change and ready to move from your state of spiritual sleepwalking into an intimate relationship with your Christ, then Primal by Mark Batterson should be your first read in 2010.

Batterson, author of Wild Goose Chase and In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, will lead you on a journey of primal proportions. This book is not a "feel good" book with a simple message; Primal will challenge you to "go underground, below your actions to your motivations." Mr. Batterson forces you to answer uncomfortable questions, and he dares you to move back to your first love.

Mr. Batterson digs deep into each of these cornerstones of the Great Commandment - love, intimacy, knowledge and power. His brutal honesty about his trek into the catacombs of his soul can be used to guide you into a deeper walk with Christ.

Do you remember your primal feelings when you first came to know you were loved by Christ? Mr. Batterson knows how easily lost you can become in the busyness of today's Christian culture. He describes himself as a "paid professional Christian" before his primal awakening. In Primal, he gives excellent advice, issues life-changing challenges, and demonstrates God-given insight with one goal - "to take you back to that primal place - the place where loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength is all that matters."

If "growing deeper with Christ" is on your New Year's resolution list, then Primal by Mark Batterson needs to be on your shopping list for tomorrow!

PRIMAL is here!!!!!!

I'm very honored to be selected to review the book Primal by Mark Batterson before its upcoming release on December 22nd! I received my book and I am eagerly devouring it. Please watch for my review THIS WEEK!

Those who have been regular readers of my blog will be interested in the connection between PRIMAL and my thoughts on God's love for us.

The author states in the forward, " My aim in this book is to take you to new places intellectually and spiritually so that you discover new way of loving God. But I also hope this book takes you back to a primal place where God loved you and you loved God. And that's all that mattered."

WOW! I CAN'T WAIT TO FINISH THIS BOOK AND SHARE IT WITH YOU! Put it on your Christmas list now so you can make it the first book you read in 2010! You will not regret it!

Heaven Can't Wait, Part Two

So meanwhile you say, "Let's not worry or think about it.
Turn on the record player, and fill the room with jazz.
Live for today, do what comes naturally...
This doesn't take thought, or hard work, or being different.
"Heaven can wait."
But will young people, by postponing serious thoughts and refusing to think of spiritual things, eventually stumble upon some satisfying beliefs?
Will you one day - without thinking about it - find a satisfying experience with God?

Will you manage to find the happiness you seek by drifting along, day by day, "gathering rosebuds while you may"? Is it true that "Heaven can wait"?

Does Heaven wait?

Will Heaven wait?

Youth is the period of the most important decisions of life for which the Lord's guidance is particularly needed.
It is in youth that we form our basic ideals and philosophies...
It is in youth that we come to crossroads where decisions are made between right and wrong:
To do homework - or to sneak out the sexy magazine...
To take a low grade - or cheat...
And when caught doing something wrong to tell the truth fearlessly - or lie cravenly -
perhaps even shifting the blame to someone else.

These are the crossroads...
Here is where greatness begins its journey or weakness and evil take over.

Habits are begun in youth that solidify like concrete:
Putting off assignments until it is too late...
Telling little lies that grow into bigger lies that trap, enmesh, entwine, imprison...
Giving away a priceless treasure a little at a time until it is all gone, and you are soiled, distraught, bitter, and desperately disillusioned that love can turn so dirty...
Choosing friends that help lift your thinking, or lower it by feeding your ego, tempting you to do the things that deep inside you know are wrong.

It is in youth that we decide upon a life work.
Either we just drift into something as the only thing we could get, or we carefully prepare at home and in school for that niche in life which we feel is specifically ours.
But whether we drift or whether we steer a direct course, we achieve that place we choose in youth.

It is usually in youth that we select a life partner. And in this, the most important decision of our whole life, we need the help and guidance of a Wisdom greater than our own.

The prophet promised that it was the young who would see visions...the old who would dream their dreams.

Joan of Arc was only seventeen when she was riding at the head of the army that liberated France from the English.

John Calvin was twenty-six when he published his Institutes.
John Keats died at twenty-six...
Shelley was thirty when he was drowned, leaving English literature his undying Odes...

Sir Isaac Newton had largely discovered the workings of the law of gravitation when he was twenty-three...
Henry Clay was sent to the United States Senate at twenty-nine, and was Speaker of the House of Representatives at thirty-four...

Raphael painted his most important pictures between twenty-five and thirty - he died at thirty-seven.
Van Dyck had done his best work before he was thirty.

Jesus Christ was not quite thirty-three when He died.
For the most part, His followers were young men.

Those who gathered at Pentecost were young people...
The movement that started when the winds of the Holy Spirit blew through the streets of old Jerusalem was essentially a youth movement.

It is for all these reasons, you see, that Heaven can't wait.
The visions that are to be granted are given to youth.
But voices that are unheeded have a way of being heard no more.
And visions that shine through the fogs and above the mists have a way of fading and disappearing as time goes oozing out.

"Well," you may say, "it sounds fine. I do want to be happy with a lasting kind of happiness.
I do want to get the most out of life.
I want to be successful.
I would like to feel that there is a God who is interested in me and my life.
Of course, I don't want to make any big mistakes that will mar my life - that will mess it all up."

"I would like to believe that it is not simply a lot of sentimental pious nonsense to say that God cares whom I marry... that marriages are still made in heaven, that somewhere there is a particular person for me, that I can feel close to God in my daily life but - let's be practical."

"Suppose I am ready to call your bluff!
Suppose I am willing to give it a trial.
How does God become real to me?
What do I do?"

(Today's blog is copied in its entirety from a sermon preached by Peter J. Marshall; Heaven Can't Wait by Peter J. Marshall, 1963, p. 38. Part Three will be published soon.)

Heaven Can't Wait, Part One

Each one of you has a philosophy of life.
You may not realize it...
You may not even know it, but you have one nevertheless.

It may be sound - or it may be false.
It may be positive - or it may be negative.
It may be Christian - or it may be pagan.
Perhaps you could not expound it in so many words, but you have one just the same.

It lies back of every decision you make...
It colors every opinion you hold...
It suggests every action you take...
and it shows itself in a hundred different ways:
The type of amusement you seek...
The kind of pictures you prefer...
The magazines and newspapers you read...
The television programs you watch...
The slang you use...
Your favorite songs...

All these things are indicative of the tenor of your thinking and are clues to your philosophy of life.

Such a clue, I believe, is the title of a song of some years ago, "Heaven Can Wait."
It is indicative of a prevailing idea to which a great many of us subscribe...
"This is paradise enough" is a philosophy which says,
"We're only young once, let us have our fun while we can.
There's plenty of time for responsibility and serious thoughts.
We're not ready to settle down yet...
We're out for a good time, so don't be a wet blanket by asking us to be serious.
This is the time to be happy - so come along, let's dance.
Have another drink...you're only young once."

This idea is not new, nor is it modern.
You and your parents and your grandparents have been saying it down through the ages.
Always there have been young people who have fallen victims to this pagan philosophy and have expressed it in many different ways.

It was this idea that Robert Herrick expressed in the seventeenth century when he said:
"Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying:
And this same flower that smiles to-day,
To-morrow will be dying."

You see, there is nothing new about the idea of sloughing off of responsibilities or duties or thoughts of a future life.
There is nothing new here - but there is also nothing good about it.

I wonder why it is that so many young people are afraid of that which is high - afraid of high ideals, of high thoughts, of high morality.

Is it because so may grew up in homes saturated with cynicism and helplessness and defeatism?

Some of you grew up in an age when not only big sisters and brothers - but fathers and mothers took to drinking and staying out nights...
When young girls were trained to sever liquor in barrooms no better than the old saloon...
When American women were persuaded by brilliant advertising that it was fashionable to drink...
When Hollywood and Freudian psychology were making us sex-conscious as never before.

It is not surprising, therefore, that so many of you young people have lost your moorings...are confused and bewildered...And have the feeling that no one - not even God - cares about you.

Yet behind the "so what" indifference - the cynicism, the boredom, all of you want challenges and jobs.
All of you want to make your own way in life...unless you have been softened and spoiled by parental indulgence.

Most of you want to get married - and deeply and sincerely desire your marriage to be a success...
You want to have a home and a family and you want to see some light ahead for your children.

You would like to give yourself to something worthwhile, perhaps a hospital project...work with children...the church.
Inside are the stirrings and longings and a hunger for the real meaning of life.
You are in search of happiness but don't know where to find it, or even how to look.

(Today's blog is copied in its entirety from a sermon preached by Peter J. Marshall; Heaven Can't Wait by Peter J. Marshall, 1963, p. 38. Part Two will be published tomorrow.)

Obedience in Everything

As my relationship with my Abba Father grows more intimate, I have been prompted to do some things that on the face of it appear to be pointless or even ridiculous, but have proven to be EXACTLY God's will! There was the time God prompted me to call someone and ask permission to be anointed for a relative. I was the last person who should have stood in that person's place - there were many others available. But God wanted the conversation started so I called. End result: someone who God is chasing chose to be anointed.

And the time I was awakened at 11:30 to pray for a baby in the hospital. In my mind, God placed an image of that baby needing an IV in the ankle and a nurse named Beth. Later I found out that indeed the baby did need the IV replaced in his ankle, and there was a nurse named Beth who cared for him. Beth did not do the new IV procedure. I'm not sure why I was praying for her.

What about the time I was prompted to pray a new diagnosis over a family suffering estrangement? The relationship began changing 3 hours later!!

This past weekend I was prompted by God to make a phone call to someone at 8:00 AM on a Saturday morning!!!?! I resisted that one for a minute or two, so afraid I would wake that person up on a day they get to sleep in.... The person didn't answer so I left a message. I'm not sure why I needed to make that call yet, but I know God has a reason.

It is EXCITING to see how God uses our obedience. I shared with my Sunday school class this morning that I wanted to purchase my boys something they all needed: shoes. But because our pay schedule has changed, things are a little different than a month ago. I needed to wait until the next payday. I wanted to be a good steward, yet my mommy's heart wanted to provide. I felt a peace that we could wait; then GOD PROVIDED! Somehow some money had fallen out of my wallet or gas envelope into my car. It was $8 over what I needed to get them new shoes. I know that God was rewarding my obedience in letting the situation wait.

God wants me to obey Him, not as a slave out of duty or obligation, but as His friend. More than anything, I want my Abba Daddy to say of me, "I call her friend..." John 15:11-15 (The Message) reads, "I've told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I'm no longer calling you servants because servants don't understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I've named you friends because I've let you in on everything I've heard from the Father."

I find that my joy is becoming wholly mature, that I love other people as God loves me, and that I know how to do these things because I've been let in on everything the Father told His Son as I read the Word more and more.

Pondering thought for the day: Are you able to hear your Abba Father's voice amongst the chatter of your children, the busyness of your day, the demands of life? Are you giving Him undivided time in your day?

Trusting the Author of the Plan

As I start getting in touch with my feelings more and learning how to identify and communicate them, I'm learning to recognize more quickly the disconnect that happens when I start to shut down. For the past couple of weeks, I have felt disconnected from God, my husband, my kids.... so I started to look at what was going on. It is so much easier for me to withdraw than to vocalize it when I am feeling "bad." So.... then what? I began to pray and really search about what was going on for me spiritually.

I have been reading "He Loves Me" by Wayne Jacobsen since April. Yes, it is THAT good! The chapter I am in right now is titled "In the Darkest Moment...Trust." That is what I decided to do in April and I prayed through on that. Yet lately when I feel God is asking me to do something I absolutely NEVER imagined for myself, doubt has begun to creep in to my soul. Now, after everything he has brought me through, when suddenly I find myself unsure of what God wants me to do, I allowed myself to start doubting him. Why? Have his intentions towards me changed? No! Do I think that he has become unable to make sound plans? Would he ask me to do something that is wrong or that would cause me harm? No! By inserting himself between me and the cross, he has shown me his intense love for me. He wants me to reciprocate that love, and I can do that by trusting him.

Instead of doubting him, I should be assuming that his plans for me are beyond my expectations and even my ability to see and understand! When I can become trusting of him even in those times when I can't see him or understand his plan, then I can continue to walk with him. If I allow the doubts to overwhelm me, I create separation by my attitude of mistrust.

This principle was lived out fully in Jesus as he is was on the cross. When my sin overwhelmed Jesus so much that he could not sense his Father's presence, he cried out, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" Right there, in that very moment, Jesus was where I feel right now. When I feel overwhelmed, even consumed by my problems, fears, doubts, etc. I am tasting only the smallest portion of what Jesus felt on the cross.

But Jesus' example on the cross is one I need to follow. In his darkest moment of despair, in his perception of abandonment by his Father, when he felt God had turned away from him, he lived out his heart of trust that he had built through his love relationship with his Father. His dying words show me how to live: "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."

If I am going to be like Jesus, then when I feel confusion, I will say, "Father, into your hands I commit my life plan." When fear for my kids begins to control my life, I will say, "Father, into your hands I commit my boys." When it is time to budget and pay the bills, I will say, "Father, into your hands I commit my finances." When I can't figure out what God is doing; when I've just messed up big time; when I'm lonely, empty and withdrawing; when I'm uncertain about my future; when I start thinking of "better ways;" the answer is always the same: "Into your hands, Abba Father, I commit my spirit, my life, my everything."

I Need A Savior...

I've been thinking a lot about what holiness can mean in my life. I want to be open to those who hold me accountable. I want to not need the approval of others, but rely on the approval of my heavenly Father. I want to be available for Him to use me whenever and wherever He chooses. I want to be content in my daily life, and not desire more "things" or "status."

What I want more than any of that, though, is a love relationship like William P. Young wrote about in The Shack. I read that last year in about four hours and using half a box of tissues. As I look back on my reading of that book and try to dissect why it affected me so much, it becomes quite obvious to me. I crave the kind of relationship that Papa, Jesus and the Spirit demonstrate in their conversations with each other. Don't we all want someone to love on us like that? I literally sobbed as I read through that part, and I know now it was because that was the deepest longing of my heart - that love connection. As Mac starts experiencing that love, it starts to flow out of him to those around him - even those who don't necessarily deserve it.

I remember thinking that if I could feel that kind of love, everything would be okay. And you know what? I was right! I just didn't know how to get there at the time. But God began to develop that desire in my heart and through the circumstances of life, drew me to Him this past April. I gave it all to Him: everything and He gave it all back to me: everything! All of the love that I so desperately longed for is now filling me so much that it begins to seep out of my pores and flow into others around me.

Here is a song that I'm enjoying more and more as I listen to KLOVE:

Among The Thirsty - I'd Need A Savior
From the album Wonder

How many names can I use to explain the love of my Jesus,
the life that he gave and so many times will I praise you today.
I lift up my life 'cause you're always the same
And my offering to you I bring

Chorus:
Your name is Jesus. Your name is Jesus.
You're the Wonderful, Counselor, my Friend.
You're what I hold on to; I know that you brought me through
All the days of loss, to the cross you knew
I'd need a Savior.

How many songs can I sing to proclaim your wondrous love and beauty so great?
What would I say if you brought down the rain and everyday
I walk through the pain my heart would still say:

Chorus:

You're what I hold on to; I know that you brought me through
All the days of loss, to the cross you knew
I'd need a Savior.
I'd need a Savior
I need you, Savior

That's my reality. I need you, Savior. You are my Friend. I need you; you bring me through everything. You have a plan for my life, to bless me and prosper me. Thank you, Abba Father, for showing me Your love for me. I'm so thankful that I have made Your love the one TRUTH in my life. Amen.

My Agenda Versus HIS Agenda

Pastor Jimmy preached on Sunday about being fishers of men. He said to all of us, “We were all at one time a fish.” He mentioned how we often start to follow Jesus because of our own agendas, whether it be, “He’ll make me a better person, mom, wife, etc.” or “He’ll save me from burning in hell.” So often, the first agenda we have when we come to salvation is one based in fear. But in his Word, it is clear that fear and love are polar opposites. We are relational beings created by a God who desires for us to relate to Him in love, not in fear. God desires for us to move past a fear-based relationship and fall in love with him.

The following paragraph is compiled, quoted and summarized in large part from “He Loves Me: Learning to Live in the Father’s Affection by Wayne Jacobsen

So often we sit in church and think that conformity to God’s ways will lead us closer to him, when the opposite is true. If we focus on our fears and performance, God seems more distant. It is only by living in the security of God’s affection that he is able to transform us. Fears cannot produce the holiness God wants to share with us. It is incapable of doing so. For God to transform us to be like him, he must expel our fear and teach us the wonder of living in his love. God knows that responding to his love will take you much further than fear ever could. That’s why love must first deal with your fears. “Perfect love drives out fear.” “The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (I John 4:18) God wants you to know his love so completely that fearing him will have no place in your life. When you are absolutely convinced (emphasis mine) of how much God loves you, that knowledge will drive out every fear you have. Until you experience the reality of God’s love (and truly believe it!) and grow to trust him with the details of your life, you will not break free from the power of self. But when his love touches you, you will discover there is nothing more powerful in the entire universe. It is more powerful than your failures, your sins, your disappointments, your dreams and even your fear. God knows that when you tap the depths of his love, your life will forever be changed. Nothing can prevail over it; and nothing else will lead you to taste of his kind of holiness.

Why do I write about this? It is because I have begun to tap the depths of God’s love for me, and I want to share it with you. We all grow up singing the song, “Jesus loves me; this I know,” but do you really truly know it? Do you believe that Jesus loves you for who you are? I thought I did, but I realized that I didn’t believe that he could love me, especially with all the sins I’ve committed. It was head knowledge but not a heart belief. I’ve been on a journey these past few months that has led me to the solid assurance, knowledge, and core belief that I am a lovable person. I am emptied of me and I am filled up with His love. I am created by my Abba Father; He formed me in my mother’s womb. I am created to be loving, passionate about my beliefs, expressive and strong. God loves me!! I know this! I wish I could describe this experience that our church calls sanctification and holiness in words that would make you crave it like you do chocolate or coffee. I find that my adjectives are woefully inadequate. I feel saturated with his love. My words and actions have become based more on my love relationship with my Abba Father than on what others may think or say. Nope. I’m not perfect. ☺ But I am being perfected in His love. I am learning that it is possible to live daily without sinning. I have struggled in my Christian walk with certain sins that I would repent of and then repeat the next day. What is different? Then I repented out of fear and struggled to live a Christian life based in fear of going to hell. Now, I’m not inclined to sin because it separates me from my Abba Father. I love him so much and feel his love for me to such a degree that it physically and spiritually hurts when there is separation. You too can live in this love relationship. Ask God in the days ahead to reveal the depths of his love for you.