Thursday, August 28, 2014

Double Longing and the 80/20

This week I found what I thought was going to be an excellent book. Actually I found 4-6 great books. And had been trying to decide which one to start with. Well the one I decided to read first was one about our hunger for a deeper relationship with God.

Here is an excellent quote from the book:

"As Thad Rutter put it so beautifully, we discover the double longing. We learn first that we have a longing- a deep hunger for God and a sense of His presence. As we we begin to pursue that intense desire, we encounter a second even stronger longing. God's heart desperately longs for us. That increases our desire for Him, and the spiral of communion continues to grow." 
 
And I thought it would be a great place to start. I mean seriously, we all have a place in our hearts that only a relationship with God can fill - so what could be wrong with the book, right? 
 
After I found the quote above and I was feeling like oh what a great book. I decided to go look for a photo online of the book- I was going to write up a post about the book and share a photo of it. When I did - I just happened to notice an entry in the google search that I knew I needed to check out more. I clicked into it and I found a great write up of the book. And in it I found that this book actually pulled an 80/20. What is an 80/20 you ask? Well it is where there is a good deal of truth but there is also error. Just enough truth is in the book to lead truth seeker to check it out - but throughout the book is error. So while a person with a true desire to develop a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ reads this book. They get counterfeit ideas of how to go about developing that relationship. And in the end it does more harm than good.
 
I found that this book did not fall under the 4:8 principal at all- it was not truth. And I want truth. I am not looking for the counterfeit. There is enough counterfeit in the world and we need to be on the outlook for it.

So my suggestion to you today and everyday is to be sure and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you with truth. To give you the wisdom you need to discern truth and error.  As I shared yesterday....
 
    Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
1 Peter 5:8
 
This book will not be read by me.
I will continue to follow after truth. 
I have a pile of other books to read through. In fact, I had actually started 2 books- and I am thinking that tomorrow I will share with you some about the other book that I am reading.

May God lead you in all truth 
 
        Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.   
Psalm 119:105

 

2 comments:

  1. You are soooo right! We must be careful and compare everything to our Bibles!

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  2. Wow! What an experience! I'm glad you shared it--it's a good reminder to be very careful what we pick up and read, because our minds are a very important battle ground.

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