21 Most Effective Prayers of the Bible – Dave Earley

I finally finished this book. ever since i actually started my blog and put “Books I’m reading” and “books I’ve read” on it, it has really motivated me to read more. Last week i finished reading this book by Dave Early and decided to make a VERY quick book review on it. By no means am I a professional critic of any sort but I just want to let you all know about my thoughts on books I’ve read. So here we go for my first book review!

First of all i want to start to say this. I have had the chance to speak to Dave Early personally about 2 years ago as we had Him up for our Apex Leaders Retreat at Jackson’s Point. When Dave came back to our church that Sunday He actually preached from this very book. What i find actually truly interesting regarding Dave is that the way He writes is the exact same way he speaks. Me, on the other hand, sound a lot smarter in writing then in person… (Thank God for spell check Ha Ha.)

In His book, Dave takes you through 21 different prayers that were prayed by different people in the Bible for different reasons but yet, were all answered. This book really spoke to me because just about every single one of those 21 prayers had to do with either something, I’ve gone through or am going through. One thing i really liked about reading this book is that the second i was done a chapter i was ready and able to already apply what i just read in my life. From “Lord, save me”, to “Lord, Send Me”, i was able to use it right away in my life. He makes it really easy for us, simple people, to relate to such great prayers.

Out of 10 i would definitely give this book a 8. Personally I had a hard time to stay focused while reading it but then again that might just be my A.D.D. Ha Ha. I would definitely recommend this book as a great tool to help you either get started to pray or if you need ideas on how to pray or what to pray for. Sometimes you are faced with certain challenges in your life and just have no clue how to tackle it, well this is the tool for you!

i know this is not much of a review, but these are my thoughts

Tags: 21, Bible, Book, Dave, Earley, Effective, Most, Of, Prayers, Review, The

A Love Story

Last friday, i delivered my second message from my new message series called The Hot Pursuit. I talked about God’s love and love in general. I explained our need FOR love, TO love and TO BE loved. In order to try to explain the love story that God wrote to us know as the Bible, i wrote a little story my self and was told i need to put it on my blog. So here it is. Enjoy!

Once there was a man named Joe. He was in love with this one girl. Her name was Tina. His whole entire life he was trying to get her attention. One day she noticed him but she didn’t think much about him. He really loved her. He would buy her flowers, bring her chocolate, take her to the movies but she wouldn’t change how she felt about him. On the other hand though, she really liked the attention so she kept going to the movies with him. She always loved that he would bring her flowers but still, she wouldn’t give in. Soon enough, you could say that she was just flat out using Joe. Joe felt really hurt because he knew what she was doing but his love for her was so grand that he just couldn’t help it. He did everything he could to try to make her happy and to be there for her even if he knew that she didn’t want anything to do with him.

One day, Tina got really sick and she had to be hospitalized as there was something wrong with her heart. Everyday Joe would come and see her. He would buy her gifts and write her poems and cards to try to make her feel better. All this time, Tina was wondering why Joe was doing all this, but she never said anything. The doctors said that Tina needed a heart transplant but because of her rare blood type and heart tissue, it would be nearly impossible to find a match. It was as if she was already dead; there was no hope. Tina started to cry. The next time that Joe came by, she told him everything. A few days had gone by since Joe’s last visit. though she didn’t love him the same way he loved her, she started to wonder where he had been but she didn’t think much about it after that. Later on that same day the doctors stormed in to Tina’s room saying “Ma’m We have found you a new heart. It’s a miracle.”

A few short days after that, the surgery went on as planned and was a success. Tina came out of the operation as healthy as before. On her way out, the doctor stoped her and said that there was a note that came in for her. He said it was from a man named Joe. Tina quickly opened the note and began to read. By the time she got to the end, she was crying uncontrollably. The note went as follow.
Tina, How should I begin? My whole life, all I wanted was you. You meant more to me then you will probably ever know. I know that in your heart, you did not feel the same way as I did, but all the things I did for you, was in hope that one day you might. My love was never along the lines of, “as long as you love me, I will love you”. My love for you was unconditional. When I came in that day to your room and I saw the grief, pain and hurt on your face when you told me what was going on, I knew what I had to do. I left your room and got tested for my blood type and heart tissue to see if it was compatible and it was. After much thinking, I knew I had to do it. Your life meant a lot more to me than my own. I truly hope that you live a life with as much love as i currently feel for you. Hope you like your new heart!

In hope that we meet again one day,

Joe

Tags: Hot, Jesus, Love, Pursuit, Series, The