Book Review: Guarding Your Heart

A.W. Pink's Guarding Your Heart is based on Proverbs 4:23:  "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life".  This book is devoted to explaining this verse in detail and providing useful application for everyday life.  As Pink rightly states, "All outward actions are worthless while our hearts be not right with God". Throughout this book, he builds on this truth and seeks to show believers both the importance of having a heart right with God and the diligence it takes on our part to make that happen.  He does not forsake the work of the Holy Spirit in this endeavor, but the focus of this book is on the directive given in Proverbs 4:23.

 

Pink devotes his first chapter to the phrase "keep thy heart".  He offers both definitions and examples before transitioning to the next chapter, "diligent effort".  Here he emphasizes both man's responsibility to keep his heart and his helplessness in and of himself to do so.  My favorite quote in this short book is the prayer that follows:  "Lord, Thou requirest me to keep my heart with all diligence, and I feel utterly incompetent for such a task; such a work lies altogether beyond my poor feeble powers; therefore, I humbly ask Thee in the name of Christ to graciously grant unto me supernatural strength to do as Thou hast bidden me.  Lord, work in me both to will and to do of Thy good pleasure."  

Pink's third chapter focuses on the fact that the Lord looks on the heart.  He exhorts believers to remember this truth when deciding how to spend their time, money, and care.  This chapter concludes with a list of the heart-characteristics Christian ought to have, including Scripture references for further study.

The fourth and fifth chapters focus on practical applications.  Chapter four discusses keeping the heart during different seasons, including prosperity, adversity, public danger, trouble in the church, injuries and abuses, spiritual gloom, and critical illness.  Chapter five addresses "other issues".  Both of these chapters are again full of Scripture and prod the reader to examine his own heart.

In his final chapter, Pink discusses the benefits of keeping the heart.  He offers a conclusion of encouragement to those who faithfully and closely perform this hard work of keeping their heart.  

I chose this book by A.W. Pink for two different reasons.  First, the topic.  Proverbs 4:23 is a verse that confused me during adolescence and young adulthood.  I would hear peers quote "guard your heart" in reference to relationships with the opposite sex.  "Don't give your heart away too soon or to the wrong guy" was what they meant.  While this is wise counsel, I was convinced the verse meant much more than that.  

The second reason I chose this book was because my favorite Bible study author mentioned that A.W. Pink is her favorite theologian. A.W. Pink is new to me, but I can see why my author thinks so highly of him. His writing is easy to follow, but deep with personal application.  This book may only take about an hour to read, but the practical implications need to be mulled over and digested for days, weeks, and months to come.

I look forward to reading more by Pink and intend on coming back to this book for further study in the future.

Rachel's Rating:

★★★★★

Book Review - (A)Typical Woman: Free, Whole, and Called in Christ

Abigail Dodds' (A)Typical Woman:  Free, Whole and Called in Christ addresses the topic of biblical womanhood from the complementarian perspective.  This is not a book that is addressing a new idea.  Dodds states in the beginning of her book, "So many are searching for a novel approach, a new way to think about something, a uniqueness or niche.... Novelty leads to heresy and false teaching....  If this book seems like new information to you, it isn't because I came up with something novel; it's because we've forgotten the basics, or we were never taught them." 

(A)Typical Woman is broken into three parts.  Part one addresses what it means to be a Christian woman.  Dodds focuses on being dead to sin and made into a new woman at the point of becoming a Christian.  She debunks the notion that a "typical" woman exists and focuses on the call of all women to be faithful to God in the circumstances He has given.

Part two breaks down the different titles seen throughout womanhood:  single, married, mothering, working, and discipling.  She points out the differences in these varied stations of life, but exhorts that these different viewpoints are inter-dependent.  Dodds poses a question all women, regardless of their current stage of life, should consider before embarking on new endeavors such as "entering the workforce or motherhood or setting up their home or any sphere of work".  She challenges women to ask themselves, "Am I faithfully obeying God as his child by meeting the genuine needs of others, or am I pursuing self-actualization, self-fulfillment, or selfish ambition apart from him?"

In part three, Dodds focuses on how women are fearless and free in Christ. She spends time discussing the importance of relationships with others who differ from us and the growth and perspective that can be developed from those relationships.  She focuses once again on the myth of "typical" womanhood.  "The nature of being Christian women isn't based on what we do but on who we are - who he's made us."  In conclusion, she offers a challenge.  "Are we willing to be agents of the gospel of Jesus Christ?  Are we willing to exercise the gifts God has given us, whether teaching, serving, administrating, giving, counseling with wisdom, exhorting, and on and on, to his glory and for his people, holding nothing back?  Are we willing to really have some skin in the game?"

True to her word, Dodds did not present anything new or different from the Biblical perspective of womanhood that I have been taught from Scripture my entire life.  I appreciated her reminders of serving Christ in every aspect of our lives and remaining faithful to all He has called us to.

 

Rachel's Rating:

★★★★☆

Book Review: Is God Speaking to Me

Is God Speaking to Me, by Lysa TerKeurst, is a brief booklet taken from her book, What Happens When Women Say Yes to God.  In this three-chapter synopsis, TerKeurst spends the first chapter describing what it means to have a soul that "longs for more".  She encourages women to daily say "yes" to God, emphasizing the act of surrendering to God through prayer each morning.  She focuses on obedience to God's commands, which she terms "radical obedience".  She also introduces the idea of radical blessings, though she does not define these blessings until chapter three.

Set to release September 1, 2020

The next chapter is spent discussing what it means both to hear God's voice and to be assured it is Him speaking.  She states, "When God speaks to me, it is a certain impression on my heart that I've come to recognize as Him."  She then lists 5 questions she asks herself to determine if what she is hearing is from God or not.

The final chapter describes the radical blessings that result from following God wholeheartedly.  These include a deeper relationship with God, a more adventurous life, depth of inner peace, better relationships with people, having a meaning and purpose to life, and having an eternal perspective.

TerKeurst emphasizes subjective experience in this book, which is not surprising, considering the title.  She states, "As we experience God personally, we come to know new names for Him.  When we've experienced His provision, we come to know Him as our Provider.  When we've experienced His comfort, we come to know Him as our Comforter.... The longer we know Him and the more we experience Him personally, the more we learn about His character."  This sounds good.  But let us think it through.  Wouldn't it be great if God would just write us a book with all of these characteristics prominently on display, worked out in the lives of sinful humans who have lived before us?  Isn't it great that He has done just that in the Bible?  Isn't it great that we do not have to wait for personal experience to see and embrace Him as our Provider and Comforter?  There is great value in experiencing God's character on display in our lives, but we learn about His character, first and foremost, through His written Word.

TerKeurst lists questions to ask oneself while studying Scripture.  While she states that these are just starting point questions, they are mostly self- focused:  "Who is this passage speaking to?  What is it saying to me?  What direction is this passage giving?  How might I need to change my way of thinking or acting as a result of this verse?  What are some other verses that relate to this topic, both in the Old Testament and New Testament?"  She does not include any question of context or authorial intent.  These two questions are essential building-blocks for studying Scripture.  Skipping to personal application of a passage without regard to the context surrounding the passage or authorial intent is dangerous!  We must handle the Word of God properly in order to understand what God is communicating to us through it. We cannot skip the step of interpretation on our way to figuring out application.

When determining whether one is hearing the voice of God, TerKeurst states one should ask herself whether or not the action she is seeking to do would please God.  She states, "Would this please God?  You see, if what you are doing pleases God, then even if what you thought you heard from Him wasn't His voice, you still please Him.  We should always seek to err on the side of pleasing God.  Ask this question, and you'll know what to do."  This statement should raise red flags!  Yes, we want to please God.  But does it really please God when you claim your actions are something God instructed you to do, when He did not?  Arriving at the proper actions does not excuse using an erroneous method to get there.  The ends do not justify the means.  Putting words in the mouth of God that He did not say is irresponsible and dangerous.

I mostly disagreed with what TerKeurst had to say.  She makes statements that sound so good, yet are not quite right.  Her subtle deviation from Scripture is difficult to discern at times.  This practice of misrepresenting Scripture is dangerous and cannot be taken lightly.  Small errors in Biblical interpretation lead to big errors in theology.  And theology sets the framework for how one views and interacts with the world and with God Himself.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel's Rating:

★☆☆☆☆

Struggling...and Resetting

The past two weeks have been rather mundane.  To be frank, it has been a struggle.  I am not unhappy or restless or bored.  I am just feeling "blah".  There is plenty going on to keep me occupied, but I want to sit around and watch TV all day.  I want to be self-absorbed on my phone, rather than clean the house or read a book, or anything at all productive.  Maybe it is hormonal, or depression, or exhaustion from working third shift.  Maybe it is just laziness.  I don't know.  But it has been a struggle, and I want to snap out of it.  I need to snap out of it.

I am currently on day 3 of a 10-day stretch off of work.  This is my normal schedule, a 10-day break I get every 6 weeks.  Sounds pretty amazing, right?  A mini vacation built right into my work schedule.  It is nice!  But I find myself most unproductive during these 10 days.  I procrastinate and "veg" all day because I have plenty of time to spend doing whatever I want to do.  Then before I know it, I am on day 8 or 9, and I have to work hard to get everything done before going back to work.

The beginning of Corona-break was filled with resolve to be more disciplined in my daily life.  I was writing letters to people as I thought of them, journaling back and forth with my kids daily, keeping them on track with school work, enlisting their help in house work, and reading my Bible and books diligently.

Time moved on, and now I find myself at the end of week 7 of social distancing.  My resolve has dwindled.  I wrote a total of 4 letters this month.  I wanted to write one daily.  The kids' journals sit in a stack, where they have sat untouched for about 3 weeks.  House work is hit-or-miss.  I still read my Bible, but book reading is no longer a priority.  Thankfully, the school sent packets of work for the kids to do, so they are still keeping up with that!

So I need to reset. 

Here are the positives that have happened since the last time I blogged.

Bible study has been meeting via Facebook video chat, every other Monday.  This group of ladies is so encouraging, so honest, so refreshing to chat with each time we meet.  I love hearing their perspectives and encouragement.  It is a joy to study the Bible with them and learn together.

I was able to talk with friends from college this weekend.  I don't remember the last time I saw them all together.  It has been far too long.  I have not been good at keeping in contact.  But it was so encouraging to see their faces and talk about life.  Seeing them made me miss them more, and I hope we are able to do that again soon.

I have seen the kids enjoying each other so much since they have been home.  Sure, they fight.  But I see the love they have for each other and the way they play together.  It is fun to watch them be creative and find ways to include everyone in their play. 

I have a great group of co-workers, and I think we are keeping each other sane right now.  We have a lot of fun together when we work, we talk about our lives and how COVID is affecting us right now, we tease each other and laugh at stupid things that happen.  We eat good food together.  They scare me and laugh at how easy it is to do.

A family from our church dropped a care package off at our house on Sunday.  The kids and I were on a walk at the time, and they drove down where we were to say hi from their van.  I cannot tell you how encouraging it was just to see their faces!  I miss that family.  I miss my church family!

Today I reset.  I have laundry going, I finished some paperwork that was waiting to be completed, this blog post has been written, dishes are next on my list, letters will be responded to, and my kitchen counter WILL be clean again by the end of the day.

How are you all doing?

God's Work In Me

Yesterday, my husband asked me if I had a Bible verse that I really liked.  Philippians 2:13 came to mind right away. "For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure."

This verse caused me confusion for quite some time.  Then, some ladies from church did a Bible study on the book of Philippians.  Through that, I learned what the verse was saying.  Perhaps it is obvious to you...but for me, it took awhile to understand.

God is working in my life.  He is the one who brings all good things.  He is the one who gives me the desire to do right.  He is the one who enables me to do right.  And these good things that He enables me to do?  They are not for me.  They are for Him.  They are for His pleasure, and His pleasure is good.

Simple, right?  That is EXACTLY what the verse says.  So why did it take me so long to understand what the verse was saying?

I am not a patient person.  My husband says I have improved greatly in this area since we have been married, which is so incredibly encouraging to hear.  But still...I have a long way to go, and it is a struggle.  For so long, I would beat myself up over it.  "Just be patient, Rachel.  Just do it." "Count to 3, then react."  "Recite this verse about patience whenever you feel impatient."  These were the things I would tell myself.  Time after time, my inward struggle would just lead to more guilt.  I would fail, chastise myself, at times berate myself, repent, and repeat.  Those things I was telling myself were well and good.  There is nothing wrong with those statements.  But they missed the main point.  They were focused on behavior modification, rather than a change of heart.

Since it is God who is working in me, giving me the desire to do right and also the ability to carry it out, then shouldn't my response to my own impatience be to run to Him in prayer?  Shouldn't I rest secure that He will work in me to carry out these very things He has given me the desire to do?  Knowing that my very life is for His good pleasure, shouldn't I be driven to study His Word and know Him more?  Shouldn't I be seeking counsel from fellow believers who also know and love Him?

My mindset has been changing, ever so slowly.  Life is not about behavior modification and simply doing the right thing.  Life is about doing right, obeying God's commands, for God's good pleasure.  And our God, who sees our hearts, knows very well what our motivation is.  There is no hiding that from Him.

This is not simply about Rachel being more patient.  This is about God's transforming power at work in the lives of all believers.  This is about God, not Rachel.  THAT is the point.  That has always been the point.  Somehow, I missed it.  

In studying His Word, God transforms our lives.  We see more clearly who He is.  Little by little, we learn to love Him more.  And as we do this, He conforms us to His image.  He develops that patience, or those good works, in us.  He causes us to do right.   He uses fellow believers to come alongside us and teach us.  He uses our life experiences to grow us.  Through it all, He is at work.

So if you see Rachel being patient with someone, if you see Rachel working out her salvation, join with me and praise the Lord for that!  It is Him, working in me, and it is for His pleasure.