Why you should read John Eldredge

John Eldredge was an author that revolutionized my life in 2008; and is continually doing so. I have a library of over 100 books, with about 60 Christian books and I consider him the best author, not in terms of expounding the truth, but in terms of the fruit his books produces. It's amazing.

Here are some things I learnt from reading his books. Through his books, I:

1. Learnt how to pray with true fervency. There's a difference between the religious prayer that we usually just let out of our mouth and prayer with true desire. John teaches how the true prayer arises from our heart's desires and how we can truly pray like how the saints of old prayed. And not the cut flower prayers we usually pray.

2. Understood the root of all religious behavior. What John Eldredge calls the practical agnosticism. With our mouths we proclaim Jesus as Lord, but with our lives and our hearts, we live like He isn't there. Learnt that most preaching specifically aimed at behavior dones nothing. To believe that by behaving a certain way makes God more pleased with us is in fact, the beginning of religion. It's our hearts that matter ( yes, heart can produce behavior, but by aiming at behavior we miss the point)

3. Understood the root of all sin. Sin begins when man seeks to fulfil his desires apart from God's plan. Desire is not wrong, but it is the object that we use to fulfil our desires that determines if it is sin or not.

4. Learnt the first sin that was committed by Adam and Eve is still being committed today. Doubting God's heart. Devil tempted Jesus in wilderness. The man who knew God to be a hard man -> sent to the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.

5. Came into deeper understanding of the way I had related to girls I liked and how it was a question of my identity. And that our identity, or our lack of it is often a source of many problems because we seek to find that identity through earthly things. For guys with absentee fatherhood, mostly women.

6. found a deeper identity in God, and hence became MUCH more secure in who I was. Learnt in my heart never needing to justify my actions to anyone else as a way to show that i'm 'right'.

7. Understood the importance of the role of fatherhood and motherhood in our lives. And how the way they related to you and treated you could shape you for life, and for the negative things like putting you down and stuff, only way out is Jesus. No one else can give me that healing.

8. see the need to grieve for past wounds. Whatever hurts and wounds that were inflicted in our youth needs to be brought out before healing can take place. It means revisiting the incidents that happened that caused these wounds.

9. have finally understood the ache when i saw breathtaking scenery, mountains, trees and lakes. From my youth, I had always experienced this ache, this sweet pain when I saw beautiful sights; never understood why. I finally understand why, we came from Paradise, and we're homesick. These things are mere reminders of the glory to come.

10. developed a heart for poetry. By learning to fully embrace the beauty that was set in nature, i was somehow able to start writing a little poetry; I'm not a master, but I think I do okay at it. Anything's better than nothing. Haha.

11. developed a flair for writing. John Eldredge's got a lovely writing style. He understands that the heart learns through stories and visuals; not through your principle 1,2,3. Those are great, but to produce an true effect in our lives, we have to learn through stories. And through reading his books many times, I kind of developed that flair.

12. become more sensitive to the Holy Spirit as a result. When we appreciate beauty, poetry, stories, life in its fullness, we become sensitive to the Holy Spirit. I have become a person that can tear and get touched very easily. I can watch a movie with a simple point like love, hope, strength.. things like that, and tear.

I watched Forrest Gump and teared like crazy. Haha. It's such a beautiful movie.

It's not about being a crybaby. It's about become in touch with your heart, and with God as a result.

13. finally understood how the saints of old can cry out to God like that and know him as Lover. Go read Madame A Guyon, A W Tozer, Thomas A Kempis, George Macdonald, St John of the Cross to know what I'm talking about. John Wesley too.

14. developed a much more richer, deeper, meaningful, fulfilling relationship with God. I was telling a friend, the point of the Bible is for us to find our way back to God. He was concerned about the 100% accuracy of every thing we were reading, the Greek and the Hebrew; sure, that's important, but the Bible is meant for God to lead us to back to Him. He is the point. The relationship is the point. The Bible is the 6000 year old romance story about how God wants to win our heart back.

SOOOOO.. the point is the heart. NOT the story. (Some people never get it.)

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Okay, there's more but I'm kinda tired writing all that. Haha enough reason for you to read it.

His books are:

1. Wild at Heart (Read to understand MEN!)
2. Captivating (Read to understand WOMEN!)
3. Desire ( MY FAV!)
4. Scared Romance (First of the many)
5. Waking the Dead
6. The Way of the Wild Heart ( Sequel to Wild at Heart)
7. Walking With God
8. Epic

But seriously, just read all of them. Change your life.

Seriously. Transforms your LIFE!!