Bibliophile's Corner and the Larger Theme of Intimacy

A couple of book recommendations... The Sacred Romance Drawing Closer to the Heart of God by Curtis and Eldredge ..the longing for transcendence; the desire to be part of somthing larger than ourselves is instilled in us.. "Romance has most often come to us in the form of two deep desires: the longing for adventure that requires something of us and the desire for intimacy- to have someone truly know us for ourselves, while at the same time inviting us to know them... There are too many awesome quotes and themes in this book to even properly get started, but I gotta outline and toss a few out there to whet your appetite: The Larger Story Act I: God's Eternal Heart The Wholy Holy Wild, Living God The story that is the Sacred Romance begins not with God alone, the Author at his desk, but God in relationship, intimacy beyond our wildest imagination, heroic intimacy...we long for intimacy because we are made in the image of perfect intimacy.......before our stories began were Father, Son and the Holy Spirit....from the beginning, we know that God is a lover at heart, from all eternity. Act II: His Heart Betrayed The Adversary: Legends of the Fall Satan mounted his rebellion through the power of one idea: God doesn't have a good heart...he deceived a multitude of the heavely host by sowing the seed of doubt in their minds that God was somehow holding out on them. As Melville said, "The reason the mass of men fear God and at bottom dislike him is because they rather distrust his heart, and fancy him all brain, like a watch." And this is Satan's strategy with each of us: to kill the desire that would eventually lead us back to the One who loves us, using all the forms of shame, contempt, apathy, enesthesia, and perversion at his disposal. Act III: His Heart on Trial The Beloved God created us for intimacy with him. ..What does God want from us?... From one religious camp we're told that what God wants is obedience, or sacrifice, or adherence to the right doctrines, or morality. Those are the answers offered by conservative churches. The more therapeutic churches suggest that no, God is after our contentment, or happieness, or self-actualization, or something else along those lines. He is concerned about all these things, of course, but they are nto his primary concern. What he is after is us -our laughter, our tears, our dreams, our fears, our heart of hearts. Who am I, really? The answer to that question is found in the answer to another: What is God's heart toward me, or, how do I affect him? ..If God is the Pursuer, the Ageless Romancer, the Lover, then there has to be a BELOVED, one who is the Pursued. This is our role in the story. ...His love for us is not based on what we've done, but who we are: His Beloved. Jesus prayed "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." (john 17:3) Enjoying God or Burning Heart both by S.J. Hill I got the pleasure of hearing S.J speak here on Oahu, excellent, excellent stuff here. He has served over 35 yrs with various ministires (Brownsville Revival, F.I.R.E., IHOP KC) and carries the scripture and message of the Father Heart of God and the Bridal Paradym. I know that many guys are uncomfortable with the whole Bridal Theme, but you can think of it as identifying with the closest place of privledge in knowing God's heart, knowing who He is and how He has burning affections and a pure passion for you. (Besides women are called sons of God too in the Body so it isn't a gender thing. :) Some 17th cen. and modern theologians (Oswald Chambers included) have phrased it this way, "The chief end of man is to glorify God BY enjoying Him forever." ENJOY! :)