This engaging novel includes a presentation of the four keys to hearing God’s voice, offered to the main character by a stranger on a bus. Jeff discovers God’s email address and the amazing words he receives from God bring inner healing, personal growth and direction. This book is written by Tim Koop, who learned two-way journaling by watching a TV interview with Mark Virkler.
Do you think beauty is important? It is highly rated in your culture. Do you think it is merely superficial and cultural, or do you think that it has a spiritual connection? Do you think it is connected to anything besides romance? My word refers to the beauty of the Lord. This is not romantic in the conventional sense, but it is an important concept. When you see beauty in nature, in creation, including people, does it make you think of me? The heavens declare my glory, and people can if they choose to. Works of art always refer back to the artist who created them.
Have you ever been at a loss for words? Some people never seem to be, although their many words can be more tiresome than profound. Some experiences do not lend themselves to easy explanations. Paul entered the third heaven and couldn’t say whether he was in his body or not. He saw things that were not lawful to utter. Do you assume that this was like having a security clearance for top secret information he was not permitted to reveal? Could it be that it was such a transcendent experience that to try to explain it would devalue it? That words would not do it justice?
Are you familiar with the scriptural passages that promise that you can have anything that you ask for? These are widely known and very popular. How has this worked out for you in practice? Do you know people who ‘hold me to my promises’, and whose prayers are a list of demands? Set aside for the moment the question of whether they get all that they insist on. Are these people that you admire spiritually, and wish to emulate? Don’t you find that prayer is a doorway to humility, and that your demeanor changes when you consciously address deity? I’ll stand by my promises.
My word commends those who are overcomers. This term implies pushing against resistance. It is easy to drift with the current, and difficult to swim upstream, yet without exertion you only go downhill. Are there any areas in your life that are not working for you? If they have become established then you refer to them as habits, and they are difficult to break. But do not think that they are your true identity. You have my promise that if you seek you will find. You could apply this even to overcoming entrenched patterns in your own life. Press on and I will enable you to overcome.
Do you want my guidance in your life? Do you hate it when you encounter a ‘closed door’? There are many doors in this world, but most of them lead to other people’s houses. You only need access to the one for your own home. So most of the doors you encounter will be closed, but do not be discouraged by this. Strait is the gait and narrow is the way that leads to life. Doors that do not open to you are not meant for you. Can you trust me to open the ones that are a part of my plan for you? Remain engaged and move ahead and you will find the strait and narrow way that leads to life.
Have you noticed that there are multiple views about end-time scenarios? Nothing is more certain to start a fight among believers, and each can prove his case from scripture. So far no one has guessed right about the timing or the details. One popular scenario involves the sudden departure of true believers prior to the end, rather like triggering an ejection seat on a fighter plane. Presumably this would leave everyone else behind to face the tribulation without the assistance of believers.
My word says that in me you live and move and have your being. Do you accept this as a matter of doctrine? Do you experience it as a lived reality? This statement implies that I am present and constantly involved in everything that concerns you; in every aspect of your life. Have you experienced this truth in fleeting glimpses? As you become more spiritually aware, do you see it more and more? You are immersed in a spiritual world that is real even when it is unseen. I promised to send the Comforter to lead you into all truth. This awareness is a large part of that truth.
Do you ever wish you were in a position to do Christian ministry full time? How do you spend your spare time now? Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Do you think of treasure only as money? What is more valuable to you than time? The way you spend your money says a lot about you, but the way you spend your time says even more. People who are able to organize their time and spend it effectively tend to have enough money to do what they need to do.
Have you heard of actors becoming typecast? If they play the same type of character consistently they may be well suited for that role, but considered less versatile for other roles. But this phenomenon isn’t limited to actors. Some people intentionally identify with certain characteristics or interests they have. The urge to establish an identity is powerful and present in every person, but there is a risk that you will typecast yourself and limit your versatility. What do you identify with? I have given you a destiny.
