Customer Reviews

After God's Own Heart: The key to knowing and living God's passionate love for you

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

...The life of King David, that is. Bickle uses the story of King David's life, as well as the Psalms, to reveal a profound truth: why King David managed to possess one of the closest relationships to God in the Old Testament--and better still, how readers can emulate him in a New Covenant environment.

My only gripe with this book is a relatively minor one, but it is, nonetheless, the reason I give this book 4 stars instead of 5. The practical steps to actually achieving what Mike Bickle promotes here are hidden somewhere in the text, and never stated up-front: in a chapter of their own, for example. Rather than do this, he brushes quickly by the practical issues in a matter of a paragraph or so. While the answer IS there, it becomes visible only to the dedicated searcher--or perhaps, to one inspired enough by his glowing portrait of God's affections on first reading of the book to read the book through a second time, and discover the practical application that way--which, given his motivation in writing the book in the first place, I suppose was his point: to create the wholehearted lovers of God he perceives David to have been the first of. A minor flaw, as I said--not enough to keep this from being a truly meaty read to any incipient "God-chasers" who happen to be reading this review! Buy it, and find the first "best-kept secret" of the Christian church: God actually _likes_ us!

"Because for your sake I have borne reproach; shame has covered my face. I have become a stranger to my brethren, and an alien to my mother's children; because zeal for your house has eaten me up." Psalms 69. 7-9


I have never read anything from Mike Bickle, but I have to say for sure that I was very refreshed and blessed by this work AFTER GOD'S OWN HEART.

This book is based on the Life of King David who in the Bible and everywhere on earth, is known as the man after God's own heart. God had great love for this man David, who, despite what he was going through, always knew that God was there for him. He was never afraid to approach God, even when he had sinned and David like us was a man who had sin. But he was always quick to repent, for he trusted God and loved God greatly. Many of us sin but we are always afraid that God is too much into punishing us that He does not have time to forgive. Not so with David. David loved God passionately and his heart was fixed on God. God had chosen David while he was still tending sheep and perhaps it was God's constant and attentive love along with His protective arm around David from this time and right through the battles of his life that David was ever aware of, more than most people are. David knew how to confront God in weakness for we went after God in a big way. He was in constant prayer and fasting, and had a zeal for building a placeof worship and prayer, a zeal for building God's temple.
While everyone was looking for the mistakes that David had made, David got on with his life pursuing God and clinging to him in body mind and soul, begging to be cleansed, begging to be perfect in His sight.

There is so much to learn from this book and I will suggest this fine material for all Christains and the newly Born Again.
Good move Mr Bickle!!!
Reviewed by Heather Marshall Negahdar (SUGAR-CANE 25/02/05)

The Truth has set me free! Never in my life have I experience Jesus so real before. His love has flooded my entire being, and my capacity to love Him back has increased and deepend beyond words!This is a book for anyone who has been caught up in "works/religion", and trying to win God's love with following a set of rules. His waves of love will crush those walls as soon as you let Him!

From the beginning of creation God had a zeal for us. He didnt need people to be happy , but He loved us, delighted in us and really wanted us. Not only corporately, but personally. And in this book you will discover Gods heart of delight. He loves you and is passionate about you, and when you really become aware of that, you will love Him back and be passionate about Him not because you have to but because you cant otherwise! This book really helps to grow in understanding, and passion of God, it helps in really experiencing His love and that He is glad that you exist

In "After God's Own Heart" Mike Bickle sets out to help the reader understand the emotions and passions of God so that, like David of the Old Testament, we might become men and women emboldened to enter into and experience the pleasure of encountering God, men and women who reflect the heart of God.

Mike introduces the reader to God's tenderness, His happy holiness, affection, jealous anger, and matchless beauty. He goes on to describe a principle of transformation he has labeled "beholding and becoming" and the discovery that God enjoys us. Mike helps the reader understand how fasting "tenderizes the human heart" and releases supernatural joy.

Mike maintains that God is the author of real pleasure and that it springs from God's very personality. Mike uses examples from the New Testament to illustrate the experience of fresh encounters with the heart of God, His fullness, and His righteousness.

Bickel's writing is deeply meaningful, his message, life transforming, a call to single-minded devotion and a heart of unwavering commitment. "After God's Own Heart" is an exciting invitation to explore and gain a new understanding of an intimacy with God the Creator and man's Redeemer.

This is a must-read . . . and I would encourage you to get some of his other books too! Mike Bickle brings a perspective on loving God, and His amazing love for us as individuals that will renovate your heart and your life!

As Mike writes: "Joyful intimacy with God is the great power source of the Kingdom of God." There truly is no safer or powerful place than sitting at the feet of Jesus and the revelation that "experiencing" the first commandment of loving God with all our hearts, souls and minds is the key to energizing our inner man in our Christian walk. Mike has captured this message in a powerful way and has developed an awesome journey into that revelation.

I received this book when I was on staff at IHOP-KC, and we use it as teaching tool for intimacy at IHOP-NKY as well for our internship programs. Be blessed by it!

This book is designed for those who are really seeking an intimate relationship with God. We should not only want to know His heart but be the "beat" to help bring mankind back into an intimate relationship with the Creator. Enjoying the book.

[...]

This is one of the best Christian books I have ever read. It made me want to love Jesus more and really think about my life and where Christianity as a whole is going as we become the Bride of Christ.

Don't read this book unless you want to get messed up. I read this back in 2004 for the first time, and got rocked by the depth of Mike's understanding of God's heart. Upon picking up the book, I'd grown up in the church (hardly missed a Sunday) and basically had a perspective that God mostly tolerated me, prayer was a duty (and very boring) and that was forming my life, even into my college years.

Throughout the book, the Holy Spirit revealed to me the wrong perspectives, and helped me see the right ones. God made us because he wanted friends, children - and He likes us. You'll see a fresh perspective in this book on how to think and talk to God.