Rating: 
Summary: Be transformed!
Review: This study has given me a whole new meaning to the word "homework". I usually don't finish workbooks like these because I somehow let other things take over my time. With this book I was actually planning my time around the studies. I couldn't wait to learn more about the awesome God I serve.My life has not been the same. I highly recommend it to those who are not afraid to be transformed.
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful work about our relationship with God!
Review: Experiencing God was one of the best books I have read in a long time! Although written in an understandable and easy to read style, the authors did not sacrifice any Biblical principles. EG reminded me of JI Packers' monumental work Knowing God, but written for the lay person. If your focus has drifted from God and you need encouragement in your walk with Him, then this is the book for you!
Rating: 
Summary: Highly Flawed
Review: I know this book is popular and was written with the best of intentions, but the book is so flawed as to be rendered worthless. Please consider the following quotes: 1) "Prayer is two-way fellowship and communication with God. You speak to God and He speaks to you. Prayer includes listening as well. In fact, what God says in prayer is far more important than what you say." P.87 Is prayer a 2 way conversation? What scripture passage teaches that God literally says things to believers during prayer? Not only does Blackaby teach that God will clearly tell us things, he says that we should write down the things God is saying to us! 2) "I always write down what God is saying to me when I pray and as I read His word." P. 89 3) "If the God of the universe tells you something, you should write it down. When God speaks to you in your quiet time immediately write down what He said before you have time to forget." P. 87 Can anybody take this teacher seriously when he tells us that God is going to say things to us during prayer that we can write down? Blackaby also teaches that God will tell us what he has planned for our churches, communities, and country: 4) "You need to know what God has on His agenda for your church, community, and nation at this time in history. Then you and your church can adjust your lives to God, so that He can move you into the mainstream of His activity before it is too late." P. 31 Instead of adopting the outlook and language of James 4:13-17 (if God wills, we will do such and such) or Ecclesiastes (no man can discover anything about his future), Blackaby tells us we need to know the sovereign plan of God for our church and country before we can serve God correctly. Is he saying we need to have prophecy in order to serve God well? There are other problems. One of the foundational principles of the EG philosophy is "When you learn how God has worked throughout history, you can depend on His working in a similar way with you." P. 13 Is this principle biblical? Does God work the exact same way throughout history? Do we cast lots today? Do we use the Urim & Thummim? Do we have tongues of flame settling on people when they become believers? Do people speak in tongues when they are saved? It is this principle - that God always works the same way throughout history - that Blackaby uses to teach that God 'invites' people to 'join' him in his work. There is error here for 2 reasons: a) He bases his teaching on how God interacted with prophets and apostles (Abraham, Moses, Paul, etc.). There is no scriptural reason to think that God is going to come tell us what he is about to do before he does it. Yes, he told prophets of coming events, but in the grand scheme of history those predictions were isolated events. Prophecy is never presented as the normative mode of God's communication with man. Scripture is the day - to - day guide. To teach Christians that they will be ineffective without having a prophetic word about their church, community, and country is to send them on an errand of frustration. God does not even hint that we should live this way. b) The other error in this principle is that God 'invited' the prophets to join him in his work. Is it biblical to read the story of Abraham or Jonah or Paul and conclude that God was 'inviting' anybody to do anything? He is issuing commands. Another problem with the book is that Blackaby puts great pressure on people to start 'hearing' God. He says that people who don't hear God's voice (in the sense of guidance) fail to do so because they are not believers (do not belong to God). He writes: "If you have trouble hearing God speak, you are in trouble at the very heart of your Christian experience." P. 36 He uses John 8:47 as a proof text. "He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God." He uses this verse out of context. This verse is not talking about daily guidance for the believer. Jesus is talking about the response to truth. The Pharisees could not respond to the truth of Jesus' message because they were unbelieving. That verse is Jesus proof that the Pharisees were children of the devil: they would not accept him or his teaching. So here we have one of many examples of how Blackaby uses verses out of context to support his view of guidance. We also see that EG would damage the assurance of a Christian who does not 'hear' God in the way that Blackaby says he should. Well, I've done a great deal of criticizing, and I hope that people will pause for a moment and reflect on what I am saying. I think this book is unbiblical and should be ignored. Some might ask if I have any alternatives to this book. I would suggest reading JI Packer's "Knowing God" (there is a chapter on guidance there), Garry Friesen's book "Decision making and the will of God", Haddon Robinson's "Making decisions by the book" or Sinclair Ferguson's book about the will of God. I think if a person will read any of these works, they will see scripture handled in a much more accurate way. Passages are dealt with thoroughly, and in context (this is especially true of Friesen's book). Those of you who are teachers owe it to God and to your pupils to investigate the other view of knowing God's will. If you don't do that, you will never know if you are teaching falsehood.
Rating:
Summary: What A Revelation!
Review: Experiencing God is enlightening and captivating. If you want to have a closer relationship with God, this is the book for you. This book will guide and help bring you closer to God. God has a plan for everyone as you will hear from mr. Blackaby. This book will help you to put your life in Gods hand and to follow his ways to a more fulfilling spiritual life. A must read.
Rating:
Summary: This book helps me a lot in my spiritual journey with God
Review: If you want to have a closer relationship with God, pls consider getting this book because it just teaches me how to experience God in my daily life. My faith in God has been strengthened after reading this book. I start learning how to adjust my life to fit into God's will, rather than into my own personal desire.
Rating:
Summary: Blackaby has an Amazing Gift
Review: Our entire church completed this Outstanding workbook. It was the subject of 10 Sunday Services and Wed night studies. It changed my life and my relationships with God, my family and my church. God has a plan for each of us and Henry Blackaby's workbook can help you find his plan for you. It is a simple guide to establishing a personal daily love relationship with God. Prior to this study, I was a Christian but did not know God in my daily life. I had no idea that you could talk and wlk with God. I hope it helps talk and walk with God.
Rating:
Summary: A milestone in my walk with God
Review: Experiencing God totally transformed the way I thought about God, how He communicates to us and uses us, and how I need to respond to Him. I first went through this book in high school, and I am now about to go through it again with a friend who needs spiritual growth. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is serious about growing closer to God and living for Him. It does take some time to do the daily study, but it is extremely well worth it. God will reveal Himself and His ways through this study, and you will be able to know Him and to understand his purposes. This is one of the best studies I've ever done, definitely a milestone in my walk with God. And it is simple enough for anyone to understand, yet it presents spiritual truths that will challenge you.
Rating:
Summary: Makes my Hall of Fame for Christian Books
Review: I've participated in a small group study of Experiencing God once, and I taught it twice after that. I think this is one of those rare workbooks that in a simple way, captures the deeper truths of God and the Christian life. It is profoundly simple. I've read a lot of Christian books in my time, and there really isn't one like this. It's in a category of its own. You should definitely do it in the context of a small group. Beware though, it is demanding for the average reader. There are daily exercises that can take 20-30 minutes to do. These exercises are chalk full of great wisdom and insight, but for some it is a lot to do. I've read probably a hundred Christian books/workbooks, etc., and this one is definitely in my top 10, if not my top 5. I highly recommend it. If you're a teen, I'd use the teen version. It's great for everybody.
Rating:
Summary: This Book is Changing My Life
Review: A friend of mine suggested I use this workbook to help me in my walk with God. I am only a quarter of the way through the exercises and the book has already begun to change my life. If you seek to know God or want to move closer to Him -- and are ready to commit to His will -- you will NOT regret buying this book. Simply approach the exercises with a prayerful, honest and open heart, God will do the rest.
Rating:
Summary: Raising Christianity to New Heights
Review: This book is like "heart surgery" for the soul. When I received this book, about five years ago, I wasn't sure what to expect. What I discovered was a *top-notch* workbook that raises Christian consciousness to new heights. As bible study programs go, this workbook sets out to build the best foundation for Christian thinking that I have seen. Programmatically, it works not only by presenting Bible stories, but also by applying Biblical principles in the learning process itself, actually centering such learning on these principles. This program is one that is straigh-forward, but does not leave you tied up in fragmented thinking with respect to the specific application of biblical principles. Rather the program inculcates, step by step, a sense of biblical priorities and purposes. It presents a way of experiencing the Bible and Christianity in ways that consistently make sense across many contexts rather than in ways that seem to imply one thing in one context and then something entirely different in the next. Most of all, I think this workbook helps bridge the gap between thinking and doing, enabling a person to really live Christian values in a "moment by moment," way. So, if you are looking for a plan to turn your life around, or if you merely want to become a person of mettle and center your life around the right values, this may be the book for you. This is a world-class workbook, one from which many could benefit. It's good to see that it is now accessible to readers through Amazon.com. I think this book is a "Must-Read" for Christians or for those who want to be Christians...or more precisely it is a "Must-Do" workbook. This book stresses an approach intending to result in enabling you in your own personal relationship with God, something one can only arrive at through "discovery," for which this book is most helpful. I highly recommend it, without reservation. END
| 
