Waking the Dead: The Glory of a Heart Fully Alive

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Summary: The Journey to Wholeness
Review: If our present view of oursleves, and God, is correct then why are we, as individual Christians and also collectively as "the Body of Christ" so powerless, so ineffectual? The answer lies imbedded in every page of this powerful and moving work. We were (past tense) evil of heart. When we surrender to Christ we are renewed, transformed, converted in the most profound ways. "Behold all things have become new." The enemy would love to convince us that we must still struggle in the gutter but in reality we are already present it the heavenlies because of the completed work of Christ.
We have reduced The Faith to mere cognition and acceptance of dogma and it is killing us. Eldridge reminds us that there is something far deeper in our souls that yearns to be reunited with God. This deeper self, which we call the heart, has been seduced into slumber, or reduced to mere sentimentality, and often sacrificed on the alter of rationality.
A point we miss, or perhaps hide from, is that God still wants to walk with us, communicate to us, and provide direction and comfort to us. We cloth oursleves in a psuedo-spiritutual figleaf because we think God can't stand to see the real us. We have lost our ability to sense God's leading because we have lost the connection to our deepest selves, to our hearts. Our faith has become so focused on objective truth that we have lost the ability to experience the subjective reality of God and find who we are in God's plan. Like monks we forsake those things that we mistakenly believe are anethema to God and adopt pious pretenses. God wants us to experience Him and truly live in Him.
Some may find the use of illustrative snippets from movies and shows distracting but there is genius at work here. By using the things from our culture that touch our hearts we are primed to see the things of God from an open heart. "All things are permissible" according to St. Paul and Eldridge's careful selection insures that each is also "profitable."
There are the two other major threads intertwined through the book that we dare not forget; we are at war; we are meant to be in community. We desperately need each other, flawed though we still are. We each have something that others need and they bring to us things that help complete and fulfill us. Like a marriage the church can only thrive on a holy intimacy.
For me, personally, this book "connected the dots" of ideas, impressions, longings, and scriptures that have been percolating in my soul for decades. Eldridge put to page what God has been imprinting in my heart slowly over the years. At one point I had to put it down for some weeks because my heart was too weak to stand the bright light it brought. At just the right time God brought healing to some wounds and then I couldn't put this book down.
Don't settle for the lesser of what God has for you when He yearns to bring you abundance. This book is a great place to begin the journey to wholeness and recovering your walk with God.


Rating:
Summary: Better be sure you're ready for this
Review: I can't even understand the quote "God's glory is man's heart fully alive." How can I come to grips with this? Why should God care about whether or not I am "fully alive?" I thought his love for us was something altruistic but according to John Eldrige, it is much deeper than that. God wants our hearts. He wants me and values me as a child of God. I now know that I have value (in his eyes) and I will never give that up. Many of Eldriges critiques do not believe that man's heart is good but I do now. What John is saying that a resurrected heart is good. I was evil and my heart was too, but I have been raised with him in order that I might have a relationship with him. It's time I start living in Christ's resurrection instead of his death. This book is truly revolutionary.

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Summary: Best book I've read
Review: Apart from the Bible, this is the best book I've ever read. It was far more helpful to me than Eldredge's other books (which were awesome!) and has called me to be whom God made me to be. After reading it God called me to start a men's group based on this book, and within the first few weeks of men's group I could see dramatic changes in the lives of these men. I'm a big reader, but this is probably the only book (other than the Bible) that I recommend that EVERY Christian read.

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Summary: create a clean heart, renew a steadfast spirit
Review: Count on John Eldredge to stir up controversy. With countless references to The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, Gladiator, The Wizard of Oz, Braveheart, even Amadeus and The Lion King, it is fair to say that Eldredge likes to use contemporary analogies to back up scripture.

If you aren't completely familiar with all those books and movies, or if you are the kind of person who takes offense when Dorothy and Toto are used to illustrate scripture, you may have a hard time warming up to Waking the Dead. Even if you are open to these areas, this isn't exactly an easy message for all to grasp.

One of the main points that Eldredge covers is that our hearts are good by nature, and that we have bought into the lies of the Enemy if we believe otherwise. He argues that the flesh is the culprit rather than the heart, and that we need to distinguish between the two. By acknowledging that our hearts are good, we are liberated from the discouragement of the enemy that tries to convince us that we are weak and unworthy.

By acknowledging the goodness of our heart and opening ourselves up to Jesus' offering of life through Discipleship, Counseling, Healing and Warfare, we are able to wake up from our slumber and shine with the light of Christ. The path is narrow and uncomfortable, but the reward is eternal.

Larry Hehn, author of Get the Prize: Nine Keys for a Life of Victory

Rating:
Summary: At the top of my list!
Review: Wow! The subtitle for this book is "The Glory of a Heart Fully Alive." Having just finished reading it, I would say that the author has accomplished his purpose. I find my heart aspiring to greater glory (not a self-focused glory, but the glory of giving to this world everything God intended me to give), and also aspiring to become fully alive. But it's not just empty aspiration. Eldredge clearly and compellingly lays out all of the keys to getting there: coming to grips with how much Jesus accomplished for us to restore and release our hearts (Chapters 1-5), understanding the means by which God introduces this resoration to us--the Four Streams of Discipleship, Counseling, Healing, and Warfare (Chapters 6-10), the importance of being immersed in fellowships of the heart (Chapter 11), and the importance of guarding our heart above all else (Chapter 12).

The problem with much of Christianity is that so many of us only apply one or two of the Four Streams. I found this book to be very comprehensive in its approach. Does it give every detail about how to make it work? No, but it lays out the big picture as well as anything I have read, while doing so in a way that you don't have to be a theologian to understand. If you follow the advice of chapter 11, and become a part of a group of people who are trying to live this out, together you'll find this incredibly effective! Home run, John!

I predict that many of my friends will be reading this book soon!

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Summary: FREE AT LAST, THANK GOD ALMIGHTY I'M FREE AT LAST
Review: The first Eldridge book I read was Journey of Desire. It filled me with hope for I was looking for purpose in my life. Next, I read Waking the Dead and I wept as I learned that my heart was good. Later, I read Wild at Heart which taught me about the delicate condition of a man's heart and the similarities we (men and women) share. Last, (I'm still in the process of reading), I'm reading The Sacred Romance. These books have taught me that my destiny lies in my relationship with Jesus Christ. Reading these books has helped me to draw closer to God in a way that I never thought possible. Life has become a joyful adventure and every day I feel less stressed and fearful. I Thank God for John Eldridge; for his God inspired books that have given me a new outlook as a Christian. I now look forward to church, Bible study, prayer. I finally, truly understand how much God loves me and because of the way John explained God's love for me, I no longer feel duty in being obedient to God, I feel priviledged and joyful!!!

Rating:
Summary: powerful
Review: I have been living this book out for the last year and the proof is in the fruit, my life has been so changed. I have read some of the critics and they don't get it, they are so caught up in their theology that they are afraid to look at their hearts and live. When you understand John's paradigm the scriptures leap to life and God becomes your close friend and master. God wants our love and this book inspires it like nothing else I've read other than the Bible. It isn't meant to be an exigeses but rather an inspiration, don't give up the Bible,John Eldridge doesn't want that any more than God does

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book!
Review: I think this book was an excellent book that challenged us to dig deeper into God and truly trust in His promises. Eldredge challenges readers to live with their heart fully devoted to God and how THROUGH CHRIST, we are a new creation and thus should live under THAT promise and no longer under the condemnation of the enemy. He stresses the grace of God through Jesus Christ's sacrifice and how through that we can live life to the fullest (John 10:10) living for God and His kingdom. I encourage you to check it out to dig deeper into your relationship with God and as always with any book check the credentials to ensure yourself that they align with the Bible.

Rating:
Summary: Best Christian Book on the market
Review: Since buying this book, I've discovered it is the best Christian book on the market. I can't imagine Epic being any better. Some of Epic's topics are even talked about in Waking the Dead. As a matter of fact, I think Waking the Dead might be a good requirement for anyone that wants to get into reading books (fiction and non-fiction) as it gives a foundation to other reading.

I bought this book with a copy of my own book A Nation Under God (by Ken Clifton), as well, which gives testimony from all the Presidents and States of the USA. Both have great impact anyone's faith in God.