Tuesday, May 8, 2012

"A Heart Like His" by Beth Moore Book Review

Summary: (from goodreads)  We all go through times when we feel insignificant or times when we feel certain that we have experienced a degree of failure from which there is no return. This is not a reality we experience alone, but is one that a man after God’s heart experienced as well. From shepherd, to refugee, to king of Israel, David exhibited the purest virtues and the most heinous sinfulness, but through it all his relationship with the Lord continued to grow.


A Heart Like His looks at this bond of mutual love and admiration between a man who was not unlike any of us and the one true God who is all good and all powerful. Beth Moore walks us through an exploration of David’s incredible life, drawing spiritual insights from a man who boldly fulfilled his divine destiny not merely by what he did, but who he loved and served. Bringing lessons from David’s life to bear on your own, this picture of a man who loved and followed God will help you to serve with a heart focused on Him no matter the circumstance.


Available here for the first time in trade paper, this new edition also features an excerpt from Moore’s David: Seeking a Heart Like His Bible study.


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Although I have "flirted" with Beth Moore books and Bible studies in the past, this is the first time I have ever sar down and read one of her books in its entirity.  My mom has been through several Beth Moore studies, and allusions are always made to this fantastic Bible teacher.  And all I can say is that this book more than fulfilled my expectations.  I can assure you that this will not be the only time I ever pick this book up.  This is a keeper!


I grew up in the church, and I am a Bible college graduate.  But even I had not considered some of the aspects of David's life that Beth Moore draws out of the Scriptures.  This book is not a light read.  I recommend taking your time and really letting the Word and its message soak into your soul.  I am just a little bit overwhelmed since I read the book in under a week.  But even in my reading of it in that time frame, I can highly recommend it.


The true merit of a book that is written to be used as a Bible study is whether it touched my heart and soul.  I am happy to say it did.  Seeing ho2w many times David messed up but always came back to God gives me great hope.  It shows just how much mercy God has to give out even in the Old Testament.


I was most touched as I read about how David continued to trust even when he did not understand or things did not make sense.  It is a message that God has been "pounding into my brain" lately.  Tears came to my eyes as I read about how even unjust humiliation and misunderstanding does not mean that you have stepped out of God's will.  It may not make sense, and we may never understand why things happen just as they do.  But we have to trust that God knows what He is doing.  Thank you, Beth, I needed to hear that.  I too long for a heart like David.  And even in my weaknesses and failings, God can use me!


I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.  I was not financially compensated, and all opinions are 100% mine.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from her website)



Beth Moore was born on an Army base in Green Bay, Wisconsin, during what her father describes as the worst thunderstorm the city had seen in five years. He affectionately says the Lord brought her into the world with a drum roll. The fourth child of a retired Army major and a homemaker, Beth was raised in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Her father managed the local cinema where each of her four siblings had a role to play. Beth’s job was to hand out samples of popcorn and soda. Growing up in the theater had its perks. Sometimes Beth would be allowed to slip into a movie and take with her a pickle bag full of popcorn and a Dixie cup of Coke.

There in a theater chair, wide-eyed and filled to the brim with Coca-Cola, Beth began a lifelong love for stories. She loved to tell them, write them, and be told them. The story that captured her heart and consumed her life, however, was not told in a movie theater. It was the story told in Sunday School of Jesus, a Savior who loved children and who thought she was special. A seed was planted in her young heart that would grow to mark her life with a passionate love for Christ.

At the age of 18, Beth sensed God calling her to work for Him. Although she couldn’t imagine what that would mean, she made it her goal to say yes to whatever He asked. Beth graduated from Southwest Texas State University with a degree in political science. She would later receive an honorary doctorate in humanities from Howard Payne University. She married Keith in 1978 and soon after the Lord added Amanda and Melissa to the family. As a young wife and mother, Beth served the Lord by speaking at luncheons and retreats, working at Mother’s Day Out, and teaching Christian aerobics.

A love for the Word of God was embedded in Beth’s life when she took a Bible doctrine class at her church. Her teacher was Buddy Walters, a former college football player who taught the Scriptures with tears streaming down his cheeks. She fervently prayed for such a passion for God’s Word. It was Buddy who first taught Beth, along with Keith, how to study the Bible.

Beth founded Living Proof Ministries in 1994 with the purpose of teaching women how to love and live on God’s Word. She has written numerous books and Bible studies, including Breaking Free, Believing God, The Patriarchs and most recently, James: Mercy Triumphs that have been read by women of all ages, races, and denominations. Through the years, American missionaries and expatriates have taken the Bible studies overseas, resulting in Beth Moore Bible study groups popping up all over the world. Upon completion of a tour of New England in 2008, Beth’s Living Proof Live conferences will have taken her to all fifty states since 1994. God has graciously given Beth the opportunity to serve the body of Christ in many different countries, including Ireland, England, Singapore, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, India, Angola, Kenya, and South Africa. With great joy, she began a radio ministry in 2004 called Living Proof with Beth Moore hosted on OnePlace.com.  Also, each Wednesday, Beth can be seen teaching Bible study on the television program “Life Today with James and Betty Robison.”
Ever the storyteller, Beth is known to pepper her teaching with stories and poems written from the perspective of pertinent characters. She communicates with great energy, passion, humor, warmth, and grace.

Beth hosts an interdenominational Tuesday-night Bible study for women in her city at Houston’s First Baptist Church. Because of her burden for unity in the body of Christ, Beth counts serving women of all denominations as one of her greatest privileges in life. HFBC was Beth’s beloved home church for more than 25 years until her son-in-law Curtis Jones launched Bayou City Fellowship in September of 2011.  She is delighted to serve shoulder-to-shoulder there with her first born and favorite pastor’s wife.

Beth and Keith praise God for 33 years of marriage. They enjoy traveling, hiking, drinking coffee on the back porch, eating Mexican food, making each other laugh, walking their dogs, and being grandparents. Both of their daughters, Amanda and Melissa, serve with Living Proof.  And Amanda’s husband, Curtis, serves on staff as an associate speaker/teacher.  Curtis and Amanda have two young children: a son Jackson, and a daughter Annabeth.  Melissa, who recently earned a Master’s degree in Biblical Exegesis from Wheaton College, makes her home in Houston, with her husband, Colin Fitzpatrick.  They were married in February 2008.

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