GODencounters

Review by Christopher Bartley

Are you longing to fill that God-shaped place in your heart for the first time? Or wanting to replenish the divine yet dried-up passion that's etched in your very being? You might be looking for a "GODencounter."

GODencounters: Pursuing a 24/7 experience of Jesus is more than a quick fix for the thirsty soul. It doesn't lead one to bottled water but to the Living Water. The spiritual journey that one begins when reading GODencounters is often challenging. Yet the destination of encountering a refreshing measure of God's power, grace, forgiveness, sovereignty and God Himself is rewarding.

The purpose and objectives are straightforward, and readers know what to expect by the end of the book. Yet there are twists, turns and healthy obstacles formed by the relevant scriptural passages, and challenging questions that cause one to pause and critically reflect on one's life. The journey brings rejoicing, confession and repentance. And, in this way, GODencounters invites the reader to simply bask in the presence of God.

As such, GODencounters takes time to read. If one were to skim this book, they would do a disservice to the potential spiritual growth and transformation that can begin as the reader comes to terms with their past, sense of guilt and the forgiveness found in a loving God.

What makes this book engaging is not its interesting layout and design, or even the fact that God's name consistently appears in capital letters, seeming to infer the magnificence, royalty, goodness and all-encompassing greatness of just the purposeful mention of His name. It's none of that. This book is profound because of the abundance of personal stories of encounters with God. The unique narratives from a variety of contributors communicate to the reader that "GODencounters" are attainable. They have been experienced by ordinary people, who haven't split any oceans, caught a glimpse of the third heavens or called down fire from the sky.

The "Encounter the Word" and "Encounter" sections after each piece of the larger chapters take the personal testimonies and admonitions that each writer has authored and link them back to the allpowerful, all-knowing Author of Scripture. These features explore the writer's story from a biblical perspective, inviting the reader to probe the scriptural foundation to their experiences. The journalling area allows the reader to write a story of their own, as they take ownership of their spiritual journey, rather than merely reading
others' stories.

Thus, there are three authors in this book: the writers who have already put pen to paper; the God who inspired the Scriptures; and the reader who has a chance to begin a new chapter of their spiritual journey with God.

Almost all of the chapters are deliberate in their approach to encountering God through gospel experiences, gracefully expressing compassion, prayer and life's challenges.

To encounter worship as a new experience that happens throughout every day of the week is challenging, especially when there are multiple authors with different angles, expressing what it means to worship God 24/7.

For the reader already starting on this spiritual path, who has already tasted the love, grace and compassion of a loving Saviour, this chapter may be refreshing. However, the reader who is just discovering their spiritual journey, still figuring out what shoes to wear and how big a step to take, may find the journey challenging.

The lack of a step-by-step plan can lead to a kind of frustration. A concise summary at the end of each chapter would aid both the experienced and growing Christian to get a wholistic view of what and how it means to worship God, invite Him into their lives, care for others, pray for wisdom and strength, feel refreshed and transformed, and celebrate the start of a new journey.

But I highly recommend GODencounters, with the belief that if the reader engages in the personal narratives of other GODfollowers," embraces the Bible texts that have been shared and carefully reflects on the questions asked, his or her God-shaped thirst will be refreshed by a personal encounter with the living God.

GODencounters: Pursuing a 24/7 experience of Jesus
A Allan Martin, Shayna Bailey and Lynell LaMountain
Pacific Press Publishing Association, 2009, paperback,
192 pages.
Available from Adventist Book Centres, price
$A28.95, $NZ37.95.

This was a review from Record, September 26, 2009.

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