Have you ever longed for something more in your life as a Christian?
You have “the theory and technique” of Christianity all down pat.
But deep down, your hearts seems to seriously lack a passionate love and devotion to Christ.
How can one revive that passion once again?
In Steven Mosley’s book, Deepen My Heart, many of these questions (and more) are addressed through engaging stories, personal testimonies, and inspiring tales from real-life history!
And today, I’m happy to share my first ever book review of this book with you!
What I Liked…
So, here are several statements from Deepen My Heart that I REALLY liked:
“With no wind, no waves, the ship of faith sits deathly still in the water.”
~Deepen my heart pg. 11~
“A key step toward achieving real intimacy [with God] is laying our problems out on the table. We’ve got to be transparent; we’ve got to open up our hearts in order for God to deepen them. That’s why God gives this wonderful thing called confession.”
~Deepen my heart pg. 28~
“The good news is that God amplifies our small steps into spiritual breakthroughs. Although we decide to turn, it’s God who wills and acts inside us for His good purpose (Phil. 2:13). We may reach out in love, but it’s God who pours out His affection abundantly into our hearts (Rom. 5:5).”
~Deepen my heart pg. 54~
“We produce intimacy by telling others how much the Central Figure in our lives means to us. That’s how our hearts deepen. We find more room to love and be loved by God when we give our emotions a voice, when we taste and share them with other people.”
~Deepen my heart pg. 74~
“Love is the stuff that best deepens our hearts. God intended that the dynamic of giving and receiving love from other people would enlarge our capacity to absorb His own pure love. Opening our hearts to other people helps us open our hearts to God. It’s one more means of growing toward spiritual intimacy.”
~Deepen my heart pg. 74~
“Sometimes the best way to recapture intimacy with God is simply give ourselves away.”
~Deepen my heart pg. 81~
“The point is to pick something specific that focuses my praise. Sometimes a theme helps. If it’s raining, I’ll think of all the ways God blesses through rain. If I’ve just said goodbye to an old friend who’s been visiting, I’ll praise God for all the beautiful people who’ve shown me what He’s like. Or if the sky is cloudless when I wake up in the morning, I might praise Him for everything that is blue and good.”
~Deepen my heart pg. 94~
“The reason so many of us stop hearing the voice in the Word is that it has become for us a catechism.”
~Deepen my heart pg. 102~
“In order to prevent times of anguish from pushing us off into transgression, we must decide to keep talking and to keep listening. Answers that satisfy our hearts come though God’s still small voice, not some quick little sin.”
~Deepen my heart pg. 134~
“Sometimes misfortunes expose a problem in our lives or bad things on the outside point to something we need to deal with on the inside.”
~Deepen my heart pg. 141~
Friends, all those statements you read are just the tip of the rich iceberg of what awaits withing the pages of Deepen My Heart by Steven Mosley.
What I Didn’t Like…
Okay, so there’s honestly one thing in the book that I didn’t really agree with.
And it’s what Steven Mosley wrote here on page 34:
“One of the prerequisites for intimacy with God is having a definite self that can relate to Him.”
~Deepen my heart pg. 34~
I personally thought that statement was quite a contrast with Jesus’ words in Matthew 16:
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
(Matthew 16:24)
So, I personally had a little bit of a disagreement with what that book stated on page 34.
I personally believe that to relate to God is NOT having a “definite self.” Instead, it’s SURRENDERING ourselves to Him and letting the Holy Spirit mold and shape our selfish minds to better understand and relate to God.
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
(Romans 8:7-8)
Conclusion
Steven Mosley’s book, Deepen My Heart, is something that I believe Christians who are struggling with their passionate devotion to Christ will find fairly helpful.
Despite the little disagreement I have concerning the book’s view on self and the Christian life, I would somewhat recommend this book for a mature Christian who is looking for a fresher boost in his or her spiritual life.