Have you ever wondered why some believers seem so in step with the Holy Spirit in their lives, while others struggle so mightily to understand who this Helper is supposed to be? I’ve been on both sides of that questions at various times in my life. That is why I jumped at the chance to review Suzanne Eller’s new book, The Spirit-Led Heart. I wanted to see if she could put those lessons about Who the Holy Spirit is and what He does in our lives into layman’s terms. The simple answer? Yes!
For too long in my own life, I had heard about the third person of the God-head, but never really understood his position, or his power. Too often the church as a whole gets caught up in debating whether or not the gifts of the Holy Spirit are for today, instead of focusing on HOW the Holy Spirit works in our lives.
Thankfully, in the past two or three years, there has been a recognition of the Holy Spirit at work in the teaching and preaching within the church in the United States that was sorely lacking for most of my adult life.
Suzanne’s book is a refreshing look at how the Holy Spirit helps us live our faith. These ten chapters each focus on one of the ways the Holy Spirit leads our hearts and shapes us to be more like Christ. For each of these areas, such as Chapter 3: We Will Live in Truth, Suzanne gives examples of the Holy Spirit at work, either in her own life, or in the lives of one or more of the many women she has ministered to over the years. Then she takes the reader back to how the Holy Spirit worked on that trait in the early church, and then brings us back to understanding the working of the Holy Spirit in our own lives. Each chapter ends with a Scripture verse to remind us of the truth, a promise, and invitation to have the Holy Spirit work in your own life, and a prayer.
Normally I can read thought a book like this (about 200 pages) in a month and summarize my thoughts pretty quickly. Not so with this one. It came at just the right time, when God had been whispering to me through various other avenues - like sermons at church - about how the Holy Spirit had some work to do in my life. This book challenged me to be listening for the Holy Spirit's promptings in a way I had not been doing for far too many years. Sometimes, the raising of our children causes us to stop listening well, when it should be causing us to cling to every whisper the Holy Spirit is uttering.
I highly encourage you to get yourself a copy of this book, either in print (my favorite) or e-book version and take that small step of faith in releasing your grasp on living a "good enough" life and move into a Spirit-Led life.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine. I was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in a accordance with FTC regulations.
This sounds like an interesting book. You are right that the Holy Spirit is often -- not sure what the right word is -- dismissed, overlooked -- but is so important in our lives.
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