Summary

Your greatest desire is to please God, but with each passing week, your spiritual to-do list grows longer. As you strive to fulfill a never-ending inventory of requirements for being a godly parent, spouse, voter, employee, and more, you feel increasingly disconnected from the God you're trying to serve. When did the Christian life become so complicated? It's time to cut through the clutter and get to the heart of what it means to please God. In this liberating look at the core principles of faith, Dr. Robert Jeffress reveals the truth about what God really wants from youand what He wants to do for you. Through solid biblical teaching and practical insights, Dr. Jeffress points you toward a revitalized faith centered on becoming more like Jesus in action, attitude, and affection. You'll learn how to partner with God in the process of spiritual transformation as you choose to follow Christ in forgiveness, obedience, trust, contentment, service, and prayer. Through a renewed focus on experiencing the kingdom of God right now, you'll find your to-do list shrinking and your spiritual life deepening. It all comes withLiving in the Heart of God.

Author Biography

Dr. Robert Jeffress is the senior pastor of First Baptist Dallas and the Bible teacher on the internationally broadcast television program Pathway to Victory. A graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary and Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary, he has written sixteen previous books, including Outrageous Truth and When Forgiveness Doesn’t Make Sense. Dr. Jeffress and his wife, Amy, are the parents of two adult daughters.

The Heart of the Matter: Keepíng Your Faíth Clutter-Free	p. 1
Simply Supernatural: Connectíng Your Heart to God's Power	p. 13
Heart Surgery: Experíencíng Heaven on Earth Now	p. 29
A Forgiving Heart: Clearíng Away Anger, Bítterness, and Emotíonal Knots	p. 47
An Obeying Heart: Sayíng Yes to the Impossíble	p. 67
A Trusting Heart: Allowíng Peace to Rule Your Lífe	p. 87
A Content Heart: Fíndíng More ín Less	p. 105
A Serving Heart: Díscoveríng the Key to Greatness	p. 125
A Praying Heart: Communícating wíth the One Who Loves You Most	p. 145
The Transformed Heart: Creatíng a Plan to Change Your Lífe	p. 169
Bible Study and Discussion Guide	p. 183
Notes	p. 189
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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Excerpts

Imagine your employer announces that in two weeks you’ll be moving to Vienna, Austria…forever. How would you react? Although you’ve seen pictures of this beautiful city, you know very little about it. Because of your limited knowledge, you’d probably try to find out everything you can about Vienna before you left. What language is spoken? What’s the temperature like?What clothes are most appropriate?

You’d want to obtain or update your passport, secure any other necessary travel documents, and purchase your airline tickets. You’d have to decide what items you want to move with you and which ones to leave behind. You’d arrange to sell your house here and purchase a new one over there. You’d want to exchange your dollars for the proper currency.

But it would be unimaginable to do nothing and simply adopt the “I’ll go with the flow” philosophy. Sure, you might be able to rationalize your lack of preparation with thoughts such as:

• “Maybe at the last moment,circumstances will change and I won’t have to go.”

• “I’ll wait until I get there to see what it’s really like.”

• “I doubt Vienna is any different from where I live now.”

Failing to prepare for your journey would be unwise and could result in some disastrous consequences. If you know you’re going to make a long trip, you certainly want to be ready for it.

Whether you realize it or not, you will one day take the journey of a lifetime to a foreign land you’ve never seen. Although your departure time is unknown to you, the hour is already fixed on God’s calendar. At a moment known only to Him, you’ll leave everything you own and everyone you know, and you’ll stand alone before God.He will decide your eternal destiny: heaven or hell. If you wait until that moment to prepare for the journey, you’ll have waited too long.The preparations you make in this life will determine how you spend the next one.

Admittedly, this is a sobering thought for anyone, but especially when we’re reminded of our mortality. Last year I turned fifty. This milestone event in my life wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It was worse! Don’t misunderstand. I enjoyed all the attention from family, friends, and church members. My congregation held a huge birthday party for me, complete with skits about their aging pastor.Diapers andMetamucil were among the most frequent gifts. It was all great fun.

But after the celebration ended and the humorous cards had been read and discarded, I was left with this stark realization: Without any doubt, I have more years behind me than in front of me. Sometime in the next twenty to thirty years, I’ll meet the invisible God about whom I’ve taught and with whom I’ve sporadically communicated.

And when that moment arrives, all of my theological speculations will be meaningless. I’ll see God as He really is. The only thing that will matter is whether or not my preparation for eternity has been adequate.

Realizing how little time I have left before my inevitable departure has led me to ask myself the simple question,What does God really want from me?In my mind, that question has moved from being theoretical to critical.
The stakes are too high for me to get it wrong. It’s really the only question that matters. In my twenties and thirties, I thought about this question occasionally, but now I awaken in the middle of the night wondering,What must I do to please God?

I can already hear some of you shouting back the stock answer: “Robert, you of all people should know that there is nothing you can do to please God. Just trust in Christ as your Savior, and everything will be okay.” I’ve preached th

Excerpted from Clutter-Free Christianity: A Simpler Faith for Crazier Times by Robert Jeffress
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