God put the Bible together for you, and he wants you to understand and know him better. But sometimes you can get lost in the details and miss the big picture. The Bible is more than just a collection of wisdom, instructions, and history. It’s one unified story of the incredible love of God!Encountering God’s Heart for You takes you on a daily journey through the full narrative of Scripture in a … of Scripture in a year. And in the process, it will draw you nearer to God as you discover his love and compassion. It won’t cover every verse, or even every chapter, in the Bible, but by the time you’re through, you’ll have a strong grasp of what the Bible is all about.
Reading Scripture isn’t just a way to collect information or check something off a to-do list. Let this book bring you into God’s presence to better understand the Bible’s story of love, sacrifice, and redemption as he draws you to himself.
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This devotional is written as a one-year guide through the Bible. I find that it’s a perfect companion to any one-year Bible reading program. Though not every chapter of the Bible is covered in this devotional it goes in Biblical order and makes it very easy to find the chapter you might be looking for. That way if you are using a Bible reading plan that goes in chronological order it is still very easy to use this devotional to complement your Bible reading schedule. Each daily devotional reflects on the corresponding chapter of the Bible before the author ties it to everyday life. Focusing on God’s heart for each of us. It’s so important to see and understand God’s heart so that we may grow our personal relationship with Him. This beautifully written book does just that with its daily reminder of God’s heart for us.
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit but was not under any obligation to write a review. All opinions are strictly mine.
Encountering God’s Heart for You, by Diane Stortz features 365 brief devotions that chronologically explore important people, events, and themes in scripture beginning in Genesis and continuing all the way through to Revelation. Having personally read through an entire chronological Bible just last year, I am finding Encountering God’s Heart for You to be one of the most inspiring devotionals I have read in quite a while. Ms. Stortz writes authentically with genuine heart, humility, and knowledge. Her deep love of God is certainly evident as she thoughtfully focuses on God’s great love as revealed throughout all the books of the Bible.
Well-researched, well-organized, and well-written, this devotional offers relevant and applicable insights from a wide variety of Old and New Testament people, events, and themes, while also including refreshingly honest details that are enriched by historical context and cultural insights. Page after page, this book presents a vivid glimpse into the lives of real, flawed human beings who were integral in God’s plan for the redemption of humanity. Though they lived thousands of years ago, these men and women made choices that we can still learn from today.
As I continue to read and reflect on each of the daily readings, I connect wholeheartedly with Ms. Stortz’s sincere faith and her desire to share it with others. In addition to the Biblical accounts, she also includes her own thoughts and stories, various scripture verses, and daily prayers. These serve to add to the depth of truth found throughout the book. I am finding these readings to be practical, encouraging, thought-provoking, and utterly meaningful.
Encountering God’s Heart for You will resonate with those who long for a deeper understanding of God’s love and grace, as well as how he has established a pattern of using ordinary people and events to accomplish extraordinary things according to his will. Gentle in its tone, yet powerful in its message, this devotional is worthy of being read on a daily basis. I recommend it wholeheartedly.
*I was given a copy of this book from the author/publisher and CelebrateLit. A review was not required. The review I have written is voluntary and contains opinions that are entirely my own.
Encountering God’s Heart for You contains 365 short daily devotionals. Some devotions cover a single chapter in the Bible while others are for multiple chapters. These devotions are quick to read and would be great for a new Christian or someone who wants a quick devotional to read.
This devotional is not one that should replace daily Bible reading but is perfect for a quick read. I think it would be perfect as a start to your daily devotional time. At the beginning of each day is a short passage of Scripture along with the reference for the chapter for the day. So check out this devotional for yourself.
I received a copy of this devotional for my fair and honest review.
I first want to take a minute and talk about how beautiful the book has been designed. The book is a hardcover and will last for years to come. The pages inside are filled will scripture and a walk through the Bible. The author points out that not all of the Bible is included but it is a perfect devotion to use each day. I’m glad that it is not numbered by day and month so you can begin the book at any point .
This has been a timely book for me as I struggle with what is going on in the world right now. The author includes subjects for each day and sometimes I find myself going past some pages to read a subject that God has put on my heart. I am thankful for this book and all the work the author put into it to encourage us as we discover the Bible in a year. This would make an excellent gift for someone to help them read through the Bible and discover His unconditional love.
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.
MY THOUGHTS ON THIS BOOK
This is the first book I have read from this author. This one is a Devotional, and its different than anything I have read before. It is for 365 days and it takes you through the entire Bible in those 365 days. This wouldn’t be something to use instead of reading through the Bible, but it makes a great devotion to read each day, and you will have an idea of what is in the Bible.
I think this would be great for a new Christian, it would be a way the introduce them to God’s word with explanations of what each book us about. I also think this is a good one for someone wanting short devotions to read, because they are short, but very valuable. I highly recommend this Devotional. There are so many out there to choose from, so take a look at this one before you purchase!
A special thanks to the author/publisher for a copy of this book. I am not required to write a positive review, the opinions here are mine alone. I am disclosing this with my review in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
Author Diane Stortz leads a journey from Genesis day 1 In His Image to Revelation day 365 Come Lord Jesus! Each daily devotion follows the Bible book by book giving a highlight of its history. Each day ends with thought provoking questions for personal reflection as well as a prayer at the very end relating to that devotion.
Diane Stortz dedication in the front of the book states For every woman of the Word but I am sure men would enjoy reading it too. Actually it would make a very good family nightly devotion especially since it contains questions for thought as well as a prayer. I enjoyed reading this. It was different from any other I have read and I highly recommend it.
I received a complimentary copy of this devotional from the publisher through Celebrate Lit but was not required to write a review
This beautiful, unique devotional book is one of the best I’ve come across. Reading from cover to cover takes readers through the whole story of the Bible, a novel approach that I personally have not encountered before. While not a substitute for the Word of God, this daily devotional is an excellent and fairly comprehensive supplement, suitable both for those who are familiar with the Bible and those who aren’t. Because each page-long entry is numbered from 1 to 365, there is no set start or end date, unlike many devotionals that are divided into month and day. Each day has a title and the books and chapters of the Bible being discussed, as well as a Scripture verse taken from that designation, and each reading concludes with a prayer. The short reading sometimes consists of Biblical context or the Biblical story, and at other times it focuses on a contemporary connection. I love everything about the formatting; while not every single chapter of the Bible is examined, the highlights are, and this book goes very well with my Bible reading plan this year, which consists of concurrently reading both Old and New Testament chapters daily and results in reading the entire Bible by the end of the year.
Diane Stortz’s “Encountering God’s Heart for You” is structured in such a way that it can serve as a supplemental go-to book for addressing and praying about specific needs or exploring certain books or chapters of the Bible. To this end, I do wish that there was a table of contents, but the chronology follows along closely enough (although not completely) to the Bible that readers should be able to locate certain books without much difficulty. There are two main sections: Encountering God’s Heart for You in the Old Testament and Encountering God’s Heart for You in the New Testament. Each of these two sections is further divided into categories. For the Old Testament these include: The Books of Law, The Books of History, The Books of Poetry and Wisdom, and The Books of Prophecy. For the New Testament: The Gospels, The Book of History (Acts), The Letters, and The Book of Prophecy (Revelation). My favorite during this read-through was The Books of Poetry and Wisdom, although I think that would be subject to change depending on what is going on in my life at the time. This is definitely a book that is going onto my favorites list and that I will refer back to frequently.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Celebrate Lit and was not required to post a favorable review. All opinions are my own.