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    Intimacy with God Without Pretense
    Intimacy with God Without Pretense
    Intimacy with God Without Pretense
    Ebook108 pages57 minutes

    Intimacy with God Without Pretense

    By Ben Kimmich

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    About this ebook

    This book contains a call from God for us to have intimate fellowship with Him. Too often we try to achieve in the flesh that which can only be accomplished by His Spirit; for all that we are and all that we do should proceed from our relationship with Him. Many will take time off of work and travel long distances to experience the love of God, but few will take time off of work for solitary prayer with no other purpose than to hear His voice (Psalms 27:4).

    Intimacy with God without Pretense addresses twenty-three facets of Christian life, all with the same focus: to hear His voice, know His will, and feel His heart.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWestBow Press
    Release dateApr 18, 2014
    ISBN9781490834696
    Intimacy with God Without Pretense
    Author

    Ben Kimmich

    Ben Kimmich is a writer with a passion for helping Christians pursue intimate fellowship with God. He is a devoted father and husband who makes his home in the small town of Wellington, Ohio, where he studies, writes, and commits himself to weight training and fitness (between coffee and cream sticks). You may contact him at: teleo50@myway.com

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      Book preview

      Intimacy with God Without Pretense - Ben Kimmich

      Copyright © 2014 Ben Kimmich.

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      WestBow Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

      WestBow Press

      A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

      1663 Liberty Drive

      Bloomington, IN 47403

      www.westbowpress.com

      1 (866) 928-1240

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

      Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

      ISBN: 978-1-4908-3469-6 (e)

      ISBN: 978-1-4908-3468-9 (sc)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2014907135

      WestBow Press rev. date: 4/18/2014

      CONTENTS

      Acknowledgements

      Introduction

      CHAPTER 1     Useful

      CHAPTER 2     Cost

      CHAPTER 3    Tools

      CHAPTER 4     Heart

      CHAPTER 5     Prepared?

      CHAPTER 6     Privilege

      CHAPTER 7     Tolerance

      CHAPTER 8     Facets

      CHAPTER 9     Intent

      CHAPTER 10   Embrace

      CHAPTER 11   Reach

      CHAPTER 12   Prayer

      CHAPTER 13   Faith

      CHAPTER 14   Challenge

      CHAPTER 15   Time

      CHAPTER 16   Value

      CHAPTER 17   Epiphany

      CHAPTER 18   Grace

      CHAPTER 19   Conduit

      CHAPTER 20   He Is

      CHAPTER 21   Wait

      CHAPTER 22   It’s His Work

      CHAPTER 23   Knowledge of God

      CHAPTER 24   Use

      For

      every member

      of the body of Christ

      ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

      There are very few things of which I am certain that God has called me to. This writing is one of them. Similar to Jonah, my focus has been some what less than perfect at times on the task before me, so to help me regain my focus God provides a fish. A short ride in a fish always puts me back on track. Like Jonah, I don’t enjoy the ride; unlike Jonah, I am thankful for the fish. The fish says, God loves you and still wants to use you, and I’m here to restore you to his purpose. Fortunately, the fish experience comes only when needed and God is kind to provide motivation from other sources. I am grateful that He provided Jessica Bergstrazer, who, by taking an interest early on, inspired me to pursue writing. A special thanks to Mrs. Norton, who was a great encouragement to me by giving her professional view on the writing’s content.

      To Tiffany Thompson, thank you for lending your talent to this work - it fits perfectly! Thank you Lynne Welch for your input and help throughout this project.

      To God I am humbly greatful, for gifting me with parents that exemplify an uswerving trek through life, and a wife and children whose hearts pursue Christ.

      God never leaves us alone to do anything, even though it may seem that way sometimes. Whether the work is great or small, he always provides help along the way.

      INTRODUCTION

      What troubles me more than anything is that we have overlooked God, as the heavenly Father, his Son, and the Holy Spirit, and missed out on knowing him for what he does for us. I’ve realized that my love for others was mostly dependent on what I received from them—whether I received attention, gifts, or an act of kindness, I felt good, and I received more than I gave. The same was true with my relationship with God. God was good because he healed me or brought a relationship together or met a financial need. Jesus saved me, and the Holy Spirit was my help.

      I have a deep appreciation for the arts and a high esteem for artists. From cooking to gymnastics, the skillful display of one’s passion is awe-inspiring, but what many people experience with their senses is only an expression of the artist. Detail, intricacy, and breathtaking beauty are pushed to the ultimate degree in God’s creation; love, passion, and life-giving sacrifice are pushed to the ultimate degree for humanity’s redemption. Who is this God? Who is his Son? Who is the Holy Spirit, really? I want to know them. I don’t care if I understand how it fits together. I just want to know the one that all of this came from. To know him is to trust him, to worship him, to pray to him.

      He is the hero who saved us, the Father who loves us, and the true friend. He wants to be close to us even more than we want to be close to him. As expressed in the Song of Songs 1:4 Draw me we will run after thee … we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee.

      Furthermore, Romans 12:1–3 exhorts us:

      I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given to me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

      For seven years I adhered wholeheartedly to the faith and prosperity teachings, which were ever so popular at the time. For the first three years of that time, I spent countless hours listening to and studying teachers of that movement. I learned the verses and was eager to teach others the doctrine. Even though I was dedicated pupil to God’s Word and strictly adhered to the principles of faith, I was missing out in my walk with him. I had become so focused in my belief that I would incorporate verses of Scripture into every conversation. For instance, when someone would greet me with a simple How are you doing, my reply would be to partially quote Revelation 21:27, Ephesians 1:13, and Colossians 1:13. "Signed, sealed, and delivered: my name is written in

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