Jacques' Prayer
From the Forward:
...I’ve long wondered what it would be like to have a conversation with God. You know, a real sit down fireside chat with the Holy of Holies one-on-one like a Barbara Walters special. Perhaps more Biblical, I’ve often wondered about God’s walking and talking with Adam in the cool of the evening in the Garden of Eden. Whether talking about the likes of Abraham, Moses or Samuel of the Old Testament, or the disciples and early Christian church of the New, folks have had conversations with God. If you have never put yourself into the Bible and understood things from the vantage point of its characters, then you truly haven’t read it. In so doing, you have to ask yourself at some point, what it must have been like to have the God of all creation actually talking to you, reasoning with you, listening to you, and responding to you directly. For me, my mind races with the possibilities. Then one day, I let go. I let my mind go asking it the near blasphemous question: “What would God say?” ...
want to read more: entire foreword
Book Excerpts
Chapter 3: Man's Desires
Holy Spirit: Do you believe man likes life down here?
Jacques: Some do, I’m sure. However, I have to believe that those that do like life down here “as is” do so because they are limited to what their physical senses tell them – not because of a true realization, understanding, or appreciation of what Heaven is and how life there compares to life here on Earth. If all one saw were a swamp and a gated mud hole, one might actually feel happy living in the pigpen. Probably not the best of analogies I admit, but I hope you get my point. I think man is happy where he is because he doesn’t know any better. It’s either that or he has lost touch with the hope or faith that “better than” is a part of his “now” reality.
Holy Spirit: I see. So if what man wants most from God is security, then why does he not seek it here on Earth in this life?
Jacques: I think most do. I just don’t think many feel it’s within their own strength to keep and maintain it. This world is dog-eat-dog. If you get, somebody is always wanting what you have. In a kinder, gentler world, that might not be such a bad thing since you do kind of want people to admire, or at least think highly of what you have just as you do. The problem is that far too often, for far too many, such admiration sours into envy, jealousy, and even hatred. That problem is made worse when you consider just how many folk stand ready and willing to take your stuff, including your wife and kids. Well, wife and kids aren’t “stuff,” but you know what I mean – things you hold near and dear...
want to read more: chapter 3
Jacques: Some do, I’m sure. However, I have to believe that those that do like life down here “as is” do so because they are limited to what their physical senses tell them – not because of a true realization, understanding, or appreciation of what Heaven is and how life there compares to life here on Earth. If all one saw were a swamp and a gated mud hole, one might actually feel happy living in the pigpen. Probably not the best of analogies I admit, but I hope you get my point. I think man is happy where he is because he doesn’t know any better. It’s either that or he has lost touch with the hope or faith that “better than” is a part of his “now” reality.
Holy Spirit: I see. So if what man wants most from God is security, then why does he not seek it here on Earth in this life?
Jacques: I think most do. I just don’t think many feel it’s within their own strength to keep and maintain it. This world is dog-eat-dog. If you get, somebody is always wanting what you have. In a kinder, gentler world, that might not be such a bad thing since you do kind of want people to admire, or at least think highly of what you have just as you do. The problem is that far too often, for far too many, such admiration sours into envy, jealousy, and even hatred. That problem is made worse when you consider just how many folk stand ready and willing to take your stuff, including your wife and kids. Well, wife and kids aren’t “stuff,” but you know what I mean – things you hold near and dear...
want to read more: chapter 3
