Pursued: God's Divine Obsession with You

by Jud Wilhite

Christian faith isn't blind obedience to a set of rules and regulations; it is entering into a relationship with a God who pursues us-not to punish, but to love. As the leader of Central Christian Church in the self-proclaimed "Sin City, U.S.A.," Jud Wilhite has seen it all, and he knows that no matter how far someone has strayed from God, God always remains in passionate pursuit. Using the biblical prophet Hosea's marriage, commanded by God, to an unfaithful prostitute as a metaphor for God's unwavering love, PURSUED compellingly illustrates God's plan for every person-to be freed to become his or her own unique self through intimate togetherness with the living, loving God.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Faith, Christian Living, Christianity

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Jud Wilhite is an author, speaker, and senior pastor of Central Christian Church, a church founded in Las Vegas with multiple campuses, both national and international. Central is recognized as one of the largest and fastest growing churches in America. Jud is the author of several books, including Pursued, a New York Times bestseller, Torn, Throw it Down, and Uncensored Grace. He and his wife, Lori, have two kids and live in the Las Vegas area.

Reviews

[Pam Howell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wilhite's main theme is God loves us deeply and will pursue us even in our rebellion ... His love for us is relentless.

While some of the book is basic, I would bet the many like me need to be reminded of God's crazy and unexplainable love for us!

Here is one of the parts I would have underlined, if it wasn't a library book: "What I am to do is always rooted in who God says I am. We don't strive to attain our identity. Our obedience flows out of our identity. Grace comes before law. We see this in the Old Testament as God first freed the Israelites and gave them a new identity and only then does He give the Ten Commandments.This is crucial to understand for all of spiritual formation. Thus, the challenge of the Christian life can ge summed up as learning to grow into who God says we already are. As we do, we can fulfill what God says in Hosea, "Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you." (Hosea 10:12).

One of the other things I liked about the book was studying the book of Hosea.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Started reading this because GOD has been trying to get me to see just how much He truly loves us humans as I have never truly believed to what degree He did me. I had always felt like GOD "had" to love me simply because He said He did and there was no real "want to" involved. I have had the love of people that 'had to' and it never matched up to the love of the couple of people in my lifetime that have 'wanted to' love me. I accepted the love of the 'had to' people, but never expected much from them because they never followed through well or consistently. I translated that to GOD as well. I fully expected Him to save me from my sins because He had to, but that was about the end of my expectations. I never believed GOD loved me to the point of chasing after me just to be with me, take care of me and make my life abundant. I am not saying that this book totally changed my life because it hasn't in one fell swoop, but GOD is working -- through it and several other avenues, just to show me that He is in love with me and will be all that I need for everything in my existence. Thanks Jud Wilhite for listening to GOD as you wrote this.

[Chris Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to see what all the twitter hype around this book was about. So I went and bought it! Overall I enjoyed it. I think it came at a time when I have heard so much over the past few weeks about this idea of "pursue". I was getting a little burned out by this subject.

Great walk through of Hosea and orienting it to us today to show how God is drawing us to him. Despite our circumstances.

[Sarah Herbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad! Hosea and Gomer story meant a lot to me. Could have been written in half the amount of pages though.

[Roxiann Mccartney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pursued:God's Divine Obsession With You by Pastor Jud Wilhite of Central Christian Church in Henderson,NV.
Personal Review of this amazing book is just that Amazing, Pastor Jud Wilhite has done it again with a great book to get the message of God to the people. Pastor Jud brings his personal life story into this book with the Book of Hosea to make it very understandable to everyone and also brings other people's personal struggles and how God shows them his wonderful Love he has for all of us. I too saw my life story being brought forward as I read the book, it definitely showed how God really does Love me for who I am to him. God really wants his children to understand that He is there for us and wants the best for us. Understanding how God keeps pursuing us with his Love, is in itself a true pursue of Love. God may discipline us but he is only doing it because HE really does love us. God doesnt want to discipline us, He wants to Bless us with his LOVE. This book really inspired me to go to the Bible and read the Book of Hosea completely, so I could have a better understanding of Pastor Jud's book. After reading this book I found a DVD movie at the local christian bookstore: Amazing Love:The Story of Hosea. Great movie! Between watching the movie and reading the actual Book of Hosea, I then truely understood where the book Pursued was going with the message. God Bless You Pastor Jud for this book. I definitely found myself thinking about my life, my brother's life, my friends who all have had difficulties in their lives. I would definitely recommend everyone to read this book by Pastor Jud Wilhite and feel God move them spiritually to His Love for them. I will be buying a few copies to give to people who I know could use a good dose of God's Love.

[Carie]

What a refreshing perspective this book was on how God loves us regardless of our sins. That we don't have to wake up each day feeling like we have to prove ourselves by our "good works" or how often we pray or read the bible, etc. God just wants us to put him first & pursue a relationship with him, however that may look like for us. Each person is different & what works for me, may not for others & it doesn't have to... That's the beauty of Gods love & grace. I can just be me. God uses the worst of our actions, circumstances & life altering situations to not only humble us but so that we will seek him out. Jud Wilhite writes about the story of Gomer & Hosea to show just how low a person/relationship can go but still God can make something good of it! I'd recommend this book for several reasons... Its a quick read, it talks about real issues we all face each day & it inspires you to not only pursue God but love yourself in spite of all your faults & past transgressions. I will be reading more of Jud Wilhite books :)

[JD']

Love is a choice. Not a feeling.
One of the most inconceivable people in the Bible who sees all the red lights and pursues a woman from the Red Lights writes about the feeling of love,
"Your declarations of love last no longer than morning mist and predawn dew. That's why.. my words cut you to the quick: to wake you up." Hos 6:6-7
What about a green light?
Jud Wilhite of Central in Las Vegas writes in his book, "Pursued: God's divine obsession with you," that
"The story of Hosea and Gomer is the second most powerful picture of God's love in the Bible. Other than Christ's death, there is no greater picture of love."
Jesus, hated for no good reason, made a foolish "choice" that looked full of red lights. He would say in his last meal, the night before being betrayed and killed,
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command...
Love one another."
John 15:13,14,17

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This'll be an odd review. I read "Pursued: God's Divine Obsession with You" by Jud Wilhite during the summer. I had gotten the book from the library and apparently liked it enough that I requested it on my Amazon list and received it as a birthday present. As I reread it though I am not sure exactly why I wanted to own this book. I will admit that I enjoyed reading it to a point. Wilhite's examining of Hosea and Gomer's relationship as a metaphor for God's love for his people is quite fascinating. Still, the book was not overwhelming in the information it provided.
The last chapter dealing with church and Christian identity was the most impactful for me. That made it worth the reread.
I would say this is a good book and worth reading, but at least in the second read, it was more underwhelming than anything else.

[Callie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Pursued" by Jud Wilhite

This book explores and studies the book of Hosea in the Bible, and how it parallels to our everyday life. It is an amazing testimony of God's love and grace, and just how much of each there is for all of us. "Pursued" explores just how much God loves us and how we have been redeemed. This book is written by Jud Wilhite and published by Faith Words. (I was not familiar with this publisher or author, but they have been wonderful to work with.) Discover for yourself why "Pursued" gets rave reviews and five star ratings on Amazon by signing up for "The Challenge", which sends you fourteen amazing days of samples from the book, at pursuedbook.com.

Thank you so much to Sarah Reck and Faith Words for providing this book for me to read and review!

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walking through the book of Hosea from the Old Testament I am reminded that no matter what I have done, that I am still pursued by a loving God who desires to have a relationship with me. Jud, using stories from along his own journey through life and those who he's met along the way, shows real-life examples of people changed by God's grace in moments when, like Gomer, they had run full-tilt from God. Whether you're just getting to know God or you feel stuck in your current relationship with Him, this book will encourage and remind you of why, every day, God is a passionate God who pursues you full-tilt.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Pursued" is a study of the biblical book of Hosea to uncover the truth of God's passionate pursuit of his people. The book was written in a conversational tone and is easy to follow. It included a look at Hosea, present day examples, and how this understanding of God should impact our lives.

The book is especially for those who think that God is pursuing them with the desire to punish them. However, I think anyone--new Christian to mature Christian--can benefit from this reminder of how passionate God is about building a loving relationship with us. I'd highly recommend this book.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from the publisher.

[Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you, Jud, for the fresh reminder of God's relentless pursuit of His people. Lots of wonderful insights about living a life under grace and not obligation. Great stories that bring to life how relentless God is in His love for us.

I've always loved the book of Hosea. There were good treatments of some key insights from Hosea. I wish there had been more reflections of Hosea throughout the book, but this wasn't a commentary nor a rewrite of the story. So, I was happy with what I got.

If you've ever wanted to earn your passage with God or felt like you didn't deserve His love, this book is for you.

[Bobby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pursued is a great book for everyone, believers and even non-believers of God and the Christian faith. That's right folks, you don't gotta be a Christian to enjoy a good Christian read, especially a good read like Pursued.

It seems Pastor Jud Wilhite's objective was to present a very modern and understandable book for everyone to enjoy. Taking examples of experiences from his church members and his own life, Pastor Wilhite offers an answer to a question that I'm sure we've all pondered on at least once in our lives: 'Why do bad things happen?'

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got as part of welcome package when attended Henderson Central Christian Church a couple weeks ago. The author of this book is actually the pastor of the church. Both the book and the service were very eye opening. If they are to have more services while I'm not at work, I will definitely go to Central again. "Where it's ok to not be ok."

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jud Wilhite takes the story of Hosea and Gomer from scripture and encourages readers that, while it is undeniable that mankind often resembles closely the unfaithfulness of Gomer in relation to God, God never stops pursuing a relationship with us. Great encouragement!

[Elisha Blade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow what an amazing way to go through the book of Hosea. I have never looked at it that way or been able to apply it to my own life. Jud Wilhite does an amazing job of walking you through the story of Hosea and how it applies to everyone.

[Sherrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book but sometimes it repeated itself. I learned a lot of things that remind me of who I am and where I come from. Many times I paused and prayed to God praising Him or praying to him. God is great!

[Caryn]

Great book on GRACE!

Easy, inspirational, and conversational read. Great parallels from the book of Hosea for God's love through GRACE. Highly suggested for those broken through legalism who are trying to grasp the reality of God's grace.

[Mary Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely want to read this again! Sooo much good stuff here!

[Geoff Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazed at the extraordinary lengths our Father will go to capture our hearts.

This book both inspired & challenged me, I do believe in will re-read it again soon.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and inspiring book based on Hosea. GREAT JOB JUD!

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is more of a beginner Christian book. It seemed to try to hard to be trendy and didn't get as deep spiritually as I was hoping for.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved seeing the love story in this book of the Bible. Based on Hosea.

[Calvary Dominique · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an amazing reminder.

[Mae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely terrific. I'd even buy it! Full of truth...

[Stephanie Burgess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where are you with God? That will be an on-going question and a way to "check in" with God. Granted, it will be a daily, hourly, check in, but it's still the best check in ever. In it simplicity this book was relevant and really helped me recognize things I do and don't do, but what God will always do - love me, pursuit me, and call me His child!

[Soph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I personally loved this book. With the foundation of the book of Hosea, Jud paints a picture of how God relentlessly pursues His people because of how much He loves us! The chapters were a bit long but there were a good amount of breaking points in between!