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Life with God: Reading the Bible for Spiritual Transformation
“If you want to discover new ways of entering the Bible, and letting it enter you, you will find no better guide than Richard Foster.”
— Lauren F. Winner, Duke Divinity School, author of Girl Meets God “Foster’s work is not for those readers who are seeking quick answers or a behavioral checklist of what the Bible says they should do. Rather, it is a deep reflective guide to spiritual rumination and growth.”
— Publishers Weekly Richard Foster, the beloved, bestselling author of Celebration of Discipline, Streams of Living Water, and Prayer , shows the intimate connection between Scripture and spirituality, revealing the secrets to living the “with-God life.”
— Lauren F. Winner, Duke Divinity School, author of Girl Meets God “Foster’s work is not for those readers who are seeking quick answers or a behavioral checklist of what the Bible says they should do. Rather, it is a deep reflective guide to spiritual rumination and growth.”
— Publishers Weekly Richard Foster, the beloved, bestselling author of Celebration of Discipline, Streams of Living Water, and Prayer , shows the intimate connection between Scripture and spirituality, revealing the secrets to living the “with-God life.”
240 pages, Paperback
First published April 22, 2008
167 people are currently reading
1260 people want to read
About the author
Richard J. Foster
92 books532 followersRichard J. Foster is the author of several bestselling books, including Celebration of Discipline, Streams of Living Water, and Prayer, which was Christianity Today's Book of the Year and the winner of the Gold Medallion Award from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. He is the founder of Renovaré, an intrachurch movement committed to the renewal of the Church in all her multifaceted expressions, and the editor of The Renovaré Spiritual Formation Bible.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
October 5, 2015
My first book of Foster and some people say that is all the rest of his books concluded into one. I don't know if that's the case.
However, I really like the book since it combines how to read the Bible for spiritual transformation and at the same time gives the background of grace and the spiritual disciplines.
It has for sure made me more interested in reading more from Richard Foster and of course go deeper with God!
However, I really like the book since it combines how to read the Bible for spiritual transformation and at the same time gives the background of grace and the spiritual disciplines.
It has for sure made me more interested in reading more from Richard Foster and of course go deeper with God!
December 15, 2019
A few favorite quotes from the book:
It was this…intention that made the primitive Chris-
tians such eminent instances of piety, that made
the goodly fellowship of the Saints and all the glo-
rious army of martyrs and confessors. And if you
will here stop and ask yourself why you are not as
pious as the primitive Christians were, your own
heart will tell you that it is neither through igno-
rance nor inability, but purely because you never
thoroughly intended it.
—William
Law,
A Serious Call
to a Devout
and Holy Life
“Any fool can know; the point is to understand,” Albert
Einstein is reported to have said.
When Jesus is asked to name the greatest command-
ment, he responds, “You shall love the LORD your God
with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37). Jesus is quoting from Deuteronomy
6:5, but he changes it ever so slightly, adding “mind” in
place of “might.” Hebrew tradition has always placed high
value on the right use of the mind, and Jesus is here
underscoring that reality.
Material reality is not the opposite of spiritual
reality, but the vehicle through which that reality becomes
visible.
We can see the centrality of fasting
and prayer, for example, in Luke’s portrayal of the prophet
Anna, who is widowed early in her marriage and spends
the rest of her life at the Temple, praying and fasting “night
and day” (Luke 2:37). We know nothing about her life ex-
cept for her role in the climactic event of the presentation
of the infant Jesus at the Temple....Now is the moment when Anna, whose life to this point remains obscure to us, steps forth onto the stage of
redemption. Perhaps all her years of giving herself to God
in body and mind and spirit have prepared her to recog-
nize the Christ child. We don’t know that with certainty,
but we do know that the woman who has spent a lifetime being with God is now the one who proclaims the reality of God with us: “At that moment she came, and began to
praise God and to speak about the child to all who were
looking for the redemption of Jerusalem” (2:38).
our definition of discipline? The abil-
ity to do the right thing at the right time for the right reason.
Traveling Light: The Discipline of celebration is a bracing antidote to
religious solemnity. It loosens our grip on self-
consciousness and brings us back down to earth on the
level playing field of our common humanity. We can laugh
at ourselves and with others, free of a judgmental spirit
that is constantly sizing up one against the other. We are
all in this together.
Kierkegaard: "If I were to define Chris-
tian perfection, I should not say that it is a perfection of
striving but specifically that it is the deep recognition of
the imperfection of one’s striving, and precisely because
of this a deeper and deeper consciousness of the need for
grace, not grace for this or that, but the infinite need infin-
itely for grace.”³⁹
Scripture identifies two kinds of life: bios, the physical,
created life; and zoë, the spiritual, eternal life. Likewise,
Scripture identifies two kinds of death: teleute, physical
death; and thanatos, spiritual death. So it is entirely pos-
sible to be physically alive but spiritually dead. God’s zoë
floods our lives with Christ’s life, forming us into radical
communities of his disciples who are empowered to ex-
press his life and love through our own lives, individually
and corporately....
This is the life to which Jesus refers when he an-
nounces that he came so we might have “life, and have it
abundantly” (John 10:10). It is the life announced by John,
as he testifies, “God gave us eternal life, and this life is in
his Son” (1 John 5:11). It is the life that saves us: “For if
while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God
through the death of his Son,” says Paul, “much more
surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life”
(Rom. 5:10). It is the life that in all its fullness awaited
Bonhoeffer as he crossed over from this one, leading him
to whisper to his friends his final words, “This is the end,
for me a beginning.”In much the same way, this zoë that we receive from
God will accomplish its work—we can count on it. God in-
vites us—indeed, commands us—to seek this life out, to
pursue it, to turn into it, because there is also within us
the principle of death, stemming from the Fall. It is not
nearly as powerful as zoë, but it wars against the principle
of life with an all-out attack, prowling around like a roaring
lion, looking for someone to devour (see 1 Pet. 5:6). It is
ferocious, and therefore we must constantly be saying yes
to life and no to death. We must always be discerning life-
giving actions and attitudes from those that are death-
giving. We must forever be “turning, turning, turning, ’til
we come round right,” as the old Shaker hymn puts it.
It was this…intention that made the primitive Chris-
tians such eminent instances of piety, that made
the goodly fellowship of the Saints and all the glo-
rious army of martyrs and confessors. And if you
will here stop and ask yourself why you are not as
pious as the primitive Christians were, your own
heart will tell you that it is neither through igno-
rance nor inability, but purely because you never
thoroughly intended it.
—William
Law,
A Serious Call
to a Devout
and Holy Life
“Any fool can know; the point is to understand,” Albert
Einstein is reported to have said.
When Jesus is asked to name the greatest command-
ment, he responds, “You shall love the LORD your God
with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37). Jesus is quoting from Deuteronomy
6:5, but he changes it ever so slightly, adding “mind” in
place of “might.” Hebrew tradition has always placed high
value on the right use of the mind, and Jesus is here
underscoring that reality.
Material reality is not the opposite of spiritual
reality, but the vehicle through which that reality becomes
visible.
We can see the centrality of fasting
and prayer, for example, in Luke’s portrayal of the prophet
Anna, who is widowed early in her marriage and spends
the rest of her life at the Temple, praying and fasting “night
and day” (Luke 2:37). We know nothing about her life ex-
cept for her role in the climactic event of the presentation
of the infant Jesus at the Temple....Now is the moment when Anna, whose life to this point remains obscure to us, steps forth onto the stage of
redemption. Perhaps all her years of giving herself to God
in body and mind and spirit have prepared her to recog-
nize the Christ child. We don’t know that with certainty,
but we do know that the woman who has spent a lifetime being with God is now the one who proclaims the reality of God with us: “At that moment she came, and began to
praise God and to speak about the child to all who were
looking for the redemption of Jerusalem” (2:38).
our definition of discipline? The abil-
ity to do the right thing at the right time for the right reason.
Traveling Light: The Discipline of celebration is a bracing antidote to
religious solemnity. It loosens our grip on self-
consciousness and brings us back down to earth on the
level playing field of our common humanity. We can laugh
at ourselves and with others, free of a judgmental spirit
that is constantly sizing up one against the other. We are
all in this together.
Kierkegaard: "If I were to define Chris-
tian perfection, I should not say that it is a perfection of
striving but specifically that it is the deep recognition of
the imperfection of one’s striving, and precisely because
of this a deeper and deeper consciousness of the need for
grace, not grace for this or that, but the infinite need infin-
itely for grace.”³⁹
Scripture identifies two kinds of life: bios, the physical,
created life; and zoë, the spiritual, eternal life. Likewise,
Scripture identifies two kinds of death: teleute, physical
death; and thanatos, spiritual death. So it is entirely pos-
sible to be physically alive but spiritually dead. God’s zoë
floods our lives with Christ’s life, forming us into radical
communities of his disciples who are empowered to ex-
press his life and love through our own lives, individually
and corporately....
This is the life to which Jesus refers when he an-
nounces that he came so we might have “life, and have it
abundantly” (John 10:10). It is the life announced by John,
as he testifies, “God gave us eternal life, and this life is in
his Son” (1 John 5:11). It is the life that saves us: “For if
while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God
through the death of his Son,” says Paul, “much more
surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life”
(Rom. 5:10). It is the life that in all its fullness awaited
Bonhoeffer as he crossed over from this one, leading him
to whisper to his friends his final words, “This is the end,
for me a beginning.”In much the same way, this zoë that we receive from
God will accomplish its work—we can count on it. God in-
vites us—indeed, commands us—to seek this life out, to
pursue it, to turn into it, because there is also within us
the principle of death, stemming from the Fall. It is not
nearly as powerful as zoë, but it wars against the principle
of life with an all-out attack, prowling around like a roaring
lion, looking for someone to devour (see 1 Pet. 5:6). It is
ferocious, and therefore we must constantly be saying yes
to life and no to death. We must always be discerning life-
giving actions and attitudes from those that are death-
giving. We must forever be “turning, turning, turning, ’til
we come round right,” as the old Shaker hymn puts it.
December 9, 2024
Foster's book isn't any kind of revelation. It is more of a reminder, a clarification, another vision of what discipleship looks like for me. The rules and method are not the goal. They are the methods that are useful to the individual in their own daily walk to make their heart, mind, and soul available for the Holy Spirit to come in and do its work. I think this is a basic message that Foster is trying to get across.
Listen. Reflect. Pray. Obey. Good stuff that again is confirming my own my spiritual walk. I did get convicted of spending more time preparing myself for reading the Bible along with a little bit more depth of delving deeper into reflection on what the word is saying to me. In other words, don't just check off the box after reading your scripture, open your heart and mind to the word. Keep your focus. Let the word come into you and take hold. Listen. Reflect. Pray. Obey.
Listen. Reflect. Pray. Obey. Good stuff that again is confirming my own my spiritual walk. I did get convicted of spending more time preparing myself for reading the Bible along with a little bit more depth of delving deeper into reflection on what the word is saying to me. In other words, don't just check off the box after reading your scripture, open your heart and mind to the word. Keep your focus. Let the word come into you and take hold. Listen. Reflect. Pray. Obey.
January 16, 2021
Powerful. I found this book to be deeply moving and insightful.
March 19, 2009
Clarence Bray gave me this book and I am so glad that I read it!!!! This book is written for Christians of all stripes--evangelical, liberal, whatever flavor. It presents a very appealing picture of why a person would want to be a Christian and how much better this world would be if we lived our faith. I highly recommend it.
March 21, 2016
Overall this must be the driest book I've ever read. Except maybe an electronics user manual. There was extremely little application or personal story or antidote, which I think make a book easier and more enjoyable to read. This was a lot of statement after statement after statement. It was difficult to get through and considering the number of times I had to go back and re-read a paragraph, or a page, or a section, I could probably say I've actually read this book twice. Most of it was just so blah, my mind started to wander while my eyes read the words. There were a few good sections, though. He got a bit into some spiritual disciplines, which was inspiring (I have not read his Celebration of Discipline), and he also talked a lot about how the THINGS we do to engage in life with God are not an end in themselves, but must be seen as only tools to reach the end: life with God. For too long, I lived in a state of needing to check off a list of spiritual disciplines I had done each day, in order to feel like I was really a spiritual person. That can be helpful but it's so easy to veer off the road into legalism that way and spiritual pride. The main point he made which impacted me, was that we don't practice spiritual disciplines for their sake, or to get to the know the Bible better, we do them to set a pattern in our lives, in our psyches, so that when trouble, trial, or temptation come, our default response is whatever God would have it be from us in that moment. Because we've been practicing his presence. There are some good nuggets but it was definitely a struggle to get to them, and then to recognize them instead of accidentally gloss over the page, as happened with so many other pages in the book!
Good Sections:
"We must read humbly and in a constant attitude of repentance."
"Experiencing the with-God life."
"When we engage in Spiritual Disciplines we are engaging in "indirection" - we cannot directly make ourselves into the kind of person who can live fully alive to God. Only the Holy Spirit can do that in us. Only God can reprogram deeply ingrained habit patterns of sin that constantly predispose us towards evil and reprogram them even deeper into habits of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."
"The Bible is not a tool for sharpening our religious competence, but a living and active sword for cleaving our double-minded thoughts and motives, exposing and transforming the contents of our hearts. The best guard against any handling of the Scripture that leaves our souls untouched-and ourselves unchanged-is surrender to the cleansing, forming flow of the Holy Spirit. Simply, this means opening our whole selves...to the open page before us. We seek far more than familiarity with the text alone; instead we are focusing our attention through and beyond the text to the God whose reality fills its depths."
"Lectio divina, spiritual reading, is the ancient Christian practice of reading the Bible for spiritual transformation. It includes listening, reflecting, praying, and obeying."
"Inward stillness is as important to spiritual reading as muscle-stretching is to a workout. You might be surprised how long a mere 60 seconds of silent prayerful breathing can feel when it wheels to a halt the grinding momentum of a hectic day."
Different historical, Biblical intimate dimensions of a personal, spiritual life with God include: The prayer-filled life, The virtuous life, The Spirit-empowered life, The compassionate life, The Word-centered life, The sacramental life.
"What it looks like when we are steadily being transformed into the likeness of Christ is John Woolman's quiet reaction to the slaves in the Woodward home. It is turning the other cheek instead of reacting in kind when someone attacks our character...The goal of practicing spiritual disciplines is not to do more of them. Rather, it is to incorporate them into our lives at the right time in the right way for the right reason. John Woolman's life illumines for us a liberating truth: we do not become godly by trying to become godly. We become godly as "holy habits" such as love, joy and peace fill our character so that we do the right thing at the right time for the right motive....instinctively...without thinking about it. Woolman knew instinctively that slavery was wrong because he had developed a keen attentiveness to God's loving care for every living thing, animal as well as human. Through his spiritual practices, Woolman steeped himself in the Presence of Divine Love and thus became increasingly familiar with its "Operations"...living in relationship to Divine Love, he increasingly took on its character, and increasingly formed by that character, he instinctively responded in ways that reflected Divine Love."
"We address vices by attending to the opposite virtues, and then seeking which disciplines will train us in those virtues."
"Training, not Trying Harder. Paul uses the metaphor of an athlete in training to illustrate the path of spiritual maturity. Determined to have a deeper spiritual life, we think we have to try harder. But a far better goal than trying harder is training. Trying hard to restrain sin by mustering willpower at the brink of temptation is like trying to hold an inflatable beach ball underwater. That is repression, which will simply come back at us from another angle, trapping us in a cycle of failure, self-punishment and anger. Indirection establishes a pattern of disciplining the body's desires long before we face the moment of decision. Example: fasting - dethrones the body as master and gives us authority over our body. We learn that cravings need not control us. Indirection: discipline in one area often produces results in many areas. We do not produce the change, we receive it. Along with this, we need to cultivate a holy expectancy that God will do in us what we cannot do in ourselves."
"The cultural idol of self has distorted our understanding of freedom in Christ so that too often it is reduced to license or cheap grace. Yet self-seeking ultimately leaves us empty, for the gratification is fleeting and shallow. It drains us instead of filling us, leaving us in greater need than before. But on the other side of license lies moralism. We can't earn our way to God by practicing disciplines."
"The disciplines reorient us for life in the kingdom by retraining our habits, thoughts and attitudes and behavior to a radically different way of life from what passes for "Normal" in this world."
"When I enter the with-God life, it is not my life anymore; it is Christ's life, in which I am privileged to become a participant."
Good Sections:
"We must read humbly and in a constant attitude of repentance."
"Experiencing the with-God life."
"When we engage in Spiritual Disciplines we are engaging in "indirection" - we cannot directly make ourselves into the kind of person who can live fully alive to God. Only the Holy Spirit can do that in us. Only God can reprogram deeply ingrained habit patterns of sin that constantly predispose us towards evil and reprogram them even deeper into habits of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."
"The Bible is not a tool for sharpening our religious competence, but a living and active sword for cleaving our double-minded thoughts and motives, exposing and transforming the contents of our hearts. The best guard against any handling of the Scripture that leaves our souls untouched-and ourselves unchanged-is surrender to the cleansing, forming flow of the Holy Spirit. Simply, this means opening our whole selves...to the open page before us. We seek far more than familiarity with the text alone; instead we are focusing our attention through and beyond the text to the God whose reality fills its depths."
"Lectio divina, spiritual reading, is the ancient Christian practice of reading the Bible for spiritual transformation. It includes listening, reflecting, praying, and obeying."
"Inward stillness is as important to spiritual reading as muscle-stretching is to a workout. You might be surprised how long a mere 60 seconds of silent prayerful breathing can feel when it wheels to a halt the grinding momentum of a hectic day."
Different historical, Biblical intimate dimensions of a personal, spiritual life with God include: The prayer-filled life, The virtuous life, The Spirit-empowered life, The compassionate life, The Word-centered life, The sacramental life.
"What it looks like when we are steadily being transformed into the likeness of Christ is John Woolman's quiet reaction to the slaves in the Woodward home. It is turning the other cheek instead of reacting in kind when someone attacks our character...The goal of practicing spiritual disciplines is not to do more of them. Rather, it is to incorporate them into our lives at the right time in the right way for the right reason. John Woolman's life illumines for us a liberating truth: we do not become godly by trying to become godly. We become godly as "holy habits" such as love, joy and peace fill our character so that we do the right thing at the right time for the right motive....instinctively...without thinking about it. Woolman knew instinctively that slavery was wrong because he had developed a keen attentiveness to God's loving care for every living thing, animal as well as human. Through his spiritual practices, Woolman steeped himself in the Presence of Divine Love and thus became increasingly familiar with its "Operations"...living in relationship to Divine Love, he increasingly took on its character, and increasingly formed by that character, he instinctively responded in ways that reflected Divine Love."
"We address vices by attending to the opposite virtues, and then seeking which disciplines will train us in those virtues."
"Training, not Trying Harder. Paul uses the metaphor of an athlete in training to illustrate the path of spiritual maturity. Determined to have a deeper spiritual life, we think we have to try harder. But a far better goal than trying harder is training. Trying hard to restrain sin by mustering willpower at the brink of temptation is like trying to hold an inflatable beach ball underwater. That is repression, which will simply come back at us from another angle, trapping us in a cycle of failure, self-punishment and anger. Indirection establishes a pattern of disciplining the body's desires long before we face the moment of decision. Example: fasting - dethrones the body as master and gives us authority over our body. We learn that cravings need not control us. Indirection: discipline in one area often produces results in many areas. We do not produce the change, we receive it. Along with this, we need to cultivate a holy expectancy that God will do in us what we cannot do in ourselves."
"The cultural idol of self has distorted our understanding of freedom in Christ so that too often it is reduced to license or cheap grace. Yet self-seeking ultimately leaves us empty, for the gratification is fleeting and shallow. It drains us instead of filling us, leaving us in greater need than before. But on the other side of license lies moralism. We can't earn our way to God by practicing disciplines."
"The disciplines reorient us for life in the kingdom by retraining our habits, thoughts and attitudes and behavior to a radically different way of life from what passes for "Normal" in this world."
"When I enter the with-God life, it is not my life anymore; it is Christ's life, in which I am privileged to become a participant."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 26, 2017
While this is not a book that will make Richard J. Foster's legacy as a writer, any remark that his writing is not sufficient for them would be to misunderstand his point.
This is a book about seeking God, the Trinity, in a disciplined manner. The Bible is the written revelation of this relationship between God and human.
That said, I will not rate this book for its ability to exegete texts, because it is not fair to judge a book for its inability to approach an objective which the author never stated in the first place.
I will, however, rate this book for its ability to add to my practice of being shaped by God, using the biblical text as a portal. That is, everything that Foster writes must be interpreted through his overarching theme of Christian Discipline.
With this said, if you are looking for a way to approach a life-long practice of living in God's presence, and wish to understand better how the scripture can be a portal through which God becomes alive to us today, then the book is for you. If you are someone who understands that this book is not intended to be just a source of information, then this book is for you. If you have not read Richard J Foster's writing yet, then I do not recommend this book. But, if you have read and understood well the whole purpose of Christian discipline and its role in the Christian life, then this will enrich your journey as a disciple of Christ.
This is a book about seeking God, the Trinity, in a disciplined manner. The Bible is the written revelation of this relationship between God and human.
That said, I will not rate this book for its ability to exegete texts, because it is not fair to judge a book for its inability to approach an objective which the author never stated in the first place.
I will, however, rate this book for its ability to add to my practice of being shaped by God, using the biblical text as a portal. That is, everything that Foster writes must be interpreted through his overarching theme of Christian Discipline.
With this said, if you are looking for a way to approach a life-long practice of living in God's presence, and wish to understand better how the scripture can be a portal through which God becomes alive to us today, then the book is for you. If you are someone who understands that this book is not intended to be just a source of information, then this book is for you. If you have not read Richard J Foster's writing yet, then I do not recommend this book. But, if you have read and understood well the whole purpose of Christian discipline and its role in the Christian life, then this will enrich your journey as a disciple of Christ.
June 18, 2022
If you’ve read other works by Foster, not much in this book will be new to you. But I suppose that’s part of what’s so good about him — he has a system and will hammer it in til we understand. In this book, he weaves together Dallas Willard’s ideas on discipline and discipleship with his view that Christians must take scripture more seriously as an experience to be marinated in rather than a mere book to be studied. The last third of his book seems to leave behind his thesis, but his arguments remain strong. I’m grateful for Foster’s intentionality in respect for all faith traditions — this book wouldn’t be half as powerful without that wisdom.
May 1, 2021
Richard J. Foster is one of 3 Christian writers who in recent times has enlarged my vision of life with God and while some may say this is an amalgam of some of those earlier works, it is always a thought provoking and exciting read as a Christian. You sense that the author reads and experiences God and he always looks at what the Word actually says rather than through a lens of other viewpoints. I recommended it to a friend recently who said it is a great book and thought provoking. Yes it is.
July 5, 2023
In my mind, I file Richard Foster in with writers like C.S. Lewis: writers with whom I do disagree a certain percentage of the time, but whose insight and clarity the rest of the time makes them highly valuable.
This particular book has the same combination of deep insight plus the occasional disagreement/discomfort as I’ve found in Foster’s other works. Chapter five, “Reading with the Mind,” is worth the price of the book by itself, and so excellent that I want to share it with my kids. If you only read one Foster book, perhaps Celebration of Discipline is the best, but I think this one is a close second.
This particular book has the same combination of deep insight plus the occasional disagreement/discomfort as I’ve found in Foster’s other works. Chapter five, “Reading with the Mind,” is worth the price of the book by itself, and so excellent that I want to share it with my kids. If you only read one Foster book, perhaps Celebration of Discipline is the best, but I think this one is a close second.
October 9, 2022
A beautifully simple but also important important reminder of God’s message of “I am with you, will you be with Me?” I really enjoyed Foster’s writing about the multiple ways we interact with God and the way he delivered it without it sounding like a to-do or must-do list. He gave information and guidance without the connotation that he knew all the answers or that there was a step-by-step guide to relationship and I think it was delivered in a very moving and wise way. Would recommend!
April 23, 2021
Only a small portion of this book dealt with actual hermeneutics or approach to Scripture. The rest of the book dealt with spiritual disciplines and community. Although worthy topics, there are other authors and works I prefer for those. I disagree quite strongly with how to author defined “sacrament” and “sacramental”, which made it a frustrating read.
April 14, 2021
Foster's books always offer excellent guidance in developing the inner life. However, a few sections (most notably, the final chapter and resource charts) were of no particular value for me. On the other hand, his explanation of devotional Bible study in chapter 2 was excellent.
March 2, 2025
Having heard Foster on Renovare's book club podcasts and having read two of his other books, this was an enjoyable read mostly filled with reminders of how living life with God is available to all who are His children.
July 1, 2019
A thoughtful invitation to move deeper into a life with God.
September 22, 2022
God is with us - will we be with God?
January 18, 2023
beautiful and powerful.
February 26, 2024
I think every Christian should read this. Great insight into deepening your relationship with Jesus.
May 11, 2024
A helpful framework for answering the question "why read the Bible?"
Easy read from one of my favourite authors.
Easy read from one of my favourite authors.
June 8, 2024
This one had good parts, but didn’t speak to me. However, the final two chapters of this book are worth the read!
December 26, 2008
Wonderful book!!!! Foster's books have been among the most formative in my spiritual life, and this one does not disappoint. The main focus of this book is the role of the Bible in our spiritual formation, and Foster does a great job of articulating both healthy and unhealthy ways that we tend to use the Scriptures. The book contains great instruction on how to specifically bring the Bible into prayer and meditation and get the most out of it. His dominant thrust is to steer his readers away from reading the Bible as an end in itself, and toward a more classical, relational approach where the Bible becomes God's primary tool in shaping us into the image of Christ. A comparable read (also wonderful) is Eugene Peterson's Eat This Book.
In addition, the book provides a very helpful overall look at the spiritual disciplines, and will prove very helpful for those who are new to the disciplines as well as those who have been practicing them for years. Much of this book reads like a simplified version of Willard's Spirit of the Disciplines. In fact, it is great to read Foster and Willard side by side and see how these two friends have influenced one another over the years. They model a very healthy collaboration, free of the need to claim credit for their particular contributions, but content to simply present their best collective thinking to their readers.
To those who have read Foster before it will be no surprise that he takes such a high view of Scripture, but I'm thankful he is articulating this in a book-length work. In spite of being endorsed by virtually every high profile Evangelical leader, for years he has been dogged by critics who accuse him of everything from being too experiential to being a closet New Ager. While I doubt there is much that can be done to convince these critics, I do hope this book will help those who have been skeptical of Foster because of their criticism.
This is a terrific book for those who love the Bible and want to be shaped by it.
In addition, the book provides a very helpful overall look at the spiritual disciplines, and will prove very helpful for those who are new to the disciplines as well as those who have been practicing them for years. Much of this book reads like a simplified version of Willard's Spirit of the Disciplines. In fact, it is great to read Foster and Willard side by side and see how these two friends have influenced one another over the years. They model a very healthy collaboration, free of the need to claim credit for their particular contributions, but content to simply present their best collective thinking to their readers.
To those who have read Foster before it will be no surprise that he takes such a high view of Scripture, but I'm thankful he is articulating this in a book-length work. In spite of being endorsed by virtually every high profile Evangelical leader, for years he has been dogged by critics who accuse him of everything from being too experiential to being a closet New Ager. While I doubt there is much that can be done to convince these critics, I do hope this book will help those who have been skeptical of Foster because of their criticism.
This is a terrific book for those who love the Bible and want to be shaped by it.
December 20, 2015
The first two chapters were excellent as Foster unpacked the importance and primacy of scripture. He points out that God constantly asks tells us through the Bible, "I will be with you," and the question is... "will you be WITH God?" The main way of discovering who God is is through His Word.
He has some quotables throughout the book, but I lost interest in several places as he just didn't seem to be adding to his overall thesis: Scripture is primary for entering and cultivating a relationship with God AND the spiritual disciplines help us stay in relationship with God.
The chapter on "Reading with the Heart" had some good thoughts on how quick we are to move toward "application" of the text and in doing so miss the broader invitation into relationship. We want steps and solutions instead of a relationship with the Savior. This emphasis on application may, unfortunately, lead us to be more in control of our "spiritual" life than God though.
I enjoyed his emphasis on reading the Bible with the people of God. Theology is best done in community, it has been said. Foster hits a good note here.
The closing three chapters brought it back to the spiritual disciplines as only being a means to entering relationship with God and not the end. They were decent, but I felt like they were repetitive from what he'd said earlier in the book.
Overall, a fair read. I can highly recommend the first two chapters as soundly helpful.
He has some quotables throughout the book, but I lost interest in several places as he just didn't seem to be adding to his overall thesis: Scripture is primary for entering and cultivating a relationship with God AND the spiritual disciplines help us stay in relationship with God.
The chapter on "Reading with the Heart" had some good thoughts on how quick we are to move toward "application" of the text and in doing so miss the broader invitation into relationship. We want steps and solutions instead of a relationship with the Savior. This emphasis on application may, unfortunately, lead us to be more in control of our "spiritual" life than God though.
I enjoyed his emphasis on reading the Bible with the people of God. Theology is best done in community, it has been said. Foster hits a good note here.
The closing three chapters brought it back to the spiritual disciplines as only being a means to entering relationship with God and not the end. They were decent, but I felt like they were repetitive from what he'd said earlier in the book.
Overall, a fair read. I can highly recommend the first two chapters as soundly helpful.
June 9, 2009
In the midst of working through Life With God, it occured to me that Richard Foster might be one of the most timeless living theologians. I suspect people will be reading his work hundreds of years from now, long after most other academic and popular theologians of our time have been forgotten. That Foster chooses to focus on a timeless topic, the spiritual disciplines, makes this somewhat unsurprising. But what really sets him apart and will continue to make his work relevant is the way he is able to draw upon the wisdom of nearly every theological school of thought to create a vision of the Christian life that any would recognize as true. Evangelical, Catholic, Liberal Protestant, and Orthodox theologians appear in this work and each are used in a way far beyond token. The only fault I found with this work is that it really is more of an addendum to his early works, particularly the Celebration of Disciplines, than a stand alone book. It is much more a picture of what the Christian life with the disciplines should be like than practical advice as to how to enter into those disciplines. I suppose it was also disappointing that a book supposedly focused on reading the Bible was more about the disciplines, but with Foster that is to be expected.
May 3, 2013
To begin with, Life with God is not a bad book...it's simply repetitive from Foster's other works.
Richard Foster is one the leading experts in spiritual formation. To that end, he has written one of the best books, Celebration of Discipline which should be mandated reading for every Christian.
Life with God is more of a companion to the Renovare Spiritual Formation Study Bible. It traces how one reads the Bible, along with the spiritual disciplines, but doesn't add too much that wasn't already in Celebration of Discipline.
Now, having said that, if one hasn't read Foster's other works, this book provides a nice introduction to the spiritual disciplines. Foster spends considerable time with Lectio Divina, a spiritual approach to reading the Bible, as you might expect him to. But he also includes fasting, celebration, prayer, study, and service as other companions to the Bible.
Foster's encouragement is that we should not read the Bible merely for information, but for transformation. The disciplines help us enact what we are reading in our lives and help us to experience the reality of God more clearly.
Overall, this book should be read by those who are not familiar with Foster...or if you are, it's a good refresher.
Grade: C
Richard Foster is one the leading experts in spiritual formation. To that end, he has written one of the best books, Celebration of Discipline which should be mandated reading for every Christian.
Life with God is more of a companion to the Renovare Spiritual Formation Study Bible. It traces how one reads the Bible, along with the spiritual disciplines, but doesn't add too much that wasn't already in Celebration of Discipline.
Now, having said that, if one hasn't read Foster's other works, this book provides a nice introduction to the spiritual disciplines. Foster spends considerable time with Lectio Divina, a spiritual approach to reading the Bible, as you might expect him to. But he also includes fasting, celebration, prayer, study, and service as other companions to the Bible.
Foster's encouragement is that we should not read the Bible merely for information, but for transformation. The disciplines help us enact what we are reading in our lives and help us to experience the reality of God more clearly.
Overall, this book should be read by those who are not familiar with Foster...or if you are, it's a good refresher.
Grade: C
December 8, 2009
"…we want to become the kind of person inwardly so that when we do get to heaven we will want to stay there. Our feelings and passions and affections will have been so transformed that we will feel right at home in heaven."
--from Life With God
I have often wondered if I would fit in when I get to heaven...and the answer is probably not in my current state...this book offers many suggestions on how to live an authentic life with God (enabled by the Holy Spirit)so that we might one day "fit in" to heaven.
The following are thoughts from the book concerning bible study: "Think of the multiplied millions of people who say, sincerely, that the Bible is the guide to life but who still starve to death in the presence of its spiritual feast. This tragic situation is obvious from the usual effects (or lack of effects) that the study of the Bible has in the daily lives of people, even among those who speak most highly of it."
This is a challenging book - not a light read- but very insightful. Another interesting thought from the book: "Spiritual growth is a gift not an accomplishment". I like that.
--from Life With God
I have often wondered if I would fit in when I get to heaven...and the answer is probably not in my current state...this book offers many suggestions on how to live an authentic life with God (enabled by the Holy Spirit)so that we might one day "fit in" to heaven.
The following are thoughts from the book concerning bible study: "Think of the multiplied millions of people who say, sincerely, that the Bible is the guide to life but who still starve to death in the presence of its spiritual feast. This tragic situation is obvious from the usual effects (or lack of effects) that the study of the Bible has in the daily lives of people, even among those who speak most highly of it."
This is a challenging book - not a light read- but very insightful. Another interesting thought from the book: "Spiritual growth is a gift not an accomplishment". I like that.
May 18, 2009
I am not sure what to say about this book. It is well written and needed in this day and age. Foster wants us to read the Bible, but for God, not for our own needs. One should not expect the Bible to be a magical solution. Foster has a good section on lecto divina and a wonderful chapter on grace. As always Foster has written a marvelous, meaty book.
The reason I am not sure how to review this book, is that I think my first reading has only skimmed the surface. I have found that Foster's books are new every time I read one. He has so much to say that it takes several readings and much thought for me to digest his message.
I have read his book Celebration of Discipline several times and listened to Foster's book on prayer at least twice. Every time Foster has something to tell me that I did not hear before.
I highly recommend Foster's writings. Just be prepared to read them again and again.
The reason I am not sure how to review this book, is that I think my first reading has only skimmed the surface. I have found that Foster's books are new every time I read one. He has so much to say that it takes several readings and much thought for me to digest his message.
I have read his book Celebration of Discipline several times and listened to Foster's book on prayer at least twice. Every time Foster has something to tell me that I did not hear before.
I highly recommend Foster's writings. Just be prepared to read them again and again.
October 9, 2012
This is not entirely, or indeed primarily an approach to Bible reading, as the sub-title suggests, but rather Foster returning again to his main area of expertise, that of spiritual disciplines, but this time using Bible reading as the through line to understand the other disciplines. The claim that he offers a new approach to Bible reading is also hyperbole. What he does do is offer the centuries old approach of lectio divina. He also warns against programmatic approaches to spiritual development, and the intensely individualistic reading of scripture which has become more prevalent since the advent of printing, and achieving its zenith (or nadir depending on your attitude) in modern evangelicalism. Some of his broad sweeping summaries of scriptural categories is very shallow, but then this is only really an introductory book. It is, however, one which if any of us were to take it seriously, might just fulfil the exaggeration of its sub-title and be life changing.
December 30, 2011
My, my, my. Where to begin here. Let it first be said that I read Foster's Celebration of Discipline, and really enjoyed it. This was a number of years ago, so I'm not sure if the writing style in that book is substantially different from this one, but Life With God was an enormously painful reading experience for me.
That's not to say that Foster does not have a lot of good things to say. I pulled out quite a few nuggets of poignant truth from the book. The problem for me was the Foster chose to adopt with this book. "Excessive" doesn't begin to describe it. Foster uses a very flowery, poetic and long-winded style of writing. I found myself hoping at many times that he would simply get to the point. His style was so frustrating that I had to skim the last couple of chapters.
This may be a book I could try again a little later, when I have more than a month to read it. As of now, this book left me feeling frustrated and annoyed.
That's not to say that Foster does not have a lot of good things to say. I pulled out quite a few nuggets of poignant truth from the book. The problem for me was the Foster chose to adopt with this book. "Excessive" doesn't begin to describe it. Foster uses a very flowery, poetic and long-winded style of writing. I found myself hoping at many times that he would simply get to the point. His style was so frustrating that I had to skim the last couple of chapters.
This may be a book I could try again a little later, when I have more than a month to read it. As of now, this book left me feeling frustrated and annoyed.
December 17, 2014
I really am blessed by Richard Foster's writing on the disciplines and this book is one of my favorites of his. It encourages us to read scripture not just for information about how to live or what to do, but to read it for spiritual transformation.
For anyone who is in need of great encouragement in your scripture reading, this is a great book for you. We tend to think that quantity of scripture is more important, but this book helps us see we need to let the Bible change us simply from a small portion. I love practical things Foster gives us in reading the Bible too.
If you have read Celebration of Discipline this is a great follow-up to the chapters that he writes about study and meditation. The last few chapters tend to be a little repetitive of what he writes in that book though too. Such a great book and one that truly deserves being read by every Christian who wants to go deeper in their love for God's Word.
For anyone who is in need of great encouragement in your scripture reading, this is a great book for you. We tend to think that quantity of scripture is more important, but this book helps us see we need to let the Bible change us simply from a small portion. I love practical things Foster gives us in reading the Bible too.
If you have read Celebration of Discipline this is a great follow-up to the chapters that he writes about study and meditation. The last few chapters tend to be a little repetitive of what he writes in that book though too. Such a great book and one that truly deserves being read by every Christian who wants to go deeper in their love for God's Word.
August 13, 2014
If you're only going to read one of Foster's books I would recommend this one. Why? Because this book sort of sums up all of his others, specifically through the lens of Bible-reading. There is not much new here when you consider his other books, but he puts all that he has written into a new perspective as he considers it all in light of regular "life with God" and specifically engaging Scripture.
This book is not so much a good read from start to finish. It is more of a helpful resource. It is very repetitive and does not do a very good job of building on itself. It is more like a collection of articles in which he treats various topics about bible reading and spiritual formation.
Regardless, this books proved to be refreshing to me as it brought back to the surface much of what I have learned in the past from Foster and others. I'm grateful to have read it.
This book is not so much a good read from start to finish. It is more of a helpful resource. It is very repetitive and does not do a very good job of building on itself. It is more like a collection of articles in which he treats various topics about bible reading and spiritual formation.
Regardless, this books proved to be refreshing to me as it brought back to the surface much of what I have learned in the past from Foster and others. I'm grateful to have read it.
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