What do you think?
Rate this book
Far from Home: The Soul's Search for Intimacy With God
We know that Jesus is supposed to be the vital center of our lives. But until we make sure that He is, life will always leave us feeling unfulfilled. Discover why intimacy with God isn't just the hallmark of overachieving believers, but the most
- GenresChristian Living
182 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 1998
3 people are currently reading
25 people want to read
About the author
Joseph M. Stowell
67 books18 followersDr. Joseph M. Stowell serves as the 11th President of Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Comprised of approximately 2500 undergraduate and graduate students, Cornerstone is a Christ-centered university with a passion for global influence through the transforming power of the gospel. The University is committed to creating an environment where students thrive both spiritually and intellectually as they prepare themselves to influence our world as followers of Jesus.
An internationally recognized conference speaker, Joe has also written numerous books including "The Trouble with Jesus, Simply Jesus and You, The Upside of Down" and "Eternity." Joe also serves with RBC Ministries, partnering in media productions, writing, and outreach to pastors. His "Strength for the Journey" web ministry, www.getmorestrength.org, features daily devotionals, weekly messages and commentary, downloadable Bible study curriculum, and an audio library of his most requested messages. Joe serves on the Board of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Wheaton College, and has a distinguished career in higher education and church leadership.
From 1987-2005, he served as the president of Moody Bible Institute, and as teaching pastor at the 10,000-member Harvest Bible Chapel in suburban Chicago from 2005 to early 2008 prior to assuming the presidency at Cornerstone University. He is a graduate of Cedarville University and Dallas Theological Seminary and was honored with a doctor of divinity degree from The Master's College in 1987. Joe and his wife Martie are the parents of three adult children and ten grandchildren.
An internationally recognized conference speaker, Joe has also written numerous books including "The Trouble with Jesus, Simply Jesus and You, The Upside of Down" and "Eternity." Joe also serves with RBC Ministries, partnering in media productions, writing, and outreach to pastors. His "Strength for the Journey" web ministry, www.getmorestrength.org, features daily devotionals, weekly messages and commentary, downloadable Bible study curriculum, and an audio library of his most requested messages. Joe serves on the Board of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Wheaton College, and has a distinguished career in higher education and church leadership.
From 1987-2005, he served as the president of Moody Bible Institute, and as teaching pastor at the 10,000-member Harvest Bible Chapel in suburban Chicago from 2005 to early 2008 prior to assuming the presidency at Cornerstone University. He is a graduate of Cedarville University and Dallas Theological Seminary and was honored with a doctor of divinity degree from The Master's College in 1987. Joe and his wife Martie are the parents of three adult children and ten grandchildren.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 5, 2011
"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing." C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Below are notes on the book: Far from Home.
Stowell exhorts believers to daily walk intimately with God. Stowell readily admits his shortcomings and even admitted that over the previous few years, busy for God that he has missed intimate time with God.
According to Blaise Pascal, the infinite void that each person feels apart form God is a longing for God. After trying all things to fill an infinite desire, one finds that these are all inadequate, because the infinite abyss can only be filled by an infinite and immutable object, that is to say, only by God Himself." (Pascal Penses 425)
This book is about one question alone: Where do I look for real satisfaction, and where can I be assured of sufficient resources to sustain and secure me regardless?
1. God alone can "satisfy, sustain and secure us."
2. "Thou hast made us for Thyself and our hearts are restless until they find their all in Thee." Augustine
3. Chap 3: "He who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must either be a beast or a god." Aristotle
4. Ch 4: Broken intimacy with God began in the garden of Eden
Adam and Eve were created to communicate together, to "share life on the same wavelength, and to participate in life's endeavors with a compatibility that would connect them intimately in each aspect of life."
Stowell notes that if the work at Moody Institute sours, or if Stowell's golf game records fall, or if life is awful, and he has Martie (wife) and God as the greatest sources of joy, happiness and pleasure then those things "aren't nearly as devastating." With God and his wife with him, Mr. Stowell is never alone.
Peter Kreeftt notes: "The world's purest gold is only dung without Christ. But with Christ, the basest metal is transformed into the purest gold...With him, poverty is riches, weakness is power, suffering is joy, to be despised is glory. Without him, riches are poverty, power is impotence, happiness is misery, glory is despised."
Life-the whole scheme of it is that "we would be built for Him, and He would not only find pleasure in us but be pleased to satisfy us" with all He is. Life is constructed "to begin with God as the preeminent, present, pleasurable center of it all."
Eve didn't deny God. Eve's action, though, revealed her disbelief in God's sufficiency for her. God, nor Adam was sufficient for her. Therefore, she ate. God had given her "sustenance, satisfaction, and security she could ever need, but she traded it away from what she thought would be more."
Adam and Even brought two lies: A. God is oppressive, not good. B. God is not sufficient. Instead, life is "best enjoyed when self is at the center, seeking satisfaction and sustenance in the material order..."
Adam's sin was no less egregious. When God sought the first couple, He called for Adam. "Adam's self-deception was that intimacy with people is of greater value than intimacy with God." Adam denied the supreme relationship with the Supreme God and believed that he could not live apart from eve.
Connections broken with God as A: Personal companion, provider and sustainer
B. God as moral guide and director
C. Previously trusted relationships through which God would provide satisfaction and sustenance.
D. "untainted enjoyment of the material world as a provision from God, not a replacement of God."
E. "Hope and confidence in a bright and secure future" in God
Chapter 5: Drifting from God
Four things that cause us to drift from God are:
A. Doubting God's goodness, wisdom, and the perfection of His interactions toward us.
-Defining God as a Good who has been good to others but denies us prosperity, pleasure, position-t/f we conclude God is not good.
-Feeling God has used us and that we are an empty sacrifice
-Blinding us that God can atke the worst things in our lives and orchestrate them for good
-God permits negative events in our lives only when He can use it for His glory, to advance His kingdom and for our good. (Rom 8:28)
B. Believing we need more than Good and what He provides
C. Placing important relationships above God
Jim Elliot (the missionary martyr) decided "to pursue his relationship with Christ and not be distracted" with dating in college. He waited until God provided Elizabeth. Jim even signed her yearbook 2 Tim 2:4 (which says a solidier doesn't entangle himself in civilian affairs that he may please the enlister). Jim wrote to his parents that Adam "waited until God saw his need. Then God made Adam sleep, prepared for his mate, and brought her to him. We need more of this 'being asleep' in the will of God. Then we can receive what He brings us in His own time if at all."
In English the word worship is derived from the concept of "'worth-ship.' True worship is the expression of the worthiness of someone. Worship of God expresses that He is more worthy than anything else in our lives, that He is supremely worthy. When we say no to temptation, it is a loud and clear expression of the worth of God in our lives. It is an act of worship."
D. Resisting reproof
Prov 3:12 Whom the Lord loves, he chastens.
-Internal reproofs are: the still small voice of the spirit, shame and guilt.
God brings us back to Him through multiple ways. One of them is through "the presence of godly people whose lives radiate with character and closeness to God." Perhaps it is a sermon, or a close friend.
Howard Hendricks from Dallas Theological surveyed 246 ministers that had fallen into wicked moral sin and found that "none were involved in any kind of personal accountability group and 100 percent of them had 'ceased to invest in a personal time of prayer, Scripture reading, and worship.'"
Obstructions to intimacy with God:
A. The stuff of life:
Abraham had an incredible sense of eternity (and God's faithfulnesS) and even would have willingly given up his long awaited (and promised) son through faith. Abraham lived in a culture where child sacrifice was the supreme expression of devotion to the man-made gods. Abraham was even more devoted than the pagans. Question: "How loosely do I hold what God has supplied?...Are there things, persons, places, and habits we love more than we love Him?
"If so, we will always be in the cheap seats. Intimacy is fanned when there is nothing more important to me than my deepening relationship with the one that I love."
B. Self
Paul could say in Philippines 3 that he counted all things as loss to know Christ. Paul sought to know the power of Christ's resurrection and he wanted to share in His sufferings.
-Jesus commands us to love God with all of our self. Matt 22:36-37 "Self is meant to be a gift to God." Elizabeth Elliot (Book: Discipline) said that we ONLY have our bodies/lives to give to God.
C. Systems
Ephesus (in Revelation) would receive a spirituality award in America because it persevered, did not tolerate evil men, tested the apostles and left those who were false, endured and were not weary! They did, however, lose their first love. The Greek "first" doesn't indicate time, but priority.
"We need to cultivate a heart that resists temptation because we love Christ." Nothing between me and my savior.
D. Sin
Ch 6: The pursuit of God
Rev 3:14-22 tells us of Jesus knocking at the door of the Church of Laodicea. Jesus is addressing the believers who have locked him out of their lives. He seeks re-admittance into their lives.
Wesley's notes on the Bible say: "I will sup with him - Refreshing him with my graces and gifts, and delighting myself in what I have given. And he with me - In life everlasting."
"In the culture of the N.T., dining was the place where intimacy in friendships was processed. That's why the Pharisees were so put out when Christ was invited to attend and worse yet, accepted invitations to eat with the worst kind of people in their world." (ch 8)
Why will believers not open the door of their hearts to Jesus:
Three reasons:
1. Fear (because of broken relationships with others)
2.Self-sufficiency Rev 3:20-22 the Church of Laodicea represents America. They are lukewarm and think that they are sufficient for themselves. Jesus exhorts them to buy His gold refined by fire.
3. Discontent
Laurence Shames, author of The Hunger for More wrote, "More. If there's a single word that summarizes American hopes and obsessions, that's it. More money.More success. More luxuries and gizmos. We live for more..."
Capitalism has led to materialism. In turn, materialism has created an endless cycle of greed which excludes God.
Let Americans look to 1 Timothy 6:6-10. Be content with godliness and with God. We brought nothing into the world and will indeed leave with nothing.
Chapter 7:
Revelation 3:19 tells us that Jesus corrects and chastens those who He loves.
Repentance is literally (in the Greek) a "changing of our minds about a particular pattern of behavior," and going in the opposite direction.
Paul viewed repentance in light of the finality of the cross. Just as Christ as crucified once for sins, so Paul views his life as crucified with Christ once and for all(Gal 2:20). Where is there room for sin? There is none.
Stowell notes that seeking new areas of sin to repent from every day will move one towards a life characterized by repentance. Mr. Stowell then relates his hobby of refinishing furniture. Just as a piece of furniture must be sanded down and coated with paint and varnish numerous times so must a believer be refined.
Those believers who are open to repentance will have hearts that welcome reproof and will seek purity doggedly. Purity of the mind (phil. 4:8), purity of actions (1 Tm 6:6-11), purity of passions (psalm 42:1-2). The pure in heart shall see God (Matt 5:8). See literally means continually see.
Those who are pure in heart are those who are poor in spirit. Poverty of spirit in the sense of reliant on God. In Genesis, Adam's grandson (son of Seth) Enosh marked the time where men began to call on God. To call on the name of the Lord "literally means to recognize our dependence on Him. it is a confession of dependency." Enosh means literally "the frail one."
Concluding remarks: "Transitioning from a passive Christianity to an active intimacy requires ongoing repentance and a commitment to radical reliance."
Below are notes on the book: Far from Home.
Stowell exhorts believers to daily walk intimately with God. Stowell readily admits his shortcomings and even admitted that over the previous few years, busy for God that he has missed intimate time with God.
According to Blaise Pascal, the infinite void that each person feels apart form God is a longing for God. After trying all things to fill an infinite desire, one finds that these are all inadequate, because the infinite abyss can only be filled by an infinite and immutable object, that is to say, only by God Himself." (Pascal Penses 425)
This book is about one question alone: Where do I look for real satisfaction, and where can I be assured of sufficient resources to sustain and secure me regardless?
1. God alone can "satisfy, sustain and secure us."
2. "Thou hast made us for Thyself and our hearts are restless until they find their all in Thee." Augustine
3. Chap 3: "He who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must either be a beast or a god." Aristotle
4. Ch 4: Broken intimacy with God began in the garden of Eden
Adam and Eve were created to communicate together, to "share life on the same wavelength, and to participate in life's endeavors with a compatibility that would connect them intimately in each aspect of life."
Stowell notes that if the work at Moody Institute sours, or if Stowell's golf game records fall, or if life is awful, and he has Martie (wife) and God as the greatest sources of joy, happiness and pleasure then those things "aren't nearly as devastating." With God and his wife with him, Mr. Stowell is never alone.
Peter Kreeftt notes: "The world's purest gold is only dung without Christ. But with Christ, the basest metal is transformed into the purest gold...With him, poverty is riches, weakness is power, suffering is joy, to be despised is glory. Without him, riches are poverty, power is impotence, happiness is misery, glory is despised."
Life-the whole scheme of it is that "we would be built for Him, and He would not only find pleasure in us but be pleased to satisfy us" with all He is. Life is constructed "to begin with God as the preeminent, present, pleasurable center of it all."
Eve didn't deny God. Eve's action, though, revealed her disbelief in God's sufficiency for her. God, nor Adam was sufficient for her. Therefore, she ate. God had given her "sustenance, satisfaction, and security she could ever need, but she traded it away from what she thought would be more."
Adam and Even brought two lies: A. God is oppressive, not good. B. God is not sufficient. Instead, life is "best enjoyed when self is at the center, seeking satisfaction and sustenance in the material order..."
Adam's sin was no less egregious. When God sought the first couple, He called for Adam. "Adam's self-deception was that intimacy with people is of greater value than intimacy with God." Adam denied the supreme relationship with the Supreme God and believed that he could not live apart from eve.
Connections broken with God as A: Personal companion, provider and sustainer
B. God as moral guide and director
C. Previously trusted relationships through which God would provide satisfaction and sustenance.
D. "untainted enjoyment of the material world as a provision from God, not a replacement of God."
E. "Hope and confidence in a bright and secure future" in God
Chapter 5: Drifting from God
Four things that cause us to drift from God are:
A. Doubting God's goodness, wisdom, and the perfection of His interactions toward us.
-Defining God as a Good who has been good to others but denies us prosperity, pleasure, position-t/f we conclude God is not good.
-Feeling God has used us and that we are an empty sacrifice
-Blinding us that God can atke the worst things in our lives and orchestrate them for good
-God permits negative events in our lives only when He can use it for His glory, to advance His kingdom and for our good. (Rom 8:28)
B. Believing we need more than Good and what He provides
C. Placing important relationships above God
Jim Elliot (the missionary martyr) decided "to pursue his relationship with Christ and not be distracted" with dating in college. He waited until God provided Elizabeth. Jim even signed her yearbook 2 Tim 2:4 (which says a solidier doesn't entangle himself in civilian affairs that he may please the enlister). Jim wrote to his parents that Adam "waited until God saw his need. Then God made Adam sleep, prepared for his mate, and brought her to him. We need more of this 'being asleep' in the will of God. Then we can receive what He brings us in His own time if at all."
In English the word worship is derived from the concept of "'worth-ship.' True worship is the expression of the worthiness of someone. Worship of God expresses that He is more worthy than anything else in our lives, that He is supremely worthy. When we say no to temptation, it is a loud and clear expression of the worth of God in our lives. It is an act of worship."
D. Resisting reproof
Prov 3:12 Whom the Lord loves, he chastens.
-Internal reproofs are: the still small voice of the spirit, shame and guilt.
God brings us back to Him through multiple ways. One of them is through "the presence of godly people whose lives radiate with character and closeness to God." Perhaps it is a sermon, or a close friend.
Howard Hendricks from Dallas Theological surveyed 246 ministers that had fallen into wicked moral sin and found that "none were involved in any kind of personal accountability group and 100 percent of them had 'ceased to invest in a personal time of prayer, Scripture reading, and worship.'"
Obstructions to intimacy with God:
A. The stuff of life:
Abraham had an incredible sense of eternity (and God's faithfulnesS) and even would have willingly given up his long awaited (and promised) son through faith. Abraham lived in a culture where child sacrifice was the supreme expression of devotion to the man-made gods. Abraham was even more devoted than the pagans. Question: "How loosely do I hold what God has supplied?...Are there things, persons, places, and habits we love more than we love Him?
"If so, we will always be in the cheap seats. Intimacy is fanned when there is nothing more important to me than my deepening relationship with the one that I love."
B. Self
Paul could say in Philippines 3 that he counted all things as loss to know Christ. Paul sought to know the power of Christ's resurrection and he wanted to share in His sufferings.
-Jesus commands us to love God with all of our self. Matt 22:36-37 "Self is meant to be a gift to God." Elizabeth Elliot (Book: Discipline) said that we ONLY have our bodies/lives to give to God.
C. Systems
Ephesus (in Revelation) would receive a spirituality award in America because it persevered, did not tolerate evil men, tested the apostles and left those who were false, endured and were not weary! They did, however, lose their first love. The Greek "first" doesn't indicate time, but priority.
"We need to cultivate a heart that resists temptation because we love Christ." Nothing between me and my savior.
D. Sin
Ch 6: The pursuit of God
Rev 3:14-22 tells us of Jesus knocking at the door of the Church of Laodicea. Jesus is addressing the believers who have locked him out of their lives. He seeks re-admittance into their lives.
Wesley's notes on the Bible say: "I will sup with him - Refreshing him with my graces and gifts, and delighting myself in what I have given. And he with me - In life everlasting."
"In the culture of the N.T., dining was the place where intimacy in friendships was processed. That's why the Pharisees were so put out when Christ was invited to attend and worse yet, accepted invitations to eat with the worst kind of people in their world." (ch 8)
Why will believers not open the door of their hearts to Jesus:
Three reasons:
1. Fear (because of broken relationships with others)
2.Self-sufficiency Rev 3:20-22 the Church of Laodicea represents America. They are lukewarm and think that they are sufficient for themselves. Jesus exhorts them to buy His gold refined by fire.
3. Discontent
Laurence Shames, author of The Hunger for More wrote, "More. If there's a single word that summarizes American hopes and obsessions, that's it. More money.More success. More luxuries and gizmos. We live for more..."
Capitalism has led to materialism. In turn, materialism has created an endless cycle of greed which excludes God.
Let Americans look to 1 Timothy 6:6-10. Be content with godliness and with God. We brought nothing into the world and will indeed leave with nothing.
Chapter 7:
Revelation 3:19 tells us that Jesus corrects and chastens those who He loves.
Repentance is literally (in the Greek) a "changing of our minds about a particular pattern of behavior," and going in the opposite direction.
Paul viewed repentance in light of the finality of the cross. Just as Christ as crucified once for sins, so Paul views his life as crucified with Christ once and for all(Gal 2:20). Where is there room for sin? There is none.
Stowell notes that seeking new areas of sin to repent from every day will move one towards a life characterized by repentance. Mr. Stowell then relates his hobby of refinishing furniture. Just as a piece of furniture must be sanded down and coated with paint and varnish numerous times so must a believer be refined.
Those believers who are open to repentance will have hearts that welcome reproof and will seek purity doggedly. Purity of the mind (phil. 4:8), purity of actions (1 Tm 6:6-11), purity of passions (psalm 42:1-2). The pure in heart shall see God (Matt 5:8). See literally means continually see.
Those who are pure in heart are those who are poor in spirit. Poverty of spirit in the sense of reliant on God. In Genesis, Adam's grandson (son of Seth) Enosh marked the time where men began to call on God. To call on the name of the Lord "literally means to recognize our dependence on Him. it is a confession of dependency." Enosh means literally "the frail one."
Concluding remarks: "Transitioning from a passive Christianity to an active intimacy requires ongoing repentance and a commitment to radical reliance."
Displaying 1 of 1 review