Abba's Heart , livre ebook

© 2015 by Neal Lozano
Published by Chosen Books
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www . chosenbooks .com
Chosen Books is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan
www . bakerpublishinggroup . com
Ebook edition created 2015
Ebook corrections 10.06.2016
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4412-2896-3
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
Scripture quotations identified ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2007
Scripture quotations identified NABRE are from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament and Revised Psalms © 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, DC, and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All rights reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Scripture quotations identified NASB are from the New American Standard Bible®, copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations identified RSV are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
To protect the privacy of those who have shared their stories with the author, names of individuals and some details in the stories have been changed.
Cover design by Dual Identity
“This is the kind of book anyone searching for God should read: clear in its writing, simple in its message, strong in its appeal. The Lozanos have written a powerful invitation to know God as our Father, to experience His fatherly love and to witness that love to others in our everyday lives. And they’ve done it all with uncommon substance and skill.”
Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., archbishop of Philadelphia
“ Abba’s Heart is a wonderful, enlightening and moving book. I loved it. I was in tears. I was in joy. I felt His visitation—His presence—as I was reading. There is gold in these pages. Buy it and read it, and then read it again and again!”
Randy Clark, D. Min., author, There Is More , Power to Heal and more; founder and president, Global Awakening and the Apostolic Network of Global Awakening
“The life-giving truth and beauty of the Father’s love for each of us is unveiled by Neal Lozano in Abba’s Heart . Neal makes tasting and seeing Abba’s tender love easily accessible.”
from the foreword, Fr. John Horn, SJ, co-founder, The Institute for Priestly Formation, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska
“The fruit of a lifetime spent in the presence of the Father and immersed in the Scriptures. Read Abba’s Heart . It is trinitarian theology in 3D.”
Fr. James Mallon, pastor, Saint Benedict Parish, Halifax, Nova Scotia; author, Divine Renovation
“Neal and Matt Lozano, father and son, are helping thousands all over the world experience the healing, love and freedom that come from a growing relationship with the Father. Now you can, too, with this prayerful, gentle, loving book.”
Ralph Martin, S.T.D., director of graduate theology programs in the new evangelization, Sacred Heart Major Seminary
“ Abba’s Heart is filled with the kind of insight that cannot come from any amount of study or learning, but only from a lived relationship with God the Father. This is a book for those who feel empty, lonely or thirsty, and for those who already know God but want to draw nearer to His heart. It would be impossible to read this book and not fall more deeply in love with God.”
Mary Healy, associate professor of sacred Scripture, Sacred Heart Major Seminary
“As a friend and nearby colleague of Neal Lozano, I love the match between what Neal writes and how he lives and ministers. Neal is the real deal! God has used this book (as well as previous writings) to tenderize my heart to the Father and strengthen my freedom as a son.”
Steve Weed, senior pastor, Narberth Presbyterian Church, Narberth, Pennsylvania
“This book is a gift to this generation. Deep emotional healing flows from the experience of reading these pages. This is not an abstract text about God. Rather, it is a journey of discovery about the way God feels about His children. You will encounter His love personally. This understanding will be foundational for a totally new level of wholeness and joy.”
John Dawson, president emeritus, Youth With A Mission
Today the threat is against the very core of the Christian faith—[which] is the revelation of God the Father, the “Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” as St. Paul calls Him, and therefore of the Trinity Itself. If Providence is today making again aware of the mystery of God’s suffering, this is not just by chance but because the Holy Spirit knows that this is a necessary remedy to cure the sick mind of modern man, who has found, in suffering, the stumbling block that keeps him far from God.
Raniero Cantalamessa
To Fr. Michael Scanlan, for starting me out on my journey back to the Father.— N. L.
To Ray Liptrap, whose warmth, wit and wisdom showed me the Father’s heart.— M. L.
Contents
Cover 1
Title Page 3
Copyright Page 4
Endorsements 5
Dedication 7
Epigraph 8
Foreword by John Eldredge 11
Foreword by Fr. John Horn 13
Preface 17
Introduction: Discovering the Father 19
Section 1: The Way Home 23
1. The Promise 25
2. A Broken Heart 32
3. The Tragedy of Slavery 40
4. Adoption: From Slaves to Sons 51
5. Freedom in the Son 58
Section 2: The Father’s Heart 69
6. The Father’s Heart 71
7. A Father Who Loves to Say Yes 84
Section 3: Coming Home 97
8. Dreaming of Home 99
9. Coming Home 110
Section 4: Life in the Father’s House 121
10. A New Foundation 123
11. The Father’s Table: Sitting at Jesus’ Feet 135
12. Standing in Authority 148
13. Empowered to Serve 160
14. Walking in Forgiveness 169
15. Overcoming the Counterfeit Father 183
16. The Father Seeks Worshipers 197
17. Conclusion 208
Appendix: Unbound: Five Keys to Greater Freedom in Christ 215
Notes 219
About the Authors 221
Back Ad 223
Back Cover 224
Foreword
T his is a beautiful and hope-filled book. A very important book.
I tell you the truth—I began to experience the Holy Spirit using it in my own heart as I read the manuscript on a recent flight. Right there, on an airplane, in the midst of a very hectic week, I suddenly found myself drawn into a sort of sanctuary of truth. The Spirit was so present in these pages, ever so gently drawing me back to my Father’s heart in the moment. Like a drowning man coming up for air, I found myself coming to realize God’s love for me, and just what it means to be His son. Neal is right—coming home to the Father’s heart is our deepest and most desperate need.
Like many of you, I have mixed feelings about “father.” The word does not always evoke warm feelings for me. My father was an alcoholic, a good man but a very broken man who wounded me deeply. And though for many years I found in Jesus the refuge of my soul, I did not want much to do with His Father. Like many before me, I had projected my own father experience onto Father God, and my heart was hesitant to draw near. But the ache for Father was always there. Sometimes it came out in anger and frustration; other times it came in loneliness. Often the ache arose in times of pressing need—for help or direction, for provision or simply for comfort. I needed a Father. I was tired of living without one.
My journey homeward has not always been smooth and clear. Those wounds toward fatherhood needed healing. I needed to know how He truly felt about me. I needed to know He was as good as Jesus says He is. Lies had crept in that also needed breaking. This is precisely the homeward journey Neal so beautifully lays out for us in this book. As you read his words, you will soon discover that this is a man who knows what he is talking about—both the fatherlessness, and the joy of returning to our Father’s loving embrace. He knows the path home, and he can guide us along the way.
This book bore witness to my own journey, and is spurring me on with greater joy and deeper experience of our Father’s love. My prayer is that it will do the same for you.
John Eldredge, president, Ransomed Heart; bestselling author
Foreword
T he life-giving truth and beauty of the Father’s love for each of us is unveiled by Neal Lozano in Abba’s Heart . Neal makes tasting and seeing Abba’s tender love easily accessible. Through narrative, contemplative reflections and personal prayers, the reader is invited to receive anew the greatest of all gifts: Each of us is beckoned to receive the affectionate and tender embrace of Abba.
Pope Francis frequently speaks about the Father’s tenderness and His desire to caress us in merciful love. In his apostolic exhortation “The Joy of the Gospel,” Pope Francis writes about our missionary labors:
Sometimes it seems that our work is fruitless, but mission is not like a business transaction or investment, or even a humanitarian activity. It is not a show when we count how many people come as a result of publicity; it is something much deeper, which escapes all measurement. It may be that the Lord u