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Called "the best preacher in the family" by her late father, Billy Graham, Anne Graham Lotz speaks around the globe with the wisdom and authority of years spent studying God's Word.

The New York Times named Anne one of the five most influential evangelists of her generation. Her Just Give Me Jesus revivals have been held in more than thirty cities in twelve different countries, to hundreds of thousands of attendees.

Anne is a bestselling and award-winning author of twenty-one books. She is the President of AnGeL Ministries in Raleigh, North Carolina, and previously served as Chairman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force.

Whether contributing opinion pieces to a national newspaper or a groundbreaking speaker on platforms throughout the world, Anne’s aim is clear – to bring revival to the hearts of God’s people.  And her message is consistent – calling people into a personal relationship with God through His Word.

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If you or someone close to you is devoted to their church but still struggles to find meaning and passion in their faith; who loves their family, works hard, contributes to their community, but still feels life is somehow incomplete and hollow at the core; who is restless in spirit, with a nagging sense that there must be something more ... there is The Magnificent Obsession. Gifted Bible teacher Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of evangelist Billy Graham, has known these struggles herself. As she studied Scripture, looking for a way out of the emptiness, she found her answer in the amazing story of Abraham, a very ordinary man who became extraordinary for one pivotal reason: he pursued God in a life of obedient faith, not knowing where that decision would take him. Anne followed Abraham's lead and began a lifelong pursuit of knowing God, as he truly is, in an intensely personal relationship. Through personal anecdotes, unforgettable stories, and God-inspired insights, she invites you to draw closer to God, who is as committed to you as he was to Abraham, and longs to call you 'friend.'

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The Magnificent Obsession

Zondervan

Contents

Foreword by Rick Warren..............................15My Magnificent Obsession.............................171. Leave Everything Behind...........................212. Let Everything Go.................................513. Entrust Everything Completely.....................814. Pursue Everything Patiently.......................1095. Lift Everything Up................................1336. cast Everything Out...............................1637. Lay Everything Down...............................1878. Mourn Everything Hopefully........................2139. Pass Everything On................................227Epilogue.............................................263Modus Operandi.......................................265Notes................................................267A Very Special Thank-You.............................283

Chapter One

The Bible doesn't tell us exactly what prompted Abraham's desire to know God. Perhaps the desire began when he witnessed the miracle of human birth and marveled, This baby is so perfectly and wondrously made, there must be a Maker somewhere. Or was it when Abraham observed the migratory habits of the birds and the way the sun came up every morning and went down every evening, and he reflected, These things must be more than just an accident or a coincidence. Was it when he entered into a business deal and refused to cheat even though he could have profited personally if he had? Did he walk away, shaking his head and wondering, What's wrong with me? Why did cheating make me so uneasy? How did I know that it was wrong even if I could have gained by it? Did he come away from the worship of idols empty and dissatisfied with his religion, restless in his spirit, increasingly convinced that it was as man-made as the objects of wood and stone on which it focused?

Although I don't know the tantalizing details that surrounded Abraham's launch into the adventure of knowing God, it's clear that something stirred in his heart. The small candle of his conscience must have been lit, his spirit must have sought to draw near to the one true living God, because God leaned out of heaven and invaded Abraham's life. Abraham was not some random selection on a divine whim. He had been carefully chosen by God. Why? Why out of all the people living on the planet did God lean down out of heaven and call Abraham to follow Him in a life of faith? Was it just because? Because God loved Abraham? Because God discerned that Abraham, deep down in the secret recesses of his soul, longed to know Him "in spirit and in truth"?

It was that last assumption that captured my thoughts and resonated with my heart. Because deep down, in the secret recesses of my soul, I too long to know God in spirit and in truth. I yearn for God to fill my life, saturating me with Himself.

But how does a person today even begin to pursue knowing God? Does a person ...

Go to church every time the door opens? Do more good works than bad works? Meditate in a monastery in some remote mountain village? Walk barefooted over fiery coals? Pray facedown five times a day? Chant repetitious phrases in unison with others?

* * *

How does someone even take the first step in God's direction?

For me, the process began with a small desire in my heart, a small thought in my mind, a small light in my eye, a small turning of my spirit when I observed the example of someone else who pursued God. Nothing really big and flashy.

Like Abraham, do you want to know God? Could Abraham serve as the example for all of us? Has the magnificent obsession begun in your heart and mind and eye and spirit for the simple reason that you have chosen to read this book? Maybe the small spark of desire has been fanned into flame by what you have observed in the created world around you or by your conscience within you. I do know that if you and I ever truly know God, it will not be an accident. It will be because we have pursued with focused intentionality. It will happen when, like Abraham, we abandon every other goal, every other priority, and embrace the God-filled life until He becomes our magnificent obsession.

Leave Behind the Familiar

So who was Abraham? As I delved into his life, I discovered he was the son of Terah, a wealthy man living in the Mesopotamian city of Ur, an internationally recognized center of culture and trade. Terah was also a worshiper of idols, which makes me wonder what the trigger was that fired the faith for which Abraham has been so well known for four thousand years. And because it was his home, he must have been comfortable in Ur; it was very familiar territory. It was the land of his father, the city in which he had been raised, the values he had lived by, the culture that had shaped him, the attitudes he had adopted, the religion he had followed.

Ur was not only familiar to Abraham, Ur was a habit. To my knowledge, he had never known anything else. Yet when God called him out of that familiar place, Abraham leaped to obey, making the choice to take steps that began a journey that lasted a lifetime.

Abraham's willingness to leave everything behind arrested me, challenged me, convicted me. Would I be willing to do the same? Could I ever really know God if I didn't choose to leave everything behind? If I clung to some things, small things, hidden things, past things, anything?

What Abraham did in the Old Testament, the apostle Peter did in the New Testament. In response to Jesus' invitation, Peter climbed out of his fishing boat, put his feet on the surface of the stormy sea, and walked on the water to Jesus. As Peter stepped out in faith, we have to step out in faith.

As we begin this journey of faith together, let me ask you:

What is the familiar territory of your life?

What values have you lived by?

What culture has shaped your thinking?

What attitudes have been molded by your social or educational or political environment?

What religious experience has formed your concept of God?

My familiar territory is the southeastern United States, where magnolias bloom and NASCAR reigns and neighbors still know each other by name. I love the varied beauty of North Carolina, my home state. I love the friendly authenticity of the people who surround me. I love the down-home atmosphere that is still felt in even the larger cities. I love pig-pickin's and shrimperoos and Silver Queen corn and homemade ice cream. I love fried chicken and fried fish and fried hushpuppies and fried green tomatoes and fried anything, actually.

But my familiar territory is also the land of cultural Christianity. It's the buckle of the Bible Belt, where there's a church in every neighborhood and sometimes on every corner. It's a land where many people believe they are Christians because they were born that way, have gone to church all their lives, were baptized in the river at age twelve, have gone to church youth camp, and have even been on a missions trip. They can quote Bible verses, recite the...