114 - Relationship with God (Part 1)

Click here to read the episode highlights.   The "Living with Heart" Podcast is brought to you by Chip Dodd Resources (www.chipdodd.com) and The Voice of the Heart Center (vothcenter.com). You can connect with Dr. Chip Dodd at [email protected]. Contact Bryan Barley for coaching at [email protected].    Be sure to subscribe to Dr Chip Dodd’s new Substack. He will be sharing two to three articles a week. The topics focus on healthy relationship, personal growth, and leadership. Dr. Dodd shares content two to three times a week. To subscribe, use the link above or go to chipdodd.com.   Connected to God In order to grasp experiencing a connected relationship with God, we are often taught that our theology brings us close to God.    While theology offers us an understanding of God, apologetical thinking about God, and cognitive experiences of believing in God, it does not give us closeness to God.    When the anthropology (the study of humankind) of how God created us meets the theology (the study of God) of who God is and how God operates, we can have closeness to God. Anthropology + Theology = Experiencing Relational Closeness to God   Simply put, when the heart of a human being has come to a place of admitting his/her neediness for more than what we can manufacture ourselves, we naturally “cry out.” We “cry out” to have more than what we can manufacture by ourselves.  This “cry out” from our own neediness opens the door to the “touch of God.”    The Spiritual Root System (SRS) offers a clear description of the heart of humans and the foundation of our anthropology. We are God-made, but we can “run from” facing our need of Who made us.    The SRS describes how God created us to find fulfillment in relationship.    The SRS also describes how our anthropology attaches to a theology that begins with the need for an “Omni-relational” God.  God created us to find fulfillment in relationship.    God desires to have relationship with us as His people.    The heart of the human being is the “attachment” center. If the heart is not available, then relational intimacy with God or anyone else is not possible.   Proverbs 4:23 speaks to the value of the heart: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” (NIV) Every feeling, every need, all desire, our longings, and our hope come from the heart.   Click here to continue reading the episode highlights.