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Heart
Finding Our Way Back to the Fathers Delight
NEAL LOZANO
with
M AT T H E W L OZ A NO
G
Neal Lozano with Matthew Lozano, Abba's Heart
Chosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2015. Used by permission.
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Contents
The Promise 25
A Broken Heart 32
The Tragedy of Slavery 40
Adoption: From Slaves to Sons 51
Freedom in the Son 58
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Contents
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Neal Lozano with Matthew Lozano, Abba's Heart
Chosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2015. Used by permission.
6/2/15 7:18 AM
Foreword
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Foreword
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Neal Lozano with Matthew Lozano, Abba's Heart
Chosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2015. Used by permission.
6/2/15 7:18 AM
Foreword
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Neal Lozano with Matthew Lozano, Abba's Heart
Chosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2015. Used by permission.
6/2/15 7:18 AM
Foreword
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Foreword
prayers that are supplied with each chapter are keys that open
the heart to receive more of the gift of all gifts, Abbas affectionate embrace. As I prayed through these prayers I was very
mindful that Mary was the rst to respond in intimacy to the
Father as she received Jesus into her womb. Her yes echoes
down through history in our yes to the Father.
I pray that our Lord Jesus Christ bless you now with an
increase of faith, and that you will permit yourself to receive
new revelation about the Fathers affectionate care.
Fr. John Horn, SJ, co-founder, The Institute for Priestly
Formation, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska
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Neal Lozano with Matthew Lozano, Abba's Heart
Chosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2015. Used by permission.
6/2/15 7:18 AM
Preface
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Preface
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Neal Lozano with Matthew Lozano, Abba's Heart
Chosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2015. Used by permission.
6/2/15 7:18 AM
Introduction
Discovering the Father
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Introduction
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Neal Lozano with Matthew Lozano, Abba's Heart
Chosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2015. Used by permission.
6/2/15 7:18 AM
Introduction
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Introduction
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Neal Lozano with Matthew Lozano, Abba's Heart
Chosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2015. Used by permission.
6/2/15 7:18 AM
SECTION 1
The Way
Home
The Fathers gift of Jesus brings us freedom from
the power of sin, adoption as sons and daughters and the promise of knowing the Father.
Jesus has broken the bonds of slavery and lifted
the veil that shrouded the Father from view.
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1
The Promise
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Encountering God
When I rst encountered Jesus years ago, I met Him as my
Savior; I knew Jesus as the One who had cleansed me of sin
and given me new life. Later I yielded to Jesus as my Lord. He
called me to follow and obey Him. Since that time I have been
surprised to learn that Jesus sole agenda was to bring me to the
Father. He wanted me to see the Father by revealing Himself as
the Son. Knowing Jesus as the Son gave me access to knowing
God the Father.
Not everyone nds the Father in this way. In the New York
Times bestseller I Dared to Call Him Father, Bilquis Sheikh,
a wealthy Pakistani woman, shares how a vague awareness of
God prompted her to ask questions of a medical missionary
doctor. The nun said, Ask Him to show you His way. And
then, Talk to Him . . . as if He were your father.
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Neal Lozano with Matthew Lozano, Abba's Heart
Chosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2015. Used by permission.
6/2/15 7:18 AM
The Promise
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Neal Lozano with Matthew Lozano, Abba's Heart
Chosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2015. Used by permission.
6/2/15 7:18 AM
The Promise
their awful story. But I cant tell you right now, not here. All
I can ask right now is that you touch me and give me your
blessing.
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Starting Out
I largely use the word sons and rely on male pronouns when
referring to the children of God. In this I am following the New
Testament pattern. This is not to say that women are excluded
from the spiritual promises of sonship; quite the opposite.
The promise of the Spirit was specically given to both men
and women on the day of Pentecost in fulllment of Joels
prophecy: I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons
and daughters will prophesy (Acts 2:17). No biblical story
illustrates this better than Jesus conversation with Mary at
the tomb, in which He tells Mary that His Father is also hers.
In the next chapters we will ask and discover, Who is God
the Father? What is He like? What is on His heart? Time and
again, we will note that we see the Father through His Son,
Jesus, who said, I and the Father are one (John 10:30). It is
the Father in Jesus who is drawing us to Himself. Jesus is not
the Father; they are distinct Persons who share the same nature.
But in Jesus we can see the FatherHis character and His heart.
I encourage you to do what Mary Magdalene did. She started
her journey to the tomb while it was still dark. She had no idea
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Neal Lozano with Matthew Lozano, Abba's Heart
Chosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2015. Used by permission.
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The Promise
how she would move the heavy stone that kept her from Jesus.
But the stone was miraculously removed. When she saw the
resurrected Jesus, who carried the Fathers life and light, she
saw the Father.
Here and now, Marys story is our story: As we seek to follow Jesus, we will nd that He is leading us to His Father and
our Father.
Personal Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I want to know the Father. I ask You to give
me the courage not only to keep reading these pages but
to listen to my own heart and Your leading. Inspire me to
see more than what is written on these pages. Jesus, You
are the heart of the Father revealed. Let me see into the
Fathers heart to see who He really is and nd out who
I really am. I believe You are faithful and You will come
to me as You did to Mary Magdalene while she was in a
moment of darkness and unbelief. Thank You, Lord, for
the promise of making the Father known. I want to nd
my true home.
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Neal Lozano with Matthew Lozano, Abba's Heart
Chosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2015. Used by permission.
6/2/15 7:18 AM