Heart Ablaze: The New Believer’s Journey to Seeking the Heart of God.

By Dustin Rivenbark

“Heart Ablaze” The new believers journey to seeking the heart of God.
This book is a powerful NEXT STEP tool intended for new believers looking to increase their faith and find true purpose in their search for God. In this book we look at the life and conversion of Paul from a murderer of Christians to a powerful leader of the early church. My prayer is for this very book to be given out at Churches, FCA clubs, first priority clubs, youth camps, conferences and schools around the nation to youth AND adults searching for their next steps in their faith journey.
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I’m so excited to have Jemal King “The 9 to 5 Millionaire” forward this book. For those of you who don’t know, Jemal has a powerful view on faith and is using his own story of strength and perseverance to impact MILLIONS….
Lesss gooo!!

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: May 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9781663252432

Dustin Rivenbark

(Nationally Recognized Youth Speaker) Seldom in life do you get the chance to meet someone who has a powerful story of overcoming fear, adversity, and tragedy. Even less frequent do you meet someone who can deliver that message with life changing impact. Dustin Rivenbark is a determined motivational speaker/preacher who is taking his passion for motivating youth and young adults, using stories of inspiration and unwavering faith to the young adults of today in order to better prepare them for tomorrow.

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Copyright © 2023 Dustin Rivenbark.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-6632-5242-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6632-5243-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023907050

iUniverse rev. date: 04/14/2023

CONTENTS

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1 Thrill of the Hunt

Paul of Tarsus

Primal Instinct

Breath of Life

Fallen from Intention

Chapter 2 Passion into Purpose

Who are you, Lord?

Child-Like Faith:

God Loves You:

God Is For You:

Consistency

Chapter 3 Internal Compass

The Holy Spirit

Valuable Communication

Chapter 4 Adventure Ahead

Enter Africa

Taking Up Our Cross

Intentional Drifting

Chapter 5 Muddy Water

The Law of Opulence

Warfare

FOREWORD

Foreword by Jemal King for Heart Ablaze

by Dustin Rivenbark

Being a young adult is more challenging than ever when it comes to growing up. Everywhere you look, the world seems like it’s falling apart. But at the same time, every corner you go creeping into is full of teens accomplishing feats most adults will never achieve. The massive growth of technology is a huge contributor to each of these extremes, in my opinion. It’s created huge opportunities that can lead to both great success and crippling self-doubt. I can only imagine how hard it must be to grow up in a time where it feels like everyone is sharing their highest highs on social media. Or how the number of temptations resulting from excessive access can seem like they’re constantly multiplying.

But that’s why I love the story of Paul and his conversion. Because if God can save and use a man like Paul, there’s hope for every person alive, including you. The weight of the world just feels a lot lighter when we consider the testimony of this Jewish man.

Four quick lessons come to mind when I reflect on the crazy life of the Apostle Paul. First, No one is beyond the love of God. Do you realize how wild it is that even your darkest secret can’t run God away from you? Let me share an example of what I mean. In the United States, we would call Paul a gang leader. He approved of the killings of believers, aka the children of God by faith, went out to capture them himself, and believed wholeheartedly that he was doing the best thing by murdering people in the name of God. Now if that’s not crazy, I don’t know what is. Jesus still loving Paul despite all of this testifies to how relentless God’s pursuit of us is.

Second, God can use anyone. God doesn’t care about how much money you have, which family you come from, where you were born (don’t forget that Jesus was born in what we’d call the hood), how you’ve acted in the past, etc. He can use anyone that’s willing to do incredible things in His kingdom. When he turned Paul from a murderer into a missionary, He guaranteed that our inadequacies aren’t too big for Him.

Third, our personal testimonies are powerful. When Paul had his experience in Damascus, he told everyone he could. Eventually, they began to believe not only him but in God. Your personal experience with God is more powerful than you may know. Honestly, it’s more powerful than you’ll likely ever see. Trust me when I say that people will meet God for the first time when you boldly share your testimony. And if you’re still waiting to encounter God, I believe Paul’s story will help you meet Him.

Fourth, faith is a lifelong journey. If you’re familiar with my work, you know how important faith is to me. Paul’s life shows us that all your doubts, all your questions, and even your complaints are a part of the process. And faith in God allows you to press forward despite them all. Better yet, as the scriptures say, faith blocks the fiery attacks from the enemy. So when life gets unimaginably hard, faith is the anchor that allows you to endure and thrive!

That’s why I’m excited about this book and, more importantly, the impact of you reading it.

I was raised in a Christian home, specifically, a Baptist Christian home on the south side of Chicago. My parents are devout believers who taught us the Word of God and kept us in church. So much so, my siblings and I were baptized while we were young, a decision our parents ultimately made. When I think of my childhood, I know I knew of God. I knew of His Word. I definitely believed He existed. But it wasn’t until I went to church with my then girlfriend and now wife, Camille, at eighteen that I had my first deep meeting with the Holy Spirit. I was holding her hand while sitting with her parents and siblings when the pastor made an altar call. If you’re unfamiliar, an altar call is when someone offers a public opportunity to make Jesus your God. While sitting there with my best friend, I knew the right decision was to respond, let go of her hand, walk up to the altar, and accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Before that moment, my relationship with God was through the peripheral of my parents. But afterward, I knew I was ready to spend the rest of my life learning about this God, what He required of me, and let Him direct my paths.

Looking back, I recognize that as the most meaningful decision I’ve ever made. And although there’s never a wrong time to submit yourself to Christ, getting to know Him young gave me the building blocks I needed to live a kingdom lifestyle and raise kingdom-focused children. The pillars of God’s Word connecting to your heart as a teenager or a young adult can completely shift how your life would’ve looked by the time you’re in your thirties and forties. And as for me, it gave me the knowledge I needed to prioritize these five life pillars: Faith, Family, Fitness, Finances, and Freedom. Every single day I make sure to pour my energy into each of these areas because of what I’ve learned through serving Christ and studying His Word. Following God for over twenty years has given me unshakeable peace, hope in a fallen world, crazy faith for my generations, financial freedom for my great-grandkids, and so much more.

As you navigate your relationship with the Lord, or if you’re considering whether or not you should have one, remember that He’s with you every step of the way. He called me at eighteen years old, and I haven’t regretted it a single day, even when it feels like all hell is breaking loose. He’s shown me that He’s right there in the fire, ready for me to lean on Him. And as you study the conversion of Paul and learn the memorable life principles in the coming chapters, don’t take any of it for granted. Paul was a man who had everything to lose by choosing Jesus. He was a well-respected elder, a scholar, a leader, and he had such a high rank he