I found this book to be quite the follow-up to previous documentaries I’ve seen by Lee, “A Case for Christ” and “A Case for Faith”. Many years ago, I woke up during the early hours of the morning. I had been fasting for over two weeks during a challenge from my pastor, Pastor Nolen. For some reason I just could not sleep, and I remember watching both documentaries back-to-back. It opened my eyes to the faith I had been missing. I was all about keeping up with the Joneses- big house, nice SUVs, etc., all the while thinking I had faith. It was all about me, and not about God. This was a pivotal change in my life and after that fast I have never been the same. God humbled me very quickly.
This book reveals thirteen outrageous claims or promises as I see it that God has make for all of us. Funny how many of them pertain to my current situations.
1-There is Freedom in Forgiving Your Enemies
a. Let God fight your battles.
b. Pray for God to help you forgive.
c. Let it go! It’s for you!
d. You must forgive to be forgiven, God forgave you, right?
2-Can You Ever Learn to Forgive Yourself
a. You must absolutely take responsibility and be authentic while asking for forgiveness.
b. Try to reconcile with others If possible, if not, pray for them
c. Stop being angry with yourself, you cannot change the past, but you can learn to walk straight.
d. You are already forgiven, it’s a give you cannot earn.
3-You Can Survive the Rat Race without Becoming a Rat
a. Integrity and Principle will challenge you and others, and can lead to ostracism- so what?
b. Personal, Family, Business, Societal and Spiritual benefits can be achieved when you know you are doing the right thing, regardless of cost.
4-You can make a difference that will last for eternity.
a. “Be The Light” – it may be the only experience someone has with a follower of Christ. It could save a soul.
5-God can give you power as power is needed.
a. Admit you are weak.
b. Affirm God’s power.
c. Align yourself with God’s will.
d. Ask God specifically for the power you need.
e. Act out of obedience.
6-You gain when you give yourself away.
a. Get involved with helping others, there is always someone worse off than you.
b. Don’t boast, just take it all in knowing you can help.
c. Be compassionate and less judgmental, everyone has a different walk in life.
d. Often these acts can lead others to Christ without you even knowing.
7-A dose of doubt may strengthen your faith.
a. Everyone will doubt, it’s natural, but it’s also the enemy’s way to distract you.
b. You can use this doubt productively by researching, asking questions, reading and learning.
c. The author himself was an atheist journalist set out to prove Christianity was bogus in the first place!
8-God has a cure for your secret loneliness.
a. Most of us secretly are alone, some want but have no friends and feel as though they don’t fit in or are on an island. Ironically, many other people feel the same way and we just don’t see it. We must realize we all want companionship.
b. Once we realize and reach out to start friendships, they must have these ingredients.
1. Affinity (relational attraction)
2. Acceptance (love, in order to work, must be unconditional)
3. Authenticity (self-disclosure, transparency, honesty, vulnerability)
4. Assistance (putting others first)
5. Affirmation (being your friend’s cheerleader)
9- God’s rules on sex can be liberating.
a. This was quite revealing and can be summed up by this: Intimacy can never be truly experienced without God’s involvement, period.
10-Random acts of kindness are not enough.
a. I’d challenge you to read the book of James, right now. “Faith with deeds, deeds without faith.” Kindness should be a lifestyle.
11-Heaven is more than wishful thinking.
a. Everyone at some point in their life will come to realize they will die one day. What happens next? Where do we go? Where did we come from? These are the questions we tend to ask ourselves. For me, I came to the realization that this world did not create itself and there was something greater. For me, Christ is the only fulfillment of God’s covenant with us by sacrificing himself for us. No other proclaimed prophet can say the same. God came to Earth as a perfect human, never sinned, showed us how to live and then sacrificed himself for our sins. He did it for nothing in exchange other than faith.
12-Jesus is the only path to God.
a. Other religions are “Do” religions.
b. Christ said, “it is done.”
13-Playing it safe is the most dangerous way to live.
a. You must risk to live.
b. We were not made to go through the motions and gain nothing.
c. Life is a blessing that needs to be lived to the fullest.
d. We will fail but we will never succeed without trying.
Finally, God makes some serious claims throughout the bible. Many religions aspire to the “Old Testament,” some just direct people to be good humans. Only one offers forgiveness without cost of payment. We all can realize the claims to be true with faith.
Copyright © 2023 My journey - All Rights Reserved.
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.