Unheard-of

I've been reading a book by Joseph Prince called Destined to Reign, probably for longer than is really necessary for a book this short. My pastor gave it to me back in the summer and said, "You have to read this book." And in typical me-fashion, I let it sit on my dresser for about a month before I picked it up.

Oh my word. Blew my mind after the first eight pages.

I've been raised on religion basically my entire life. It's not my parents' fault, that just happened to be what we were taught at the churches we bounced to through my childhood. After twenty years we've finally found the church where we "fit", probably because it's different from all the other churches we've been to. The main message is not one of conversion (although that's important, obviously), fire-and-brimstone, or tithing (thankfully - our last church was big on that). It's one of freedom - not a week goes by that my pastor doesn't say, "NO CONDEMNATION!!!" And this book that he's passed on is right in line with that.

Maybe because I haven't been raised on such a message (this is the first time I've ever really heard of God's love for believers instead of God's judgment), the book continues to blow my mind. I feel like I need to get a bunch of copies and send them out to people - so many of my friends need this book! And it isn't just a reminder for the seasoned Christian - it's new even for this Christian who's been in and out of church for twenty years, it's stuff I've never really heard before. I want to give it to my brothers and sisters who are fed up and discouraged, trying to keep up in the rat race that religion has put us in. And I want my non-Christian friends to read it so they can understand what my God is all about, because I think a lot of them have been severely misinformed. (Some of my work friends spring to mind.) They are under the impression that God is just looking for ways to punish us, that He's sadistic and gains pleasure from our suffering, that His standards are set impossibly high just so we can fail and be dealt His judgment. But even I'm learning that MY GOD'S NOT LIKE THAT!!! He loves me regardless of what I've done or will do! He wants me to succeed and actually encourages me when I fail! I feel so cheated that I've never heard any of this before! I want to send it to those who have walked away from God because they were jilted by people who fed them religion but no truth! I want to give a copy to my Jewish friend so she'll see the joy that can be had through literation that comes from living under the New Covenant! That's what this is - it's freedom that makes me want to jump up and down, attempt to dance, sing at the top of my lungs regardless of my swollen sinuses and smoker's cough! I can barely sit still enough to write this, I can't get the words down fast enough!

HALLELUJAH! MY GOD AND MY FATHER, THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOVE AND YOUR FREEDOM!!!!