Unnatural Causes (Ölümcül Nedenler) itibaren içinde LIT biçim

Andrew Gabriel andrewgsm — I must confess I couldn’t stop laughing whilst reading this book. Maybe due to the fact that it talks about “Grace” (joke that only Brazilians may understand). And just like the song from the “Phantom of the Opera” I would catch myself singing to it: “where in the world have you been hiding, really you are perfect?” A 10 out of 10 book. Well, it must be very simple to say that we live under “Grace” now because of the death of Jesus on that cross. Yet, even having been Christian for almost 10 years, the coin hadn’t dropped for me. I’ve always felt condemned by sinning even knowing that I don’t live under the law nowadays. You may, sometimes, feel the same. All the time you sin it is just as if you “had lost your salvation”. Joseph Prince is here to erase this misunderstanding. He is here to say that “condemnation kills” and by citing the verse in Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”. The author mentions how pastors are still preaching about the Old Testament and not giving enough emphasis on Jesus. He explains how the Old Testament points to Jesus, who is the only One who could fulfil the Law. In addition, the Law was given so that we can understand that we are UNABLE to live under it, accomplishing EVERYTHING that it demands. The Old Testament, or the period in which it was lived under the Law, makes reference to our Saviour, because Galatians 3:24 says “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith”. And, allow me to write here in full what Joseph Prince states “What do all these verses tell you, my friend? They tell you that the law was designed to lead you to the END of yourself, and cause you to despair in your own efforts to achieve God’s standards, so that you will see for yourself that you NEED A SAVIOUR!” (page 124). So, you mean I do not have to live under the Law anymore? YEAH! So, that’s why many people have Bibles that only have the New Testament (the time of Grace)!? YES!!! And yes to all. I think this is one of the main questions one has in mind. And I just thought of daring you to try to live under the Law. Go and try to fulfil ALL the specifications of the Law in the Old Testament! IMPOSSIBLE, right? Therefore, why waste your time by doing something you cannot achieve? The point here is to understand that our salvation in Jesus Christ comes by FAITH and NOT by actions. I’m from Brazil and it is very easy to see how much effort we put into our careers to be the best, to receive acknowledgement by the degrees I have or the prizes I got. It’s MY OWN EFFORT in it. However, God is telling you that you do not need to do much to obtain salvation. It’s very simple: BELIEVE! Simple like that. It’s not your EFFORT that will bring you salvation... IT’S NOT HOW MANY PRAYERS YOU DO, NOT HOW MANY SACRIFICES YOU HAVE MADE... It’s whether you BELIEVE in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, who came to this world to die for you as a human sacrifice to save you and lead you to God. If you open the Old Testament you will see that we had to offer a sacrifice for the sins you had committed by offering an animal without imperfections (maybe this is the real origin why we think that we have to do something with our own hands, a sacrifice, to feel “justified”). However, raise your hand if you did not sin today. Thank you for seeing ALL hands down. This person doesn’t exist. And we do not have to make sacrifices any longer, Jesus has already offered himself as a living sacrifice on the cross. He has already paid the price so that you can be justified by faith. Joseph compares it like a debt you have in the bank. Jesus paid for this debt. Now, go and enjoy your life by believing in the work of Jesus. And once again I need to use Joseph Prince’s own words: “My friend, stop being preoccupied with yourself and your self-efforts, and disqualifying yourself. Start being occupied with Jesus and His finished work. Begin to search the Scriptures for all the things concerning Himself and feel your heart burning within you as the Holy Spirit unveils to you just how beautiful He is. You have a wonderful Savior”. (Page 202). Preach about Grace and people will have enough strength to change their attitude. Preach about Grace and not LAW because no one is able to fulfil it. Preach about Grace and people will feel that they do not have to struggle to be saved anymore. Prince also outlines that some pastors do not preach about Grace because they are afraid that if “believers knew that they were forever righteous, they would go out and sin” (page 138). But the author strongly believes that this is sad because the power to overcome sin is found in knowing that you are righteous (ibid). And I’ll give you for free the extracted part from the book: “When a believer is struggling with sin, it is a case of mistaken identity: He thinks that he is still a dirty rotten sinner and as a result, he will continue to live as a dirty rotten sinner. But the more he sees that he has been made RIGHTEOUS apart from HIS WORKS, the more he will be empowered to live righteously” (page 138). I love you, Joseph Prince. I felt like I’ve taken the burden out of my shoulder after having read this book. It’s not about my own effort. It’s not about MYSELF. It’s ABOUT JESUS and what He has done on the cross. It’s about HIS COMPLETE WORK. And Jesus finished His work, He sat down at the right hand of the Father God, as if He was saying: it is finished and THERE IS NOTHING else to be done. Jesus sat down to demonstrate that the work is FINISHED. Full Stop. Period! Larissa Fauber :)

Rasidi Saad racdiesaad — ehh.

Domingo Antonio domingorobledo7972 — Okay, this book is beautiful. The illustrations are compelling, colorful, creative--made of absolutely stunning collages of fabric and other materials, photographed and set. And the story... I read it to my preschoolers, fighting back tears as I read (both times they asked me to read it!). And then we talked about what it would be like to really build your own school from the ground up. I think it deserves a couple more readings with them to see what we can do about having it grab their imaginations a little more. What a project we could make of it!