Destined To Reign

I grew up in a denominational church.  My parents were very faithful in attending church.  We never missed a service unless we were sick.  In all the years I attended church, I don't remember one sermon being preached on grace.  In fact, I don't remember that word ever being uttered in church, so as you can imagine I didn't have a concept of the gospel of grace. 

My dad was also a very strict, authoritative figure.  He was not lenient at all.  I had to walk a straight line and being the oldest of seven children, much responsibility was put on me.  So, because of my upbringing in a legalistic church and because my father was a strict authoritative figure in my life, I felt I had to be perfect, and of course, I was not.  No one is perfect except Jesus Christ, but the good news he understands we're not perfect and so he gives us His grace, which means undeserved favor.  Thank goodness for grace.  The Bible tells us His grace is sufficient and that His grace covers a multitude of sins.

Because I thought I had to be perfect and because I thought God expected me to be perfect, I was in a state of depression most of the time.  I lived a miserable existence.  I thought God was mad at me and was just looking for an opportunity to hit me with a big stick. 

My husband understood grace and he tried to explain it to me.  It sounded too good to be true.  But that's exactly what the gospel is.  It's good news!  It sounds too good to be true, but it is true!  However, I couldn't understand it.  My mind had been programmed to a legalistic way of thinking and it needed to be renewed to the good news of the gospel.

One day I was listening to a minister I had never heard before and what he said really caught my attention.  He was telling about how we were destined to reign in this life.  This sounded good to me, so I ordered the book.  A few weeks later my husband and I were traveling to Virginia to visit our son and his family.  I had not had time to read my new book, so I decided to take it with me and read it to my husband also as we traveled.  It would be a good way to pass the time.  As we traveled I read the book aloud.  The book was so good I could not put it down.  With each mile and with each chapter I felt joy begin to bubble up within my soul.  The author helped me understand the message of grace.  I laughed and I cried.  I asked my husband, "is this really true? "  He said, "yes, that's what I've been trying to tell you."  The book opened my eyes of understanding to the wonderful message of grace.

If you want to read a good book about grace, may I recommend, "Destined To Reign" by Joseph Prince.  I think it will bless you as much as it did me.

Remember, grace is a person and that person is Jesus Christ.