Are you frustrated with trying to live the Christian life?Do your struggles with sin discourage you?Have you been taught you can’t ever win the battle . . . that as long as you are living, you will fall short?Jesus told people to sin no more. Rather than tell them the struggle with sin and Satan would be difficult, He said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Jesus doesn’t ask us to do the … Jesus doesn’t ask us to do the impossible.
Ken Gould rejected distorted teachings about God and was an atheist for twenty years, until God revealed His existence to him. Afterward, he recognized Christianity wasn’t something to be taken lightly. His highest priority became to know God and understand His counsel.
Gould says, “It is possible to live a godly life in victory. What we believe about God affects our ability to live a victorious life.”
In this guidebook on living in God’s victory, learn:
How to cooperate with God to attain the victory He has for you.
How our definition of sin can remove frustration and allow us to live a godly life.
How believing lies about God keeps us from escaping our rebellious, sinful attitudes.
The interaction between natural laws and sin.
“God’s truth sets us free from Satan’s slavery and it’s lies about God that keep us trapped.”
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My Thoughts on Jesus Promised Victory:
I found this to be an interesting book with an interesting concept. The author is, in my opinion, correct that within the church there is just as much if not more instances of spousal abuse, pornography, and child abuse. My argument for this is that those people don’t have an actual relationship with God but are rather just there in the church to be seen. It’s almost like a status symbol. A hey look at me I go to church type of accomplishment for them.
Again, the author goes on to say that some of the worst crimes in history were committed in the name of God. I have to think that again they were moving away from God and allowing themselves to be more of a god when they committed those acts and not actually following His teachings.
The author writes clearly and is easy to understand. It is interesting to note that he is a Seventh Day Adventist. I did do a bit of research on them and realized that we have a few doctrinal differences which might be why I did not really enjoy or agree with everything in this book.
While this has not been a favorite book of mine, I can say that I found points of his that I agreed with and could even come to some of the same conclusions. However, some of his other points were confusing to me and I need to dig into my Bible to see whether I can agree to disagree or if possibly I can be swayed in my thinking.
I think his conversion story is amazing and it is very intriguing to read about and understand how he became changed and believed in God.
I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from Celebrate Lit. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.
Let’s face it, as a Christian sometimes we still have questions, and this book helps provide answers to some of those questions. I know we must cooperate with the Holy Spirit in order to achieve victory. Yet at the same time, I believe this book does not completely follow Biblical principles.
In order to escape from the tentacles of Satan, we have to be willing to reach out and work with the Holy Spirit is tone idea that seems to come through this book.. Yet, I know victory only comes through God. In order to be saved we have to believe Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God and came to die for our sins. The Scriptural references in this book provide are intended to provide an excellent basis for the message behind this book. Yet, I have to question the motives behind this book.
The only way to achieve eternal life is through Jesus Christ, and I truly believe in that point. I wanted the author to provide a message that is clear as is the ultimate result of believing on Jesus Christ.
So check out this book for yourself, and see what you think it about yourself.
I received a copy of this book for my fair and honest review.
Warning: I do not recommend this book. I agreed to review it for Celebrate Lit, so here is my honest review. The content in this book caused me great concern. Not only is it difficult to read because of the wordy presentation, many of the author’s opinions either add to or contradict the Bible. He is also rather confrontive and judgmental and teaches that those who don’t agree with his beliefs and interpretation of Scripture are of the devil. He quotes Ellen G. White as if her writing is biblical too, along with other Seventh Day Adventists. Not only does he often misconstrue God’s Word, I believe some of his teaching is actually heretical. For example, Gould says everyone who worships the God of Abraham worships the Creator, who is Christ, including Jews and Muslims. This is false teaching—they do not worship the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior. I would caution anyone reading this book to check out every teaching with God’s Word.
When I picked this one up to read, I was anticipating an inspirational book about victory in Jesus, but the red flags started popping up immediately. I persevered and finished the book, and I’m glad that I did, although I can’t recommend it for reasons that I will explain in this review. As with some Christian nonfiction works, sadly, there are nuggets of truth here, but they are overshadowed by misinterpretation and false teaching.
Before I get into that, however, I do want to comment on what I did like about “Jesus Promised Victory.” Author Ken Gould summarizes his points during each chapter and also recalls material that has been discussed in prior chapters, which is very helpful for putting things together and remembering what has been presented. This is not to say that I agree with everything he writes, but I do appreciate this writing style in nonfiction books such as this one. Appendix B: Egyptians and Their Firstborn is insightful and interesting with regard to the Levites and to the Egyptians and their false gods.
As for the issues that I had with this book, many are attributed to interpretation of Scripture and the author’s wording. There are some instances in which I think that he might be correct in his statements, but because of ambiguity with the phrasing, I am uncertain. In other cases, I outright disagree. Twice in the first chapter, the words of John in Scripture are credited to Jesus. I feel that, throughout this book, the author’s views are contradictory, stating something and using Scripture that would seem to nullify the point to support it. Again, some of the wording puzzles me, such as saying that we “cooperate” with the Holy Spirit, who is our “accomplice.” I personally feel that the author in general ascribes too much power to Satan; he also writes that Satan pretends to be Jesus or God, but the saved shouldn’t be fooled, as the author suggests they are, because they will know Jesus. I do not agree with the Seventh-Day Adventist belief in annihilationalism, which I do not find supported in the Bible. All things considered, I feel that the author is putting the onus of victory on us, but the truth is that the victory is already won through Christ’s sacrificial death and subsequent resurrection. For instance, early on in the book, the theory of “the great controversy” says that “In the conflict between Christ and Satan or the great controversy as we’ll see, God is the accused.”
While I can’t recommend this book due to content inconsistent with God’s Word, it does spark debate and call for a further examining of Scripture, and it does show our dependence upon Jesus.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Celebrate Lit and was not required to post a favorable review. All opinions are my own.
Right away I knew I was going to have trouble reading this book. I don’t remember anywhere in the Bible where it said that, “ every sin must be punished before God could forgive us.” I do know that Jesus paid the price for our sins and He has forgiven us. I began to see a pattern in the book. To get his point across the author will quote a scripture then turn around and repeat it over again . The book is very unorganized and the thought process is not completed throughout the book.
I did like that the author included many scriptures and it did help me follow along a little of what he was trying to point out. Some things the author says, I do not agree with and I caution others as you read the book to be mindful of what is being said.
The book is definitely geared toward The Seventh Day theology and the author quotes from authors who follow this doctrine. I did keep an open mind while reading the book, but time after time I found it didn’t line up with the Bible. The author talks about other religions and how they have been deceived. He goes on to say the reason people don’t talk about religion to each other is because they “are unprepared to defend their beliefs.” I think that is a bold statement to generalize everyone and say we are unprepared. There is a way to discuss religion in a loving way and still disagree with others. I’m not one to take offense when someone disagrees with my beliefs. What I do is direct them to scripture and allow The Holy Spirit to speak to them.
When I came upon this statement from the author, “The Cross reveals a bloodthirsty God,” I had to pause for a minute. What did I just read? I have not ever for one moment thought the Cross was anything but freedom from sin, forgiveness and grace. What I found most disappointing was the bashing of other religions in order to prove the author’s point. I can’t recommend this book to anyone but I will leave it up to readers to decide for themselves.
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.
How we approach something controls whether we succeed or fail.
We are being tricked into thinking that the best way to fill a pond is to push water uphill, in other words victory is unattainable. The author has done an in depth study of why and how victory is not that elusive thing we seem to think it is, but actually very easy. We need only be ready to seriously follow God’s counsel and instruction and we will have victory! It is a total commitment and not a perfect performance.
I will admit it took me several days to read this book as it the depth of thinking involved frequently sent me in other directions. I have not yet gleaned all I could from this book, but I have learned once again that the fruit we bear reveals the God or god we worship.
This digital copy was received through Redemption Press and CelebrateLit. The comments and impressions are my own and were in no way solicited.