A Great New Book By Frank Viola

A New Book That I Highly Recommend – Get 25 Free Gifts If You Get It Now By May 7^th

My friend Frank Viola has just released a new book called God’s Favorite Place on Earth that could literally change your relationship with God, help you defeat bitterness, free you from a guilty conscience, and help you overcome fear, doubt and discouragement once and for all.

This is a book that will jar you out of your "Christian rut" and give you new eyes for looking at EVERYTHING. It’s a quick, inspiring, and entertaining read.

In addition, if you get the book between May 1^st to May 7^th, you will also get 25 FREE GIFTS from 15 different authors including Leonard Sweet, Jeff Goins, Andrew Farley, Steve McVey, DeVern Fromke, Pete Briscoe, Frank Viola himself, and many others.

Over 47 Christian leaders have recommended the book, including me.

Here is my endorsement for “God’s Favorite Place on Earth.”

“Frank Viola has a rare gift for helping us all to understand the intimate union we share with the Father through Jesus Christ. God’s Favorite Place on Earth will stir your emotions and empower you to open yourself to be a ‘Bethany’ where Jesus feels right at home. This is one of those books you’ll read twice and then share with a friend.”

Steve McVey, author of Grace Walk

 

The premise of the book is simple and 100% Biblical: when Jesus was on the earth, He was rejected everywhere He went . . . from Bethlehem, to Nazareth, to Jerusalem. The only exception was the little village of Bethany.

The curtain opens with Lazarus, who is now ready to die, telling the incomparable story of Jesus’ interactions with him, Martha, and Mary. God’s Favorite Place on Earth blends drama, devotion, biblical narrative, and first-century history to create a riveting book that you’ll find difficult to put down. Within each narrative, the common struggles Christians face are addressed and answered.

Go to GodsFavoritePlace.com to claim your 25 FREE GIFTS, read a Sampler of the book, and watch the gripping video trailer.

The Love of God

Our God is the Protective Father, the Compassionate Mother, the Consummate Lover and the Intimate Friend. In fact, He personifies the best qualities of every human relationship.

You are His child.... and His children can never be beyond the reach of His love –
Jonah proved, you can’t outrun God’s love.
Lot bore witness that you can’t outsin His love.
Jacob laughs, “you can’t outsmart His love.”
Enoch finally left this world saying, “you can’t outlive His love.”
Jesus came to show, “You can’t outdo God’s love.”

His love is a Song that you get on your mind and can’t stop singing.It is the Melody in great music, the Beauty in great art and the Plot in great literature. His love is the absolute Joy of a new marriage, and the abiding Comfort of an old one. It rests in the Anticipation of a kiss and the Thrill of physical intimacy.

His love whispers in the Laughter in a joke,
the Flavor in a gourmet meal,
the Calm on a pond’s surface at dawn.
His love is the Shelter in the storm,
and the rainbow afterwards.

His love brings Him aggressively into the circumstances of our lives:

To the weary – He is Rest.
To the disheartened – He is Hope..
To the confused – He is Wisdom.
To the lost – He is the Way.
To the guilty – He is Forgiveness.
To the troubled – He is Peace.
To the scared – He is Courage.
To the spurned – He is the Great Lover.

His love for us can’t be diminished by your doubts, or stopped by your sins,
or even repelled by your rejection.

His love for you is
unconditional
unparalleled
unending
unwavering
untainted,
unfathomable and
unmatched.

Wonderful grace of Jesus,
Greater than all my sin,
How shall my tongue describe it?
Where shall His praise begin?

Taking away my burden,
Setting my spirit free,
For the wonderful grace of Jesus
Reaches me!

Wonderful grace of Jesus,
Reaching the most defiled,
By His transforming power,
Making him God’s dear child,

Purchasing peace and heaven,
For all eternity,
And the wonderful grace of Jesus,
Reaches me!

Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus!
Deeper than the mighty rolling sea,
Higher than the mountain,
Sparkling like a fountain,
All sufficient grace for even me.

Broader than the scope of my transgressions,
Greater far than all my sin and shame,
Oh magnify the precious name of Jesus,
Praise His name!

All the superlatives of every language known to man bow in humble submission before Him. His love is the greatest – the strongest – the kindest – the gentlest, the lovingest, the mostest, the bestest....Oh, I give up! Words of human language will always eventually stumble and fall in hopelessness when attempting to describe the beauty of His love. I can't explain it. I just can't do it.

(These were notes from a sermon I preached in Tony Evans church a few years ago. Just came across them on my computer.)

A Year Later

It was one year ago today that I found myself in the Intensive Care Unit at the hospital after I passed out on my patio at home and was carried there by ambulance. It was a scary time for our whole family. Several prominent impressions have stuck with me about that incident over the past year.  

The most memorable was waking up to my normally mild-mannered wife, Melanie, leaning over me with an expression of horror coming out as anger saying, “Don’t you leave me! Do you understand? Don’t you leave me!”  “I’ll try not to,” I weakly answered. “NO!” she said. “You will not try. You will do it! If you see Jesus Himself, you turn around and come back to me! He has all eternity to spend with you!”  Lying on the ground with a blood pressure so low they couldn’t even determine it, I laughed out loud. I love that woman.

I’ve since told people that I can imagine what that scene could have looked like:  “Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter into…”  “Lord, excuse me for interrupting, but could we press the pause button here a sec? My wife is really upset with me right now. I have to get back home. I’m gonna have to get back to you. Let’s pick up on this again later, alrighty? Otherwise, I’m gonna catch hell in heaven when she gets here.”

Okay, maybe I exaggerate about what might have been, but there is an impression that is no exaggeration. It is the distinct and indelible impression of my own mortality. Over the past year, I’ve had numerous doctors tell me that I might have four different terminal diseases. I’ve felt physically awful much of the year and passed out a lot. At times through the year I’ve felt frustrated, anxious, depressed, angry and confused. The whole thing has made no sense. I know all the right answers about faith and healing and divine sovereignty and . . . I’ve taught it all and, more importantly, I believe it all. But that hasn’t kept me from experiencing normal human reactions to my circumstances. You may or may not agree, but I fully believe my Father is okay with that. If Jesus wept in the Garden of Gethsemene, I'm sure He's fine with feeble me having a few bad days. Thankfully, "He certainly knows what we are made of. He bears in mind that we are dust" (Ps. 103:14, God's Word Translation).

Mortality. It’s a word I only associated with life insurance salesman who referenced it when they read actuarial tables to determine premiums when I was a young man. Now it’s a palpable word with substantive meaning that became up close and personal this past year. I have no fear of dying. At one point when I was lying on the ground at home, Melanie asked me, “Are you afraid?”  “Of what? Heaven?!?” I answered. No, of course I wasn’t afraid of death. Not then or now.

On that note, the good news for me at Vanderbilt Hospital last month is that I don’t have anything terminal. My problem is “a classic condition” that medical science has no real answers for. “Drink more water. Eat much, much more salt. It’ll increase your blood volume and might help. We don’t know.” That’s the answer I got from a highly esteemed doctor who spends every day in a research study about my very problem. I don’t expect doctors to know everything, but I was disappointed they had no definitive answer. Oh, well. As I’ve often said, “It is what it is.”

Thankfully, over the past month I’ve felt much better. Very much better. I had a slight hiccup here on vacation last week, but nothing big. No passing out or anything like that. Just warning signs that I’ve learned means it’s time to sit down. But, overall, I’m encouraged and optimistic about my progress.Unless something changes, I won't be talking about my health anymore. Only only geezers go on and on about that subject!

One big thing I’ve taken away from all this is the importance of keeping my priorities in the right order. I want to spend time with my wife, my children, my grandchildren and my friends. I want to play more. Even knowing grace I'm still a Type A personality and have a tendency to lapse back into my old works-a-holic flesh patterns if I'm not careful. Nobody cares how hard you worked once you’re dead but they will remember how much you loved them as evidenced by the time and experiences you shared together. That’s what I want to do most with the rest of my life.

Another thing I want to do is focus more attention on writing. My publisher and I have agreed on my writing agenda for the next couple of years. When Wives Walk in Grace will be released in July. Three are scheduled for release next year. In addition I plan to do some shorter e-books along the way. In fact, I’ll finish one while I’m here on this trip and hope to have it on amazon.com within the next month. I’ll say more about it once I’ve decided a title and finished it.

I’m optimistic about the future of Grace Walk. The Father has brought Robyn Cathey on board in a part time position to carry forward the essential elements of ministry operation. I’m excited about her becoming a part of Grace Walk. She has a strong passion for seeing the message of grace spread and is a kindred spirit when it comes to helping further the kingdom.

I’ve been overwhelmed by the fact that our loving Father has also brought on three men to handle shipping Grace Walk resources. Nathan and Jason Smith and their Dad, Roger, are handling this vital responsibility on a volunteer basis. They are all successful professionals in both business and ministry and are now an official part of the Grace Walk team. Amazing, huh? When God gives you a gift, it’s always Grade-A and never fails to exceed your expectations.

So things are looking good in these directions. For that, I am so thankful. I still have to learn over and over again that, as my friend, Ralph Harris, says, “God’s got ya.” I know it but I’m still coming to know it again and again in every area of life.

I want to thank so many of you who have shown love and concern during this past year of challenge. Your prayers, emails, Facebook notes and posts, and phone calls have been more encouraging than you can imagine. I get so many emails and FB notes that I haven’t been able to respond to each one individually but I have read each and every one and have been lifted by your kindness. Thank you.

So here I am a year later. On this day last year I was in Intensive Care. Today I’m in the Bahamas on a much-needed vacation with a great wife and great friends. So I’m thankful. Truly thankful. Proverbs 4:18 says, “The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.” I believe that. In fact, I’m counting on it.

The Pull of the Sea

There is a parallel between the way I relate to the ocean and how I relate to Christ. I find Jesus to be irresistible. I am continually and compulsively drawn to Him. Two thousand years ago He said that He would draw men to Himself (John 12:32) and that is exactly what He has done with me by an internal pull which is infinitely greater than that of the ocean. I didn’t choose this relentless hunger I have for Him any more than I chose to love the sea. It was put there, independent of anything I did or didn’t do.

I act like a fool sometimes. I know what it is to have thoughts unbefitting somebody who is following Jesus. I’ve thought things, said things and done things that I wouldn’t write about. Sometimes I’ve wondered if I’ll ever master the very subject which I have given my life to teaching. The fact is that we are all in the same boat. Human beings wrapped up in human weakness. Dependent on unilateral grace and grace alone.

Despite my deficiencies, I want God. I constantly yearn for the tender embrace of Jesus. While my inconsistencies are many, that’s not one of them. I have tasted Deity and am now eternally addicted. I have no time for or interest in dead religion. Artificial environments make me emotionally queasy these days. Been there, done that.

I'm closing in on 59 years old. Common sense causes me to know that I must be somewhere on this side of halftime in the game of life. I don’t want to spend the rest of the game wasting time on things that aren’t real. I want to drink deeply from Life. My Kool-Aid days are over. I want to become a connoisseur of fine wine in the days I have left.
I can’t explain or defend it to the skeptic, but by His Spirit, He has seduced me to Himself in such a way that I can never be nor want to be free of Him. I can no more understand Him than I can know all the mysteries of the sea, but I am forever captivated by His charm and enthralled by His love for me.

I have determined to just rest in Him and my hope in the unimaginable scope of His grace. My choice can’t be justified in the eyes of those who don’t believe, but I am past having to justify it. It struck me recently that the only ones of us debating grace are those of us who profess to have some level of understanding about it. Everybody else is just soaking it up. By grace, I'm done with defending a message that doesn't need a defense with those who see it and has none for those who don't. I plan to spend the rest of my life just proclaiming it.

Some may say that there is no ocean where one can see through crystal clear water fifty feet to the bottom, but I’ve been there. I don’t have to prove it to anybody; I know it. I know what I know. Is it a waste for a man to spend his days choosing to simply live in the presence of God through Christ? Not to me.

Do you sense this same inner call toward Christ? That pull you experience isn’t generated from within yourself. It is there because God’s Spirit is pulling you toward Jesus. He is lovingly seducing you to Himself. God seducing you. Think about that – God wants you!

He knows you completely. There’s nothing you think, say or do that He isn’t fully aware of, yet He wants you. How can you know this is true? It is because you want Him. Nobody wants God unless His Spirit creates a hunger within them to know Him.

So be encouraged. Do you have doubts? Are you painfully aware or your weaknesses? Do your failures sometimes rise up in your mind to condemn you? If so, welcome to Faith 101. That’s normal. Those same thoughts and feelings you have, I have. So does everybody else. We are all wired the same way. It is human circuitry and being a believer doesn’t negate normal human experiences. But the fact that you feel a divine pull says something powerful about what God's Spirit is doing in you.

Possessing the life of Jesus Christ offers great potential. You don’t have to be controlled by your weaknesses. Doubts don’t have to dominate you. You can choose to put your faith in the One who is pulling you toward Himself and simply trust Him to finish what He has started.

Grace means none of it is up to you. It’s all about Him and what He is doing. Remember, it’s not up to you to make anything happen between you and God. Your role is simply to respond in faith to the pull that you are experiencing.