An Excerpt from Turn North

This week, since having a few days off for Thanksgiving, I've made it a point to finalize my latest book, a devotional titled Turn North.   I've had several people to read it and give me feedback.  I've fixed mistakes and attempted to make a few improvements of my own.  I decided to read the whole book one last time.  Sometimes this is a good decision, sometimes not.  My husband can attest to my varied, excited reactions as I read certain pages, but once I reached the end, I felt that something was missing.  

The devotional, I state in the Introduction, is for the beginner.  It is for the person who desires to start learning more about God, the Bible, and the Truth.  It is geared towards people who may have difficulty understanding scripture.  I attempt to explain 30 key verses from the Bible while sharing the Gospel with readers who might have previously been on the fence.  Once I reached the end on Thursday, I realized that I had not included a verse about Jesus' resurrection, and felt strongly that I should.  

I flipped through the book to determine where such a concept should be added, then was left with the dilemma of what verse to remove since I would then have a 31-Day devotional, but the cover states 30-Day.  I decided to remove the segment below and share it with those reading this weeks' blog.  I removed it because I wrote about this concept in multiple places, so I thought I could remove this particular verse and commentary without altering the overall concept of the book. Please read below.  The book should be available within the next 2-3 weeks--just in time to be a Christmas gift for someone who has been in your prayers.  If you would like to reserve a copy for $6.99, please click here.   

An Excerpt
​from
Turn North  
A 30-Day Devotional and Journal
by
​Kimberly Griffith Anderson

​

Scripture

​Mark 8:36
What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?
​

  Journal Question

If you haven’t decided to believe in God, what is holding you back? 

​If you have decided to believe in God, how has your life changed since making that decision?
​

Commentary

The world has all sorts of things we desire—friends, close family relationships, followers on our social media, a good job, money is important and the more the better, a nice house, a nice car (or some nice cars), the ability to travel, etc.  All of these things are important to us, but we must realize that these things are temporary.  We can only enjoy these things while we are living.  
 
On average, Americans live about 78 years, which can seem like a long time, but compared to eternity...hmmm…   The things we do, the choices we make, our decision to believe in God or not to believe in God, will shape our eternity.   We must never lose sight of our ultimate goal, which should be to live out eternity with the Father, in Heaven.  Our friends, social media followers, our salary, those things are worldly things that will not last.  Ultimately, what matters is our decision to believe in Jesus. 
 
While our life expectancy may be 78 years, you likely know of someone who did not live to be 78.  Any day, any moment, could be your last.  You are not guaranteed a deathbed on which you can get right with the Lord.  You could die in an accident and never have another chance like you have right now. It is worthless to put your faith in material things, but spend eternity in hell.  Don’t forfeit your soul.  What better time to make the decision than right now!

Prayer for Today

Dear God, 
Thank You for being patient with me.   Lord, please work on my heart.  I know that I need You in my life.  I know that You love me like no one else does.  I am grateful to You, God.  I ask that you forgive my sins and come into my life that I may live abundantly for You-- not for the world that I will one day leave behind.  Thank You, God. 
Amen.