Friday, January 31, 2020

About the Book

Book: Divine Intentions

Author: Doug K. Reed

Genre: RELIGION / Christian Living/Personal Growth

Release Date: January 7, 2020

Divine Intentions takes readers on a journey of self-discovery through four key concepts: rescued, restored, relabeled, and redirected. Most people, even Christ-followers, are wounded at their core, with soul-level injuries that affect their identity. They may be hurting from past circumstances or feel trapped in their current ones. Basic discipleship sends believers on a journey…but it’s tough to take those steps while you’re hurting. Doug K. Reed offers healing for those who are searching for answers to their identities in Christ while struggling with wounds from the past or present. He shares his own personal story of restoration from pornography, pride, and other issues, helping to lead readers into the light of God’s love.

Click here to get your copy.

About the Author

Doug K. Reed is a full-time writer and speaker who travels to conferences and churches both in the U.S. and internationally. He is the president of Partnership International, a non-profit organization dedicated to completing meaningful projects in some of the world’s poorest environments. Partnership International has hosted thousands of people on short-term mission trips with a goal of sharing the love of God with the neediest among us. In his over thirty years of ministry experience, Doug has also served as a senior pastor and on staff at large churches.

More from Doug

DESIGNED FOR A PURPOSE

Woodworking has been a hobby of mine since childhood. When my wife, Jeanne, and I were engaged, I created a wooden jewelry box for her that she still treasures and uses to this day, thirty years later. Every time she uses it, she’s reminded of how much I love her.

That jewelry box was designed with a speciﬁc purpose in mind. If, God forbid, I ever got mad at her, removed her jewelry, and put my ﬁshing lures in there, the gift that once brought joy would now cause pain. And that jewelry box would make a lousy tackle box because it was not designed for that purpose. My creation would fail to fulﬁll my original intention.

In a similar way, we have been lovingly designed by God for a speciﬁc purpose. We can ﬁll our life with lesser things, but He lovingly designed us to hold the treasure of destiny. He created us with the capacity to fulﬁll all He has planned for us.

Far too many books are written to advanced leaders without considering where the majority of people find themselves. The goal of the book is to meet people where they are. The book dives into their pain and to honestly and authentically address it. My own story is the constant backdrop in the book which adds greatly to its relatability. The combination of storytelling and deep content make this book unique.

The author does a good job of using illustrations to help us understand how much God wants to rescue us from things that turn us away from Him. I grew up as a pastors kid so many people thought I was grounded in the Word. I did have a foundation of God in my life but I was far from being a Christian. There were many times I wanted to give up but something inside me said to keep fighting. We sometimes don't understand that we are slipping away from God until one day we feel all alone. The good news is that He has always been there with His arms opened wide ready to rescue us.

I enjoyed the chapter about forgiveness. The author shares a story about taking his dads' rifle without permission. He brought the rifle home in less than perfect condition and knew he was in big trouble. His father was upset but instead of showing anger, he told his son he forgave him. It may be a simple story but one I found powerful. It illustrates how our Heavenly Father forgives us even when we don't think we deserve it. Forgiveness is something that God wants us to do every time. There is no limit of how many times Jesus forgives us, so we need to do the same for others. I can remember thinking that if this certain person hurts me one more time, I will not forgive them. In fact I will stop talking to them and remove them from my life. What I did was say I was better than God and didn't need to keep forgiving over and over again.

At the end of every chapter are questions to answer which I found helpful while going through the book. They go over what was talked about in the chapter and gives you things to apply to your own life. The author is open about his struggles and shares how God has changed him. The book uses scriptures and stories from the bible to enhance the points the author makes. I enjoyed the book and found it helpful in many ways.

"No matter how far you are from the life that God planned for you, your purpose has not changed."

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.