Praise Report: The Real Treasure Found In The Person Of Jesus

I was a Christian for 20 years, served as an elder, participated in all kinds of ministry activities and was taught a mixture of law and grace. That led to much guilt, shame, frustration and anger.

I wanted to take my own life since I could never seem to please God.

Within a year, I lost a million dollars in stock options and my father to cancer. I lost my job, home, car and everything I owned. When I went to my church and told them that I was getting a divorce, they shunned me. It has been six years and none of them talk to me to this day.

 

My best friend’s last words to me were, “God will never bless you again because you broke His law and His covenant.” He assured me that only death can result from the breaking of the covenant. In the end, I filed for bankruptcy, divorced my wife and sought God through the occult, other religions and every other spiritual exercise I could think of.

 

I could not find a loving God in the church, so surely He must be somewhere else, I reasoned. I didn’t care where I would find Him, but I was desperate to find the “true” God, not the one my church had taught me—a God of anger, judgment and capriciousness, one who required me to lead a life that I was incapable of leading. (I know because I tried to unsuccessfully for 20 years.)

 

A very long story made a little shorter, the one thing I missed about church was worship. As I could not find it anywhere else, I returned to church. Again, I found only glimpses of Christ in the many churches I visited.

 

Then, one day, I was hiding out in a church’s bookstore not wanting to go in and I saw your book, Destined To Reign. I had suffered so much financial hardship for so long I figured this was a book that could help me. Maybe I could get some hints on how I could get God to act on my behalf. I knew that I lacked the killer instinct in business and was unwilling to cheat and steal, so maybe if I danced just right or said the right words, or did some kind of hocus pocus, I could get God to give me money. Lack of money has always plagued me. I tried every book, scheme and business opportunity out there.

 

I bought your book and found more than a treasure.

The treasure was the real Jesus and His beautiful Father—My Father, a Father who loved me even when I messed up.

A Father who forgives me for having divorced my wife, who forgives me of every mistake and every intended and unintended sin. I finally understood what Jesus meant when He said, “Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.” No more guilt and shame. No more trying to please God by walking the tightrope of a sinless life. Jesus did it all so that I could walk in rest, not strive to win God’s love.

 

I was amazed to find sin lose its power over me. It is just not that appealing any more. The more I see Jesus, the less I want the other things. I count on God’s grace each day that my children will now embrace this truth. They had been taught both law and grace by my ex-wife and me for so long, and now I want to leave them with this incorruptible inheritance of grace alone.

 

Although I still struggle financially, I know that Jesus loves me and became poor so that I could be rich. I know that He shall supply all of my needs according to His riches in glory. He has also healed me physically of some conditions and given me a beautiful new wife who understands grace too.

 

The words “thank you” seem anemic to express my gratefulness for your writing a book that changed my life and which allows me to understand the Scriptures in a whole new light. Grace to you and peace my brother.

 

John Bruno | United States, California

2 Comments

  • Natalie says:

    Thank you,Pastor prince for your willingness to preach true grace(JESUS)you do not know how this message has touched my life?This message you are bringing is from God,because our Father opened my eyes before I ever heard you preached ,to see that the preaching I was listining to before had no Christ in the message and i was suffering because it made me hate God and Christianity.i will one day share my testimony with you.i send a prayer request because Satan is condemning me because of this,because I find it hard to sit in church when the message is not about Christ.he condemned me before because of sins and now I feel condemned because I don’t understand what is happening to me.i know you said that we must be gracious and it is not my intention to go to church to find fault with the message.i went to a church last year,because my husband is dealing with a lot of things know and I ask permission to attend this church.everything went okay until i felt God leading me to hand CDs on your teaching.one of the pastors responded because he heard you before,but I realised that to him it was like a business his running,because he was very busy.God even confirmed your message by bringing a lady that worked for me sharing to this pastor how your message had changed her from focus on ancestors,laws and traditions to trust completely on Christ.i opened up to him what is happening that My spirit is rejecting their teachings and I don’t know how to deal with it.the second pastor God allowed to also cross paths with this lady by allowing this pastor to testify to her,and she approached him about it and even ask him if he knew Christ.since she approached him he could not even speak to us.i prayed that God could help them as I felt sorry for them.last year the churched moved to another building and a new congregation started.i don’t understand I don’t like jumping from church to church so this church is close to my home so I ask my husband if it’s okay ,because I did not move the previous church so I start attending here,maybe God brought someone that preach his son.I went on two occasions and both messages did not even glorify Christ.it felt like i was in a work seminar when I worked for the bank before.im at home since 2008 raising my kids.what is happening pastor prince.i need a place where i can be stable .both the churches I grew up in and got married in I was loyal,but know i don’t know what is happening.i have not been to church for mnths,my kids need to go to church ,but if I’m struggling with this what am i teaching them.i don’t wNt to go through the same thing that I experienced last year it was very difficult for me.i am not trusting my spirit anymore because I don’t know if God will let feel this way.i don’t mix my messages because it brings lot of confusion so the minute I hear a teaching that contradicts yours I’m so confuse.God let me to watch you because I suffered a lot pastor prince .please tell me if there a verse on the bible that explains this.everything God shows me is to focus on is son.why is my spirit rejecting messages that’s not Christ exalting.do you thing that I have a evil spirit.God has shown me a verse on 1john vers. 4 ,but I’m afraid I’m miss applying the verse.i cannot deal with this I don’t know who to speak to,help me please I’m not a good testimony for grace because we have to be gracious.

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