Jamie Snyder - Thou Shall: Freedom to Strip Away the Nots and Discover What God Really Wants

THOU SHALL

Published by David C Cook

4050 Lee Vance View

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David C Cook Distribution Canada

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David C Cook U.K., Kingsway Communications

Eastbourne, East Sussex BN23 6NT, England

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All rights reserved. No part of this ebook may be reproduced, scanned, resold, or distributed by or through any print or electronic medium without written permission from the publisher. This ebook is licensed solely for the personal and noncommercial use of the original authorized purchaser, subject to the terms of use under which it was purchased. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors rights.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. (Public Domain); NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org); NLT are taken from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved; MSG are taken from THE MESSAGE . Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group; ASV are taken from the American Standard Version. (Public Domain.) The author has added italics to Scripture quotations for emphasis.

LCCN 2014943143

ISBN 978-1-4347-0766-6

eISBN 978-0-7814-1240-7

2014 Jamie Snyder

Published in association with the literary agency:
The Gates Group, www.the-gates-group.com

The Team: Alex Field, Caitlyn Carlson, Carly Razo, Nick Lee, Karen Athen

Cover Design: Amy Konyndyk

Cover Photo: iStockphoto

First Edition 2014

Photo by Shamus Staubach

JAMIE SNYDER is lead pastor of Lakeside Christian Church where he preaches and teaches to thousands on a weekly basis. Though he has many titleshusband, father, preacher, writer, bookworm, table-tennis player extraordinairethe most significant one, by far, is child of God. He resides with his wife and three children in Kentucky.

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What people are saying about

Thou Shall

The Bible says out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. Jamie Snyder is one of the few communicators who truly writes out of that overflow. He has the ability to give the reader a new perspective. When you read this book, it will cause you to more deeply understand a familiar truth and youll find yourself thinking, Wow, I never thought of it that way before .

Kyle Idleman, pastor and bestselling author of Not a Fan and AHA

When I was a kid, my faith was tied up in nots. Christianity was all about sin avoidance. But if you define your faith by what you dont do, you could live for Jesus without ever getting off your backside. In Thou Shall , Jamie Snyder gives us a loving kick in the pantsreminding us that an active God calls us to an active faith (and knowing Jamie, I can tell you his is hyperactive!). With gentle humor and tough Biblical truth, this book will inspire you to get out the door and into the vibrant kingdom life God desires.

Matt Proctor, president of Ozark Christian College

The Bible says Gods promises are yes in Christ, but too often all we hear in church is no! Jamie Snyder sets the record straight in Thou Shall and shows us how to live the big, full lives of freedom Jesus came to give us.

Vince Antonucci, author of I Became a Christian and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt and Renegade

Do you know what you stand for or only what you stand against? There are so many Christians who miss the adventure of opportunity God has for them. Jamie Snyder hasnt, and his wisdom and creativity will inspire you to replace some donts with some dos .

Dave Stone, pastor of Southeast Christian Church and author of the Faithful Families Series

Scratch the pages of this book and the word freedom rises to the surface. If you dare to read it, you will not only experience freedom from performance-based religion, but you will experience freedom to be the son or daughter God created you to be. What a breath of fresh air to know that God loves us in spite of what we do and dont do in this life.

Jon Weece, lead follower of Southland Christian Church and author of Jesus Prom

Part I

STRIPPING AWAY THE NOTS

Part II

MOVING BEYOND THE NOTS

Part III

A FEW NEW NOTS TO KEEP YOU MOVING

Part IV

NOT JUST THE END, BUT THE BEGINNING

For my Hazel girl,
I pray you change the rest of the world the way you have changed mine.

CONTENTS

ACKOWLEDGMENTS

My name may be on the front cover, but there are many others whose could be as well. Names of people who believed in, invested in, prayed for, corrected, and polished the Thou Shall message. Names such as Alex, Ingrid, John, Caitlyn, Carly, Don, and multiple others.

To all of you I share these sincere, yet insufficient words: thank you. Without you the Thou Shall message would have never moved from theory into reality. My prayer for each of you is that you know a Thou Shall God is pursuing you and wants to be pursued by you. A God who is not impressed by mere passivity, but a God who passionately, desperately wants to carry out His will here on earth as it is in heaven, and wants His followers to do the same.

Chapter 1

FAVORITE WORDS

What are your favorite words?

Favorite words are the ones always ready to roll off the tip of your tongue. The ones you are known for saying the most often. The words you resort to using when you are unsure what else to say.

Most of us would likely have a difficult time determining what our favorite words are. A quick way to find out? Ask the people who know you best. Go aheadsee what they say. You may love their responses; you may loathe their responses. Either way, you just might discover your favorite words.

Favorite words matter. They do not simply shape our language; they reveal the shape of our heart. And they do not just reflect the pattern of our speech; they reflect the pattern of our mind. Favorite words, whatever they may be, say so much about who we are and what we are all about.

Have you ever wondered about Gods favorite words? Im pretty sure most people havent. But several months ago, I did.

Now, I didnt sit down with the intention of determining Gods favorite words, but as I evaluated the landscape of modern Christianity, I concluded that most of us have a common misconception on this subject. If asked, many people would probably say Gods favorite words are I love you. That is a nice Sunday-school answer, and perhaps at some level theologically appropriate. Yet when you look at the lives of many Christiansincluding mine for many yearsI love you doesnt seem to be what we believe is on the tip of Gods tongue.