As I was traveling last week, I had quite a few hours on airplanes to read Immanuel's Veins by Ted Dekker. This book is a powerful allegory for the passion, pursuit, and sacrifice of Christ. I will even go as far to say that I found myself stopping at points near the end to pray, to praise Jesus for his death for us, and to pray for my husband to know what this amazing sacrifice means.
And here's where it went even farther in my heart. Not only is Toma's love for Lucine so representative of Christ's love for us, I saw in it the love Christ calls us to have for our unbelieving spouses. I could completely relate to Toma's willingness to do whatever it took, to sacrifice anything, to pray that most dangerous prayer (Lord, do whatever it takes) to bring the one he loved to truth.
As one who is spiritually mismatched, this story not only resonated with me regarding my own salvation but also the yearning to see my husband know and experience this all consuming love that is so completely and totally our God.
One line in particular stood out to me, even the page number stuck with me (pg. 285). As said of evil:
"Their lust to win the love of mortals away from God knows no bounds."
The truth of this one line resonated deeply with me. This is the battle we face on a daily basis and the darkness that encompasses our unbelieving loved ones. However, to know the depths of God's love (if that's even possible this side of heaven), or should I better say to begin to grasp this all-encompassing love God has for us, shifts the desire for our unbelieving spouses to know Jesus from a selfish motivation to a shared passion with Christ that our loved one would truly know God, to experience the sacrificial love displayed in his Son Jesus, and to walk with God's Holy Spirit.
Thought provoking, powerful, beyond fiction...this book crosses from words on the page to truth piercing the heart.
CONTEST UPDATE: Without further ado, the winner is Helen! If you left a comment on my blog or Facebook page, thank you for participating. God bless!
Special thanks to Thomas Nelson for sending me a review copy of Immanuel's Veins by Ted Dekker. I just received the book so I haven't had a chance to finish yet, but I have to say I was immediately intrigued within the first few pages. And now, several chapters in, I'm more than intrigued.
This is quite a diversion for Dekker—something I appreciate about this writer. He's not afraid to explore new ideas and has the ability to always delight and surprise.
So, check out the rest of this post. There's a rockin' book trailer that will blow your socks off. I say that as a graphic designer who's very picky about book trailers. This is one of the best I've seen. Plus there's a contest here, friends! But you have to check out the rest of the details right to the end. :-)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ted Dekker is a New York Times best-selling author of more than twenty novels. He is best known for stories which could be broadly described as suspense thrillers with major twists and unforgettable characters, though he has also made a name for himself among fantasy fans.
Early in his career he wrote a number of spiritual thrillers and his novels were lumped in with ‘Christian Fiction’ a surprisingly large category. His later novels are a mix of mainstream novels such as Adam, Thr3e, Skin, Obsessed and BoneMan’s Daughters, and fantasy thrillers that metaphorically explore faith. Best known among these is his Circle Series: Green, Black, Red, White and The Paradise Books: Showdown, Saint, and Sinner.
Dekker was born to missionaries who lived among the headhunter tribes of Indonesia. Because his parents’ work often included extended periods of time away from their children, Dekker describes his early life in a culture to which he was a stranger as both fascinating and lonely. It is this unique upbringing that forced him to rely on his own imagination to create a world in which he belonged.
After leaving Indonesia, Dekker graduated from a multi-cultural high school and took up permanent residence in the United States to study philosophy and religion. Upon earning his Bachelor’s Degree, he entered the corporate world and proceeded to climb the proverbial ladder. But his personal drive left him restless and, after many successful years, he traded corporate life for wide range of entrepreneurial pursuits that included buying and selling businesses, healthcare services, and marketing.
In the early nineties while visiting a friend who had just written a book, Dekker decided to pursue a long held desire to be a novelist. Over the course of two years he wrote two full length novels before starting from scratch and rewriting both. Now fully enamored by the the process and the stories, he realized that storytelling was in his blood and a new obsession to explore truth through story gripped him anew.
He sold his business, moved his family to the mountains of Western Colorado and began writing full-time on his third novel. Two years and three novels later his first novel, Heaven’s Wager, was published.
Now, Dekker’s novels had sold over 3.4 million copies worldwide. Two of his novels, Thr3e and House, have been made into movies with more in production. Dekker resides in Austin, Texas with his wife Lee Ann and two of their daughters.
ABOUT THE BOOK
This story is for everyone--but not everyone is for this story.
It is a dangerous tale of times past. A torrid love story full of deep seduction. A story of terrible longing and bold sacrifice.
Then as now, evil begins its courtship cloaked in light. And the heart embraces what it should flee. Forgetting it once had a truer lover.
With a kiss, evil will ravage body, soul, and mind. Yet there remains hope, because the heart knows no bounds.
Love will prove greater than lust. Sacrifice will overcome seduction. And blood will flow.
Because the battle for the heart is always violently opposed. For those desperate to drink deep from this fountain of life, enter.
Check out Ted's blog for more events and details: http://www.facebook.com/teddekker
THE CONTEST
Leave a comment to entered into the contest to win a copy of Immanuel's Veins and a super cool "Spread the Love" T-shirt. I got one with my book and love the design!
And now in line with the theme of love, here's a post I wrote about three powerful words in the Bible. Three words that exemplify Christ's unconditional love. For you, for me, for all of us...
THREE POWERFUL WORDS
In Mark 10, we’re told about the story of a rich young man who approaches Jesus and asks what he has to do to inherit eternal life. Now read Jesus’ reply below as I’ve shown an edited version of it. You’ll understand why I did this in just a moment.
Jesus looked at him... "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." — Mark 10:21
Read it again if you need to and notice every word. Now read the complete version of this same verse:
Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." — Mark 10:21
Can you see the difference? If not, go back and compare the two and find the three words missing from the first one. Three little words:
and loved him
They don’t have to be there to show what’s going on, but those three words stopped me in my tracks. Here stands this young man who lacks nothing materially. Jesus can see his heart before he even speaks a word, and most likely knows what this young man will say.
Yet—and this is the part that blows me away—Jesus loved him. He loved this man whose world centered on his wealth. This man who would turn and walk away from the gift Jesus offered. The man who was so mired in his sinful nature that when offered the key to eternity (Jesus was offering himself here), he still chose to walk away.
Through all this, Jesus loved this man and met him exactly where he stood, figuratively and literally.
Every time Jesus looks upon us, He loves us. Every time Jesus looks upon our unbelieving spouses, He loves them. Exactly where they’re at.
These three little words held within the complete context of this chapter of Mark is one of the strongest examples of Christ’s unconditional love. When God inspired the men to write His Word down, He intentionally put those words in there for a reason. Not as an afterthought.
As Christ loved this man who was poor despite his wealth, so we are called to love our unbelieving loved ones. We stand before them, possibly the only representation of Christ in their lives. We are the door Christ can walk through and reveal His endless and intentional love.
God’s love is not afterthought. It is the heart of His salvation. And when we allow God to use us to reveal His heart…His love, we stand in the footsteps of Christ.
I'm very excited about this book and can't wait to read it! Dekker is one of my favorite authors and Erin Healy has an amazing reputation as an editor. How can these two miss? AND, now the bonus...I have in my hands one hardback copy to give away. Leave a comment to enter the drawing. Send friends over and get your name in twice!
And don't miss the trailer! Very cool...
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Ted is the son of missionaries John and Helen Dekker, whose incredible story of life among headhunters in Indonesia has been told in several books. Surrounded by the vivid colors of the jungle and a myriad of cultures, each steeped in their own interpretation of life and faith, Dekker received a first-class education on human nature and behavior. This, he believes, is the foundation of his writing.
After graduating from a multi-cultural high school, he took up permanent residence in the United States to study Religion and Philosophy. After earning his Bachelor's Degree, Dekker entered the corporate world in management for a large healthcare company in California. Dekker was quickly recognized as a talent in the field of marketing and was soon promoted to Director of Marketing. This experience gave him a background which enabled him to eventually form his own company and steadily climb the corporate ladder.
Since 1997, Dekker has written full-time. He states that each time he writes, he finds his understanding of life and love just a little clearer and his expression of that understanding a little more vivid. Dekker's body of work encompassing seven mysteries, three thrillers and ten fantasies includes Heaven's Wager, When Heaven Weeps, Thunder of Heaven, Blessed Child, A Man Called Blessed, Blink, Thr3e, The Circle Trilogy (Black, Red, White), Obsessed, Renegade, and Chaos.
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Erin Healy is an award-winning fiction editor who has worked with talented novelists such as James Scott Bell, Melody Carlson, Colleen Coble, Brandilyn Collins, L. B. Graham, Rene Gutteridge, Michelle McKinney Hammond, Robin Lee Hatcher, Denise Hildreth, Denise Hunter, Randy Ingermanson, Jane Kirkpatrick, Gilbert Morris, Frank Peretti, Lisa Samson, Randy Singer, Robert Whitlow, and many others.
She began working with Ted Dekker in 2002 and edited twelve of his heart-pounding storiesbefore their collaboration on Kiss, the first novel to seat her on "the other side of the desk."
Erin is the owner of WordWright Editorial Services, a Colorado-based consulting firm specializing in fiction book development. She and her husband, Tim, are the proud parents of two children
ABOUT THE BOOK
Let me tell you all I know for sure. My name. Shauna. I woke up in a hospital bed missing six months of my memory. In the room was my loving boyfriend-how could I have forgotten him?-my uncle and my abusive stepmother. Everyone blames me for the tragic car accident that left me near death and my dear brother brain damaged. But what they say can't be true-can it?
I believe the medicine is doing strange things to my memory. I'm unsure who I can trust and who I should run from. And I'm starting to remember things I've never known. Things not about me. I think I'm going crazy.
And even worse, I think they want to kill me.
But who? And for what? Is dying for the truth really better than living with a lie?
Sometimes dying with the truth is better than living with a lie.
After a car accident puts Shauna McAllister in a coma and wipes out six months of her memory, she returns to her childhood home to recover, but her arrival is fraught with confusion.
Her estranged father, a senator bidding on the White House, and her abusive stepmother blame Shauna for the tragedy, which has left her beloved brother severely brain damaged. Leaning on Wayne Spade, a forgotten but hopeful lover who stays by her side, Shauna tries to sort out what happened that night by jarring her memory to life. Instead, she acquires a mysterious mental ability that will either lead her to truth or get her killed by the people trying to hide it.
In this blind game of cat and mouse that stares even the darkest memories in the face, Shauna is sure of only one thing: if she remembers, she dies.
If you would like to read the first chapter of KISS, go HERE
Watch the Video Trailer
What people are saying about KISS:
“The human brain could actually be the real final frontier—we know so little about it and yet it drives the world as we know it. So when authors like Erin and Ted bravely explore these mysterious regions, going into complex places like memory and soul and relationships, I become hooked. The creativity of this suspenseful story is sure to hook other readers as well. Very memorable!” ~Melody Carlson, author of Finding Alice and The Other Side of Darkness
“Dekker and Healy prove a winning team in this intriguing, imaginative thriller.” ~James Scott Bell, bestselling author of Try Darkness
“Kiss by Erin Healy and Ted Dekker is a superb thriller that hooked me from the first sentence. The original plot kept me guessing, and I may never look at a kiss the same way again. I’ll be watching for the next book!” ~Colleen Coble, author of Cry in the Night
“The writing team of Erin Healy and Ted Dekker has taken me through a page-turner with Kiss. It’s one of those books that you think about when you’re not reading it. I highly recommend it, especially if you don’t mind staying up late because you can’t put the book down!” ~Rene Gutteridge, author of Skid and My Life As a Doormat
. This book is a powerful allegory for the passion, pursuit, and sacrifice of Christ. I will even go as far to say that I found myself stopping at points near the end to pray, to praise Jesus for his death for us, and to pray for my husband to know what this amazing sacrifice means.
