By Margaret Lukasik
When author Jim Gloyd was in a state of backsliding and dying from a Meth overdose there was no help as his very life and mind tried to evade him. It is hard for the almost dead to hook themselves up to their own life support system, but he had to do just that.
Jim Gloyd's book, BECOMING FREE FROM THE JUDAS IN ME, begins with the question, "how did this happen to me? I walked with the Lord--I knew him!" But rather than blame God or Satan for his demise as many Christians do, he continues to explain how he fell into a state of backsliding and dying from a Meth overdose.
Through His ordeal, Jim learned how easily Satan can trick and seduce the mind if we're not entrenched in the Word of God. While he acknowledges the age-old battle of good verses evil, he elevates our thinking to the true purpose of this battle with Satan using God's people as pawns in order to have victory over God and all of His goodness. The devil is ever present, seeking whom he might devour if we're not vigilant. Yet Jim's experience ultimately took him beyond Satan's pull and insidious trap of worldly pursuits to God's love and forgiveness.
However, Jim also warns to obey Roman's 12:1- 2, which implores us not to conform to the world, but instead to transform our minds to the perfect will of God. If we don't, our hedges will be down. We will remain stuck in a state of being thrashed about, easily taken by the devil's temptations. This instruction makes clear the fact that we have been given a free will to choose which path to take, whether it be to follow the world or to follow God through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
We have the power in Jesus' name to turn away from the fear Satan has put upon us that we are not good enough to partake in God's ultimate prize of salvation and all the blessings that go with it. Jim gives scriptural proof that WE ARE FREE in Christ and that we can shed the oppression of drugs, alcohol, over-eating, and even living by our own will rather that the will of our Heavenly Father. Christians facingAs Christians there are many ways for backsliding that can be insidious, leaving even the devout church-goers vulnerable if they are followers of their own plans, pursuits and desires. But as we transform our minds with God's Word, we will achieve the spiritual clarity to avoid worldly confusion.
Jim so poignantly describes the means of escape from within the trenches of the devil's camp through his brilliant writing style which states specific Bible passages and then cleverly reveals their truths in a way that even baby or new Christian can understand. However, it holds great spiritual fulfillment for even the fully mature Christian. This is not one of those books that tells you what to do, but doesn't show you how to do it. No! Jim leads you all the way out of your own darkness and into God's light of love, forgiveness and restoration through repentance.
Toward the end of reading, BECOMING FREE FROM THE JUDAS IN ME, I realized those areas of needed repentance from within my soul that can erode my relationship with Christ. But it is not with fear that I look at my heart, but with gratitude that I have a free will to make the changes that will bring me closer to Christ. We are all vulnerable and therefore, we all need to judge our hearts and allow God to make the changes in us that will bring us life instead of death through the embodiment of His Word.
My last thought as I completed the book, was one of sorrow that I didn't have this information many years ago when I faced the difficulties of a family member's depression and the fear-state it caused him. The path to healing may have been a smoother, less rocky path if Jim's book, BECOMING FREE FROM THE JUDAS IN ME, was available. However my sorrow quickly turned to joy with the reality that it is available now to give support to those who have all but lost their lives in a state of backsliding out of control. It is here to help bring them back to the living God, who forgives our sins as if they never were.
Taken From The Back Of Jim's Book:
"The seed of the Word of God still falls by the wayside, atop the stones and among the thorns. The devil is still a self-made heir of stolen truth, hopes and dreams, the light and life of mankind, and the fallen souls never to be acquainted with repentance, bound to broaden "the bowels of hell."
"While dwelling in a fallen state encumbered by Adam, do you feel condemned from a certain sin? After all, you weren't supposed to mess up!"
"While trying to forget a backslidden condition that is now under the shed blood of Christ, have you fought devils you never knew hell unleashed?"
"Have these fallen angels--now spirits of darkness--dare to cause you to think your sins have been too evil, too many, too frequent, or too continuous that Calvary refuses to come to your aid? You're not alone and there is help, you too can be free from what used to be 'The Judas in me.'"
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