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Thou Shall: Freedom to Strip Away the "Nots" and Discover What God Really Wants

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THOU SHALL NOT. The Ten Commandments are vital pillars of Christianity, but building a life entirely on not doing leaves much of God's purpose for your life undone. A fresh look at the Bible reveals significantly more "Thou Shall" callings from God than "Thou Shall Not" directives.  A vibrant Christian life is far more about active faith than passive avoidance of sin. The biblical God is defined by movement and action. Jesus's life teaches engagement, sacrifice, and service. God calls us to go, act, advocate, and serve. THOU SHALL.Jamie Snyder is lead pastor of Lakeside Christian Church where he preaches and teaches to thousands on a weekly basis. Though he has many titles—husband, father, preacher, writer, bookworm, table tennis player extraordinaire—the most significant one, by far, is child of God. He resides with his wife and three children in Kentucky.

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2014

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Jamie Snyder

7 books3 followers

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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Profile Image for Anne Snyder.
151 reviews1 follower
December 31, 2016
A nice anti-legalism book. Points out good facts like you'll view God however you view your earthly father, and how it's important to love people even if they have bed bugs, etc.
Profile Image for Dawn.
35 reviews
August 20, 2014
Thou Shall: Freedom to strip away the “nots” and discover what God wants by Jamie Snyder

This book has caused a paradigm shift in my thinking. I want to strive to be a sheep and not a goat. God has called us in The Great Commission to go and do, not sit and watch.

The author, Jamie Snyder, is lead pastor of Lakeside Christian Church in Kentucky. He holds many more titles; husband, father and most importantly child of God

In this book Pastor Snyder reminds us that our God is not just a Thou Shall Not God but a God of love who loved us so much that he gave his only Son to die for our sins. We are to see The Ten Commandments as a guardrail and that we shouldn't live in sin avoidance but to live as Jesus would have. We should, as he says, “put on your fire suit and crash helmet” to be on the move as God wants us. We should care for people, love our neighbors, that doesn't mean to sit and think about it but actively do something. We all have someone in our lives that need help in some way, help them. James calls us to look after orphans and widows in their distress. Pastor Snyder believes, at this time, that we should include single parents. One thing I particularly liked, “There is great danger when we begin to feel superior to others because of something as shallow as what we wear or when we look down on others because of what they choose to put on.”

I would recommend this book to everyone!! This book will change your life, it did mine.
Profile Image for Jen.
3,465 reviews27 followers
March 28, 2015
I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't what I got when I picked up this book to read it. Now, I'm going through a rather rough patch at work and this book spoke to me in a way that really helped my perception in what I have been going through. It may not speak to others in the same way, but the information in the book is sound. It is worth the read, definitely.

I liked the "verbs" of worshipping God. "Go" and "Abide" really stuck with me. Also, I really enjoyed his discussion of the words "hypocrite" and "judging". "Hypocrite", not someone who struggles with sin, but someone who pretends to NOT struggle with it. "Judging", to be done IN the church to keep sin from cropping up in it, NOT to be done with those outside of the church. Love those outside of the church INto the church.

I love his discourse on sin, on being an active participant in relationship with God. I wish I had more time to read it in undisturbed chunks, but reading it little by little still worked.

This is a keeper and a re-read. I'm sure I'll catch more each time I read it. Very good book, one I would recommend to anyone who wants to know that Christianity isn't all about the "don'ts", but about the "do-s". Solid five stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and David C. Cook for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.
Profile Image for Michelle Kidwell.
Author 36 books85 followers
December 13, 2014
Thou Shall
Freedom to Strip Away the "Nots" and Discover What God Really Wants
Jamie Snyder
David C Cook
David C. Cook
Pub Date   Sep 1 2014

We are reminded in this book that there is a relationship between our understanding of God and our level of faith.  We are reminded too that God's commands are there to help us live life not prevent us from doing so.

Jamie Snyder shows us that perhaps instead of focusing on what God does not want us to do (that is not to say we break his commands) we focus more on b what the Lord wants us to do.  

The reflect and discuss questions at the end of a chapter make this for a great group study book and the questions also make for good journalling excercises.

The author reminds us that we as the church are called to bring the world hope.

If you are looking for a book to help you grow in your Christian walk then Jamie Snyder's Thou Shall is a must read...

Happy Reading
963 reviews27 followers
April 15, 2015
When I first started reading this book, I thought it was going to be another one of those discourses on how all our sins are always forgiven and we shouldn't worry about the times we slip. In my opinion, that leads to a life of doing what you want and not caring at all how you behave.

Instead, the author clearly states that he isn't telling Christians to sin. He's telling them instead that God wants them to also go out in the world and be a force for helpfulness to a hurting world.

While reading this book, I have felt conviction for being one of those who work hard to have a life as free of sin as possible, but not really doing much to help others.

I highly recommend this book to Christians everywhere. The world is a mess, and we need to do more.

Profile Image for randoll d moore.
5 reviews
February 15, 2016
Not just a list of don'ts

In the book "Thou Shall" we look past the long list of religious do nots and look toward the freedom of what God is empowering us to do. Many times we forget that God is a God of action, this book will help us to see the blessings that come from serving, from going l, from reaching, and from being an advocate. If you are tired of viewing Christianity as a list of do nots then I recommend this book to shed light on the wonderful opportunities that God has provided.
Profile Image for Caitlin.
108 reviews7 followers
January 30, 2015
I loved reading this book. It really opens your eyes and changes the way you view the "Thou Shall Nots". He talks about a few things that are not brought up a lot, which are the things God asks you to do. So many times we focus so much on what God says we can't do, that we ignore what He asked us to do. I highly recommend this.
Profile Image for Jacob Coldwell.
Author 3 books2 followers
May 4, 2015
Good intentions

More of a religious book where the author spends a lot of time talking about behaviors rather than a relationship with God. Really isn't much to do with the Ten Commandments.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews

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