DISCLAIMER: I received a FREE PRODUCT in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed herein are my own and not influenced by the company or individual, and/or its affiliates, nor was I compensated in any other way.
This is a first for me, the opportunity to review a book written by one of my best friends. This is a friend who texts me deep truths when I’m on my knees weeping and praying for my child. The friend who leaves her work to watch my children so I can seek help for an unexpected anxiety attack. A friend who always, always points me to Jesus when my eyes are on the storm. It is an honor to share her book with our readers at the Harlow Hearth, because I see her LIVE these words.
Abide – The day-to-day demystification of holiness by Sarah Kinzer is a 40-day devotional to discover that holy living is possible in the here and now. Drawing from the lives of Joshua, Peter, Jesus, and her own experiences, Sarah shows her readers that holiness is not “a mystical secret available to a select few, but an intimacy available to all.”
Each day’s reading starts with a Scripture followed by a devotional drawn heavily from more supporting Scripture and insight and ends with a question(s) to contemplate, with space to write in your answers. The third day is titled HEAVEN OR EARTH? Using Romans 6:22-23, Sarah shares her own battle of living a life on the defense, never the offense. “I would find myself failing, find myself doing what I did not want to do and not doing what I should, dragging myself over and over to the foot of the cross… I believed heaven was for holiness, which unfortunately meant I was living a hellish existence.”
Calling us back to the Garden of Eden where God and humanity lived in holy intimacy, Sarah relates Genesis to Romans and the call to live holy planted in the center of it all.
“The result of becoming a slave to righteousness is eternal life.” Is speaks of immediate, not after obtaining heaven. “The gift of eternal life is given at the moment of salvation and, the benefit you reap leads to holiness.”
The secret Sarah discovered was to stop leaving the foot of the cross to begin with. To remain, to abide, in the presence of her Savior.
Abide means to remain stable or fixed in a state. To continue in a place, sojourn.
“The presence of the Lord was once something I chased out to the mountains or in a sanctuary. I traveled to the ends of the earth and pronounced, “He is here!” I lifted worship songs up like stones to peek under in search of that nearness. However, in my new arrangement, (of abiding) I simply take in a breath and find Him there.”
Throughout the book, Sarah doesn’t just talk about abiding, she gives practical insight on how to abide so readers are inspired and encouraged to also live in the presence of God, while also understanding the fallen nature of our world.
Chapters include:
- From Creation
- The Choice
- Heaven Or Earth
- Is It Possible
- First Things First
- The Name of Salvation
- Delay Is Not Denial
- Do Not Leave
- Abide
- Where Should I Remain
- Be With You
- What Next
- But Really, Is It Possible
- Wait A Minute?
- Spirit Falls
- It Wasn’t The Wine
- Simon, Son Of John
- A New Creation
- What Exactly Am I Looking For
- Discipline
- The Hardest Word
- The First Mountain
- The Second Mountain
- Holy Shakedown
- Reverence and Awe
- Defense To Offense
- I Am A Slave
- How Then Should I Behave
- What’s In A Name
- Sin Happens
- Perfectly Perfected
- How Then Should I Repay
- The Spirit: A Proper Introduction
- Who Is The Father
- Who Is The Son
- Who Is He
- The Work Of The Spirit
- The Evidence
- The Harvest
- To Me, To You
- In Conclusion
It has been an absolute JOY to walk with Sarah through the writing and publishing of her book. She handed me a copy with tears in her eyes, vulnerability knowing I had committed to consuming her words as an “unknown reader,” but with confidence that these were inspired words to share with a hungry world.
I read it through once, and then a second time. I know this will be a book handy on my shelf for many years so I can return to it again and again as a reminder to abide in the presence of God.
This book is available in paperback and ebook. You can purchase a copy here.
great review
Thank you!