- Understanding the Journey from Shadow to Substance.

A relatively short book at only 128 pages. I was somewhat curious because I've heard of the psychological term regarding our 'shadow self' but not in the context of Christianity.

Here are some notes from the book:

1 Peter 2:9: "...him who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light."

"What you are doing now is a shadow of things to come."

"Move into the light and then the shadow of what you were doing before will lose its appeal."

"Learn to recognize our own gifts, and those in others, and develop them."

"Recognize the spark of things you should be doing."

"Our Calling is to not stay in the wilderness."

"Our natural gifts begin to emerge at a very early age."

"Develop/cultivate your potential."

The term "In Christ" or "Through Christ" makes me uncomfortable because what does this even mean? Or, what do people who believe it think it means? I could even assert that so-called Christians are mistaken about what it means. Therefore the statement on p.43 makes little sense: "The only way to move from the shadow to the substance is through Christ." [one could look up "sacred secretion" on Youtube and uncover a whole new perspective, one that doesn't appear to be laid down in black and white in the Bible.]

"Before Christ only Jews were God's people." What if this is still true but by labelling people, or ourselves, we're deluding ourselves?

p.54 "...less and less people are attracted by the teaching of the Word, and more and more are running after conceptual truths...  Some churches are just keeping Christians occupied with navel gazing and have exchanged the God of the Bible for a father Christmas figure with his hands full of presents." The risk of "Conforming to the pattern of the world."

"Failure and discouragement can tempt us back into the shadow."

p.85 I am somewhat curious about the staff of Moses (and other such figures) and here the author refers to Moses' time "dying" in the wilderness (40 years) when "he met his Creator who led him back to his substance" where the staff is referred to as his Gift; we all have our gifts and that they must work together with our purpose in life.

p.91 Blaming the devil for your struggles... the ultimate curse; this could mean your life is focused on the past and not on the future [or the present].

p.92 1 Kings 17 - ravens

p.93 "The love of lifestyle and the comfort of money can stop us from getting into the substance of the Lord's promise for us... The enemy of our souls knows ... only too well and he will try every trick in the book to keep us busy [and distracted] with the mundane affairs of life."

p.96 "Another obstacle that can prevent us from moving from shadow to substance is the trap of trying to negotiate with God... We [might be] ready to do God's work, but on our terms. We pretend that we are following the Lord, when in fact we are trying to get Him to follow us and our agenda."

p.98 A loss of appetite for godly things.

p.100 Becoming or being a spectator.

p.102 Breaking down the alters.

p.115 "Giving yourself over to something you're not leaves you tired, burdened and disillusioned [and weary]."