As background for mine, I had been reading a lot peoples' accounts of their near death experiences and after reading Heaven is For Real I was still hungry for more. I found a similarly titled book, Heaven is Real, But So Is Hell by Vassula Ryden, and couldn't resist checking it out, especially so after the impact that My Descent Into Death: A Second Chance At Life had on me.
One book leads to another, and when I finally started reading the messages in True Life In God, I was blown away. I had no trouble believing that God had chosen a mouthpiece, so to speak, for our time, to speak to us in our modern language, given what the world was going through and how far it has degenerated.
And, despite the atheists in my life, I have no trouble accepting the supernatural, as that is obviously what the Holy Trinity, Heaven, the hierarchy of angles, etc. are all about.
None the less, the Bible had always been difficult for me to understand. I read it and, seeing it literally as I did, along with the trouble I had with King James English, it made little sense.
And as an added bonus, I had learned in a college history class that the Puritans supposedly would have said someone like me with such difficulty wasn't one of the chosen.
Oh well...too bad, so sad, sucks to be me. Besides, it wasn't like I saw a lot of Christians while growing up who were actually living what they claimed they believed in, which added to my difficulty. Being adopted by an atheist with even stronger issues with preachers and holier than thou christians, added to my cross I didn't even know I had.
The material I've been reading lately, primarily the NDEs and now the messages in TLIG, along with a parallel Bible to look up all the quotes and references in TLIG, have changed my understanding.
Like I said, I have no trouble believing she was chosen to do what she's doing. I know that there is much more to the world than most of us can see or sense and I have lived why there is a need for God's Mouthpiece at this time.
I was very excited to share TLIG with everyone and I am so naive that I was completely surprised that others didn't have the same reactions I did, the same amazement and wonder. A sign of our times, I think, but it still surprises me now within some circles.
Apologies for more info than you likely want or need, but I thought I should offer a second opinion for you or anyone else who might be curious.
Your posts on this have offered a window to a view I couldn't see very well before. Thank you for showing it to me. It's helpful.
There are lots more versions out there than the King James.
I prefer the English Standard Version. It's written in contemporary English at an adult (not 8th grade) level.
God promises us blessings for meditating on His word.
I know others who have had trouble understanding Scripture and there are parts that can be difficult to understand.
I've been memorizing Scripture for some time now and the Psalms are a great place to start.
Also, for easier reading in the NT, the gospels and the book of Acts.
Read the word. Not ABOUT the word.
Pray when you read and ask that the Holy Spirit give you insight.
Keep a notebook and pen on hand and when you read, if something stands out or jumps out at you, write it down and stop reading there and meditate on that for a while.
I can't tell you how often I've read a passage and when God wants to show me something, it jumps off the page and I wonder how I never saw it before, now that it's so obvious.
It all takes time. A lifetime is not enough to begin to glean what we can from it and there's always something new to learn.
Religious literary works have their place but there's a danger in letting them supplant the Word itself.
It's cool to read about other's experiences, but it's even cooler when God works in OUR own lives. Christianity is not a spectator sport.
I wouldn't worry about others opinions of yourself.
The Puritans were very strict and I doubt they'd approve of anyone these days.