About the Book
"RETURN" by Karen Kingsbury is the second book in the "Redemption" series, following the story of a young couple, Luke and Reagan Baxter, as they navigate challenges in their marriage and face unexpected twists and turns. The novel explores themes of forgiveness, faith, and redemption as the characters struggle with past mistakes and strive to rebuild their relationship. Ultimately, "RETURN" delivers a heartfelt and inspiring message about the power of love and second chances.
Henry Alline
Henry Allineâs early years
He was born and received his early education in Newport, Rhode Island and his family moved to Nova Scotia in 1760, when he was 12 years old. When he was nine he began to read theological works and became somewhat mystical, but after years of soul-searching and spiritual conflict he was powerfully converted in 1775, simultaneously receiving a call to the ministry.
Alone and desperate he prayed untilâŚâredeeming love broke into my soul⌠with such power that my whole soul seemed to be melted down with loveâŚand my will turned of choice after the infinite God. A year later he began to preach.
His preaching career
His preaching career lasted until his death eight years later. He was an itinerant preacher in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island in an ever-widening circuit, beginning what became known as the âNew Lightâ movement and which is still the greatest revival that Canada has ever seen. He preached the new birth powerfully and effectively and his admirers compared him to George Whitefield and John the Baptist.
Considered an emotional and dangerous fanatic by some and a âravager of congregations,â the Congregationalists withdrew his right to preach in their churches, so he spoke in barns, houses and the open air. In all he began eight âNew Lightâ Congregational churches based on his non-Arminian but anti-Calvinist views of free-will and predestination, and his strong rejection of outward religious form.
Ironically, despite his indifference regarding baptism, his major 19th century influence was amongst the Baptists of eastern Canada, many of whom were his converts.
Despite possibly unorthodox views and methods, his ministry was without doubt that of an extraordinary revivalist.
Allineâs sermon style was always simple and extemporary, using a few simple, understandable points to help the unchurched to grasp the simple truths of the gospel. As with other itinerant revivalists, his objective was to lead the hearers to a point of decision â to accept or reject Christ as Saviour and Lord, which opened the door to the ânew birth.â
Doubtless, his sermons were repeated over time, but he was never in one place long enough for his listeners to notice.
Alline also employed the ministry of prayer and of singing, writing many hymns which were helpful in communicating the gospel. A collection was gathered after his death and was reprinted at least four times in the United States, and several were included in the standard hymnals of the 19th century.
What Cravings Will Take from You
We spend our lives with hands out and mouths open, looking for what we might consume. This is our experience as humans, in part because of how God designed us: we eat because our bodies require energy, and we reach with gentle affection for those we love out of a shared hunger for relationships. Weâre born in need, and our desires, implanted by God himself (Acts 17:24â27), send us on a search for fullness of joy. Our desires, however, so easily turn into obsessions, leading us into wild over-consumption (James 4:1â3). Our desires become cravings, the ultimate pursuit and point of life itself. Rather than signals meant to send us off in exploration for the original source of joy (Psalm 16:11), they instead become taskmasters, demanding our undivided loyalty and taking our peace and joy right along with them. In our unchecked drive to consume, we ourselves become the ones consumed. My Primary (False) Allegiance When we donât allow our desires to send us seeking fullness of joy from the source of all joy â God himself â we develop an allegiance to false kings. My primary false allegiance is to the love and admiration that come from other people. I crave validation, and I find myself performing for it like a circus animal. This is how Iâve come to know just how much Iâve allowed this false king to rule over me: the past few years have been brutal, full of confusion and emotional pain. Somewhere along the way, my heart, bowing before this false king, started aching for belonging. I started wondering if my presence mattered as a person and not as a performance. I started wondering if I was truly known. I started wondering if anyone might notice my need. My deep self-focus drew me further and further inside, and at some point I simply disengaged my heart. If I couldnât have what I craved, I would not give of myself any longer. I began to look back at who I once was and how passionately Iâd loved others, and I wanted so badly to be that person again. But I couldnât manufacture love, and I started to believe that joy would never come again. My heart instead felt hard and apathetic, looking to be served, noticing every slight, envying the belonging of others. False Kings Only Take The trouble for an idolatrous heart (and the gift for the repentant heart) is that God will stubbornly interrupt and intercept our pursuit of joy as we seek it in anything less than him. He will not give us lasting peace in our false allegiances, because he is jealous for us to have the actual peace weâre pursuing. In those years of struggle, a chorus of people could have sung my praises, and it never would have settled as peace in my heart. Anytime a friend offered a word of encouragement, my mind immediately turned to panic: âWhat must I do to keep that love?â Or Iâd think, âWhat about the one who didnât voice encouragement? How do I win her over?â I was so hungry and thirsty that I was withering away, consumed by what I was trying to consume. False kings never give; they only take. Kings Who Take When the prophet Samuel was growing old, the Israelites worried about their future. Samuel had mediated for them well as both priest and prophet before God, but they needed a new leader, and humanly speaking, there were no options available. Samuelâs sons, the next sure thing for the nation, didnât walk in the ways of the Lord, so the elders sought answers by looking around at how other nations were structured. They approached Samuel with their solution: âNow appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nationsâ (1 Samuel 8:5). At first glance, this doesnât seem like such a bad request, but Scripture says it displeased Samuel, and it also displeased God, because the elders hadnât thought to bring God into their calculations (1 Samuel 8:6â9). Did they not already have a King? They had, in effect, spurned the perfect rule of the One whoâd delivered, provided for, led, and protected them, and theyâd turned in their desire toward another option. They werenât ready to reject God entirely. They just wanted him plus a safe, tangible plan B king like everyone else around them. Samuelâs response is a fair warning to us as well about plan B kings: they will only take from you. Samuel warns that a king appointed by people takes sons and sends them to war, takes children and turns them into slave labor, takes daughters into his service, and takes crops in order to feed his servants (1 Samuel 8:10â17). Samuel knows what false kings do: they take our best and then make us their slaves. Kingdoms with Two Kings We tend to believe the same as the Israelite elders: What will it hurt to have God and also hedge our bets a little? We want to believe we can pledge allegiance to King Jesus and also throw our heart to human kings or human things. But the Bible is plain: No one can serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). A divided kingdom cannot stand (Matthew 12:25). Jesus is our king, not merely a wise consultant we turn to when we need to know what to do. And as the Israelite leaders show us, a divided heart is actually not divided at all: it has already chosen sides. A divided heart is one thatâs spurned God. We turn toward false kings who we think will give us comfort, security, belonging, approval, validation, love, sexual gratification â but in the end they only take. They promise life but give death. Consumed to Satisfy But God. Through Jesus Christ, he made a way for us out of this death spiral, giving us a direction to point our desires, providing something we can consume that doesnât consume us in return. Jesus came saying, Repent and believe (Mark 1:15). His words were an invitation, a stretched-out hand, an open door for us to enter with him into the kingdom of God. Jesus came saying, This is my body, broken for you. This is my blood, poured out for you (Luke 22:19â20). Feed on me (John 6:51â58). Jesus was consumed by death precisely so that we would feast on him. This king is called Bread of Life (John 6:35) and Living Water (John 4:13â14), so we might know we can, in our hunger, eat, and in our thirst, drink. When we consume him, we find ourselves consuming his good rule, loving provision, and peaceful reign. We cannot reach the end of him, but in him we can certainly satisfy the longing underlying all of our desires: the longing for joy. The King Who Gives The Israelites placed a mirror before my heart, helping me see my false allegiances clearly. My actions were their actions: turning toward kings who couldnât fulfill their promises. Like them, my desires and needs werenât all wrong; what had been wrong was where I turned with them. I turned in repentance to Jesus and found joy again in allegiance to him. Do you have a need? A desire? Submit it totally to King Jesus. He doesnât just require our allegiance, as if obedience is a form of punishment or something through which we grit our teeth. His demand of wholeheartedness is an invitation to receive what is his: the very kingdom (Matthew 5:3). He opens his treasury to us, sharing his peace, love, joy, life, and fruitfulness. And perhaps best of all, we receive his allegiance in return (Romans 8:38â39; Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5). He is a king who gives. Article by Christine Hoover
