The Process to the Promise: Lessons Learned While Understanding the Mysteries of God

By Brian Rhodes

The Process to the Promise is a straightforward read about how receiving the promises of God is seldom an easy journey. With anything worthy comes hard work, strong faith, and a process that must be endured. From conception to realization, God has a perfect plan and lessons to be learned. Are you ready to walk the path God has prepared for you? Are you willing to take the good with the bad? How about the great with the terrible? If you are, this collection is for you. Biblical and personal examples from the life of our author have been woven into a map that will help the reader navigate from beginning to end. This book will challenge, guide, and give you hope, knowing if God promised it, He will deliver it!

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Apr 14, 2016
• ISBN: 9781512737530

Brian Rhodes

Greetings my fellow travellers of the mystic alchemical sea, I am your host the alchemist, I am the poet of the eternity, and I am the pan dimensional bard. Alchemy is all about healing, it is about using the self as the crucible, it is a journey of sixty five levels, of sixty five signs, of five zodiacs, and of thirteen chakras. You too oh reader will be shown, will be activated into the core of alchemical methodology, and you will never be the same, we are moving vertically up the body. When upon hitting the thirteenth and last chakra, I will open them all up, I will spin them all, I will integrate them all into one, and then we add the fifth level where we expand outwards on the horizontal, thus becoming a true pan-dimensional being. I am telling you that each chakra has four signs assigned to it, and I start as we must at the earth, the connection, to where and who we are, our home, our place of planetary existence, and to further assist us all in the transformation of the alchemical energies I am using the Kundalini as the key of the secret and eternal energy that is usually asleep in most people and in some almost dead, it cannot be removed, it cannot be extracted, it is within the self purely with the desire and the intention to arise, to awaken and send its energetic pulse into the aura, the eternal being, the child that I/we are going to make.

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Copyright © 2016 Brian Rhodes.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

WestBow Press

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-3754-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-3755-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-3753-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016905596

WestBow Press rev. date: 04/13/2016

CONTENTS

Dedication

Introduction

Chapter 1    What Is A Promise?

Chapter 2    The Conception

Chapter 3    God’s Perfect Timing

Chapter 4    Your Waiting Season

Chapter 5    Preparation For Your Promise

Chapter 6    Protection Of The Promise

Chapter 7    The Process

Chapter 8    Your Response To The Process

Chapter 9    On The Brink

Chapter 10    Promise Fulfilled

Chapter 11    Where Do We Go From Here?

Acknowledgments

DEDICATION

I DEDICATE THIS BOOK TO MY GREATEST promises—my wife and children.

INTRODUCTION

P ROMISES—SUCH A SMALL, SEEMINGLY NOT-SO-DANGEROUS WORD. But in the wrong hands, a promise can become a bit of a nightmare, leaving broken hearts and mangled faith in its path. Those single, negative moments can have a lasting effect on a person’s faith, not only in fellow man but also in God and His ability to complete the work He proclaimed to do on our behalf.

There are certain times in our lives, both positive and negative, that stand out as pivotal moments. Such moments become embossed in our brain’s data bank, never to be forgotten—like the birth of a child, your wedding day, possibly the day you tragically lost someone who was very close to you. One such moment for me happened as I was riding in a fifteen-passenger van, surrounded by folks I still consider to be some of my closest friends. I was nineteen at the time. I’ll get into that story a little later. For now, let’s talk about the title of this book—The Process to the Promise.

I’m not really sure how others view their lives, but I find life goes through seasons and stages. Many times these seasons come with themes that seem to be set on repeat in my heart and mind. Admittedly, certain ideas tend to be stronger at times rather than others. This one particular theme, the promises of God, always seems to be coupled with whatever lesson God is trying to teach me. It has always been like a boomerang. I would catch it, throw it, and turn to walk off. A few seconds later, it flies right back and knocks me in the back of the head, leaving a slight headache and me wondering why it came back yet again. It took a few decades and continual mental concussions, but I finally began to realize these lessons were not only for me but also for others. I had been entrusted with lessons from my own life that I was supposed to share. God, in His infinite wisdom, was willing to take my meager offering and (sometimes) major mistakes and use them to minister to others and essentially bring Himself glory. Thus, The Process to the Promise was born.

It’s my hope and desire this book will become more than just a dust collector on some shelf or something used to stabilize a shaky coffee table. The promises of God are very real in your life. Whether you realize it or not, you are constantly involved in one of the steps of the process to your promise(s). Some of you will know exactly what I’m talking about, and you’re ready to get on with the information I’m going to share. You will begin to understand why you have been required to endure certain seasons of your life. Some things will finally begin to make sense.

What is a promise, really, and what makes something an actual promise from God? Why are promises so important? Is the promise the driving factor of what we do, or is something more important happening? What happens once the promise has been fulfilled? These are just a few of the topics I will touch on throughout this book. I realize it’s possible some of you chose to read this book because you were drawn based on what you are experiencing in your life right now. Some of you may be reading it because the book was given to you as a gift. Regardless, I firmly believe you have this book in your hands for a reason.

Before we start, I ask you to put this book down and begin your own personal prayer for revelation. God has a specific plan for your life, and it is my desire you discover that. Go ahead, put the book down for a moment and talk to your Creator by asking Him to manifest His works in your life.

Now, I also have a prayer I would like to pray over you before you continue reading:

Heavenly Father—I come before you humbly today, acknowledging the work you have done in my own life. I am blown away by the fact You would choose me to spread your message of hope and love. In the coming days and months, regardless of how long it takes each person to read this book, I ask You to send the Holy Spirit to minister to them and reignite a passion for You in them. I pray You will continue the work You have started and strengthen them on their journey, as they endure the process to their promise. Even in the future, when they may have completely forgotten this book ever existed, I pray they will learn to hold tight to Your hands as You guide them throughout their lives. Father, remind them You are working all things for their good, because they are called according to Your purpose. I bless Your Holy Name forever and thank you for your mercies that are new every morning. Amen.

I hope from this moment forward you will begin to realize and understand His promises over your life and how to endure the process that accompanies the impending fruition of such. I hope you walk away from this book learning how to better recognize when He’s speaking to you, just as He has to me. Though the process may seem very difficult at times, the eventual fulfillment of those promises will overshadow the hardship of the road that led to it. Come with me as I take you down a road with twists, turns, and wonderful revelation.

Welcome to this journey.

Chapter 1

WHAT IS A PROMISE?

T HE HUMAN BRAIN IS AN AMAZING work of art. Creating it so that it performs as it does is something only our God could do. Its ability to remember and recollect detailed memories about things that happened years ago is quite astounding. Those positive thoughts and memories can serve as encouragement on days when we question if the promises of God will actually come to pass. It is that same ability to recollect that begins my own personal story.

It was a defining moment in my life and my first true discernible understanding of God’s promises. It was a reminder like the story in Philippians 1:6, and it served as the foundation for all I have come to know about who He is. This was the beginning of truly knowing He is faithful to fulfill those promises and complete the work He started in me so long ago. Many moments of practice and preparation had gone into getting ready for this very occasion. In the days leading up to it, I had someone by my side encouraging me every step of the way. I still recall the gentle way she instructed me and guided me as I prepared; she offered no words of negativity or malice, only positive encouragement and reinforcement. It’s probably not what you’re expecting, but it was a pivotal moment for me. Honestly, I am not really sure how old I was, though I suspect I may have been around three or four years of age. My coach was my mom. Though there may have been other such instances, this was the first time I remember standing in front of the church to sing. I was lifted onto a metal folding chair just slightly behind the yellowish-stained pulpit in our church. She reached for the microphone attached to a bendable stand and handed it to me. I remember how cold it felt in my hand as I stared down at the foam cover that protected it. I was not scared or nervous, only ready to do what I had been preparing to do.

Only seconds later, we began singing: He’s got the whole world in His hands, He’s got the whole world in His hands … She gently sang behind me, though I remember confidently thinking, It’s okay, Mom. I can do this! I stared into smiling faces across that congregation of friends and family and continued on. In the midst of everything going on, I felt it. Though I was a child and didn’t quite understand at the time, I have no doubt it was the Holy Spirit. I remember having this feeling of being at home. Sure, I had been in this church since the day I was born, but it was more than that. It had nothing to do with the building per se,