Shake It Off: The Path to Live a Happy Life

By Tommy Ray Banks

God Is Shaking Us Into Something Better!

This book will teach you about God, Satan, yourself, the Bible, the church, sin, temptations, storms, and most importantly, how to shake it off. There are many sacred scriptures as well as reasonable explanations in every chapter. The whole point of this book is that we must shake it off. Turn that snake over to God and shake it off.
In divine light of our comparative study in Acts 28:5, “And he shook off the beast into the fire and felt no harm.” It is evident in verse 5 that Paul looked up and saw that snake in his hand. Now, what do you do when the snake hangs on? (Peace! There is no need to panic!) You do like Paul and shake the snake off into the fire. When people go out of their way to hurt you, you must shake it off.
You must, therefore, get closer, ever closer, to the greatness of Jesus Christ, the Savior of sinners, and allow him to guide you more, and ever deeper, into the mysteries of the gospel. You must be able to shake it off as a Christian. And allow your heart, therefore, to blossom in him.
Every Christian should read this book. If you enjoy reading the Bible, you will love the shake it off. This inspirational book takes you on a lifelong journey of genuine change and phenomenal growth. I recommend this for any reader, young or old.
The process of writing this book has been a pleasure, and I hope you enjoy reading it as well.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9781664274679

Tommy Ray Banks

Pastor TOMMY RAY BANKS is passionate about encouraging people to shake it off and keep moving forward. Focus on what matters most and live your life with Christ every day. Thanks for reading Shake It Off. A few things about me. I have served as a preacher for more than 38 years, pastoring congregations across four states. In addition to my preaching responsibilities, I also enjoy writing. I have written several small teaching books. Growing up, I developed a deep interest in learning and writing about the Word of God due to my experience as a born-again Christian. As a former member of the police force, l have received numerous awards and accolades during my time as a police officer. As for education, I hold a doctor of divinity degree in religious studies from Tennessee School of Religion Seminary. In my doctoral dissertation, I wrote about “A Study of the Christian Faith of Hope from the Perspective of an African American Person or Black Church Thinks.” My goal is to help people connect with God by providing tips, ideas, and examples taken from books of the Bible or a large section of the Scriptures.

Book preview

Copyright © 2022 Tommy Ray Banks.

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.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

844-714-3454

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 Getty Images are

models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Cover Graphics/Art Credit:

Book Cover Design Artwork –

Estelle J Professional Graphic Designs

(Joni Lane)

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International

Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973 1978 1984 2011 by Biblica, Inc.

TM. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-7466-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-7468-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-7467-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022914281

WestBow Press rev. date: 08/10/2022

In memory of the late Rev. James E. Smith, Sr.

Union Grove Missionary Baptist Church

Memphis, Tennessee

CONTENTS

Opening Prayer

Foreword

Introduction

Chapters

1   What To Do When You Feel A Shaking In The Spirit?

2   What To Do When The Snake Hangs On Your Hand?

3   In This Life (You Will Face Temptation)

4   What To Do When You Feel Hate In Your Heart?

5   What To Do When Trouble Comes Your Way?

6   What To Do When Friends Forsake You?

7   Shake Your Mind Free (While You Get Shaky)

8   Control Your Expectations (By Shaking Off Those Defeated Feelings)

9   Shake It Off Is Not A Choice (It Is Your Duty)

Conclusion: After Shaking Off Things, Now What?

Endnotes

Biography

Preface

Dedication

Special Dedication

Parents Dedication

Acknowledgments

Special Acknowledgments

Author’s Poem

About the Author

General Index

Scripture Index

Closing Prayer

Look For These Other Books By Tommy Ray Banks Sr.

OPENING PRAYER

"Dear Adonai (God our Creator),

Today, help us move forward and shake off the

anticipation of our excitement and distress.

Thank you for being our great Helper."

In Jesus’ name, I pray.

Amen!

FOREWORD

By

Wanda L. Banks

(Lady B.)

The author of this book is someone I want you to know. I have heard him preach Shake It Off, time after time after time, and every time he has trusted God and bravely done what needed doing. And he has only grown more in Christ and in his ability to live for the glory of God.

Now, this book is valuable because you are valuable. My dear husband, Pastor Tommy Banks, wrote this for you—to recognize you and encourage you to shake off things. Make you feel acknowledged, understood, and respected by giving you some fresh wind to blow into your sails.

Pastor Banks’ goal is to empower you and help you on the path to a happy and fulfilling life. He is glad this book is now in your hands. We pray that God will bless you!

Thank you for giving Pastor Banks the honor of serving you. May God bless you and keep you; make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May he continue to lift his eyes upon you and give you peace in the Holy Ghost.

Yours Sincerely in Spirit and Truth,

Lady B.

INTRODUCTION

The Paul Experience

THE BIBLE SAYS, And he SHOOK OFF the beast into the fire, and felt no harm (Acts 28:5). But how do we change our mindset to shake off things? What do we do?

The whole point of this book is that we must be able to SHAKE IT OFF. Turn that snake over to God and shake it off.

Sadly, too many people allow their situation to get the best of them. A lot of people let their circumstances get them down. You must be able to shake things off. It is important to shake it off and keep going. Don’t look back but look forward.

In all likelihood, you may have lost the friendship of your best friend. Maybe your boyfriend, girlfriend, or spouse cheated on you. Or you failed a test. It makes you want to give up. Whatever the case may be, you must be able to shake things off and bounce back when things get you down!

For your good, you must be able to roll with the punches! Consider this: the most significant test of life is the ability to adjust. In adjusting to your life, you must shake things off. And never let your problems make you sing the blues. It’s okay to shake off things when your religion has an outward show and minus of an inward glow. You must be able to shake it off.

In a competitive