Set Apart

By Maggie Casola

In Set Apart, Magdalene Casola lays out her spiritual journey to Jesus Christ. It was a long journey with a lot of twists and turns, successes and setbacks, but it led directly to the throne of God. As the saying goes, hindsight is twenty-twenty, and looking back, Ms. Casola can now recognize how God had always had His hand on her life. Just as He does for every person that picks up His book! God wants to be a part of our lives desperately! We misunderstand Him, misunderstand our place in this world, and misunderstand the plan that God has for each and every one of us to bring us closer to Him. For anyone who can't seem to derive lasting fulfillment from the ways of this world, who is always left with the sensation that there must be more to it than this, this book offers biblical explanation as to why that is. We were born into this world, and yet we are not of it. We are just passing through--the big question is, to what? Ms. Casola offers her own experiences coupled with the promises of God as outlines in the Bible to help you navigate your path to inexplicable joy and the peace that surpasses all understanding.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9781685269531

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title

Copyright

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

About the Author

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Set Apart

Maggie Casola

ISBN 978-1-68526-952-4 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-68526-953-1 (Digital)

Copyright © 2023 Maggie Casola

All rights reserved

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books

11661 Hwy 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

Introduction

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9)

Even as a young girl, I couldn't shake the feeling that I didn't belong here—that this was not my home so to speak. Everyone seemed so different than me; I had a hard time really fitting in. I had friends, and we hung out like most kids do, at skating rinks and the like, but I always felt as if I were on the outside looking in. I did things I knew I shouldn't do, not because I wanted to do them, just because everyone else was doing it, and what else could I do except to stay home and watch TV with my parents? Some kids really enjoyed doing acts of mayhem—throwing bottles at things, etc. Not me. I was an onlooker. An outsider.

It wasn't easy finding people that were like me, or even understood me. Don't mistake me—I am no different really than anyone else. I believe at our core, we all tend to feel this way, at least those of us who are searching for a connectedness in our lives that is truly difficult to find. Lord knows we search for it—we may search for it in other people, in positions we hold, in our loved ones or in our accomplishments. If you have found long-lasting fulfillment in any of those and managed to feel completely free at the same time, congratulations. For me, that was never the case.

My standards were even as a young child different from most others. One of my earliest memories occurred when I was five years old. I was at day camp and my best friend (at that time) and I were in the pool along with a bunch of other children. Excuse me for starting out my book with this somewhat distasteful story, but here goes: I noticed her squatting low in the corner of the pool, and then lo and behold, from the depth of the water up pops a number two. As you can imagine, for a group of five-year-olds this was an extraordinarily big deal. Screaming and squealing, everyone went running out of the pool the moment the dastardly deed made a visible appearance. Naturally the counselors had to empty the pool, and our water playtime was cut terribly short on this hot summer afternoon because of my soon-to-be former best friend.

But that wasn't what upset me.

What upset me is what happened next. Here we were, all chatty, giddy little five-year-old girls, being corralled back to the locker room to change out of our bathing suits. The subject of who could have possibly been to blame for this event was all anybody wanted to talk about. Everybody was speculating! Apparently I was the only one who saw the culprit. I didn't say anything, but I watched as my very best friend lied to all the other girls—acting in disbelief and horror as to who might possibly have been the one to defile the pool and ruin everybody's afternoon. I think it may have been the very first lie I have ever seen in action. I didn't like it.

I never spoke to her again.

So you see, I probably really didn't belong down here on this planet where lies are commonplace and truth is scarce. My all-time favorite movie is It's a Wonderful Life. We watch it every Christmas Eve without fail. There is a line in there where George Bailey's father says to him, You were born old, George. George doesn't understand it, so he asks his father to say it again. You were born old. I really get that line. I was born old! The New Agers like to say you have an old soul. No, your soul isn't old. You have a God-given sense of wisdom that you may not even appreciate yet.

Perhaps you have felt this way too, though. As if you are playing a character in a play—you are either acting like somebody else or none of what is going on around you really matters because as soon as the play is over, everyone is going home.

Of course, there are a lot of people who do belong here. They get caught up in this world and the drama everyone else seems to be living out. They say things like, You can't win unless you're in the game! Just Do It! as the Nike slogan suggests. Or Believe in yourself! They don't want to be left out in the cold, so they go along and do whatever they need to do to stay ahead of the pack in this rat race called life. Do not be deceived by what you see. Underneath these motivational slogans are usually a good number of depressed, overly anxious, or distraught individuals.

Once in the rat race, one can commit on several different levels. One might be a lagger—in the race, not really excelling but keeping up just enough so as not to be completely left behind and forgotten. Not really drinking the Kool-Aid, as they say, or at least not really enjoying drinking the Kool-Aid but drinking just enough to maintain one's status in the race.

One can be a sojourner—not in the in crowd of champions, on a first-name basis with the bigger rats. Not too shameful in performance. Somewhat on the outskirts of the business dealings, but invited to the meetings so still feeling pretty important. Willing to go just far enough to do what has to be done to pay the bills, be invited to the important parties, and mingle with the beautiful people. These sojourners are never really at peace with the whole thing, but mostly, they feel like they have no choice but to play along.

Next come the runners-up. They are right up there in the front of the pack of the rat race, but they aren't calling the shots. They are the henchmen, if you will. Following orders, never batting an eye, no matter how ugly things get. Big shots as compared to all the underlings but definitely not in charge. Great at covering up tracks not just for themselves but for those they respect and admire.

Finally, the leaders of the pack. The power squad. They are the puppeteers of the world, pulling all the strings. It's not enough to be in power and swimming in money and beautiful things; they savor control like a drug, and they seemingly can never get enough of it. They get high on removing power from others. And most everyone else in the pack all the way down the line will do anything they say. This is just a handful of rats, but they run the whole race. Or at least they think they do.

Nobody wants to be thrown out of the pack.

I, on the other hand, never wanted to be in the pack in the first place.

I just wanted a peaceful, comfortable life, with security, honesty, and love.

Guess what I found out? The world doesn't offer that. Maybe for a little while, but not for long.

But there is someone who does offer that! I may have found it out a little late, but this quest is not a race; you can finish last and still get the prize. The reward is peace, joy, and true love. No one in the rat race ever experiences that for very long.

I am talking about the prince of peace. This life is fraught with turmoil, sickness, death, wickedness, and deception, but He offers a promise of eternal reward. He may not bring it the way you expect it in this lifetime, but He is a God who sticks by His promises. He does not lie, and He has plans for you to prosper you and not to harm you if you take the time to get to know Him and align yourself with Him. He is good, so you will never be asked to do anything that will come back to bite you later.

His name is Jesus.

For me, it took fifty-five years to surrender to Jesus, and looking back, I can only wish I had woken up much sooner.

I know now that I never belonged to this world. I was meant for a much better kingdom than that of man. So as beautiful as this earth can be, and as much as I love those whom I love, I now live somewhat detached from it. Because I know there is something much better on the other side of this thing called life. The other side of eternity is much longer than a lifetime, so as important as all this may seem, it is but a drop in the bucket when compared to the eternity.

If you are in the rat race, if you are loving the rat race, and if you can't imagine living without all the other rats that you run with, well this book is probably not for you.

However, if you aspire to be part of something so much bigger—greater than anything we can see or even imagine—if you are looking for true peace in this world, well, there is only one source: Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (John 14:3)

Chapter 1

The Church Has Left the Building

Don't confuse church with Jesus. Jesus is perfect. The church, not so much.

I was born a Roman Catholic, was dragged to church by my grandmother and mother most Sundays as a child, and when I got older pretty much just during Easter and Christmas. I did receive my sacraments and certainly always did believe in God and Jesus Christ. In hindsight, that and fifty cents doesn't buy much of anything. And while I had a respect for God and a yearning for something greater than myself, a sense of knowing there was more to life than that which we can see, touch, hear, or feel, I really had no idea who God was or what He expected of me.

Nonetheless, I considered myself a good person. I never doubted that I would go to heaven—I never committed any crime or obscene offense. I am divorced, but hey, aren't most people? I pretty much assumed God loved me just the way I was and never questioned that He would invite me to spend eternity with Him whenever that day should arrive. I made the grave mistake of comparing myself to other people and thinking I was better behaved than most. God has not lowered His standards.

My mistake—a mistake that many of you are making I am sure—is that I was measuring God by the standard of man. The Bible tells us God made man in His image, but we have decided to remodel God into man's image! Man's standards are ridiculously low. In fact, over the last several decades our moral standards have been basically a race to the bottom. We are okay with aborting near-term babies. We have accepted all kinds of relationships and premarital sex as normal. We elevate political correctness over morality. Just because we have changed, that does not mean God has changed. In fact, the Bible tells us unequivocally: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

Measuring God by our own standards is a huge mistake that can cost you an eternity.

And it wasn't until the ripe old age of fifty-two that I came to the understanding and realization that all this Bible stuff just has to be real! It took me fifty-two years to open up a Bible and read it. When I did, my jaw dropped open. I didn't even understand half of it, and yet I was amazed, convinced, and repentant. While many Christians can quote a line or two from the Bible, few have read the Bible in its entirety. Can you read a few paragraphs of a novel and claim to understand the entire thing? I doubt it. Just imagine how much more complicated God is than your garden variety novel!

Now I don't necessarily blame Christians fully for this neglect or misunderstanding of their faith. It seems to me that the church is at least in part to blame. Without singling out any one Christian denomination, let me point out that many of the church services I have attended are perfunctory, exalt form over substance (performing the rituals of the prayers, the Eucharist, etc.), try to give a short excerpt from the Bible and somehow relate it to your life (sometimes a hit, often a miss), and attempt to get you in and out in forty-five minutes or so, so that you can feel that you performed your Christian obligation and can get on with your life.

At the opposite extreme are the churches that spend more effort on their music, their coffee bar, their activities, and their fundraising than they do educating their congregation about the full gospel of Jesus Christ. Many churches like to keep it light. They don't want to offend anyone.

Guess what? Jesus offended people.

That's why they crucified Him.

What is missing from many of these churches is the Holy Spirit. Once I started looking for a church that was free from the dogma—but true to scripture—I not only began to understand the Bible, but I began to crave understanding the Bible. At this point, I have had the pleasure of experiencing several different types of Christian services—Baptist, Episcopalian, Pentecostal, nondenominational, Assembly of God—and I believe there are both truthful and less than truthful churches in almost every denomination. Yet many churches of many denominations have gotten so far away from Jesus that I am certain He would rebuke them the very same way He did the Pharisees back in the day. Some of it is political dogma, and if you don't think that churches can be political, think again. Even nondenominational churches can submerse themselves in concerns that pull them away from the Bible. Any church with a board of elders who determines the path of the church over the leadership of the pastor is playing with unholy fire. Yes, naturally, all churches have the need to build a congregation—someone has to pay for the building, the lights, the pastor, etc. But too many are willing to water down the Bible and tell people what they want to hear to fill the pews rather than what they need to hear to be saved.

Now let's face it, churches are made of people. And people are imperfect. And as such, churches are imperfect. As I get deeper and deeper into the Bible, I realize that it is actually very difficult to find a church that is true to scripture and that loves the way Jesus loved, a sincere love that does not forsake truth. And believe me, I have attended more than my fair share of churches in the search. Some bordered on blasphemy. Others were more about entertainment—great music, strobe lights, a theatrical pastor. But Jesus, well, He was more of an honorable mention than the headliner.

The scriptures are all we have to learn about Jesus and His ministry. You don't want a church that adds to that, takes away or ignores some of it, or interprets it in light of new developments and cultures or reinvents the Bible based on modern values. When you start to dive deep into the Bible, you will be astounded at how relevant its teachings are to us today, despite all of the modern developments. That is because people are the same. And so is God. What's more, you see the historical issues involving kings and prophets that played out in the Bible playing themselves out again and again—as if God has given us a template to show us what has happened and what will happen again and just how God views that as a guide as to how we are to handle it.

What has been will be again,

what has been done will be done again;

there is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

God is so good, so loving, that He literally has given us a blueprint of His plan of redemption. Yes, my friend, this is all about redemption. Man fell in the garden, and we are still paying for that. God has a plan, however. If you read the Bible, you will see trailers that are built into our history and into our scriptures, shadows if you will, of what is happening now and what will happen again. It's all laid out carefully in the book. To ignore it is to ignore the greatest prophetic work ever written (about 25 percent of the Bible is prophecy, most of which has already come to pass).

Unless your heart is granite hard, it is very difficult to read the passages of the Bible and tell yourself that it is anything other than the inspired word of God—despite that it was written by men (a criticism I hear all too often, usually from people who haven't even attempted to read the entire Bible!). With over forty authors who all lived at various time periods and came from such different walks of life, there is a fluidity and confirmation from book to book that is far too perfect to be the work of anyone other than God.

Many of us will believe that a psychic medium can talk to the dead but refuse to believe that the apostles wrote the Gospel under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit. Does that make sense to you?

Jesus himself despised religion. The institution of religion is subject to corruption because man is corrupt. Religion lends itself all too readily to a grandiose, holier-than-thou mindset. Jesus is too often forced to take a back seat to illustrious religious dignitaries dressed in ostentatious, bejeweled robes and who perform bombastic rituals. Jesus himself never did any of that.

The opposite extreme is equally as dangerous. I have sat through so many motivational sermons that were fun and interesting and very uplifting. I still like to listen occasionally to such pastors. But if you are going to let that be the be all and end all of your biblical education, you are going to fall woefully short. There is a lot more to God than that—he has many facets, and the sooner you get to know them all, the more sense life will make to you.

Here is the bottom line: Why do you want to belong to a church? To make friends, drink coffee, feel like you are doing something good? Join a social club instead. If you want to understand this journey called life and the one true God that created it all, then you need a church that can help uncover the hard answers. A church that can help keep you out of hell.

There, I said it.

Yes, there is a hell. How do I know? Because Jesus said so.

If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. (Mathew 5:29)

And no, hell is not a place where all your friends will be hanging out drinking Jack Daniel's when this life is over. If you had one single glimpse of hell, you would do everything in your power to make sure you and everyone you love would never have to go there.

God feels the same way.

In fact, He sent His only son to this earth so that you would understand that you don't have to go there. His son died a horrific and unjust death so that you would never have to go there. You can ignore Jesus, but you do so at your peril.

Just because you don't believe in hell doesn't mean you aren't headed there. Jesus spoke more often of hell than He did heaven. Why? Because He doesn't want you to spend your eternity there.

And while church can be fun to an extent and is helpful for gaining Christian fellowship, church is for honoring and worshipping God. Not for brunches and bingo. At the forefront should be God's word. God's word is like an onion—there are layers and layers of understanding as you go deeper and deeper. The focus of church should be to keep you focused on God's Word and hopefully save your soul from eternal damnation. It's not just a social event. And some churches take the social event platform even further and introduce rap music, disco lights, etc., and I am pretty sure that is exactly what the enemy would love your church to be like. Think about it: if the devil were to open a church, wouldn't it look like that? Fill the pews with a lot of unsuspecting souls, entice them in with some free coffee, entertain them with some great music that we throw the world Lord into here and there, and then get this herd of ignoramuses to believe they are headed for heaven just because they show up on Sundays and get involved in some good deeds in their spare time! It's a perfect plan.

The centerpiece of all music in church should be Christ. It should flood you with honor, worship, adoration for God. So the fact that so many souls are lost may be in part because of the church, not even so much in spite of it, because of the false sense of security they provide but not salvation.

If I just described your church, you need to look around for another one.

I have spent so much of my life being lost. Uncertain. Feeling weak. Feeling inadequate. I read all the self-help books. I consulted with all the best psychics. I paid lots of money to acclaimed psychologists and psychiatrists (if only I had a nickel for every dollar I spent).

Guess what? None of it helped, at least not for very long. I always felt alone and lost.

By late 2015, I was frazzled. Confused. Questioning everything. Wondering what the devil was wrong with me (and in hindsight, it just may have had everything to do with the devil!). I didn't know whom to blame—myself, my parents (who at that point were both gone, and let me tell you there is nothing more pointless than being angry at people who are dead), the government (the year 2015, lots of weird stuff going on in the world).

Until one day I was in the bookstore browsing around. Staring up at me from a pile of books on sale was a book by Joel Osteen. I grabbed the book, ordered a cup of coffee, and had a seat.

And that was in fact a defining moment that changed the very fabric of my being. No matter what you or anybody else thinks of Joel Osteen, I will always be grateful for him because he opened a door for me and created a thirst within me that made me want to seek Jesus. He may be Christianity-light, but if you are a newbie or a skeptic, he may be just the person to whet your appetite for God. I often joke that he was my gateway drug into Christianity—his lighthearted, feel-good message got me hooked.

Joel Osteen offered me hope. The words from Scripture that I have to admit I never understood before, I found it all so comforting. The assurances he gave me that I have a Father in heaven that loves me and will not let me fail if only I turn