This book is a powerful, sharp hitting expose' on some of the areas of our human nature that can easily be hidden to others. Lisa is bold in pulling no punches as she details behaviours that we are all prone to and often justify because 'everyone else is doing it'. Lisa highlights many areas specific to our modern situations where we fail to love,honour, fear and serve God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. In doing this we are failing to obey Jesus' first command (Matt 23:37&38). And in failing the first, we cannot obey the second (v.39). Prior to reading this book, I am ashamed to say that it was often the consideration of what others would think of me that determined my speech and actions, not a reverant fear of serving my Creator and Lord

This book helps women specifically to realise the enormity of what it is to serve God in this complete way. It is quite literally the loss of all control, leaving total faith dependance in the Lord and Creator of the Universe. It was not until I read this book that I realised how poorly I was performing in many areas of my life, in comparison to Gods perfect standard. Areas where I may have suspected some sickness if I had cared to heed my very muted conscience, and others where I was totally blind & in darkness. The chapters on fear and gossip were almost mind-blowing, as the depth of information contained within shone much needed light and understanding on how deeply rooted these things are, dictating many of my thoughts, responses, directions.

Many anecdotes throughout the book are evidence of Lisa's personal experience of complete submission to the rule of God in her life. The vulnerable position that this puts her in gives credence to what she is saying, and a definite sense of equal achievability to the reader.

The only areas of reservation I would express are the many narratives of Lisa's personal two-way conversations with God. I do not have as much knowledge as I would like on the subject of unhindered human interaction with God. I do not personally feel confident to say I hear the voice of God giving me specific direction. I do however, acknowledge that God being God may choose to reveal himself in many ways, and I have learnt not to discredit the spiritual experiences of others based upon the fact that I myself may not have had a similar experience. Reading this book has made me want to investigate this further ... is such a clear communitive pathway available to me also as my submission to Gods complete control over my life deepens?

I love Lisa Bevere books and Out of Control & Loving It is one of my favorites. Why? Because Lisa's ministry allows her to be transparent, which means she speaks from her own personal struggles, and shares how the Lord brought her through. In this book she admits how she tried to be in control, but that in losing control (giving it over to God), she actually gained control. Her writing eases the readers fears, lets them know they aren't alone, and gives them a scriptural and practical perspective that is most helpful. I recommend this book as well as the others she's written.

Lisa Bevere is a true Godsend. How marvelous it is to relinquish control over aspects of our lives that we were never meant to handle in the first place. And how maturing is it to realize what we do have control over..our responses...and how that allows us to make the right choices in life. God Bless this woman and her ministry. Trust me, this is not just a book for the Women of God. Everyone should read this!

This is a great book for those who are grounded in and familiar with the gift of prophecy and the prophetic ministry. If the reader is unfamiliar with the fact that God still speaks today, he/she is most likely to never want to be a part of the prophetic ministry after reading this book. The book does a fair though sometimes un-biblical job of explaining when God isn't speaking through someone, but really doesn't explain positive examples of prophecy. Bevere does a wonderful job of explaining how Idolatry in the heart can taint words from God as well as other flags that prophetic people should be watching for in their lives. But over all he paints a negative picture of the ministry today, and many people will pick this book up and throw the baby out with the bath water. If you are looking for a good book on how God speaks today through his Church and through people, I would suggest that you pick up Jack Deere's Surprised By The Voice of God. It is much more scholarly and more scriptural centered. I believe that Deere is also releasing another book in early 2001 titled A Beginners Guide To Prophecy, though I haven't read this book, it will most likely have the same sound biblical context that this ex-Dallas Theological Seminary professor brings to all his books.

John Bevere is an incredible author/speaker/minister, but this isn't one of his better books. I would recommend rather his other great titles like Fear of The Lord and The Bait of Satan.

This is a wonderful work by a modern day church prophet, John Bevere. He holds nothing back in this book concerning the role of the prophet, and prophetic in the Church. A good book for the church at large and extra helpful for those who have a prophetic gifting in the Lord to keep aware of the possible deception that the false prophet might have on a congregation, and as a warning to those who are prophetic of things satan will do.

I read a friend's copy of this book and intend to buy one for myself for regular reference. The author has courageously dealt with an issue that many will rather leave untouched - false prophecies and false prophets. We all need to read it, the Bible encourages us to test all things, and that's what John Bevere tries with this book to equip us to do. And more than anything set believers free to know that they don't have to receive every 'word' that comes for fear of 'grieving' the Holy Spirit. As he rightly points out, accuracy is not enough, does the Spirit of God witness to it? Is the presence of God there? I come from a country where even the heathen and spirit worshippers give accurate predictions, but we know they are not of God. Christians must read this book, because many are living under the bondage brought upon their lives by false prophecies. It's time we woke up, and honour the gifts of the Father instead of distorting and misusing them. The responsibility lies with the believer to test what he receives and to learn to hear the voice of the Lord for himself. Thank you John Bevere for this book, it was a timely read for me as I am sure it will be for many who read it.

I really enjoyed reading this book. So much about Jesus that I never thought of. True life stories that touched my heart and life. A wonderful Christms gift for someone special on my list.

After having read several of John Bevere's books, including The Bait of Satan, I feel qualified to make the following statement. Mr. Bevere's useage of scripture and doctrinal teaching should be watched closely by the body of Christ. As I read this book, along with several of his other books, I began to notice suttle misusage of scripture within the context of his writing. While Mr. Bevere can make good on delivering basic themes, "we should fear the Lord, not man", "beware of satan's bait and his tactics", and "forgiveness not offense", he fails miserably at utilizing scripture correctly. I truly believe he could make the same point without getting off the beaten path so quickly. Forgiveness, restoration, and emotional balance is what the body needs. Not misusage of scripture which produces paranoid and misaligned thinking. One problem many leaders within the body of Christ face is the lack of accountability by a greater body. Pastor personality churches are typically driven by the leadership language Mr. Bevere describes in his book as being healthy. If I were to guess, it appears that Mr. Bevere has had his share of confrontation within the church and writes pointedly to leaders, telling them to beware anyone who questions their authority, labeling them intimidators or rebellious individuals. Reader "beware" and make certain that your bible is open when you read any of this authors work.

John Bevere's books are some of the most challenging and lifechanging books I have read. I consider his books The Devil's Door, The Bait of Satan and The fear of the Lord a must read for all believers.

The Bait of Satan deals with the issues of offense and forgiveness. Christ taught us to pray "Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us." But do we do this? Do we forgive those who hurt us? John Bevere explores both the importance of doing this, and teaches how to deal past hurts and anger so that we can actually love as Christ loved us. An excellent and challenging book. If you read it with and open mind and a willing heart, God will use it to change your life; opening up new levels of healing and closeness to him.

To remain in God's Will which is His Protection and Blessings upon our life; we must understand THE BAIT OF SATAN, his traps, tricks, and tactics. His bait includes every offense that we do not release, let it go, let it drop, forgive and forget. This pulls us out of the Will of God. Satan knows how easy it is for mankind to hold on to grudges. He will do everything in his power to remind us of all the injustices done to us, real or imaginary. He knows fully well that when we allow an offense to remain in our hearts, it allows him room to move in. When we become offended we are trapped and don't even know it. Unforgiveness is costly. It puts me in prison, takes away the protection of God, and blocks the power of God in my life. It is true that the world needs more love. However the world will only experience more love when the world experiences more forgiveness. Every book that John Bevere writes will be a blessing to all who read it and apply its principles to their lives.

I'm Holy Spirit filled and go to an awesome church and this book STILL helped me to repent of the little pebbles of sins! Some times it's not the big bolders that Christians need to overcome and repent of, some times the worst are the little pebble sins that go subtle and unackowledged! This book is filled with the revelation of the Holy Spirit and helped me repent and get my spiritual life back going. Thank you God and for using John Bevere!

Lucy

John Bevere has done it again, writing yet another book that will bring you deeper into the mysteries of Christ. In this book, Bevere shows you the difference between submission and obedience. John shows us that you can submit to somebody, and not always obey them, and that you can obey somebody and never submit to them.

Using many excellent personal examples of his own life and ministry (frequent readers/listeners of Bevere will be familiar with many of these examples), as well as corresponding biblical examples, Bevere teaches who we are to submit to - all genuine authority - and what we are to obey by submitting to authority - everything save for something that would be disobedience to Christ. This submission includes even ungodly men and women, be it a president, local government, or even your husband or parents. Bevere says "obedience deals with our responsive actions toward authority. Submission deals with our attitude toward authority" (p. 134)

Hard to believe that we have to submit even to ungodly men and women, but as Bevere shows we don't have to obey them where they ask us to be disobedient to the Gospel. Bevere reminds us that we are to be obedient to decisions of authority that may not always appear to be wise, because they are authority- God's appointed authority of Romans 13 - but if it is an unwise decision we are to remember the heart of the King is in God's hands, and God will judge that ruler for his decisions based on the authority God gave him. If you disobey authority simply because you don't agree with how something should be done, you will be cursed, but should you obey them even if you disagree with them, you will be blessed.

By submitting to authority and obeying it, you will go under God's presence. Because now you are under God's divine protection, and should this authority do something wrong to abuse his position of authority, he will have to answer to God for it, while you will be protected by God's grace.

As hard as it might be to agree to the above- you probably already disagree with this book - buy this book, for it will carefully show you that the above is very biblical. An excellent book that will transform forever how you look at and deal with authority. It will probably not be one of John Bevere's most popular books, but surely will be remembered as one of his better ones.

I have been familiar with the concepts of submission and obedience for about 15 years, so the ground covered by John Bevere was not new to me. However, he presented even the material I learned 15 years ago in modern, fresh, and applicable terms so that I was more easily able to understand the difference between obedience and submission and how to more effectively apply them to my own life so I can receive more of the blessings of God on my life. If I didn't aready own this book, I would definitely buy it.