Redeeming Heart Read Online Free PDF

as soft and
effortless as ballerinas, and hypnotic. It didn’t matter that the
preacher wasn’t on the premises. Landon’s spirit was fighting
against the praise dancers’ overpowering message. He shivered when
the artist repeated, “The Majesty is here…”
    Without trying, his mind painted the picture
of a faceless person sounding a warning alarm to announce the
presence of royalty. As the music faded, Landon stopped squirming
in his seat. Wiping his self-trimmed mustache, he didn’t realize he
had broken into a cold sweat. He should get up and wait in the hall
for her, but his body wouldn’t cooperate.
    What am I doing here? He knew better
than most that everyone that cried, “Lord, Lord, didn’t we do such
and such in Your name,” wasn’t going to heaven. His family made
sure every offspring of Moses Miller knew the consequences of
Matthew 7:21-23. Although Landon didn’t want to go to the first
death in hell, he couldn’t bring himself to live in a straitjacket,
denying himself of the pleasures of the world. Why couldn’t he
forget all those scriptures?
    My yoke is easy! God’s voice seemed to
walk through the pews toward him.
    Landon shivered. “It wasn’t for me, Jesus.”
He bowed his head. Who was more disappointed—him or God? Landon had
exercised his free will, and God was wreaking havoc into Landon’s
life for it.
    I’ve given you relief from the heat while
you are living. In hell, there is no relief. God’s words were
forceful.
    Looking up, Landon scanned around the
sanctuary. Besides Octavia and her two friends, who weren’t paying
him any attention, there was no one else in the sanctuary. The skin
on Landon’s back seemed to sting as if he were shirtless outside in
the heat of the day instead of inside the cool air of the church.
Then the agonizing sensation lessened.
    O taste and see that I am good and My
mercy endures forever. Yet, hell exists for sinners who won’t
repent. God’s whisper faded as if He were a breeze passing
through.
    And there lay his problem. He didn’t have it
within him to repent—no desire, no conviction and no guilt. Landon
was a third-generation Apostolic believer, yet he enjoyed playing
the rebellious one against his cousin Garrett whom he had betrayed.
Their parents often muttered that their relationship was like Esau
and Jacob in Genesis 25. He often wondered if a backslider could
truly be redeemed.
    Landon needed a distraction from the whole
praise dancing that was messing with his head. Sitting back, he
stretched his arms across the back of cushioned seats that formed
pews. He scrutinized the sanctuary that could easily accommodate a
congregation of a couple thousand. A series of track lights were
positioned overhead. The podium was of a clear material, simple and
functional. A row of chairs for minsters was behind it. Greenery
adorned the elevated baptismal pool waiting for converts. Clearly
it was the centerpiece of the sanctuary.
    When the music stopped and the lights dimmed,
Landon thought the show was over. He exhaled.
    “Landon,” Octavia’s voice breathlessly echoed
from the stage, “how did we look?”
    “Ah.” He struggled to his feet and leaned on
the back of the chair in front of him. “Perfect.” He was ready to
get out of there.
    Folding her arms, her stance said she didn’t
believe him.
    “I think I was off,” the dancer with long
braids said matter-of-factly. “Let’s go through it one more
time.”
    Of course, Octavia agreed, so Landon gritted
his teeth and slid back into his seat. He endured two more
practices without them asking his opinion. How long had they been
at it? Wasn’t the sun setting soon? If his things hadn’t been
locked in her car, Landon would get out of there and keep walking
until he found a hidden cubicle to lay his head for the night.
    Suddenly the music stopped. Leaning forward,
Landon crossed his fingers and held his breath. Was it over? When
the women disappeared from the stage, he exhaled. Countless