God, If You Are Real... .

God, If You Are Real... .

Author: Spud Alford

Publisher: CreateSpace

Published: 2014-01-17

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 9781494210199

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By the time Spud Alford was twenty-one, he had strengthened his athletic skills enough to become a serious contender for the American team at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Fate, however, had a different idea of how the young track and field star should outpace his competition. Four years later, it looked like Alford might finally get his shot. Again, fate intervened, and this time, young Alford confronted a cancer diagnosis. God, If You Are Real…. An Olympic Dream, Cancer Nightmare, and the creation of Finger Football is the heartbreaking, hilarious account of one man who time and again passes the wrong end of the torch, only to rally and rise above his seemingly limitless lot of bad luck. With hope, heart, and humor, this frank and funny account of one man's journey from Olympic hopeful to company leader is certain to inspire readers seeking a refreshing perspective. Anyone who is ready to blaze a trail as an athlete, a businessperson, or as an individual seeking deeper meaning in their days will find plenty to laugh about—and think about—in this rollicking, fast-paced memoir of one life on the skids, with only the help of one lost soul.


A Peculiar Glory

A Peculiar Glory

Author: John Piper

Publisher: Crossway

Published: 2016-03-16

Total Pages: 223

ISBN-13: 1433552663

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God has provided a way for all people, not just scholars, to know that the Bible is the Word of God. John Piper has devoted his life to showing us that the glory of God is object of the soul’s happiness. Now, his burden in this book is to demonstrate that this same glory is the ground of the mind’s certainty. God’s peculiar glory shines through his Word. The Spirit of God enlightens the eyes of our hearts. And in one self-authenticating sight, our minds are sure and our hearts are satisfied. Justified certainty and solid joy meet in the peculiar glory of God.


No More Faking Fine

No More Faking Fine

Author: Esther Fleece Allen

Publisher: Zondervan

Published: 2017-01-10

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 0310344778

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Scripture reveals a God who meets us where we are, not where we pretend to be. No More Faking Fine is your invitation to get honest with God through the life-giving language of lament. If you've ever been given empty clichés during challenging times, you know how painful it is to be misunderstood by well-meaning people. When life hurts, we often feel pressure--from others and ourselves--to keep it together, suck it up, or pray it away. But Scripture reveals a God who lovingly invites us to give honest voice to our emotions when life hits hard. For most of her life, Esther Fleece Allen believed she could bypass the painful emotions of her broken past by shutting them down altogether. She was known as an achiever and an overcomer on the fast track to success. But in silencing her pain, she robbed herself of the opportunity to be healed. Maybe you've done the same. Esther's journey into healing began when she discovered that God has given us a real-world way to deal with raw emotions and an alternative to the coping mechanisms that end up causing more pain. It's called lament--the gut-level, honest prayer that God never ignores, never silences, and never wastes. No More Faking Fine is your permission to lament, taking you on a journey down the unexpected pathway to true intimacy with God. Drawing from careful biblical study and hard-won insight, Esther reveals how to use God's own language to come closer to him as he leads us through our pain to the light on the other side, teaching you that: We are robbing ourselves of a divine mystery and a divine intimacy when we pretend to have it all together God does not expect us to be perfect; instead, he meets us where we are There is hope beyond your heartache, disappointment, and grief Like Esther, you'll soon find that when one person stops faking fine, it gives everyone else permission to do the same.


God Is Just Not Fair

God Is Just Not Fair

Author: Jennifer Rothschild

Publisher: HarperChristian + ORM

Published: 2014-03-25

Total Pages: 211

ISBN-13: 0310338573

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"This is a book I'll be recommending for years to come." -- Lysa TerKeurst, New York Times bestselling author Do you believe God is just not fair? If you're like Jennifer Rothschild, you wrestle with questions when you experience painful circumstances. Does God care? Does he hear my prayers? Is he even there? Blinded as a teenager, Jennifer overcame daunting obstacles, found strength in God, and launched a successful speaking and writing ministry. Then in her 40s, everything changed. Jennifer hit a wall of depression and discontent that shook her to her core, undermining many of her past assumptions about her faith. She wondered who God was and why he continued to allow her to struggle and doubt. Where, she pleaded, is his hand of healing and hope in my life now? This is a book about finding more than just answers. It's for anyone who needs hope when life doesn't make sense--for all who reach for a God who feels distant. As Jennifer tackles the six big questions of faith, she will help you: Trust God more than your feelings. Strengthen your faith when you feel beat up by life. Embrace your obstacles and start experiencing their purpose. Face your disappointment and grow stronger from your loss.


God Is Not Mad at You

God Is Not Mad at You

Author: Joyce Meyer

Publisher: FaithWords

Published: 2013-09-03

Total Pages: 166

ISBN-13: 1455517461

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When bestselling author Joyce Meyer posted "God's not mad at you" on Facebook, she didn't anticipate that her words would trigger thousands of responses of gratitude and relief. Apparently many Christians struggle to reconcile their perception of God as both a loving parent and a stern judge. In GOD IS NOT MAD AT YOU, Joyce will help those who haven't truly received God's love because they are afraid of His anger and disapproval. She explores the source of this confusion, so His genuine character can be better understood and His love can be experienced on an entirely new level. Chapter titles include: * Perfectionism and Approval * The Pain of Rejection * Guilt and Shame * Developing Your Potential * Run to God, Not from Him * Getting Comfortable with God "It is important for us to remember that God's anger is directed toward our sinful behavior rather than toward us. If you feel guilty right now and are afraid that God is mad at you, then you are miserable. But your misery can be immediately changed to peace and joy by simply believing God's Word. Believe that God loves you and that He is ready to show you mercy and forgive you completely. Believe that God has a good plan for your life. Believe that God is not mad at you!" --Joyce Meyer


How God Becomes Real

How God Becomes Real

Author: T.M. Luhrmann

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2020-10-27

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 0691211981

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The hard work required to make God real, how it changes the people who do it, and why it helps explain the enduring power of faith How do gods and spirits come to feel vividly real to people—as if they were standing right next to them? Humans tend to see supernatural agents everywhere, as the cognitive science of religion has shown. But it isn’t easy to maintain a sense that there are invisible spirits who care about you. In How God Becomes Real, acclaimed anthropologist and scholar of religion T. M. Luhrmann argues that people must work incredibly hard to make gods real and that this effort—by changing the people who do it and giving them the benefits they seek from invisible others—helps to explain the enduring power of faith. Drawing on ethnographic studies of evangelical Christians, pagans, magicians, Zoroastrians, Black Catholics, Santeria initiates, and newly orthodox Jews, Luhrmann notes that none of these people behave as if gods and spirits are simply there. Rather, these worshippers make strenuous efforts to create a world in which invisible others matter and can become intensely present and real. The faithful accomplish this through detailed stories, absorption, the cultivation of inner senses, belief in a porous mind, strong sensory experiences, prayer, and other practices. Along the way, Luhrmann shows why faith is harder than belief, why prayer is a metacognitive activity like therapy, why becoming religious is like getting engrossed in a book, and much more. A fascinating account of why religious practices are more powerful than religious beliefs, How God Becomes Real suggests that faith is resilient not because it provides intuitions about gods and spirits—but because it changes the faithful in profound ways.


God, if You're Real, Let's Talk!

God, if You're Real, Let's Talk!

Author: Donna Doss

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2014-07-24

Total Pages: 202

ISBN-13: 1312379839

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We highly recommend this book! Donna wades through some deep theological waters in fascinating simplicity engaging the reader and seeker of truth. Keith Thibodeaux "Little Ricky" from I Love Lucy Author of Life after Lucy Kathy Thibodeaux Founder/Owner of International Christian Dance Company, Ballet Magnificat! Whether it is realized, everyone has a worldview. The way we view the world is in direct relation to our behavior. If there is a God, through what measures does he reach out to make Himself known to mankind? How does He speak to someone who does not believe that He exist? On the other hand, if He is not real, how do we know what is? What, if any, is our purpose for living?


The Real Heaven

The Real Heaven

Author: Chip Ingram

Publisher: Baker Books

Published: 2016-02-23

Total Pages: 159

ISBN-13: 1493401548

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Heaven has received a lot of attention in recent years as bestselling books and movies have told the stories of people who claim to have been there. But what does the Bible actually say about heaven? What difference does it make? What happens the moment after we die? What will our relationships be like in heaven? Chip Ingram sets aside the hype and myths and digs into the Scriptures to discover what God actually wants us to know about the hereafter. Most importantly, Ingram shows why our understanding of heaven matters now, in this life. Because what we believe about heaven actually affects us today in ways we may not have imagined.


The Whole Christ

The Whole Christ

Author: Sinclair B. Ferguson

Publisher: Crossway

Published: 2016-01-14

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 1433548038

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Since the days of the early church, Christians have struggled to understand the relationship between two seemingly contradictory concepts in the Bible: law and gospel. If, as the apostle Paul says, the law cannot save, what can it do? Is it merely an ancient relic from Old Testament Israel to be discarded? Or is it still valuable for Christians today? Helping modern Christians think through this complex issue, seasoned pastor and theologian Sinclair Ferguson carefully leads readers to rediscover an eighteenth-century debate that sheds light on this present-day doctrinal conundrum: the Marrow Controversy. After sketching the history of the debate, Ferguson moves on to discuss the theology itself, acting as a wise guide for walking the path between legalism (overemphasis on the law) on the one side and antinomianism (wholesale rejection of the law) on the other.