As a girl, Alia Joy came face to face with weakness, poverty, and loss in ways that made her doubt God was good. There were times when it felt as if God had abandoned her. What she didn't realize then was that God was always there, calling her to abandon herself. In this deeply personal exploration of what it means to be "poor in spirit," Joy challenges our cultural proclivity to "pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps." She calls on readers to embrace true vulnerability and authenticity with God and with one another, showing how weakness does not disqualify us from inclusion in the kingdom of God--instead, it is our very invitation to enter in. Anyone who has struggled with feeling inadequate, disillusioned, or just too broken will find hope. This message is an antidote to despair, helping readers reclaim the ways God is good, even when life is anything but.
“If there were a Guinness Book of World Records entry for ‘amount of times having prayed the sinner’s prayer,’ I’m pretty sure I’d be a top contender,” says pastor and author J. D. Greear. He struggled for many years to gain an assurance of salvation and eventually learned he was not alone. “Lack of assurance” is epidemic among evangelical Christians. In Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart, J. D. shows that faulty ways of present- ing the gospel are a leading source of the confusion. Our presentations may not be heretical, but they are sometimes misleading. The idea of “asking Jesus into your heart” or “giving your life to Jesus” often gives false assurance to those who are not saved—and keeps those who genuinely are saved from fully embracing that reality. Greear unpacks the doctrine of assurance, showing that salvation is a posture we take to the promise of God in Christ, a posture that begins at a certain point and is maintained for the rest of our lives. He also answers the tough questions about assurance: What exactly is faith? What is repentance? Why are there so many warnings that seem to imply we can lose our salvation? Such issues are handled with respect to the theological rigors they require, but Greear never loses his pastoral sensitivity or a communication technique that makes this message teachable to a wide audience from teens to adults.
The majority Evangelical view is that once someone has accepted Christ as Saviour they are guaranteed salvation. But is it safe to assume that once we are saved, we are saved for always? David Pawson investigates this through biblical evidence, historical figures such as Augustine, Luther and Wesley, and evangelical assumptions about grace and justification, divine sovereignty and human responsibility. He asks whether something more than being born again is required so that our inheritance is not lost. This book helps us decide whether ‘once saved, always saved’ is real assurance or a misleading assumption. The answer will have profound effects on the way we live and disciple others.
A Moment in Heaven, Hell, Earth, Judgement and Back Again. It was a great discovery - there is more after death; but of course I'm not the first to say this, many have witnessed this. However each one of us who has gone through this experience seems to come back with a little more to add to the story of us. My experience involves an interaction with God and our enemy. It involves seeing the wonder of God and the other realm that lays not only beyond our death but is all around us, unseen by living human beings. I also have two people who can in a way confirm this happened to me. One who saw the power of God while alive and well, and the other who had a visit in a dream that same night of the enemy capturing me. It was a unique experience. I hope this settles it once and for all for everyone - there is a God
God Saved Me is written to encourage believers to be aware of their position in Christ and be willing to prepare their minds and hearts for the challenges ahead. Then, believers should be available to participate in sharing the good news whenever and with whomever God gives the opportunity. God Saved Me addresses critical concerns for outreach and witnessing, focusing on the local churchs responsibility; the importance of prayer in witnessing; reliance on the Word of God; dealing with fear and guilt; being approved as a person of faith; making Christ the topic; and development of a personal testimony that can be shared repeatedly. This book speaks directly to the need for believers to come together in support of one another and make a commitment to follow Christs directive to make disciples wherever an opportunity is presented. Using anecdotal comments and personal accounts of outreach, God Saved Me provides fresh insight to help believers respond to the need for people of faith to get in the fight for the souls of their families, friends, and loved ones. Rev. Wylie Comp has written one of the most comprehensive books on the subject of Christian witnessing that I have ever had the privilege of reading or reviewing. God Saved Me is written on a level that anyone can understand and use as a guide for becoming an effective Christian soldier in the army of God. Dr. Gerald F. Terrebrood, Co-Director, Soul Impressions, Ozark, MO
A New York Times Notable Book A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2012 A bold approach to understanding the American evangelical experience from an anthropological and psychological perspective by one of the country's most prominent anthropologists. Through a series of intimate, illuminating interviews with various members of the Vineyard, an evangelical church with hundreds of congregations across the country, Tanya Luhrmann leaps into the heart of evangelical faith. Combined with scientific research that studies the effect that intensely practiced prayer can have on the mind, When God Talks Back examines how normal, sensible people—from college students to accountants to housewives, all functioning perfectly well within our society—can attest to having the signs and wonders of the supernatural become as quotidian and as ordinary as laundry. Astute, sensitive, and extraordinarily measured in its approach to the interface between science and religion, Luhrmann's book is sure to generate as much conversation as it will praise.
Danger pulsated in Lisa's veins as she viciously scoured her floor, trying to figure out what was really bothering her. Her five-year old daughter, Stephanie, needed to be protected, that much was clear. Desperation washed over her as she came up with nothing. But this much she knew: it was him. That night began the nightmares. She was being gang raped, and this scenario repeated nightly for years. What did it mean? The first flashback hit her while she was wide awake a couple weeks later. Her husband held her as she sobbed and tried to scrub the feelings off of her skin. James stayed faithfully by her side that night, and all the nights that came after. Nine months later the flashbacks took an evil turn. There was excruciating body pain and images of graves, candles, crosses, and white robed and hooded people whose faces were hidden in the shadows. Lisa decided that it was time to investigate and prove to herself that she was completely crazy, her idea of a better outcome than believing something like that could happen to her. James and Lisa travelled back to her home town and had the unexpected outcome of finding enough reasons to accept that she was, indeed, a survivor of Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA). She returned home devastated. The next fifteen years were filled with ever worsening flashbacks. Her body fell apart and day to day survival took more energy that she had. She looked for help in the Christian community. She found very wonderful and caring counselors, but no one with experience with SRA survivors. Lisa realized that she could no longer endure being isolated from other survivors. She needed to find SRA survivors to help her with the process of healing. She found a community of them around the world, each one trying to survive a life decimated by the abuse. The one thing that remained a constant in her life was God. She and her family stayed in their local church throughout the years, and God gave her the strength to get out of bed each morning and face another day. The SRA abuse that Lisa endured was worse than being the victim in a horror movie. Lisa worked hard in counseling to try to get all of the healing that she could. Follow Lisa as she works through her past and comes to grip with her present. Watch her struggle to balance healing with the ability to stay functional in her life. See the cruel backlash from her family. Finally, see how she finds God's peace in the midst of it all.
This is a poetic representation of the story of my life. I went through many trials and tests but God Saved me from all of them. Now I serve Him and try to be a light to represent His power and glory.
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.
The former lead guitarist for Korn tells how he overcame his debilitating addiction to crystal meth and embraced God, in this candid, compelling, and inspirational rocknroll journey unlike any other. 16-page color insert.
