Random Reflections from an Everyday Sinner is a collection of thoughts and reflections about experiencing life from one common man’s perspective. It speaks of interpersonal experiences in life and the struggles of incorporating belief into a pragmatic and productive world view. The collection of writings are primarily the result of encouragement from my wife, friends, and acquaintances made over a lifetime of extensive work-related travel, Church involvement and general encounters with family members and others navigating through life. “Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.” --Oscar Wilde The writings were also therapy. After experiencing the death of parents, 50+ years of working and getting “retired” by a corporate takeover and experiencing other common traumas of life, I needed to slow down and readjust my perspective on life. I needed to learn how to stop just reacting and become a better contributor to my own mental health and to the lives of those I encounter. There are a handful of universal truths in these writings. You’ll know them when you read them. But mostly, this is just a record of experience and opinion. Hopefully you’ll read these knowing they are intended as encouragement and not as an invitation to philosophical combat. If you disagree with something written here figure out what your position looks like, so you can encourage yourself and others. “Happy people plan actions, they don't plan results.” --Denis Waitley Respectfully, Bill Clark
Man living in history (time and space) is not equipped to fully understand the nature of God who lives in eternity. Eternity is all-pervading, it seems, history still being part of it, and so God's nature is appreciable in our realm to an unimaginable extent. If you decide to be a disciple of Jesus Christ prepare yourself for a great ordeal. Does it mean that you will be free of difficulties if you are not his disciple? Certainly, the terrain of discipleship is very rugged. But - - - Is it not difficult to understand why this divergent conversation in the US should exist at all? Pro-life or Pro-choice, what is sin is sin, what is bad is wrong. "Sin" separates the two Parties in a "Country Under God". "Forgive and forget" has become a common parlance. Can Forgive, Cannot Forget? The nature and direction of a contextual exactness here is largely un-grasped.
This collection of concise sayings provides 365 days of encouragement for all who feel wearied by the daily grind of life. Oswald Chambers called these saying “seed thoughts”—brief words of wisdom that catch our attention and stimulate spiritual growth. Taking Jesus’ parables as his example, Chambers understood how, over time, simple truths can develop into deep-rooted life lessons. “Our Lord was never impatient,” Chambers wrote. “He simply planted seed thoughts in the disciples’ minds and surrounded them with the atmosphere of His own life.” Start sowing your life with godly wisdom today!
Centrist Orthodox theologians here reject the "God's judgment theory" of the Holocaust. Contributors include Rabbis J.B. Soloveitchik, Norman Lamm, Emanuel Rackman, Haskel Lookstein, Louis Bernstein, Reuven Bulka, Emanual Feldman and Eliezer Berkovits.
The stories of divine intervention in people's everyday lives continued to occupy Peter Shockey's thoughts, even after his documentaries on the subject for The Learning Channel had been completed and garnered numerous awards. In Reflections of Heaven, Shockey shares the most compelling accounts he has heard over the past decade, and also offers profound insight into what the increasing presence of the divine in daily life can mean in the new millennium. Beginning with his own personal story, Shockey goes on to introduce others who relate their miraculous experiences, ranging from visions of heaven to the presence of angels. He then puts these encounters in an enlightening context as he explores discernible patterns of divine intervention in history, as well as in the Bible. In doing so, he takes readers on an unforgettable spiritual odyssey that will change the way they look at the here-and-now--and the hereafter.
It's easy to go through days, weeks, even years on autopilot, moving from one activity to another, rarely taking the time to consider what it's all for anyway. Why did God make us? What does he want us to do with the time he has given us? And how can we find out? In her bestselling story-driven style, Christian rocker Lacey Sturm shares with readers the beautiful struggle of learning what one's unique gifts are and pursuing them wholeheartedly. She helps them see each day as a gift from God, find balance in their busy lives, and discover the joy of giving God's gifts back to him by using them to bring him glory. Young people especially will love this openhanded and openhearted take on what to do with their lives, as will those who feel like they've been coasting or heading down the wrong path.
How cultivating a healthy fear of God liberates us from our fear of others, our fear of the future, and even our fear of death itself. At times the world feels like it's losing its mind. From politics to the pandemic, we live with an ever-increasing uncertainty, and many of us have grown to fear the rapid disintegration of our society and our own lives. Recovering Our Sanity is not another self-help book about how to beat your daily fears for a better life. It's a book that will show you the gravity and glory of a God who's worthy of our fear. It’s a book that will reveal how these two biblical phrases—Fear God and Do Not Be Afraid—are not contradictory but actually one coherent message. Michael Horton—Professor of Theology and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary—shows us that we cannot fight our fears by seeking the absence of fear altogether, but by living with a fear of God that drives out the fear of everything else. Horton will walk you through the case for the fear of God by: Developing what it means to fear God, biblically and theologically, and what this kind of fear looks like in practice. Categorizing different types of fears—from cultural anxiety to pain and hardship—and what they stem from. Focusing on how to confront our earthly fears with our hope in Christ, rooted in the gospel. Reminding us that God does not exist for us; we exist for God. Humbling, thought-provoking, and hope-igniting, Recovering Our Sanity delivers a timely message that will help you shift your focus from a human-centered obsession with self-preservation to a fixation on Christ and his salvation. Rather than clinging to false securities and promises of immediate gratification, you can gain the lasting joy of knowing the One who has given himself to save us and who says to us, "Do not be afraid."
Why does it seem that Christianity creates a space where it is so challenging to be our authentic self? What's your authentic self? Exactly who you are in this very moment. No pretending. No games. No masks. Most of us in Christendom are addicted to putting on a good boy and good girl image in front of those whom we want to think we have a polished "Christian Resume." Some of the most edifying, lovely, beautiful, cherished, and nourishing experiences of my walk with Christ have been in those moments when I am with friends with whom I can just be me. Not the cleaned up, polished, or polite version of my self. But the real me - not the who has struggled - but the one who is struggling. The one for whom failure is not a matter of the past - but the present. The one who not only has been hurt - but is hurting. The one who hasn't only been walking in the desert of confusion - but is currently running around blind in the dark screaming for mercy. Because when I live and am honest with myself - I can finally face the music: That I am deeply broken and deeply in need of Jesus' wild and furious love. I wanted to write a book for ragamuffins like me. Screw-ups that haven't arrived but are still on the journey. If you're looking for a book by someone with all the answers - this book isn't for you. If you're looking for a book by someone with whom you can have a synchronized swim within the lake of theological refreshment - this book isn't for you. If you are looking for a bible guru, self-help saint, or a goodie two-shoes - this book isn't for you. I wanted to be me in this book. At least as much as wisdom would allow. Not the watered down, sugar coated, half-mast version of myself. But the person I really am: A sinner saved by grace. Not grace that I bought, earned, or put on lay-a-way but the one that was and is haunting me day and night with the presence of Jesus and his love. This book is two things. First - it's a raw conversation filled with honest reflections about life and faith. Like the one you'd have at a dingy bar, hole-in-the wall coffee shop, or a cross country road trip. Second and more importantly - it's a witness to unfair and undeserved grace. It's a witness to ups and downs, a few beautiful mountain tops, and even more dark and dangerous valleys. It's a witness to the Divine crashing into my life and hunting me down with His furious love. On this road trip with me you'll pick up hitchhikers with names like depression, heart break, and loss, and although they will stay with you for a while, they won't make the whole trip with you. You'll reflect on their purpose with the eyes of mercy, the lenses of hindsight, and the visionary hope of forgiveness. What you're about to read is my story. My ragamuffin story. And in my story I have discovered God chasing me down with his furious love through the sinners and saints that have shipwrecked into my life. But my greatest hope in our time together - should you dare to pick up this book - is that you will read my story and forget my story and fall in love with Jesus. I pray that my story will fade into the background and your story will take center stage - so that you too can see where God was and is, where He is ready and waiting to tackle and ambush you with his incomprehensibly tender and overwhelming love.
