In these times many people feel that their cherished religious values are held hostage by the forces of secularization and that, as a consequence, society is morally bankrupt. While acknowledging this problem, John Cobb overturns the prevailing expectations by drawing a distinction between secularization and secularism. Secularization, as Cobb uses the term, has a prophetic function. It is a process by which religion is cleansed and refocused on mission and ministry rather than on other-worldly myths and concerns. The uncritical understanding of religion that focuses on religion for its own sake is what Cobb calls secularism. In Cobb's view, secularization has led to secularism or a culture of consumerism that threatens those very religious convictions many hold dear. After teasing the concepts of secularization and secularism apart, Cobb proposes an alternate path for secularization that will help us reevaluate our relation to our world and each other.
The world seems to have figured out the formula for manufacturing material success, but when it comes to finding true, lasting happiness, we are as lost as ever. We yearn for more, or less, or something that’s just different from what we have right now.Deep down, we know there must be satisfaction for our longing. We just don’t know where to find it. In Sandcastle Kings, Rich Wilkerson, Jr. uses four powerful stories from the seventh chapter of Luke to explain why spiritual fulfillment cannot be found in ourselves, in other people, in material things, or even in religion. By studying the stories of the centurion’s faith, the resurrection of the widow’s son, Jesus’ message about John the Baptist, and the anointing by the woman with the alabaster jar, you will be able to face your doubts and insecurities and overcome your anxiety, discontentment, and depression. Wilkerson wants you to understand that the only answer for your spiritual bankruptcy is Jesus and that until you turn to him you will never experience the lasting peace and joy you so desperately crave.
One of the greatest desires of all humankind is to gain a vision of what is to come at the end of this earthly journey called life. What is it that awaits humankind beyond the grave? What comes next? Where do we go from here? What does the God of Israel have in store for born-again believers in His Son Jesus when our journey on earth is complete? Whether you are a born-again believer in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord or a creature with the desire to experience a physical and spiritual change in your current lifestyle, this book is written for you. The Holy Spirit has blessed me with the vision needed to fashion this book to be a guiding light for those who have a desire to experience spiritual birth and growth in this life that will qualify a person to spend eternity in New Jerusalem. The purpose of this book is to assist you in getting to know the gatekeeper to New Jerusalem (Jesus), learn of His guidance, directions, protection, and commands on your life, and apply them to your lifestyle. This book has also been fashioned to give you a vision of what awaits believers in New Jerusalem. I challenge you to read this book, get a vision of what's to come for born-again believers in Jesus as the Christ, and apply it to your lifestyle in the interest of being qualified to spend eternity with the God of Israel in New Jerusalem.
Written a decade before coronavirus pushed in-person meetings online and kept us home, this portable and practical workbook for the newly sober is a perfect coach for the present moment. In this portable recovery aftercare program, Earnie Larsen coaches readers through one full year of sobriety with personal, practical, actionable steps to help them refocus on the core concepts that are essential to sober living. Make no mistake about the intention of the guidance offered in this book. This is not just another "nice recovery book"--one that you read and then put aside, hopefully taking away a few good thoughts. My intention is that the material offered here should be chewed, pulled apart, scrutinized, and internalized. This book is designed to be worked. It is intended to provide support, insights, and exercises that will do something about the high relapse rate of people starting recovery.>-Earnie Larsen, From the introduction In this invaluable guide, renowned author and lecturer Earnie Larsen brings you a portable recovery aftercare program that you can easily integrate into your personal life ?and take with you anywhere you go.Now That You're Sober is an all-purpose, year-long compendium of recovery wisdom and inspiration to help those who are newly sober focus on practical applications of Twelve Step principles. Like a traditional aftercare program, it is designed to keep the basics of recovery front and center in your consciousness, as it is the loss of this awareness that causes relapse. In his characteristic down-to-earth, tell-it-like-it-is style, Larsen serves as your recovery coach, providing guidance and inspiration when you feel vulnerable in your sobriety, and helping you to move past common stumbling blocks and flourish in your daily life. Each of his fifty-two entries includes a motivational essay, or pep talk, centered on a key element of recovery, followed by personal, practical, actionable steps to help you refocus on the concepts and behaviors that are essential in a recovering person's life.Earnie Larsen is a nationally known pioneer in the field of recovery from addictive and unwanted behaviors. He has authored and produced more than fifty-five motivational self-help books and resources on a variety of topics ranging from managing interpersonal relationships to spirituality.
It is said that by thought, we attract the thing. By taking action, we receive the thing. We decide what our thoughts should be. As a man thinks in his heart, so is he (Prov. 23:7). The book encourages us to think using the mind of God (Phil 2:5). Thinking with the mind of God makes success inevitable because God knows all things. The book encourages readers to let go of many things, including the past. But to never give up on the power of believing in oneself. Readers are encouraged to allow their higher self to control the inner conversations. Many people rent out their mind to sources void of credibility but get no compensation in return. Furthermore, they have no “rental clause” to protect them from their mind being highjacked. More often than not, even if their mind is returned to them, it is under the control of envy, jealousy, fear, worry, and “can’t do.” Before the mind is returned to its original owner, it would have forged an intimate relationship with “lack,” “procrastination,” and “the past.” Who is controlling your mind?
Christian faith isn't blind obedience to a set of rules and regulations; it is entering into a relationship with a God who pursues us-not to punish, but to love. As the leader of Central Christian Church in the self-proclaimed "Sin City, U.S.A.," Jud Wilhite has seen it all, and he knows that no matter how far someone has strayed from God, God always remains in passionate pursuit. Using the biblical prophet Hosea's marriage, commanded by God, to an unfaithful prostitute as a metaphor for God's unwavering love, PURSUED compellingly illustrates God's plan for every person-to be freed to become his or her own unique self through intimate togetherness with the living, loving God.
Compelling testimony of Authors awakening which radically changed her spirituality and understanding of life. Read of experiences and insights that fortify her new direction.
"Filled with personal experiences and scriptural accounts, this book is incredibly thoughtful. Williams delves deeply into the question of Christian community and asks some tough questions. His answers to bringing about koinonia [spiritual community] are not easy, but are biblically sound. Never trite or simplistic, this book is likely to leave readers feeling validated, not judged. Williams seems to have a good grasp on how to make a community welcoming, supportive and Christ-like." -P. Hooper, US Review of Books
“Wealth without work Pleasure without conscience Science without humanity Knowledge without character Politics without principle Commerce without morality Worship without sacrifice. https://vidjambov.blogspot.com/2023/01/book-inventory-vladimir-djambov-talmach.html by St. Nikolai of Serbia (Velimirovic) The victory of Christ is the only victory by which all human beings can rejoice from the primordial to the last. Every other victory on earth has divided people. When one king of the earth triumphs over another king, one of them rejoices, and the other mourns. When a person defeats his neighbor, then under one roof - a song, and under the other - crying. But there is no triumphant joy on earth that is not poisoned by gloating: the ordinary earthly winner rejoices as much as his laughter, so much and the tears of the defeated enemy. He himself does not notice how anger half dilutes his joy.
One of the greatest witnessing tools is the daily life we live as we interact with our peers and family. At the age of thirteen, I accepted the Lord as my personal Savior in a small church in Elyria, Ohio. Never has there been a moment since that day that I did not love the Lord and want to remain faithful to him. Divorce and the loss of two children drew me to my knees, knowing that I needed God more during those times than ever. But my precious mother and father, Evialee and Walter Matney, taught me the ways of the Lord, living a life before me that even at the age of seventy-four, they are still with me. The devotions within this book include stories of my own from childhood and through adolescence, to raising my children and into my senior years. There are times that I fell to my knees, asking God for wisdom and knowledge, not knowing what to do. But intimate experiences with the Lord gave me the hope I needed to continue my journey of faith. I hope as you go through these 365 interpersonal devotions, you will encounter the love of God in a powerful new way. May the Lord Jesus Christ bless and keep you. Truly, the Lord is my Shepherd, and thats enuff.
