Experience firsthand how Only God can use you—and the local church—to transform people, communities, the world. . . in an extraordinary way! You’ll come away with a renewed sense of purpose, as you read Dwight Mason’s powerful, life-altering message of hope. Get ready to let God work in and through you to change your world!
We forget. We minimize. We ignore. On most days, we neglect to reflect on and express gratitude for the miracles God has allowed us to be part of. In doing so, not only do we fail to remember what God has done, but we also miss out on the opportunity to be more convinced of who God is. In Only God, Pastor Edward Paz will open your eyes to 30 unique attributes of God through the refreshingly inspiring retelling of 30 incredible miracles he experienced as he went from being an over-ambitious college dropout to planting a gospel-proclaiming, disciple-making church in the city of Oakland, California. By the end of Only God... - Your confidence in the character of God will be strengthened. - Your hope in the potential of the local church will be revived. - Your conviction to recount your "only God" experiences will be deepened. If you are a church planter, serve on a church-planting team, or attend a church-planting church, this book is especially for you. Through the turmoil and triumphs of Edward's church-planting journey, you will be encouraged to persevere in your church-planting work as well.
Glancing ‘round the kitchen, I decided to make the most of my unexpected holiday. Instead of dressing for work in my drab olive-green Get Go outfit, I walked into the bedroom and grabbed a pair of faded old blue jeans and a white summer tank. I steered my butt into the bathroom and stood silently, questioning my appearance in the mirror. Lord. Living like this is really aging me. I’m forty-six years old, and all this shit’s making me look like sixty. Grabbing my makeup bag, I did a quick Chinese slap-chop-suey on my face, finishing up with a lick of Latin lipstick. Ahhhh, not so bad with the cover-up. Gee, I seem to have dropped a few years. Why, I bet I could now pass for, let’s see? Forty-five? Fifty? Laughing as I slipped my boots on, I tossed my old leather jacket over my arm for later and decided to head down to the local watering hole. It was more than a tweak funny to me that the bar I was planning on kicking it in was the Get Together. It was an amusing coincidence considering the bullet I was dodging for the day was none other than the local Get Go. The bar had a long, sordid history on Kenilworth Ave. It was opened and closed by the local cops at least twice a year, a ripper bar when I’d begun shooting a stick at the tender age of eighteen. By the ripe age of twenty-four, I’d graduated up to serving beers and waiting tables, and it’d evolved into one of the roughest biker bars in Hamilton. Hells Angels, Red Devils, Outlaws, and the Chinese Tong all left their colours and turf wars outside to discuss business around the marble bar top. Once that was done, they’d slip down to the private “gentlemen’s” room to shake hands over a few rails of the Christmas product they all pumped out on the streets. Walking down the street now, kissing fifty, I found myself running there for shelter. Shelter from the storm . . . Shelter from work, from life, from a man I used to love and a house I used to call home.
Gold-medal winner of a Next Generation Book Award, silver-medal winner of the Independent Publishers Book Award. As featured on the PBS NewsHour “A gem of a book.” — LIBRARY JOURNAL (STARRED REVIEW) A step-by-step guide to raising confident, open-minded kids in an age of religious intolerance. Relax, It's Just God offers parents fresh, practical and honest ways to address issues of God and faith with children while promoting curiosity and kindness, and successfully fending off indoctrination. A rapidly growing demographic cohort in America, secular parents are at the forefront of a major and unprecedented cultural shift. Unable to fall back on what they were taught as children, many of these parents are struggling, or simply failing, to address issues of God, religion and faith with their children in ways that promote honesty, curiosity, kindness and independence. The author sifts through hard data, including the results of a survey of 1,000 nonreligious parents, and delivers gentle but straightforward advice to both non-believers and open-minded believers. With a thoughtful voice infused with humor, Russell seamlessly merges scientific thought, scholarly research and everyday experience with respect for a full range of ways to view the world. "Relax, It's Just God" goes beyond the numbers to assist parents (and grandparents) who may be struggling to find the right time place, tone and language with which to talk about God, spirituality and organized religion. It encourages parents to promote religious literacy and understanding and to support kids as they explore religion on their own -- ensuring that each child makes up his or her own mind about what to believe (or not believe) and extends love and respect to those who may not agree with them. Subjects covered include: • Talking openly about our beliefs without indoctrinating kids • Making religious literacy fun and engaging • Talking about death without the comforts of heaven • Navigating religious differences with extended family members • What to do when kids get threatened with hell
Sometimes, while we're in the midst of our storms, we lose sight of the main thing we're called to do as believers, which is to cling to God because He alone is the author and the finisher of our faith.
I was once a pastor of a successful church that grew and grew. At one point in time, it was the fastest growing church in the city where I was. Hundreds came to Christ or returned to him and I had many friends. Then the bottom fell out of my life and I lost everything. I lost my marriage, my church, and all my friends. I walked around numb for months, trying to make sense of it all. But God knew my heart was his and he gave me a fresh start. He sent me the most amazing woman to stand at my side. Together, we went on a journey that is nothing short of miraculous and amazing. There were also many struggles and tears, as well as many sleepless nights. We endured much opposition and persecution. At one point, my wife died in my arms. When I cried out to God, he sent her back. Through it all, God was faithful. He can even raise the dead! Our story is one of relentless faith in God and his ability to do anything. It will make you laugh and probably cry. You will almost certainly shake your head in disbelief and find yourself praising God. Most of all, we hope that you will be like us and find yourself saying, “Only God!” To Him be all the glory. Steve W. Taylor [email protected]
The authors of this book want to share with you some of their personal experiences they have gone through over the last 5 years and how only through the help of God have they been able to make it this far. The purpose of this book is to prepare you, the reader, for difficult times, you will face during your walk with God. It will not be an easy one but your rewards will be great. The Bible tells us that those who try to live a godly life because they believe in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. When you decide to live for Jesus Christ, you can expect trials and struggles in your life. Dont get discouraged, even though you feel like giving up, hold your ground and keep on walking with God! Job 14:1 says, "Man that is born of a woman is of a few days and full of trouble." If you have never experienced troublesome times, in your life, you can be certain you will sooner or later. Remember, it's not what we face in life, but how and with whom we face it. By applying the Bible-based principles in this book, you will be able to overcome your trials and struggles and it will prepare you to face this adventure called "LIFE."
As children of God, we face Satan and his deceptions daily. Maybe even more than we realize. Satan’s deceptions are very subtle. He uses our selfishness, pride, and sinful nature to create havoc in our lives. We are all born in sin and have that sinful nature (Psalm 51:5). Eve knew right from wrong. She knew not to eat from the tree of life and even told Satan that the tree was forbidden (Genesis 3). After she ate it, she gave some to Adam. When God asked her what she had done, she said the serpent beguiled her. Adam was not deceived, but Eve was (I Timothy 2:14). Satan is very cunning. Th e reality is that sometimes it is Satan leading us, but once we recognize it is Satan, then we must ask God to show us the way back to Him. Only God helps us recognize when Satan is around and shows us how to return to God and have peace again. We are not here for our pleasure, to acquire large bank accounts, to build the biggest house, or drive the newest car on the market. We were born to serve the Lord.
God's ultimate plan for His people is one of transformation. All of us are born in God's image, but His ultimate desire is for us to be transformed into His likeness. For this metamorphosis to occur, we must stop competing with God to be the master of our lives. Just as a butterfly changes from a larval caterpillar, all human beings are to be transformed into their mature form, a person possessing the nature and character of Jesus. Butterfly people see the world from God's perspective and experience more joy and peace in life. Caterpillars are left behind to see the world from man's perspective and suffer from immature, pathological thinking, dysfunctional relationships, and self-serving religions and governments. God designed our world for Christ-centered butterflies that can live in the light of His wisdom and truth, not caterpillars that stumble through life and remain lost in the darkness of their self-centered world. In Only God Can Make A Butterfly, David Delnostro, M.D. walks you through the psychological, interpersonal, political and medical advantages of soaring through life as a butterfly and the pathological consequences of crawling through life as a caterpillar. David J. Delnostro, M.D. is a graduate of Ohio State University College of Medicine. He began his medical career in 1980 in Savannah, Georgia as an emergency room physician at Candler Hospital. For the past twenty-six years, he has practiced family medicine and currently is a member of Southcoast Medical Group in Savannah. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the oldest of six children. Although he was raised by a Catholic father and a Jewish mother, he never practiced either religion. At age forty, he began his life-changing relationship with Jesus. Currently, he serves as a deacon and Divorce Recovery leader at Savannah Christian Church.