To know a person to a very high degree, you need to know what makes them happy, so you can learn to do it, and what makes them sad, so you can avoid it. Jesus, the Son of God, is the visible image of the invisible God. If we want to know what makes God happy, all we have to do is figure out what makes Jesus happy. If we want to know what makes God sad, all we have to do is find out what makes Jesus sad. The events surrounding Lazarus's death and resurrection were so full of meaning and provoked extreme emotions from Jesus. Why did He weep on the way to Lazarus' tomb in Bethany? Could the answer to that question provide humanity clues to a deeper understanding of the divine nature? Reno Omokri unravels this and other issues in this book. The reason Jesus wept is not obvious and will come as a surprise to many. It makes for a very eye opening read and the reader is sure to come away with a much deeper understanding of who God is and what appeals to Him.
Two words. John 11:35. It is the shortest verse in the entire Bible and it reads, "Jesus wept." Have you ever considered the monumental truth behind that verse? Jesus, fully man and fully God, found himself in the midst of human tragedy -- the death of a dear friend -- the death of a dear friend -- and he did what we would do. He cried. In this utterly profound book, Bruce Marchiano explores the head and heart of Jesus to answer questions hurting people have been asking for generations. Where was Jesus when I buried my husband? What was Jesus' reaction when my son was paralyzed? Or when my baby died? Or when the bus overturned? Or the tornado hit? When the terrorists struck on September 11, how did Jesus respond? The answer just might blow you away. Jesus wept.
“Page-turning . . . Set against the political and religious turmoil of the times, the Thoenes’ story vividly reimagines the evolving friendship between Jesus and Lazarus.” —Publishers Weekly LAZARUS—the man Jesus raised from the dead in one of the most extraordinary encounters with The Living Savior in all of Scripture. But the life of Lazarus holds interest well beyond this miraculous event. Living in Bethany, near Jerusalem, Lazarus witnessed many of the most important events of Jesus’s life and ministry. Lazarus owned a vineyard and devoted his life to caring for its vines and fruit. But he encountered another man—Jesus—whose vineyard was the world, its fruit the eternal souls of men. When Lazarus’s story and the story of Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection touch in When Jesus Wept, we are offered a unique vision into the power and comfort of Christ’s love. Brock and Bodie Thoene’s most powerful and climactic writing project to date, When Jesus Wept, captures the power and the passion of the men and women who lived through the most important days in the history of the world.
Jesus Wept, Barbara C. Crafton's best-selling and brilliant reflection on faith and depression, is now released in its tenth-anniversary edition, complete with a new foreword by the author, who reflects on the choice she made ten years ago to break the silence and speak openly about her own experience with depression. "I was determined to speak freely about it" she writes. "Many, probably most, of my clergy confreres were - and remain - unwilling to invite such a stigma to take up permanent residence in their resumes. But there are some who know the isolation and despair into which depression can drag a person, and they might benefit from knowing that someone whose whole life has been given to God also knows these things. If that is the case, it's well worth the stigma." Like all human experience, no two courses of depression and healing are the same. Religious belief can make depression easier, but it can also make it harder. It calls our beliefs about ourselves and about God's presence in our lives into painful question. Barbara Crafton's beautiful and candid book addresses these questions head on, reminding her readers that God does not ordain our suffering but instead meets us in our darkest days to compassionately call us toward the light.
The Great Jewish Revolt Against Rome was a first-century tragedy whose effects still resonate today. Timeless themes that still plague the Middle East region and the world -- ethnic conflict, religious fanaticism, social upheaval, and the clash of civilizations -- made their baleful appearance in this bloody conflict fought from 66-73 CE. The Jews' struggle against the Rome of Nero Caesar was part of the age-old battle of human kind to establish a society of justice and freedom in the face of the tyranny and exploitation of a great empire. It is also a story of the deeply fractured and corrupted Jewish nation's bitter struggle with itself over issues of wealth and poverty, law and governance, collaboration or defiance, while seeking to order its society according to its unique laws and customs. An intense religious atmosphere infused the Jewish drive for freedom, and the deep religious ferment associated with their struggle had a profound influence on the subsequent development of both Judaism and Christianity. The trilogy The Lord Wept brings to life the swirling events of the Jewish nation's attempt to free itself from the Roman Empire. Its characters are largely drawn from actual personages of the time, and the action adheres closely to historic events. The Disinherited Nation, the first novel of the trilogy, is set amidst the chaotic events of the year 66 when the revolt erupted. The action centers on a pair of nationalist Jerusalem aristocrats named Ananus and Eleazar who attempt to seize on what at first was an uprising against a corrupt and oppressive governor named Gessius Florus in order to establish an independent but conservative Jewish regime. Their endeavor is overwhelmed, however, by a bloody social upheaval that goes beyond their control in which the revolutionary leaders Simon ben Giora, Menahem ben Judas, and Eleazar ben Ja'ir seek to create a radically new Jewish society. Amidst the turmoil the elderly scribal-scholar Jochanan ben Zacchai, who espouses the peace-loving teachings of his master the great Rabbi Hillel, tries to head off what he views as the Jews' quixotic and ultimately suicidal drive for independence. He reluctantly starts to think the unthinkable -- what will happen if the revolt is crushed and the Jewish nation destroyed. The novel is furthermore the story of the Roman client and ally King Herod Agrippa II who, while carrying on an incestuous affair with his sister and co-ruler Berenike, attempts to restrain Roman brutality toward the Jews in sincere belief that the destiny of the Jewish nation lies in subservience to Caesar and to the Herodian family. He almost loses his kingdom and his life in the process. Featured also is the Roman general Cestius Gallus, the powerful governor of Syria, whose reluctant decision to crush the Jews leads to the mauling of his army and his own death. Drawn into the middle of these events are the early Christians, an unimportant sect reeling from the recent execution of its principle leaders and the vicious attack of Emperor Nero. While the Christians of Jerusalem -- who still view themselves as Jews -- agonize over the upheaval in which they are engulfed, a young Greek named Luke arrives in Judaea on a mission of scholarly research. His mission will plunge him into the middle of the violence of the revolt. It will also lead him to become romantically involved with the lovely Rachel, the daughter of his patron. The Disinherited Nation ends with an amazing Jewish victory over Rome and the attainment of a temporary independence for Israel. The subsequent novels of The Lord Wept trilogy, to be published shortly, will carry the story through to the revolt's bloody denouement, the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple and the crushing of the last spark of Jewish resistance at the desert fortress of Masada
Nothing is more important than what a person believes about Jesus Christ. To understand Christ correctly is to understand the very heart of God, Scripture, and the gospel. To get to the core of this belief, this latest volume in the Foundations of Evangelical Theology series lays out a systematic summary of Christology from philosophical, biblical, and historical perspectives—concluding that Jesus Christ is God the Son incarnate, both fully divine and fully human. Readers will learn to better know, love, trust, and obey Christ—unashamed to proclaim him as the only Lord and Savior. Part of the Foundations of Evangelical Theology series.
The NIV is the world's best-selling modern translation, with over 150 million copies in print since its first full publication in 1978. This highly accurate and smooth-reading version of the Bible in modern English has the largest library of printed and electronic support material of any modern translation.
“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.
Profound reflections on the cross that help you to meditate on and marvel at the sacrificial love of Jesus. This book can be used as a devotional, especially during Lent and Easter. These profound reflections on the cross from David Mathis, author of The Christmas We Didn’t Expect, will help you to meditate on and marvel at Jesus’ life, sacrificial death, and spectacular resurrection-enabling you to treasure anew who Jesus is and what he has done. Many of us are so familiar with the Easter story that it becomes easy to miss subtle details and difficult to really enjoy its meaning. This book will help you to pause and marvel at Jesus, whose now-glorified wounds are a sign of his unfailing love and the decisive victory that he has won: “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) This book can be used as a devotional. The chapters on Holy Week make it especially helpful during the Lent season and at Easter.
The final book of the Bible, Revelation prophesies the ultimate judgement of mankind in a series of allegorical visions, grisly images and numerological predictions. According to these, empires will fall, the "Beast" will be destroyed and Christ will rule a new Jerusalem. With an introduction by Will Self.
