A young man reflects on hie relationship with his father in this moving memoir. He describes leaving the security of suburban America with his missionary parents and arriving in Saigon at the height of the war in 1967. He describes his coming of age in a conflict of cultures. And over all of his story is the heroic image of his father--and the man's complete dedication to God.
In this New York Times bestseller, Isaac Lidsky draws on his experience of achieving immense success, joy, and fulfillment while losing his sight to a blinding disease to show us that it isn’t external circumstances, but how we perceive and respond to them, that governs our reality. Fear has a tendency to give us tunnel vision—we fill the unknown with our worst imaginings and cling to what’s familiar. But when confronted with new challenges, we need to think more broadly and adapt. When Isaac Lidsky learned that he was beginning to go blind at age thirteen, eventually losing his sight entirely by the time he was twenty-five, he initially thought that blindness would mean an end to his early success and his hopes for the future. Paradoxically, losing his sight gave him the vision to take responsibility for his reality and thrive. Lidsky graduated from Harvard College at age nineteen, served as a Supreme Court law clerk, fathered four children, and turned a failing construction subcontractor into a highly profitable business. Whether we’re blind or not, our vision is limited by our past experiences, biases, and emotions. Lidsky shows us how we can overcome paralyzing fears, avoid falling prey to our own assumptions and faulty leaps of logic, silence our inner critic, harness our strength, and live with open hearts and minds. In sharing his hard-won insights, Lidsky shows us how we too can confront life's trials with initiative, humor, and grace.
To understand light and optics better, young Isaac Newton inserted a long needle "between my eye and the bone, as near to the backside of my eye as I could." Why take such a risk? Lucas Hnath reimagines the contentious, plague-ravaged world Newton inhabited in ISAAC'S EYE, exploring the dreams and longings that drove the rural farm boy to become one of the greatest thinkers in modern science.
Jews, Christians, and Muslims trace their roots to Abraham and yet it is a shock to many Bible readers that some of the characters and stories in their sacred text are also found in the pages of Islam's sacred text, the Qur'an. By exploring the relationship between the Bible and the Qur'an in Ishmael Instructs Isaac, John Kaltner challenges Bible readers to think about their sacred book in new, exciting ways. In doing so, he leads all to a better appreciation of Islam. After a brief overview of the text, themes, structure, and use of the Qur'an, Kaltner focuses on traditions that are shared with the Bible. He explains that the Bible and Qur'an contain many of the same themes, figures, and episodes. However, at times, there are significant differences in their descriptions of the same event or figure. By discussing such topics and figures as God, humanity, prophecy, creation, life after death, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mary, Kaltner examines the similarities and differences between the two texts. This comparative method allows readers to better appreciate both what is distinctive about Islam and what it shares with Judaism and Christianity. Jews and Christians view Isaac as the son of Abraham in whom the family line continued. Muslims, on the other hand, view Isaac's brother Ishmael as the rightful heir. This difference must not obscure what is held in common: a belief in the one God and a family - albeit distant - relationship. Written for undergraduate and seminary courses on Islam, the Qur'an, comparative religions, inter-religious dialogue, world scriptures, and biblical interpretation, Ishmael Instructs Isaac is also a useful resource for discussion groups in churches, synagogues, and mosques. Includes English translations of the Qur'anic texts discussed. John Kaltner, PhD, is assistant professor of religious studies at Rhodes College where he teaches courses in the Bible and Islam. He has worked in the Middle East with the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America.
The Bible's great Faith Hall of Fame in Hebrews chapter 11 honours Abel, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham as outstanding examples of faith and identifies the acts that qualified them for this prestigious list. Then we read, "By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future" (Hebrews 11:20). Merely speaking a blessing? How does this act rate alongside Noah's building the ark or Abraham's leaving his country? "And thereby," believes Henderson, "hangs a tale." The first half of the book, By Faith Isaac, explores Abraham's faith journey and listens in to conversations between Abraham and Isaac as Abraham carefully passes on the faith lessons he has learned. When Abraham faces his greatest faith test, the sacrifice of his son, Isaac embarks on his own faith journey. After marrying Rebekah, Isaac has to learn a new lesson of faith-one which his forefathers had not had to deal with. Whether you love the Old Testament or struggle to read it, By Faith Isaac educates as it entertains, and at times borders on being devotional.
DIVA cop and his disgraced mentor attempt to bust a white slavery ring/divDIV/divDIVBefore Isaac Sidel adopts him, Manfred Coen is a mutt. A kid from the Bronx, he joins the police academy after his father’s suicide leaves him directionless, and is trudging along like any other cadet when first deputy Sidel, the commissioner’s right hand man, comes looking for a young cop with blue eyes to infiltrate a ring of Polish smugglers. He chooses Coen, and asks the cadet to join his department after he finishes the academy. Working under Sidel means fast promotions, plush assignments, and, when a corruption scandal topples his mentor, the resentment of every rank-and-file detective on the force./divDIV /divDIVNow just an ordinary cop, Coen hears word that his old mentor has a line on a human trafficking operation. When Sidel’s attempt at infiltration fails, he sends in Coen. For Coen, it’s a shot to prove himself and redeem his mentor, but it could cost the blue-eyed cop his life./div
"He is the radiance of the glory of God..." - Hebrews 1:3The most glorious news in all of reality is that the God for whom we--and all things--exist is communicated to his creation with definitive authority in the incarnate Son (John1:14,18), and with climactic finality in the revelatory redemption of the cross (John 8:28, 17:1,5). Knowing and enjoying the One True God in the crucified and risen Jesus is the wellspring of our love (1 John 4:19), the substance of our sanctification (2 Corinthians 3:18), and the heart of eternal life (John 17:3), and this book is an attempt to help you do just that. "Full of Eyes" is a daily devotional containing 100 examples of visual exegesis. Each picture is designed to help you see, savor, and sing the beauty of God in his crucified and risen Son. As the Scripture in this book illuminates the pictures so that the pictures can shine back to exegete the Scripture, may you be ever more deeply enamored with the all satisfying excellence of who God has declared himself to be for us in Jesus.
The Bible warns us of things to comeand things that are even happening now. There will be wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes, storms, violence, bigotry, famine, and more horrors. Because God loves us, he will show mercy upon those who have goodness, love, and understanding in their hearts. But what about in a world without God? Isaac, Gods Final Mercy is a story of Gods mercy just after the rapture, when suddenly in a flash of light all true believers are taken to safety. But in this time, the world is consumed by all the remaining evil, and the Antichrist takes his reign over the earth. God sends a powerful supreme being, Isaac, back to the world during these last days, and his task is to find those who were left behind and see if they are worthy of Gods love and mercyand to destroy those who are not. Throughout the Bible and even since the beginning of time, God has always shown his mercy upon the world. Without God there would be no love or understanding, and the world would be filled with hatred, murder, mayhem, and suffering. This is not unlike our world today, but we can be hopeful because we know God is here for us, and in his mercy he will show us the way to eternity.
