Download or read book Disappointment with God written by Philip Yancey and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 1988 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Is God listening? "Can he be trusted?" In this book, Yancey tackles the questions caused by a God who doesn't always do what we think he's supposed to do.

Download or read book Even If written by Mitchel Lee and published by Multnomah. This book was released on 2021-08-17 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do you worship God even if life isn’t going the way you had hoped? “Even If is not some bumper sticker to display, but a daring commitment to live.”—Kyle Idleman, senior pastor of Southeast Christian Church “I believe we will see more resilient people in the face of suffering because of this great book.”—Bryan Loritts, teaching pastor at The Summit Church What happens when the test comes back positive? The relationship ends? The dream goes unfulfilled? The plans don’t move forward? Amid confusion, hurt, and anger, we wonder where we went wrong. What is God doing? In Even If, Mitchel Lee reminds us that while God does not promise a pain-free life, he offers something better: his presence in the pain. No matter our circumstances, God is worthy of our worship, and he can meet us even in our greatest difficulties. Drawing on his own journey, Mitchel explores the compelling story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3. These three men chose to worship God even if God didn’t rescue them from the fire. From their example and countless others, we can do the same. Maybe you are stuck in regret, grieving a loss, or unsure of how to take your next step because there is no promise of success. Even If offers the courage you need to move forward, declaring devotion—not in spite of life’s fires but because of them—to a God whose goodness never changes.

Download or read book When Faith Disappoints written by Lisa Victoria Fields and published by Multnomah. This book was released on 2024-08-13 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For anyone who feels the weight of injustice, trauma, and suffering, the founder of the Jude 3 Project invites you to discover how to find hope when you can’t make sense of the pain. “Lisa Fields brilliantly offers hope for all who seek to practice their faith without the cruel dogma nurtured by Western culture.”—Otis Moss III, senior pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago Living as a Black woman in America, Lisa Victoria Fields understands the tension of relying on God in a broken world. While pursuing her calling in full-time Christian ministry—an often white, male-dominated vocation—she saw the contentions many people have with Christianity. She heard the theological questions, but instead of arguing for her faith, she listened to the barriers and heard the pain in their hearts: Why doesn’t God protect me from suffering and injustice? Others don’t seem to think I have value—does God? Now, in her debut book, Fields shows us how emotional pain—often more than theological concerns—is at the root of our doubt. She invites us to bring our deepest soul questions to this journey as she explores: • Seven pain points that might be keeping us from faith: a lack of personhood, peace, provision, pleasure, purpose, protection, and power • Honest talk about how Christianity doesn’t seem to meet our very valid needs • Why wrestling with God doesn’t negate our faith but instead deepens it • What it looks like to allow God to bring healing to our pain so we can see Him and others more clearly Through vulnerable storytelling and thoughtful use of Scripture, Fields tends to our hurting hearts and offers hope and resolve. She helps us move forward as we cling to a faith that brings us back to the truth of Christianity—not despite the pain of this world but in light of it.

Download or read book Unafraid written by Adam Hamilton and published by Convergent Books. This book was released on 2018-03-13 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Learn how to face and overcome the fears we feel about loneliness, illness, financial insecurity, disappointing others, failure, insignificance, and aging “A thoughtful, literate, faith-filled guide to reclaiming our minds and our lives.”—John Ortberg, senior pastor of Menlo Church and author of I’d Like You More If You Were More Like Me You’d be hard-pressed to overstate the extent to which fear, anxiety, and worry permeate our lives today. Fear wreaks havoc on our relationships and communities. It leads us into making bad decisions. It holds us back from the very pursuits that promise fulfillment and joy. As the senior pastor of a large, diverse church in America’s heartland, Adam Hamilton has seen the cost of fear up close. When he surveyed his congregation on how fear affects them, 2,400 people responded—and what they said was eye-opening. Eighty percent admitted to living with moderate or significant levels of fear. Unafraid is Hamilton's insightful and impassioned response. Drawing on recent research, inspiring real-life examples, and fresh biblical insight, Hamilton uses a mixture of facts and faith to help readers understand and counter fears related to such outsize perils as death and illness, as well as the everyday anxieties all of us encounter. He invites us to: Face our fears with a bias of hope Examine our fears in light of the facts Attack our anxieties with action Release our cares to God Writing with generosity and intelligence, Hamilton shows how believer and unbeliever alike can develop sustaining spiritual practices and embrace Jesus’s recurring counsel: “Do not be afraid.” For anyone struggling with fear or wondering how families and communities can thrive in troubled times, Unafraid offers an informed and inspiring message full of practical solutions.

Download or read book Still Waiting written by Ann Swindell and published by NavPress. This book was released on 2017-04-04 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What if God wants you to wait? Most of us know what it’s like to wait for God to change our circumstances. But, whether we’re waiting for physical healing, emotional breakthrough, or better relationships, waiting is something we usually try to avoid. Why? Because waiting is painful and hard. The truth is, it’s also inevitable. In Still Waiting, Ann Swindell explores the depths of why God wants us to wait by chronicling her own compelling story of waiting for healing from an incurable condition. She offers a vibrant retelling of the biblical account of the Bleeding Woman that parallels her story—and yours, too. Let Ann help you see the promise that is hidden in the ache of waiting and the hope of what God can—and will—do as you wait on him.

Download or read book The Surprising Grace of Disappointment written by John Koessler and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 2013-04-16 with total page 157 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Disappointment is a feeling everyone knows well—failed relationships, buyer’s remorse, unmet expectations, and so on. In a broken world, disappointment surrounds us. But Christians know that Jesus will never disappoint us, right? Wrong. John Koessler explains how Jesus disappoints everyone. He never fails, but he does disappoint. We come to Jesus with false expectations, demanding or expecting things he doesn’t promise, and then when he doesn’t deliver, we are disappointed by Him. But Koessler explains how this can be the best thing for us even though it doesn’t feel good. He describes how this sort of disappointment takes our wrong expectations and sets them straight, bringing us closer to Jesus and into a deeper understanding of his very surprising grace. This book is a wonderful resource for people struggling with life’s hard times as well as for counselors or pastors seeking to help others.

Download or read book Telling a Better Story written by Josh Chatraw and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2020-06-30 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christianity Today 2021 Book Award Winner: Apologetics & Evangelism Telling a Better Story clears a path to a more effective, empathetic apologetics for today—both for experienced apologists and those new to sharing their faith with others. Today's Christians often view the practice of defending their faith as pushy or unnecessary. Won't it just be taken for proselytizing? Don't many unbelievers find it offensive? Many Christians have shifted to a strategy of hoping that our lives will show Christ to our neighbors—and, while this is certainly good, it's no substitute to actively telling people about Christ. In Telling a Better Story, author Joshua Chatraw presents a new and refreshing way to engage in apologetics that will help you tell the story of Christ in a holistic, culturally-contextual manner that—while being respectful—helps unbelievers imagine a more complete happiness and a better meaning to life. Telling a Better Story will give you the tools to: Understand the cultural stories that surround us. Recognize how these secular stories have shaped the way many people think. Learn how to tell God's story in a fresh way that allows today's younger generations to see it as a more meaningful and more hopeful story than the scripts around it. Finally, you'll also learn how to deal with the perennial issues and common objections to Christianity.

Download or read book A Disruptive Faith written by Tozer A. W. and published by ReadHowYouWant.com. This book was released on 2011-07-13 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The word ''faith'' is common these days, but placing one's faith in God is a weighty action, uncommonly fraught with consequence and, by His design, inconvenience. Faith in God is reassuring and comforting only insofar as believers trust Him - and that depth of trust is the mark of a mature Christian who has allowed faith to intrude on his life and shift his gaze away from his own aims, needs and desires. This is nothing if not a painful and disturbing process. A Disruptive Faith is A. W. Tozer's never-before-published teaching on what he termed ''faith that perturbs'' - faith that contradicts the unbelieving man and threatens the complacency of the Christian. The renowned pastor and teacher insists in these pages that genuine faith breeds dissatisfaction with this life, by God's design; it weans us from this temporary life and prepares us for the life to come. Readers will learn to be content with this faith-inspired discontent and to experience a fresh hope for eternity with God.

Download or read book Rebecca s Revival written by Jon F Sensbach and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-06-30 with total page 315 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rebecca's Revival is the remarkable story of a Caribbean woman--a slave turned evangelist--who helped inspire the rise of black Christianity in the Atlantic world. All but unknown today, Rebecca Protten left an enduring influence on African-American religion and society. Born in 1718, Protten had a childhood conversion experience, gained her freedom from bondage, and joined a group of German proselytizers from the Moravian Church. She embarked on an itinerant mission, preaching to hundreds of the enslaved Africans of St. Thomas, a Danish sugar colony in the West Indies. Laboring in obscurity and weathering persecution from hostile planters, Protten and other black preachers created the earliest African Protestant congregation in the Americas. Protten's eventful life--the recruiting of converts, an interracial marriage, a trial on charges of blasphemy and inciting of slaves, travels to Germany and West Africa--placed her on the cusp of an emerging international Afro-Atlantic evangelicalism. Her career provides a unique lens on this prophetic movement that would soon sweep through the slave quarters of the Caribbean and North America, radically transforming African-American culture. Jon Sensbach has pieced together this forgotten life of a black visionary from German, Danish, and Dutch records, including letters in Protten's own hand, to create an astounding tale of one woman's freedom amidst the slave trade. Protten's life, with its evangelical efforts on three continents, reveals the dynamic relations of the Atlantic world and affords great insight into the ways black Christianity developed in the New World.

Download or read book Present Over Perfect Guided Journal written by Shauna Niequist and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2021-07-13 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are you more burned-out than energized? Do you too often start the day tired and overwhelmed? Leave behind the heavy weight of comparison, competition, and exhaustion, and recraft a life marked by meaning, connection, and unconditional love in this interactive journal from New York Times bestselling author Shauna Niequist. In the mess and the mundane, how do you begin to find space in your life? Shauna takes you on a journey toward growth and grounding that will bring about a meaningful transformation in your marriage, your family, your friendships, and your prayer life. The Present Over Perfect Guided Journal offers: Thought-provoking quotes from Shauna to inspire you Guided writing prompts and interactive activities Journaling space to write your thoughts Beautiful textured cover and two-color interior Whether you've read Present Over Perfect or not, this guided journal will equip you to apply and live its principles either through independent introspection or small group dialog and discussion, it will be a favorite on your bedside table or at the beach, and it also makes a perfect gift for birthdays, Christmas, and Mother's Day and for anyone searching for peace in their life. Sink deep into wonder, rest, and stillness in this interactive invitation to weave the truths of Present Over Perfect into your life. Look for additional inspirational books and audio products from Shauna: I Guess I Haven't Learned That Yet Present Over Perfect Bread and Wine Savor

Download or read book Overcoming Life s Disappointments written by Harold S. Kushner and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2006-08-15 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “No human relationship is without betrayal, irritation and annoyance, but Kushner makes clear that it’s what we do about such obstacles that matter” (Los Angeles Times Book Review) in this best-selling guide to being your best self, even when things don’t turn out as you’d hoped. The beloved author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People, Rabbi Harold S. Kushner here turns to the experience of Moses to find the requisite lessons of strength and faith—the lessons that teach us how to overcome the disappointments that life inherently brings. We can learn how to meet all disappointments with faith in ourselves and the future, and how to respond to heartbreak—how to weather the disillusionment of dreams unfulfilled, the pain of a lost job, divorce or abandonment, illness, and more—with understanding rather than bitterness and despair. With Kushner’s signature warmth, Overcoming Life’s Disappointments is a book of spiritual wisdom—as practical as it is inspiring.

Download or read book Urban Apologetics written by Eric Mason and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2021-04-06 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Urban Apologetics examines the legitimate issues that Black communities have with Western Christianity and shows how the gospel of Jesus Christ—rather than popular, socioreligious alternatives—restores our identity. African Americans have long confronted the challenge of dignity destruction caused by white supremacy. While many have found meaning and restoration of dignity in the black church, others have found it in ethnocentric socioreligious groups and philosophies. These ideologies have grown and developed deep traction in the black community and beyond. Revisionist history, conspiracy theories, and misinformation about Jesus and Christianity are the order of the day. Many young African Americans are disinterested in Christianity and others are leaving the church in search of what these false religious ideas appear to offer, a spirituality more indigenous to their history and ethnicity. Edited by Dr. Eric Mason and featuring a top-notch lineup of contributors, Urban Apologetics is the first book focused entirely on cults, religious groups, and ethnocentric ideologies prevalent in the black community. The book is divided into three main parts: Discussions on the unique context for urban apologetics so that you can better understand the cultural arguments against Christianity among the Black community. Detailed information on cults, religious groups, and ethnic identity groups that many urban evangelists encounter—such as the Nation of Islam, Kemetic spirituality, African mysticism, Hebrew Israelites, Black nationalism, and atheism. Specific tools for urban apologetics and community outreach. Ultimately, Urban Apologetics applies the gospel to black identity to show that Jesus is the only one who can restore it. This is an essential resource to equip those doing the work of ministry and apology in urban communities with the best available information.

Download or read book In the Middle of the Mess written by Sheila Walsh and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2017-11-07 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do you turn your struggles into strengths? Beloved Bible teacher Sheila Walsh teaches readers how the daily spiritual practices of confession, meditation on God’s Word, and prayer result in fresh freedom in Christ. In her long-awaited book, Sheila Walsh equips women with a practical method for connecting with God’s strength in the midst of struggle. From daily frustrations that can feel like overwhelming obstacles to hard challenges that turn into rock-bottom crises, women will find the means to equip themselves for standing strong with God. Using the spiritual applications of confession, prayer, and meditation on Scripture to form a daily connection to Jesus, women will learn how to experience new joy as a child of God who is fully known, fully loved, and fully accepted. In In the Middle of the Mess, Walsh reveals the hardened defenses that kept her from allowing God into her deepest hurts and shares how entering into a safe place with God and practicing this daily connection with him have saved her from the devil’s prowling attacks. Though we will never be completely “fixed” on earth, we are continually held by Jesus, whatever our circumstances. Sheila Walsh acts as our guardian in In the Middle of the Mess as she shows us we’re not alone in our struggles, guides us through a courageous journey of self-discovery, and reminds us where to find hope, comfort, and strength in tough times.

Download or read book 7 Truths That Changed the World Reasons to Believe written by Kenneth R. Samples and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2012-05-01 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ideas have consequences, sometimes far-reaching and world-changing. The Christian faith contains many volatile truths that challenged--and continue to challenge--the cultural and religious status quo of the world. This biblical, historical, and philosophical exploration of some of Christianity's most transformational ideas offers a unique look at how the world changed when Christ and his followers came on the scene. These ideas include the resurrection Jesus as God incarnate creation out of nothing the compatibility of faith and reason justification by grace through faith humankind in God's image the greater good of suffering Pastors, students, and thoughtful Christians will be strengthened to face contemporary challenges to these truths and will find the confidence to impact their world for Christ.

Download or read book Don t Waste Your Sorrows written by Paul E. Billheimer and published by CLC Publications. This book was released on 1977 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author points out that it is not the mere presence of suffering but how a Christian reacts to it which determines one's spiritual growth through sorrow and pain. Paul Billheimer warns Christians not to waste their sorrows, but to transform them.

Download or read book Losing My Religion written by William Lobdell and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2009-03-06 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: William Lobdell's journey of faith—and doubt—may be the most compelling spiritual memoir of our time. Lobdell became a born-again Christian in his late 20s when personal problems—including a failed marriage—drove him to his knees in prayer. As a newly minted evangelical, Lobdell—a veteran journalist—noticed that religion wasn't covered well in the mainstream media, and he prayed for the Lord to put him on the religion beat at a major newspaper. In 1998, his prayers were answered when the Los Angeles Times asked him to write about faith. Yet what happened over the next eight years was a roller-coaster of inspiration, confusion, doubt, and soul-searching as his reporting and experiences slowly chipped away at his faith. While reporting on hundreds of stories, he witnessed a disturbing gap between the tenets of various religions and the behaviors of the faithful and their leaders. He investigated religious institutions that acted less ethically than corrupt Wall St. firms. He found few differences between the morals of Christians and atheists. As this evidence piled up, he started to fear that God didn't exist. He explored every doubt, every question—until, finally, his faith collapsed. After the paper agreed to reassign him, he wrote a personal essay in the summer of 2007 that became an international sensation for its honest exploration of doubt. Losing My Religion is a book about life's deepest questions that speaks to everyone: Lobdell understands the longings and satisfactions of the faithful, as well as the unrelenting power of doubt. How he faced that power, and wrestled with it, is must reading for people of faith and nonbelievers alike.

Download or read book Just Like Us written by Jennifer Hayes Yates and published by . This book was released on 2020-03-29 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you doubt your value and identity as a woman?Do you long for clarity about your purpose in life?Do you wrestle to overcome fear, doubt, and insecurity?You're not alone. These doubts and fears trace back to that fateful day in the garden. The women in the Bible are more like us than you may realize. Women like Sarah, Hannah, Rahab, and the woman at the well also faced questions, doubts, and fears. But their stories teach us God's answers to these questions that nag our hearts and leave us restless. In her new book Just Like Us, best-selling author Jennifer Hayes Yates takes us on a guided tour through the pages of Scripture, stopping to visit each of these women and what the Lord longs to teach us through them. In Just Like Us, you'll encounter our God's surpassing love for us. His word overflows with the answers our hearts hunger for in this life. ?Learn how to find your deepest contentment in God.?Understand your eternal value in a temporal world .?Know your purpose in a world of confusion. ?Deepen your faith in God in a world of doubt.?Discern His truth in a world of lies.?Gain courage in a world of fear.?Embrace hope in a world of despair.Join this biblical journey and find your place in the kingdom as a beloved woman of God.