Download or read book So You Say You Are a Christian Do You Know Who You Really Are written by Evangelistt Maxine Gates Smyles and published by Xulon Press. This book was released on 2011-10 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evangelist Maxine Gates Smyles was the last of eleven Children born to Rachel and Curtis Gates in Hughes, Arkansas, in 1943. The family moved to Chicago when she was five years old. Evangelist Smyles was baptized at age ten; however, she did not understand what it meant to be a real Christian until 31 years later. In July of 1974, her brother Silas Gates, who is now the Pastor of Central Church of God in Chicago, introduced her to Jesus. She became aware of Jesus' love for her, and through her brother's witness, she truly received Jesus into her heart and life. After receiving Jesus, Evangelist Smyles attended Englewood Church of God in Chicago for approximately 18 years. There she learned how to study the Bible and to trust in the Lord. After the passing of her Pastor, Brother Luther Young, she later attended Central Church of God, and The Apostle Church of God, where the late Bishop Arthur M. Brazier was Pastor. Now, at New Name M. B. Church in Riverdale, Illinois, where Reverend Dr. Michael Burnside is the Senior Pastor, Evangelist Smyles serves as an Administrative Assistant. She serves on the Mother's Board, the Outreach Ministry, the Sisters over Sixty Serving Our Savior's Ministry, and the Bereavement Ministry. Writing about Jesus and sharing His love, His word, and His saving grace is the motivation and passion of Evangelist Smyles' life. At age 68, Evangelist Smyles is fulfilling her dream, to have her work published. She would encourage you, if you have a dream, do not give up on your dream. You may have to make changes, but there is still time to fulfill your dream. This book in itself is proof that it is never too late to fulfill your dream.
Download or read book Your God is Too Glorious written by Chad Bird and published by New Reformation Publications. This book was released on 2023-11-14 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most of us are regular people who have good days and bad days. Our lives are radically ordinary and unexciting. That means they're the kind of lives God gets excited about. While the world worships beauty and power and wealth, God hides his glory in the simple, the mundane, the foolish, working in unawesome people, things, and places.In our day of celebrity worship and online posturing, this is a refreshing, even transformative way of understanding God and our place in his creation. It urges us to treasure a life of simplicity, to love those whom the world passes by, to work for God's glory rather than our own. And it demonstrates that God has always been the Lord of the cross--a Savior who hides his grace in unattractive, inglorious places.Your God Is Too Glorious reminds readers that while a quiet life may look unimpressive to the world, it's the regular, everyday people that God tends to use to do his most important work.
Download or read book Am I Really a Christian Foreword by Kirk Cameron written by Mike McKinley and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2011-06-07 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jesus divided the world into two groups—those who follow him and those who don't. But what happens when someone thinks he or she is a Christian, but isn't? With his witty, engaging style, Mike McKinley takes readers on a journey of what it means to be a Christian. He asserts that "manipulative evangelism techniques and a poor understanding of the gospel have resulted in an abundance of professing Christians who have no idea what it means to follow Christ." Each chapter title begins with "You're not a Christian [if/when/just because you]..." As he surveys what it means to be Christian, McKinley offers criteria for evaluating one's standing before God. Readers are guided through a series of challenges to reflect, repent, remember, and report to another person. Am I Really a Christian? ends with chapters on salvation and the local church. This unique book is written for nominal or new Christians and can be used in personal or small-group study.
Download or read book The Whole Christ written by Sinclair B. Ferguson and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2016-01-14 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the days of the early church, Christians have struggled to understand the relationship between two seemingly contradictory concepts in the Bible: law and gospel. If, as the apostle Paul says, the law cannot save, what can it do? Is it merely an ancient relic from Old Testament Israel to be discarded? Or is it still valuable for Christians today? Helping modern Christians think through this complex issue, seasoned pastor and theologian Sinclair Ferguson carefully leads readers to rediscover an eighteenth-century debate that sheds light on this present-day doctrinal conundrum: the Marrow Controversy. After sketching the history of the debate, Ferguson moves on to discuss the theology itself, acting as a wise guide for walking the path between legalism (overemphasis on the law) on the one side and antinomianism (wholesale rejection of the law) on the other.
Download or read book Seeing and savouring Jesus Christ written by JOHN PIPER and published by Inter-Varsity Press. This book was released on 2020-05-21 with total page 105 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who is Jesus Christ? You've never met Him in person, and you don't know anyone who has. But there is a way to know who he is. How? Jesus Christ - the divine Person revealed in the Bible - has a unique excellence and a spiritual beauty that speaks directly to our souls and says, "Yes, this is truth." It's like seeing the sun and knowing that it is light, or tasting honey and knowing that it is sweet. The depth and complexity of Jesus shatter our simple mental frameworks. He baffled proud scribes with his wisdom but was understood and loved by children. He calmed a raging storm with a word but would not get himself down from the cross. Look at the Jesus of the Bible. Keep your eyes open, and fill them with the portrait of Jesus in God's Word. Jesus said, "If anyone's will is to do God's will, He will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority." Ask God for the grace to do His will, and you will see the truth of His Son. John Piper has written this book in the hope that all will see Jesus for who he really is and will come to enjoy him above all else.
Download or read book Who Do You Say that I AM written by Becky Harling and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 2018-02-06 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you know Jesus as He really is? We can speak in abstracts all day long. We can ponder who Jesus is and what it means to follow Him. But he wants our confession. He wants to know, “Who do you say that I AM?” How we answer defines our lives both now and forever. This 8-week study in the “I AM” statements of Jesus will help women move from knowing about Him to knowing Him personally. Guiding them through significant questions Jesus asks in the Gospels—and the answers He himself provides—it will help readers: Realize the truth of who Jesus really is Grow in their ability to trust God and rely on Him fully Find the calm and peace promised in Scripture despite life circumstances Becky Harling has years of experience as a Bible teacher and women’s ministry leader. She empathizes with women and knows how to make Scripture come alive. Who Do You Say that I AM? will draw women deep into the Word for a true encounter with Christ, helping them become more confident, calm, and courageous in the faith.
Download or read book You Are Beloved written by Bobby Schuller and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2018-05-29 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: You're not what you do. You're not what you have. You are not what others say about you. You are God's beloved. Are you ever concerned that you don’t deserve to love and be loved because you are continually having to prove yourself? In You Are Beloved, Bobby Schuller shows you how to let go of these fears and put your trust in the One who sees you for who you really are. Here is an easy to follow, proven path to personal dignity for all those who think they are not good enough no matter how much they achieve. This path is illuminated by the truths that it is not about what you accomplish, but what has already been accomplished for you; not about what you have, but what has already been provided; and not about who others say you are, but who God says you are. Know that you are valued, cared for, and embraced. You Are Beloved will help you rebuild your life as a response to that assurance.
Download or read book No More Faking Fine written by Esther Fleece Allen and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2017-01-10 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scripture reveals a God who meets us where we are, not where we pretend to be. No More Faking Fine is your invitation to get honest with God through the life-giving language of lament. If you've ever been given empty clichés during challenging times, you know how painful it is to be misunderstood by well-meaning people. When life hurts, we often feel pressure--from others and ourselves--to keep it together, suck it up, or pray it away. But Scripture reveals a God who lovingly invites us to give honest voice to our emotions when life hits hard. For most of her life, Esther Fleece Allen believed she could bypass the painful emotions of her broken past by shutting them down altogether. She was known as an achiever and an overcomer on the fast track to success. But in silencing her pain, she robbed herself of the opportunity to be healed. Maybe you've done the same. Esther's journey into healing began when she discovered that God has given us a real-world way to deal with raw emotions and an alternative to the coping mechanisms that end up causing more pain. It's called lament--the gut-level, honest prayer that God never ignores, never silences, and never wastes. No More Faking Fine is your permission to lament, taking you on a journey down the unexpected pathway to true intimacy with God. Drawing from careful biblical study and hard-won insight, Esther reveals how to use God's own language to come closer to him as he leads us through our pain to the light on the other side, teaching you that: We are robbing ourselves of a divine mystery and a divine intimacy when we pretend to have it all together God does not expect us to be perfect; instead, he meets us where we are There is hope beyond your heartache, disappointment, and grief Like Esther, you'll soon find that when one person stops faking fine, it gives everyone else permission to do the same.
Download or read book The Quest for Full Assurance written by Joel R. Beeke and published by Banner of Truth Trust. This book was released on 1999 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Against the background of the sixteenth-century Reformers (with special attention to Calvin), Beeke examines the theological development of personal assurance of faith in English Puritanism and its parallel movement in the Netherlands, the Dutch Second Reformation.
Download or read book Just Do Something written by Kevin DeYoung and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 2014-03-21 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: OVER 300,000 COPIES SOLD! Why won’t God reveal his special will for my life already? Because he doesn’t intend to... So says Kevin DeYoung in this punchy book about making decisions the godly way. Many of us are listening for the still small voice to tell us what’s next instead of listening to the clear voice in Scripture telling us what’s now. God does have a will for your life, but it is the same as everyone else’s: Seek first the kingdom of God. And quit floundering. With pastoral wisdom and tasteful wit, DeYoung debunks unbiblical ways of understanding God’s will and constructs a simple but biblical alternative: live like Christ. He exposes the frustrations of our waiting games and unfolds the freedom of finding God’s will in Scripture and then simply doing it. This book is a call to put down our Magic 8-Balls and pick up God’s Word. It’s a call to get wisdom, follow Christ, be holy, and live freely. To just do something.
Download or read book Fact Faith and Experience written by Watchman Nee and published by Living Stream Ministry. This book was released on 2002-06 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout his life of ministry in service to the Lord, Watchman Nee demonstrated a proper balance between knowing hte objective truths in the Bible and experiencing the subjective realities contained int he divine relation. This book begins with the article "Fact, faith, and experience". Subsequent sections contain messages that relate to the topics of fact, faith and experience.
Download or read book Jesus Religion written by Jefferson Bethke and published by HarperChristian + ORM. This book was released on 2013-10-14 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abandon dead, dry, religious rule-keeping and embrace the promise of being truly known and deeply loved. Jefferson Bethke burst into the cultural conversation with a passionate, provocative poem titled "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus." The 4-minute video became an overnight sensation, with 7 million YouTube views in its first 48 hours (and 23+ million in a year). Bethke's message clearly struck a chord with believers and nonbelievers alike, triggering an avalanche of responses running the gamut from encouraged to enraged. In his New York Times bestseller Jesus > Religion, Bethke unpacks similar contrasts that he drew in the poem--highlighting the difference between teeth gritting and grace, law and love, performance and peace, despair, and hope. With refreshing candor, he delves into the motivation behind his message, beginning with the unvarnished tale of his own plunge from the pinnacle of a works-based, fake-smile existence that sapped his strength and led him down a path of destructive behavior. Along the way, Bethke gives you the tools you need to: Humbly and prayerfully open your mind Understand Jesus for all that he is View the church from a brand-new perspective Bethke is quick to acknowledge that he's not a pastor or theologian, but simply an ordinary, twenty-something who cried out for a life greater than the one for which he had settled. On this journey, Bethke discovered the real Jesus, who beckoned him with love beyond the props of false religion. Praise for Jesus > Religion: "Jeff's book will make you stop and listen to a voice in your heart that may have been drowned out by the noise of religion. Listen to that voice, then follow it--right to the feet of Jesus." --Bob Goff, author of New York Times bestsellers Love Does and Everybody, Always "The book you hold in your hands is Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz meets C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity meets Augustine's Confessions. This book is going to awaken an entire generation to Jesus and His grace." --Derwin L. Gray, lead pastor of Transformation Church, author of Limitless Life: Breaking Free from the Labels That Hold You Back
Download or read book Happiness written by Randy Alcorn and published by Tyndale House Publishers. This book was released on 2024-06-04 with total page 575 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you ever wonder whether God even cares if we're happy? This world can be so hard, and we aren't promised an easy road. But that's not the whole story. The Bible is filled with verses that prove that ours is a God who not only loves celebrations but also desperately wants his children to experience happiness. Why else would he go to the lengths he did to ensure our eternal happiness in his presence? We know that we will experience unimaginable joy and happiness in heaven, but that doesn't mean we can't also experience joy and happiness here on earth. In Happiness, noted theologian Randy Alcorn (bestselling author of Heaven) dispels centuries of misconceptions about happiness, including downright harmful ideas like the prosperity gospel, and provides indisputable proof that God not only wants us to be happy, he commands it. Randy covers questions like: How can I cultivate happiness in my life? What's the difference between joy and happiness? Can good things become idols that steal our happiness? Is seeking happiness selfish? How can I achieve happiness through gratitude? What does it look like to receive God's grace? The most definitive study on the subject of happiness to date, this book is a paradigm-shifting wake-up call for the church and Christians everywhere.
Download or read book Holy Bible NIV written by Various Authors, and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2008-09-02 with total page 6637 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book The Gospel According to Matthew written by and published by Canongate U.S.. This book was released on 1999 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The publication of the King James version of the Bible, translated between 1603 and 1611, coincided with an extraordinary flowering of English literature and is universally acknowledged as the greatest influence on English-language literature in history. Now, world-class literary writers introduce the book of the King James Bible in a series of beautifully designed, small-format volumes. The introducers' passionate, provocative, and personal engagements with the spirituality and the language of the text make the Bible come alive as a stunning work of literature and remind us of its overwhelming contemporary relevance.
Download or read book Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart written by J. D. Greear and published by B&H Publishing Group. This book was released on 2013-02-01 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “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.
Download or read book How You Can Be Sure You Are a Christian written by Bill Bright and published by NewLife Publications. This book was released on 1998-10-01 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This series of time-tested messages teaches the principles of abundant Christian life and ministry. These "back to the basics" resources will guide you and those you disciple toward greater spiritual maturity and fulfillment. The Transferable Concepts help older believers gain a deeper understanding of the fundamentals of the faith and equip new converts with the essentials to live victorious Christian lives. Revised and updated for today's new Christian, this exciting series is based on life-changing biblical truths that can be simply and powerfully communicated from one person to another, generation after generation. This series provides practical ways to apply these truths to your life.
