Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Summer Reading: Books That Change Lives

Unimaginable has changed my life. Finally a book that puts some sense into what I'm seeing going on in the news and in the world. I've been on a downward spiral wondering what in the world was happening to people. Lies upon lies spouted on TV. And no one seems to truly notice or care, deliberately bouncing lies off lies. But Johnston puts what's happening today into a framework. He shows us the world before Christianity and the aftermath. He talks about the men and women who shaped philosophies that are still cropping up today. After showing us what our world would look like without Christianity, Johnston throws light on the ever-increasing effects of a world with Christianity.

I'm for ever grateful for the author's attention to detail and the historical facts that have pushed us where we are today. Frank Turek stated, "Jeremiah Johnston takes you on a sweeping ride through history to reveal how Jesus Christ infused our lives with goodness in ways you many never have imagined. I can't recommend this book highly enough." Well, neither can I!!









Wow! I've been praying for God to empower me, to move me to get out and do His work. God delivered. He laid Boltz's book in front of me and said, "Read!". 

All the struggles I felt had no answers were clearly dissolved as I read one chapter after another. After I finished the book, I felt equipped to meet Boltz's challenge. "I invite you on a journey to use words to speak into the very fabric of your life, the spiritual realm, and the world around you. These words are all the tools for you to align your faith and create your inner life as one full of courage and hope." Read and watch how the God of breakthrough wants to show you how to break the things that hold you back from the fullness of life God wants you to have.

Jonathan Cahn also talks about the power of breakthrough in his devotional, "The Power of the Bikor".  In it Cahn states, "No matter what you're going through, no matter what the problem, what the obstacle, what the situation, no matter what, you've got the power to break forth and breakthrough."

Learn to breakthrough to see what God needs you to see and do in your life. I challenge you to read Shawn Boltz's book, Breakthrough!






Five teachings of Jesus often missed, ignored, or rejected.
Gary Miller has caused a giant shift in my faith walk. I've been studying scripture for years. I attend church and listen, truly listen, Bible in hand, to the pastor. I am a student wanting to learn all I can about my Savior.

After reading this book, I realize I am a novice, needing to go back and reread the Bible, looking at scripture with a new lens - the lens of truth and awareness.

What did Jesus really say about obedience to the commands of Jesus; the true meaning of grace in our lives; Jesus's primary focus for us; Jesus view on divorce and remarriage; and His view on wealth.

I want to know what Jesus said about how I'm to think, act, and process His words to enrich my life and the lives of others. We all need to understand these truth that are often misunderstood.

I will reread Miller's book many times. The book may be small, but it is powerful, even life-changing.






"Not what you think . . ." That intrigued me. "Might be nothing we expected yet everything we need." That made me buy the book. Why? I'm almost 70 years old. I have children and grandchildren who are questioning what the Bible says. I question it, too, but I trust and believe what it says even when I don't understand it all. 

But I have conversations with younger people who question without faith. The jacket on the book peaked my interest further, "The Bible is seen by many contemporary readers as intolerant, outdated, out of step with societal norms at best, and a tool of oppression at worst.In this earnest and illuminating read, Michael and Lauren McAfee honestly wrestle with the relevance of this ancient book in our modern world and raise a few questions of their own."

The very things the authors mentioned as troubling about the Bible to millennials and generation Z, I hear voiced by the younger people in my family. I want to understand the issues they are dealing with or at least be open minded enough to listen if I get the opportunity to have a discussion with them. 

So I read the book. I cannot tell you how my eyes were open, how my faith was strengthened, and how the strength of my faith that offers grace, mercy, and love is exactly what our younger people need as they figure out their faith journey in a world that is ever changing and complex. 

All ages will appreciate the authors fresh perspective and thorough investigation in sharing the issues that all people are facing, young and old alike, and how they can navigate through these issues. You will certainly appreciate their candor and honesty about the questions they have had. I love the invitation that they repeatedly offer to readers - seek for yourself what the Bible says, then make up your own mind what you want to do with Jesus and what He offers. Let it be a personal choice, not one gathered on the internet or from a group of friends who may or may not have encountered a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ, the Lord.

God bless each of you! May God speak to you in ways that astound, motivate, and encourage you to do and be all you can in His power, grace, mercy, and love,
Angela

Links for books:

Unimaginable:  https://www.amazon.com/Unimaginable-World-Would-Without-Christianity/dp/0764230816/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1ASZAPL90C7QX&keywords=unimaginable+jeremiah+johnston&qid=1567537993&s=gateway&sprefix=Unimaginable%2Caps%2C229&sr=8-1


Breakthrough: Prophesies, Prayers, & Declarations:  https://www.amazon.com/Breakthrough-Prophecies-Declarations-Shawn-Bolz/dp/1949709299/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2AUTAMH2G7FNO&keywords=shawn+bolz+breakthrough&qid=1567538157&s=gateway&sprefix=shawn+bolz%2Caps%2C175&sr=8-1

Jesus Really Said That: https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Really-Said-That-Miller/dp/1943929114/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Jesus+really+said+that&qid=1567538224&s=gateway&sr=8-1


Not What You Think: https://www.amazon.com/Not-What-You-Think-Everything/dp/0310355214/ref=sr_1_2?crid=FVIOGE50E8L0&keywords=not+what+you+think&qid=1567538289&s=gateway&sprefix=Not+what+%2Caps%2C187&sr=8-2









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