Christians have not always presented an inviting picture to the world. Too often we have failed to show the beauty of authentic Christian love. And the world has disregarded Christianity as a result. In our era of global violence and sectarian intolerance, the church needs to hear anew the challenge of this book. Decades ago Francis Schaeffer exhorted, Love--and the unity it attests to--is the mark Christ gave Christians to wear before the world. Only with this mark may the world know that Christians are indeed Christians and that Jesus was sent by the Father. More than ever, the church needs to respond compassionately to a needy world. More than ever, we need to show the Mark.

    His dramatic story, and those of others worldwide who are suffering persecution, are told in shocking, yet sensitive detail. Especially startling is the true story of rescuing a very young Pakistani girl who experienced horrific sexual abuse—because her family would not convert to Islam. Although hard to imagine and even harder to accept, this important truth about religious persecution is blatantly exposed. Millions of families are praying for help. They are suffering daily in China, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, and many other countries—solely because of their beliefs. Freedom Fighter is Reverend El Shafie’s outreach—it follows his heroic work over a four-year period as he traveled to Pakistan and Afghanistan to investigate claims of abuse, persecution, and slavery and to speak truth to governments that neglect and violate the human rights of their citizens. This fight involves all believers—please help.

    A perfect way to live Lent to the full this year - Lent is a time to refocus our hearts and revive our love of the Lord and one another.A Companion for the Forty Days of Lent, featuring original meditations on the Gospel reading of each day by fifteen gifted authors.Each issue of the Lenten Companion is never the same as the last and contains these one-of-a-kind extras that you won’t find anywhere else:- Inspiring reflections from some of the most gifted Catholic writers for each day- Faith-filled essays- Prayers, poetry, and devotions- Meditations for the Way of the Cross- A treasury of spiritual insights

    

    To understand Easter, it is necessary to experience the entire Christian story. Like people who walk in at the end of a movie and wonder what all the fuss is about, so too Christians need to know their history--from creation to the first sin, from Christ's first miracle to his death, and everything in between.Story invites readers on a dramatic journey through the greatest story ever told. Using the power of imagery to move readers back to a place where they can encounter God, Steven James makes familiar Bible narratives come alive in provocative and poetic ways. Using thirty short, image-based chapters, Story makes the gospel real for a postmodern world and allows readers to meet Christ again or for the very first time.

    He then describes the Church's developing self-awareness of its dual elements of the human and divine. Concerned with verifying the Church's claim to embody Christ, Giussani situates the locus of verification in human experience, arguing that a different type of life is born in those who try to live the life of the Church. Why the Church? is a seminal study that will engage both the scholar and the general reader.

    But Peter warned that something new would soon happen: a "fiery trial" of official persecution was about to begin. Peter wanted to tell them how they could be triumphant for the glory of God. We can expect to suffer for our faith, but we can also be hopeful. God's grace is ours for the asking! Suffering in the will of God leads to the glory of God. We can prepare for the best of God's blessings rather than fear the worst of man's hatred. Look to Jesus Christ and BE HOPEFUL Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe is best known as an author, pastor, and radio Bible teacher. He was for many years pastor of Chicago's Moody Memorial Church and most recently served as General Director and Bible teacher for Back to the Bible. He has authored over 100 books, including the New Testament "BE" series from Victor Books.

    Some of what we have learned and experienced may even blind us to what is really true about God, leaving us both yearning for and afraid of closeness with Him.Coupling the teachings of Christ and His prophets with gospel-oriented ideas from her counseling background, Wendy Ulrich probes faulty assumptions that we may bring to our relationship with God. By understanding and healing these false beliefs and then following the teachings of Christ about how we can ''come unto Him,'' we learn to see God more accurately, rely on Him more trustingly, and become strengthened in His love.

    These great teachers, whose love for the scriptures is contagious, explore the significance of one verse from each section of the Doctrine and Covenants, showing you how to dig deep and find personal application in God's word. These short, devotional-style lessons also include historical background information about these modern revelations. Invitations will lead you to a more meaningful personal study of the Doctrine and Covenants and Church history, sparking vibrant discussions with your family and friends. You may also enjoy looking for your personal "don't miss this" verses as you study on your own. Designed to be read quickly and shared every day, these entries will help you rediscover just how completely the teachings and truths of the Doctrine and Covenants will enrich your life.

    There's a villain out to hang Mordechai and murder his countrymen; a king who enjoys drinking; and a beautiful and noble queen. There are assassins, palace intrigue and a climactic battle scene -- and a happy ending, to boot. What more could you ask for in a good child's story?The holiday associated with the book can seem child-like, too. Purim is celebrated with costumes, carnivals, and abundant merriment. Kids dress up as Esther, Mordechai, Haman and Achashveirosh, wearing plastic hats and cellophane scepters. Purim is the great holiday of make-believe.All this make believe, though, can have unintended consequences. Chief among them is the fact that many of us are likely to remain with childlike views of Purim and the Megillah long after we've turned adults. Our perspective upon Mordechai and Esther and their struggle can easily remain as one-dimensional as the face paint we use to impersonate these people in costume.In this book, Rabbi Fohrman invites the reader to look at the Book of Esther with fresh eyes; to join him, as it were, on a guided adventure -- a close reading of the ancient biblical text. In so doing, he reveals another Purim story; a richer, deeper narrative -- more suited perhaps, to the eyes ofan adult than to a child. As layers of meaning are gradually revealed, Esther's hidden story comes alive in a vibrant, unexpected way -- offering the reader a fascinating and stirring encounter with the queen whose costume they wore as children -- the queen they thought they knew.

    Is God all-powerful? Is God good? How can God allow so much innocent human suffering?These questions, taken together, have been called the "theodicy problem," and in this book Thomas Long explores what preachers can and should say in response. Long reviews the origins and history of the theodicy problem and engages the work of major thinkers who have posed solutions to it. Cautioning pastors not to ignore urgent theodicy-related questions arising from their parishioners, he offers biblically based approaches to preaching on theodicy, guided by Jesus' parable of the wheat and the tares and the "greatest theodicy text in Scripture" -- the book of Job.

    Unlike most other books in this field which are specific to one form of chaplaincy and are often written from an autographical viewpoint only, this new resource meets a critical need for an introductory and overview look at chaplaincy in general.

    Diane Wilson spent twenty-five precious years of her life, first becoming indoctrinated by the dogma of the Watchtower Society, and then struggling to free herself from its pervasive, intimidating clutches. In this probing, brutally honest assessment, Wilson describes how a childhood of psychological abuse and lack of self-confidence rendered her vulnerable to the seductive doctrines of the Jehovah's Witnesses. What she reveals about the goings-on within the closed Watchtower Society will shock the average person who assumes the polite, well-dressed people who pass out leaflets are much like any other conservative religious group. Wilson contends that membership in the Jehovah's Witnesses requires obedience bordering on psychological enslavement and complete suppression of individuality. Her engrossing memoir will be of great interest to former Witnesses, students of cult phenomena, and anyone who has ever had contact with Jehovah's Witnesses.

    Pearl in the Sand tells Rahab's untold story. Rahab lives in a wall; her house is built into the defensive walls of the City of Jericho. Other walls surround her as well-walls of fear, rejection, and unworthiness. A woman with a wrecked past; a man of success, of faith...of pride. A marriage only God would conceive! Through the heartaches of a stormy relationship, Rahab and Salmone learn the true source of one another's worth and find healing in God.

    Yet in other ways he was a most ordinary man-often gripped by destructive passion, rocked by personal tragedy, and motivated by political gain. Yet, he is the one character the Bible describes as a "man after God's own heart." In this first volume of the "Great Lives" series Charles Swindoll shows how David proved his love for God many times over in an extraordinary life that left an enduring legacy of faith.