The Hard Good


Book Description

Hard things are a part of life--but they don't have to have the final word. Join bestselling author Lisa Whittle as she teaches us how to learn how to see the good again. What does it feel like to come back from something hard, to be able to hope again? Instead of running away from the obstacles we face and the growth we crave, Lisa teaches us that our challenges can become the keys to our greatest usability in the kingdom of God--that is, if we let God make good of them. In The Hard Good, Lisa guides us on a powerful path to progress as we learn to: Accept things we wish were different Apologize and forgive first Cheer for someone who gets what we want Open our hearts again when we've been hurt Find joy in the waiting Show up when we want to shut down Your hard place is never too hard for God. Allow it to change you, help you, and ready you for the greatest comeback you have ever known. Praise for The Hard Good: "I can't think of a person better equipped than my friend Lisa Whittle to tackle the hand-in-hand partnership of the title of this book: The Hard Good. She knows the angst of hard in deeply personal ways. She knows the choice of good because her heart purely seeks Jesus, and she truly wants to make a holy difference by helping others. Settle in. Dare to crack open these pages. You can, as I do, trust her with your heart. Let's do this. Together we can do the hard good." --Lysa TerKeurst, New York Times bestselling author of Forgiving What You Can't Forget




The Hard Good Study Guide with DVD


Book Description

The Hard Good shows why the divine road that leads to God's perfect plan for our lives is often paved with difficulties. At our very core is the desire to be God's woman or man--faithful, having fulfilled the potential God created in us. To reach that point, sometimes we have to endure hard things, things God has designed for good, to supernaturally shape us into the people he wants us to be. When we choose to accept the "hard good," we discover our life's purpose, and he promises to give us the joy and passion as our deepest longing is fulfilled. The hard good is a powerful path to growth, as you learn to accept things you wish were different apologize and forgive first come clean (repentance) give up the now for the best stay in the journey cheer for someone who has what you want open your heart, even when it's been hurt tell yourself no The Hard Good is a six-session video Bible study based in 1 Samuel. It will help you discover a practical roadmap to help you find God's true purpose for your life--a study in becoming the person God uniquely created you to be. With counsel from Scripture, which speaks into relevant and universal issues that touch each one of us, The Hard Good inspires and motivates you to discover the growth you have long desired as you search for your purpose in God's perfect plan. This pack contains one study guide and one DVD.




Life Is Hard But God Is Good


Book Description

How can a good God allow evil? What does it all mean? Where lies happiness? Adele Gonzalez, founder of the Get-With-It organisation, provides answers to these questions. Her answers are based on theology as well the experiences of people through the ages.




Why It's Hard To Be Good


Book Description

In a series of brief chapters, Al Gini lays out ideas for 'stepping out of the shadow of the self' - an argument for stopping thinking of yourself as the centre of the universe. It's hard to be good, he explains, until we realize that being good only has meaning in relation to other people. Ideas of justice, fairness, and ethical behavior are just that - abstract ideas - until they are put into action with regard to people outside ourselves. We may worry too much about good versus evil - big concepts that give us plenty of room to sit on the right side of the equation, he argues. Instead, we need to be thinking about how being good involves an active relationship toward others. Being good all by yourself may not be good enough. This warm and generous book is for anyone who wants to know how to use ethical thinking as way to live, work, and be with others.




The Gospels and Acts


Book Description

The most comprehensive volume ever produced in defense of the Gospels and Acts The four Gospels and the book of Acts tell stories of Jesus’ life and the birth of Christianity. Are these stories true history or just religious fiction? Christians accept the stories as true and say that the entire Bible is a reliable communication inspired by God. Against this, non-Christians have argued that the Bible is a book of legends, myths, and historical inaccuracies—just another example of human religious endeavor. In this volume, four world-class New Testament scholars address challenges to the reliability of the Gospels and Acts. In order to identify the most important challenges, the authors drew from the literature of skeptics and New Testament critics, plus they included questions that many Christians ask as well. The result is the most comprehensive defense of the Gospels and Acts that has ever been published. The primary purpose of the Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible is to equip readers to defend the reliability of Scripture and the historic evangelical understanding of its teachings. It is designed for use by general readers, though scholars will find it a probing and welcome resource as well. A secondary purpose is to encourage awareness and discussion of Bible difficulties that are not commonly mentioned from the pulpit or even the seminary lectern. This is not a verse-by-verse commentary. The authors were provided an index that identified verses known to be relevant to the topics of apologetics and biblical reliability. They restricted their comments to these verses, plus any others that they recognized as germane to the aims of this project. Typically, each commentary note begins by stating the challenge or challenges regarding the text at hand. We attempt to state the case in all its potency, as a critic would state it. This approach takes seriously the critical viewpoint and helps ensure that the reader feels the full weight of the challenge. The contributors take each challenge seriously and seek to describe viable solutions that support faith and align with a high view of Scripture.




Hard to Believe


Book Description

Jesus Christ did not die on the cross so you and I could have a nice day. Ministers and teachers who water down the gospel of Christ in order to make it more popular and appealing may be leading their fun-loving audiences down the road to eternal punishment. This book is John MacArthur's unflinching, unapologetic treatise on the modern tendency to alter the true message of Christianity in order to meet the whims and desires of a culture hoping for nonconfrontational messages, easy answers, and superficial commitments. Too many people just want a Madison Avenue Jesus to make them well, make them happy, and make them prosperous. But Jesus Christ isn't a personal genie. He is the Savior. He died in agony to satisfy the wrath of a holy God and to forgive the sins of humankind. Faith in Him demands a willingness to make any sacrifice He asks. The hard truth about Christianity is that the cost is high, but the rewards are priceless: abundant and eternal life that comes only from faithfully follwing Christ.




A Good Hard Look


Book Description

From the New York Times bestselling author of Hello Beautiful and Dear Edward, a novel set in Flannery O'Connor's hometown of Milledgeville, and a tragedy that forever alters the town and the author herself "A wholly believable world shaped by duty, small pleasures, and fateful choices."—O, The Oprah Magazine Forced by illness to leave behind a successful life in New York, literary icon Flannery O'Connor has returned to her family farm in the small town of Milledgeville, Georgia. With her health and time both limited, all she wants is to be left alone to write. But Flannery's plans are soon upended by Melvin Whiteson, a banker from Manhattan who has recently married the town belle. Melvin is at loose ends with his new life; though he has every opportunity, he's not sure where to begin. Flannery knows exactly what she wants, but is running out of time. Through their unusual and clandestine friendship, both will come to reflect on the decisions they have made and the paths they have chosen. Literary history and fiction gracefully intersect in this emotionally charged novel of small town Southern life, which asks us all to consider how we can live our lives to the fullest.




Hope Heals


Book Description

When all seems lost, where can you find hope? Katherine and Jay Wolf married right after college and sought adventure far from home in Los Angeles, CA. As they pursued their dreams--she as a model and he as a lawyer--they planted their lives in the city and their church community. Their son, James, came along unexpectedly in the fall of 2007, and just six months later, everything changed in a moment for this young family. On April 21, 2008, as James slept in the other room, Katherine collapsed, suffering a massive brain stem stroke without warning. Miraculously, Jay came home in time and called for help. Katherine was immediately rushed into brain surgery, though her chance of survival was slim. As the sun rose the next morning, the surgeon proclaimed that Katherine had survived the removal of part of her brain, though her future recovery was uncertain. Yet in that moment, there was a spark of hope. Through forty days on life support in the ICU and nearly two years in full-time brain rehab, that small spark of hope was fanned into flame. Hope Heals documents Katherine and Jay's journey as they struggled to regain Katherine's quality of life and as she relearned to talk, eat, and walk. As Katherine returned home with a severely disabled body but a completely renewed purpose, she and Jay committed to celebrating this gift of a second chance by embracing life fully, even though that life looked very different than they could have ever imagined. As you uncover Katherine and Jay's remarkable story, you'll be encouraged to: Find lasting hope in the midst of struggle Embrace the unexpected Welcome God's miracles into your everyday life In the midst of continuing hardships, both in body and mind, Katherine and Jay found what we all long to find: a hope that heals the most broken place--our souls. Let Hope Heals be your guide along the way. Praise for Hope Heals: "As I read this book, tears streamed from my eyes even as joy flooded my heart. Jay and Katherine are a raw yet refreshing testimony to the unshakable trustworthiness of God amidst the unimaginable trials of life. This book reminds all of us where hope can be found in a world where none of us know what the next day holds." --David Platt, author of the New York Times bestseller Radical and president of the International Mission Board "Hope Heals is a beautiful, true story that illustrates the love and protection God has for us even in the darkest times of our lives. Katherine and Jay's dedication to each other and the Lord through their most devastating season is inspiring. This book will help your heart believe that He sees, He knows, He cares, and He is still working miracles today!" --Lysa TerKeurst, New York Times bestselling author and president of Proverbs 31 Ministries




The Hard Way


Book Description

The author shares his adventures of climbing the ice-rimmed Italian ridge of the Matterhorn, sea kayaking along the Turkish coast of Gallipoli, and sneaking across Tibet to reach Buddhism's holiest lake deep in the Himalayas.




Good Economics for Hard Times


Book Description

The winners of the Nobel Prize show how economics, when done right, can help us solve the thorniest social and political problems of our day. Figuring out how to deal with today's critical economic problems is perhaps the great challenge of our time. Much greater than space travel or perhaps even the next revolutionary medical breakthrough, what is at stake is the whole idea of the good life as we have known it. Immigration and inequality, globalization and technological disruption, slowing growth and accelerating climate change--these are sources of great anxiety across the world, from New Delhi and Dakar to Paris and Washington, DC. The resources to address these challenges are there--what we lack are ideas that will help us jump the wall of disagreement and distrust that divides us. If we succeed, history will remember our era with gratitude; if we fail, the potential losses are incalculable. In this revolutionary book, renowned MIT economists Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo take on this challenge, building on cutting-edge research in economics explained with lucidity and grace. Original, provocative, and urgent, Good Economics for Hard Times makes a persuasive case for an intelligent interventionism and a society built on compassion and respect. It is an extraordinary achievement, one that shines a light to help us appreciate and understand our precariously balanced world.