We all know that everything we have is a gift from God. But sometimes it's hard to know just how to give back to God. How much is enough? What does the Bible really say? What should giving look like in our everyday lives? Filled with good news for followers of Jesus, "Giving to God" shows Christians the way to a better life and a better relationship both with their money and with God. Popular author and Bible scholar Mark Allan Powell presents stewardship as an act of worship, an expression of faith, and a discipline for spiritual growth. Faithful use of our time, talents, and treasures starts with a deep, satisfying relationship with the God to whom we belong. We can then learn, says Powell, to give gladly and generously out of our heartfelt connection with God. The second part of the book applies these principles to today's complicated world. After providing answers to practical questions about living and giving, Powell lays out a specific plan for a generous life that Christians can embrace as both a duty and a delight.Informative, concise, and wise, "Giving to God" gives us resources to think carefully about how best to use the treasures, material and otherwise, that God has given us. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter make this book particularly useful for church study groups.
Published through the Early American Places initiative, supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.Conquering Sickness presents a comprehensive analysis of race, health, and colonization in a specific cross-cultural contact zone in the Texas borderlands between 1780 and 1861. Throughout this eighty-year period, ordinary health concerns shaped cross-cultural interactions during Spanish, Mexican, and Anglo colonization. Historians have shown us that Spanish, Mexican, and Anglo American settlers in the contested borderlands read the environment to determine how to live healthy, productive lives. Colonizers similarly outlined a culture of healthy living by observing local Native and Mexican populations. For colonists, Texas residents’ so-called immorality-evidenced by their “indolence,” “uncleanliness,” and “sexual impropriety”-made them unhealthy. In the Spanish and Anglo cases, the state made efforts to reform Indians into healthy subjects by confining them in missions or on reservations. Colonists’ views of health were taken as proof of their own racial superiority, on the one hand, and of Native and Mexican inferiority, on the other, and justified the various waves of conquest. As in other colonial settings, however, the medical story of Texas colonization reveals colonial contradictions. Mark Allan Goldberg analyzes how colonizing powers evaluated, incorporated, and discussed local remedies. Conquering Sickness reveals how health concerns influenced cross-cultural relations, negotiations, and different forms of state formation. Focusing on Texas, Goldberg examines the racialist thinking of the region in order to understand evolving concepts of health, race, and place in the nineteenth century borderlands.
Offers a concise summary of, and an excellent introduction to, recent Lucan scholarship. Major positions on several important subjects are clearly expressed in nontechnical language. †
A missionary in Honduras is forced to confront a church elder in Texas after a local woman admits to an affair resulting in pregnancy. The elder is given a chance to sweep the affair under the rug by agreeing to pay a modest amount of child support. Rather than pay support for his child, the elder sets out to destroy the mission, a school and feeding program for impoverished children. The attack successfully eliminates funding for the mission, forcing the missionary to take action in the States. Listen in as unseen spiritual forces in a battle for the souls of hundreds of children. From The Author Pharisee is a story 20 years in the making. In April 1990, I gave my life to Christ and purchased my first Bible. I paced to read the Bible within a year, from cover to cover. While I did mostly achieve that goal, I found myself flipping forward to the Gospels after every book or two of the Old Testament. By the time I had finished the Bible, I had read each Gospel Account three times. One thing that really stood out in the Gospels was the amount of time and energy the Lord spent dealing with the religious leaders or "Pharisees". Although Pharisees per se, are not exactly commonplace in our culture, one might sometime encounter a prideful or religious spirit. I have to believe that God's Word is eternal and that we even have lessons to learn from the Pharisees. When we come to Christ, we are cleaned and saved. The challenge then, is to not condemn those that may not yet know Christ. Nor are we to judge and condemn our fellow brothers and sisters. Paula and I brought our four children to Honduras in 2006 to run an orphanage and show them the love and light of Christ. I hope that we have been a positive influence. I know for certain that we have removed some very negative elements from the home, or rather, the Lord has. In helping down here I have seen that we have made a greater influence on the people we love back home than we did in our prior 15 years of marriage. I, by no means, believe that everyone should weigh anchor and move to a foreign country as part of their own personal "mission". I believe my mission to Honduras was berthed in a vision the Lord gave me before I turned 10. No, I was not a Christian back then but the Lord can speak to anyone he wants. For that matter, this mission to Honduras is His, not mine, not ours. So onto the book. Pharisee is a story; but a story based on our experiences both in the USA and on the mission field. We've been blamed for all kinds of things. We've been lied to, targeted for assassination, shot at, robbed and just about everything you would expect in a fallen world. Of course the worst hurt of all comes when your "friends" betray you. Even still, there is the mission; mothers and children, abused and abandoned and the fathers whom are just trying to earn enough to feed their families in an honest way. They are who we are here for. Pharisee borrows from some of these experiences and incorporates them into a story that I hope entertains and teaches about the perils of pride mixed with religion. I sincerely hope that the book is a blessing to its readers. Christianity is not an easy path. In fact, without the Lord's help and grace, it is impossible.
Prophet Singer: The Voice and Vision of Woody Guthrie examines the cultural and political significance of lyrics by beloved songwriter and activist Woodrow Wilson ""Woody"" Guthrie. The text traces how Guthrie documented the history of America's poor and disadvantaged through lyrics about topics as diverse as the Dust Bowl and the poll tax. Divided into chapters covering specific historical topics such as race relations and lynchings, famous outlaws, the Great Depression, and unions, the book takes an in-depth look at how Guthrie manipulated his lyrics to explore pressing issues and to bring greater political and economic awareness to the common people. Incorporating the best of both historical and literary perspectives, Mark Allan Jackson references primary sources including interviews, recordings, drawings, and writings. He includes a variety of materials from the Smithsonian Institution, the Library of Congress, and the Woody Guthrie Archives. Many of these have never before been widely available. The result provides new insights into one of America's most intriguing icons. Prophet Singer offers an analysis of the creative impulse behind and ideals expressed in Guthrie's song lyrics. Details from the artist's personal life as well as his interactions with political and artistic movements from the first half of the twentieth century afford readers the opportunity to understand how Guthrie's deepest beliefs influenced and found voice in the lyrics that are now known and loved by millions.
Patrick and Clare wake up trapped in a basement, a thin wall separating their cells. Their captor is mysteriously absent, which at first seems like a blessing. As more time passes with no food or water, they begin to realize a clock is ticking for their survival. Combining their intelligence and determination, the two begin plotting an escape from their shared prison. Overcoming each obstacle only presents another obstacle standing in the way of their freedom. It will take all of their ingenuity and strength to find their way out of this mess. They know their captor is still out there, and it is only a matter of time before he returns. BEFORE HE WAKES is a fast-paced and tense thriller that ratchets up the suspense and tension before the thrilling conclusion.
Is there any such thing as a harmless white lie? Silas thinks so when he lets the kids he meets on the Furman University campus think he is a fellow student. He figures he'll never see them again, and it feels good to be thought of as an "equal" to such intelligent and passionate young people. What could be the harm? Only Silas learns that even the smallest fib has a way of snowballing until it is an avalanche roaring down the mountain at you. He becomes entangled with the group, and things become even more complicated as he starts to Kris, a relationship at once true but built on the kernel of a lie. Silas doesn't want to hurt anyone in the group, especially Kris, but he also doesn't want to lose the first friends he has ever really had in his life. He has put himself in an impossible situation and will have to find a way out while minimizing the emotional damage, even though someone is bound to be hurt. In the end, Silas is left with a question whose answer is not as easy as he used to think: is there any such thing as a harmless white lie?
