David Napier

"Many Christians have a basic desire to live a holy life but have come to believe they simply cannot do it. They have struggled for years with particular sins or deficiencies of character. While not living in gross sin, they have more or less given up ever attaining a life of holiness and have settled down to a life of moral mediocrity with which neither they nor God are pleased." (Bridges 2004 p30) Hands up who agree. Hands up who have done anything about it? Hands up all those who have been wavering as they do not fully understand or perhaps accept the issues surrounding sin and its consequences. More so, hands up anyone who read this as I did i.e., in a pernickety manner. The points I raise in this book may seem minor, but I hope to show that they are not. We may have had similar thoughts but have never shared them with anyone for fear of...fear of what? We all believe the same, don't we?

In 2019 as part of the celebrations for 105th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, a bronze sculpture entitled 'Angels Unawares' by Timothy Schmalz, was installed in St Peter's Square in Rome. Pope Francis wanted the sculpture to 'remind everyone of the evangelical challenge of hospitality.' The work includes angel wings, through which the author suggests that a migrant is secretly an angel in our midst. The artist's inspiration was He 13:2: "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares". This book is an offshoot of my Home from Home series. Angels were mentioned throughout yet one thing that kept coming back to my mind is the text mentioned above. This small offering could have taken many directions, so please excuse me if I wander a little As always, this book is but a minor addition to any works that already exist. The reader may wish to argue and debate what I offer, which is good, but preferably I would hope that the reader would write their own piece of work so that the public can see this issue from a number of angles.

'Awake, and breathe the air Of the celestial clime: Awake to love which knows no change, Thou who has done with time' Who would write such lovely words? Wesley? Havergal? Sankey? Nope - it's from the Spiritualists National Union hymn book We need to be aware of what we are singing, and where, if possible, the words came from. It is so easy to get caught up in the heat of the moment and sing with gusto songs that perhaps have no spiritual basis whatsoever. This book thankfully does not have any more offerings from such dubious hymn books, but I do include some songs where I may question what the words mean. Shouldn't all of us be doing that? I include hymns/carols/choruses about three aspects of the life of Jesus - His Birth, His death and His resurrection. Where I do not add any comments are the ones which I (currently) cannot fault, others I add comments where I may be unsure of the content. The next time you sing a hymn, carol or chorus, please do not be afraid to act appropriately if you disagree with its content

In over 60 years of attending church, I have rarely if ever heard of anything more than a sentence used in passing to describe what election is or is not. When I gently challenged a pastor on this, he, like the majority of others, said they would 'discuss it again' - which is a not-so-subtle way of saying 'Go away, this topic is too heavy for most people, and I have to consider the pastoral problems that may arise if I truly opened it up for in-depth discussion'. As with any scriptural issue, all I ask is that this topic is discussed openly in an unbiased manner, accepting that it may be a complex matter, but one that is possibly the most important issue. If the future life of everyone is already decided and there is no true choice in the matter, what is the point of anything that relates to Christianity, belief, faith, evangelism, testimonies and so on? The books I have read tend to be super-academic, super-complex and as such, not relating to general audiences. It's as if 'only certain people' need to know the contents, the 'rest' should simply listen to their pastor/minister and get on with life. It reminds me of the days when the bible was chained to the pulpit, and very few would own one for themselves. What faith (?) people must have had to listen and digest everything that came from the mouths of whatever minister was in the pulpit at the time

After reading some scripture verses recently I thought how amazing they were. I often say in my head - wow Then I thought why not see how many others I can come up with. This book is not comprehensive, for it would have been about 10 volumes, so I have cut down drastically. As with all my books I would like to think people will read, question, research themselves and write their own notes. Although ANY words spoken by the Godhead are amazing, I have restricted the verses in this small book to what I personally consider to have the wow factor, even though, as I write this it feels as if I am demeaning any verses I have omitted. Hopefully, as with anything I write, I would like to think that if the reader has their own 'favourites', they will look at them again and see why they have a special meaning, and if inclined to do so, write their own notes, or even a book. Over 2,000 times in the Old Testament there are phrases such as, 'And God spoke to Moses' or 'the word of the Lord came to Jonah or 'God said.' That's just the references to God. I have drastically cut down the verses where God and Jesus spoke

Whilst this book is partially concerned with how I think I think, I am always open to having my mind changed, sometimes by human intervention, sometimes by divine intervention. The latter is not of the Damascus Road level of intervention, but through speakers, books, TV programmes, radio, songs, nature and any other source through which God can open up my mind, including of course, the Holy Spirit. Less so with human interventions, but I do obtain some valuable material from sources which are not biblically based. I do my uttermost to maintain a balance in what I write, in that I do not only quote references that only appease my way of thinking. I am not a neuroscientist, or a psychologist, psychiatrist or any other kind of 'ist', so I may not use the 'correct' terminology or follow scientific 'rules' that people would expect from such professionals. This is a book mainly based on personal experience with help from scripture and selected sources.

This is the third book of the Beyond the Mist Trilogy. In the first book the author was quite unaware of what was happening on his travels, the second he became slightly more aware and could relate some of the story to his personal life. This third book is purely personal, involving his wife and family and even their new puppy. The first two books involved walking through a mist to another world, this third book does not involve any physical mist but certainly involves unclear thinking and how reality and non-reality merges to a point where no one is certain which is which. This book follows the everyday life of someone who has just retired and 'simply' sorts out a box of coins The task may be simple but the consequences have a major impact on all involved. The trilogy may be finished but the story may have only just begun

With over 30 years of offering stress management classes I thought I would put together a variety of resources that I have used, and have also included some information from the confidence building and relaxation classes I used to run. It worries me that a number of Christians I have met seem to think that issues such as stress, anxiety, depression etc., should never be part of the life of a believer. This is a practical workbook which can either be read for personal use, and/or used with a small or large group, with many suggestions of how to cope with stress and how to develop your confidence.

This is all five volumes of Home from Home: A Comforting Thought? in one volume. It includes discussions on Creation, The Fall, the soul, spirit, and body. Paradise, Hades, Limbo, Purgatory, death including the death of Jesus, resurrection of bodies, burial or cremation, consciousness, Heaven and Hell and much more. It raises issues and questions most people prefer not to discuss.

This is the final volume of Home from Home: A Comforting Thought? It is not a conclusion as such, for how can anyone have one about topics that have no concrete evidence. It attempts to consider the final destinations of the saved and the unsaved - Heaven and Hell. It also contains some 'interesting' questions about these destinations, including if there are to be any animals there, plus much more.

This is the third volume of five of Home from Home: A Comforting Thought? A Journey through life, death and beyond. Previous volumes considered creation, evolution, the Fall, salvation, free will, election, church structure and much more. This volume mainly considers death, and many issues that relate to this, both form a Christian perspective as well as ideas of near death and out of body experiences. It also includes the 'Awkward' section which considers Abortion, Suicide and Euthanasia. Not an easy read for some, but needed to be included. It also includes should we be buried or cremated, and other funerary issues. Most importantly it includes the death and resurrection of Jesus, without which all these volumes would be irrelevant.

This is the second volume of five entitled 'Home from Home: A Comforting Thought' This volume mainly considers how we think, and how this ties in, or not, with Salvation, Free Will, Election, and finishes with a brief summary of Calvinism versus Arminianism. It also considers a variety for scenarios of church structure, including ministers, diaconate, membership and much more. A mix therefore of physical and psychological issues. In Volume Three 'Death' solely considers Death and all that that entails

Home from Home: A Comforting Thought?, comprising five volumes, is the result of many years of research. It is a journey through life, death, and beyond. Originally, it was purely considering the 'Afterlife', but it soon became apparent that I also needed to consider life prior to death, death itself, what happens when we die, and where do we go. This is the first volume of five. It covers the beginning of our world, especially considering creation versus evolution, the origins of the human world and the spirit world. Many questions are raised, some without answers Questions that are often never dealt with in the average Bible Study, or indeed in any kind of discussion between Christians.