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Restless?
You are a unique creation of God. You
are loved and cherished by him. He created you with both a free will and
knowledge of him within your soul. Free will allows you to love, reject
or act indifferent towards him. Knowledge of him within your soul
will keep you restless until you find your rest in him.
It is dangerous to assume you have a long life to live, a long time to
decide to follow him. Larry Clark's life ended abruptly. He jogged off the
curb to cross the street. Friends speculate about what may have distracted him.
Did he even see the bus before the impact? What is certain is his time to
consider his eternal future is over. Fortunately, he had exercised his God-given
free will to satisfy the restlessness in his soul while he had the time. And now
he is spending eternity with God.
A Prayer begins . . .
Our Father in heaven, we are awestruck that you gave us free will. Thank
you for making us restless till we found our rest in you.
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verses in the left column. Every verse connects you to a beautiful SoAmazing Card and a feature-filled page.
Finish reading this page, then pick a Bible verse and Clickle away! Then do it again and again!
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Two selected book quotations begin . . .
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Jesus Said that He Is the Only Way To God
Category: Religion, Apologetics
Keywords:historians,
poets, philosophers, Apostle Thomas, Indian, exclusivity, religion, Son of God, God,
Father, Son, nontheistic, atheistic, agnostic, culture, Christianity, Bahaism, Islam,
Hinduism, Hindu, Buddhism, Buddha, Buddhist, Word Publishing, Zacharias, Ravi Zacharias
"Historians, poets, philosophers--and a host of others--have regarded Him
as the centerpiece of history. He Himself made a statement
that was very dramatic and daring when He said to the apostle Thomas, 'I am the way and the
truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me' (John 14:6
[NIV]). Every word of that statement challenges the fundamental beliefs of the
Indian culture from which I come, and in reality, actually stands against an
entire world today.
Just look at the implicit claims in that statement.
First and foremost, He asserted that there is only one way to God. That shocks
postmodern moods and mindsets. Hinduism and Bahaism have long challenged the
concept of a single way to God. The Hindu religion, with its multifaceted
belief system, vociferously attacks such exclusivity.
Jesus also
unequivocally stated that God is the Author of life and that meaning in life
lies in coming to Him. This assertion would be categorically denied by
Buddhism, which is a nontheistic if not atheistic religion.
Jesus revealed Himself as the Son of God who led the way to the Father. Islam
considers that claim to be blasphemous. How can God have a Son?
Jesus claimed that we can personally know God and the absolute nature
of His truth. Agnostics deny that possibility.
One can go down the line and see that every claim that Jesus made of Himself challenged my culture's
most basic assumptions about life and meaning. (It is important to remember, of
course, that these basic religions within the Indian framework are also not in
concert with each other. Buddha was a Hindu before he rejected some of
Hinduism's fundamental doctrines and conceived in their place the Buddhist way.
Islam radically differs from Hinduism.)"
SoAmazing Review: Jesus Among Other Gods focuses on the
dramatic differences between Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism.
Zacharias directly challenges those who ignore the claims of Christianity and
Jesus and suggest that all religions are the same.
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Holding Pattern
Category: Christian Living
Keywords: devil, Christian, ministry, schemes, goals, God, hearts, pastor, Zondervan Publishing House, Cymbala, Jim Cymbala, Merrill, Dean Merrill
"The devil will try to attack, discourage, and overwhelm any
Christian--and especially those with a call to public ministry. He has a
thousand schemes to wear us out, and his ultimate goals are more wicked than we
first imagine.
I can still see in my mind the spot in our kitchen where
I was sitting when a man of God confronted me with this fact. Our oldest
daughter, Chrissy, was at the height of her teenage rebellion, which I wrote
about in my first book. My wife, Carol, was still struggling to recover from
major surgery. I was at my lowest point. The man stood near the refrigerator
and casually said, 'You don't think this is really about Chrissy, do
you?'
'What do you mean?' I shot back. 'Of course it is. That's who we've
been interceding for with all our hearts.'
'No, it's not just about
your daughter,' he said. 'Do you think the devil just wants her? He wants you.
He wants your marriage. And more than that, he wants to strike a blow against
that church you pastor! So far he hasn't been able to drive a wedge between you
and Carol, but he's finding a weak spot in you regarding Chrissy. If he can
tear you down and make you act crazy, causing you to 'lose it' and disgrace
yourself, the people you pastor will be devastated and vulnerable. That's what
he really wants.'
At that moment, something rose up in my soul. I knew
God was speaking to me through a human instrument. Something inside me said,
God, you're going to hold me! Not only are you going to bring our daughter
back to yourself, but you're going to hold me through this trial. Teach me
something through all of this mess."
SoAmazing Review: God did hold Jim and Carol Cymbala through
the trial of their daughter's rebellion. You can read about Chrissy's miraculous
return to Christ in an earlier book, Fresh Wind, Fresh Spirit. This
book, like his earlier ones, is charged with the intensity and passion of
Cymballa's personality, commitment and faith.
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