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A terrible train crash in Spain, SAS trainees die on exercise, another street stabbing, Zimbabwe back in the news with allegations of rigged elections and an oppressive dictator. Where is God in all this? What is He doing?
Christians believe that God is all-powerful and could sort out the problems of the world. And that's right - God can do anything. But that fact can leave us floundering. If God has the power to act but doesn’t then maybe He doesn’t care about the suffering or maybe He has chosen to do nothing to help us. If we were God wouldn’t we sort it out?
The truth is, God cares about the mess of the world and has acted. He offers no quick fix to suffering now, but He has provided the long term solution. He sent His son to die on the Cross and take the punishment we all deserve for our wilful disobedience of our loving Heavenly Father. Jesus entered this suffering world and knew physical pain. Jesus himself called out on the cross as he hung there in agony “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?”. Being a Christian and continuing to trust God does not mean denying the pain – or being a stoic – it’s OK to weep and Jesus weeps with us. But being a Christian gives us even more than that. It gives us hope.
John Dickson in his book If I Were God I'd End All the Pain looks honestly at our questions. He looks briefly at explanations provided by other religions before coming back to what the Bible itself says about God, justice and suffering. And what he find there is an encouragement to anyone honestly looking for answers to the problem of pain.
Read more and buy it it here at 20% off!
One of the most devastating problems, that continues to ensnare a vast number of people, is the sin of pornography. Many can testify that they were trapped after just a “peek.” They just went to a site to see what was there and now they visit frequently. Pornography has reached epidemic proportions.
Pornography can be easily accessed nearly anywhere in the world. And surveys suggest the Christian community is far from immune. How did this happen? What can be done to help people get free from this bondage? What does the Bible offer as hope to those ensnared in sin?
In "Captured by a Better Vision", Tim Chester exposes the lies and deceptions of porn, inviting us to be fully free, and shows positively how this can be possible in daily life. Tim takes a gospel-centred view of porn and how to overcome it. Not just a self help, practical book (although practical measures are talked about) it aims to tackle the root of porn addiction. Read more and get it here with 20% off.
Much excitement abounds this week at the imminent arrival of a new royal baby. William and Kate (if I may be so informal) have prepared themselves for this life-changing event in the limelight and glare of the media frenzy that surrounds the royal family.
The rest of us look on probably with a little envy at the plethora of royal helpers who have no doubt created the perfect nursery, who will help out with “chores” around the rather larger-than-average home, and may even take the baby off to give the tired royal couple some time to themselves.
New and not so new parents (and maybe grandparents too) will know that bringing your first child home is more than a little daunting. I remember sitting in our lounge and saying to my wife “So what do we do now?” as we looked at the little bundle in the car seat on the floor. There is no “parenting manual” and even if there were, each child is so different that I’m not sure it would be much help. Parenting can be very much trial and error - we (not the royal we) don’t listen when help or advice is offered, often thinking we know what’s best for our own children and so we struggle on.... continue reading
This week, life-sentence prison-tariffs were deemed unlawful by the European courts. The Americans are still trying to catch up with Edward Snowdon to bring him to account for leaking national secrets. And today, of course, the funeral of Fusilier Lee Rigby - brutally murdered in London - will open again all sorts of debates about the nature of justice. As a nation and as a global people we argue about what is right or wrong, too harsh or too lenient a punishment for any given misdemeanour.
Then there are issues of justice that fall beyond the criminal. What rights do human beings have? What does it mean to treat people fairly? How should we relate to those who are downtrodden and oppressed?... continue reading
We are always worshiping something, aren't we? Through our words, actions and decisions we are inherently allocating worth to one thing or another.
With everything going on around us it is sometimes hard to focus on the one true object of our worship: our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Matt Redman went through a spell when his music took over his life and left the Lord Jesus marginalised on the side lines. So hard did that fact hit Matt when he realised what was going on that he gave up his music totally for a long period of time. He came to realise just how much he was focused on delivering great music about the Lord Jesus Christ rather than immersing himself in the Lord and worshiping him totally and directly.... continue reading
In this noisy world with so much busyness engulfing us, sometimes it feels impossible to find quality time with the Lord. The pressures of life seem to "block our path" to a fulfilling prayer life.
Then we give in. We let our prayer times diminish week-on-week. And wonder why there is so much wrong in the world - and in us.
Then there are those moments when our world collapses - something goes horribly wrong - redundancy, bereavement, debilitating illness... People avoid us because they don’t know what to say.
We know we need God desperately. But somehow even God Himself seems strangely silent.
Want to know why?
A Praying Life is an honest look at the difficulties of prayer, unanswered prayers, and successes in prayer. Readers will appreciate Paul Miller's down-to-earth approach and practical nature. Parents will find his family-life experiences especially helpful.
Get it here for £7.14, that's 35% off! Use the code apl0706 at the checkout.
As Father's Day is quickly approaching, it is time to begin thinking about what to buy for dad. Most dads can be very hard to shop for, especially when they don't ask for anything and seem to own everything. Others of us will struggle to think what to buy our dad that is within our low budget and that he will not be trying to give away come Christmas.
Well here are some suggestions for your father this year...
A Few Good Men - Join Joseph, Caleb, Paul, and others as you battle today's temptations. £4.89 thats 30% off!
One to One Real Men - Fathers and Sons - If you're a teenage boy why not give this resource and use it to spend some quality time with your Dad around God's word. Learn together what it means to be a real man. £2.79 - 30% off! Use the code rm0706 at the checkout.
Gospel-Centred Family - Let The Gospel Take the Lead - Take a gospel-centred approach to the family. Get this resource for husbands and wives to ground the family in the gospel. Just £2.99 - 40% off!
All these are available as e-books too.
To see more Men's resources click here.
Insolvency experts predict that more and more people who are short of money are going to turn to pay day lenders for a short term loan.
On the surface it sounds simple. You borrow a few hundred pounds from a payday loan company to tide you over until you receive your next pay cheque. It fills a gap and enables you to pay that urgent or unexpected bill, rent or mortgage. But the loans are very expensive with extraordinarily high rates of interest and all too often you find you cannot repay the loan as planned and end up in more mess than at the start.
No surprise then that debt charities and consumer groups are warning that such lenders can lure the unwary into taking on debt that easily balloons out of control.
These payday loans are very much in the news at the moment but they are just one facet of a much bigger question: how should we manage our money? Or more to the point, as Christians, what does the Bible tell us about managing our finances?
Sadly, money is a subject many of us prefer not to think about and we rarely sit down to work out what the Bible has to teach us about it. Cash Values is designed to get us to do just that.
In this series of short, thoroughly readable studies, we are guided through the important Bible passages about money, explaining how the subject is significant to our relationship with God and our fellowship with other Christians. Straightforward discussion blended with responsible attention to the Scriptures make this book a valuable resource for both churches and individuals.
Get it here with a 20% discount.
If you have enjoyed our short dip into Women's Ministry this week on the blog, why not get equipped to serve in this important area of ministry? The Good Book College's short course in Women's Ministry is a 10-session distance learning course that covers the basics of:
Usually £30, this biblical, practical and accessible course is available this bank holiday weekend for just £20. The price includes the course material and the cost of marking the (optional) assignments.
To enrol - or to request further information - email info@thegoodbookcollege.co.uk or enrol online.
Offer ends midnight on Monday 27th May.
You've thought about the questions. You've read the extracts. Now - on the weekend the books become available - take advantage of our launch deal. Order any 2 books in the Questions Christians Ask series and pay just £5 (normally £3.99 each).
Our launch titles in the Questions Christians Ask range are:
Simply use the code qcadeal at checkout.
