Frank Ball joins us today to talk about his latest book release, Eyewitness: The Life of Christ Told in One Story by Frank Ball.

Eyewitness compiles the information from the Gospels and hundreds of other Bible verses into one chronological story laid out like a story without reference or verse. The result is a seamless combination of the four gospel books that will appeal to customers across the board, even those who would not normally purchase a Bible.

1. The gospel stories have existed for some two thousand years. Why put them chronologically together now?

Nine out of ten Americans own a Bible, but the people who most need to hear the message don’t often read the book. They believe Scripture is outdated and too difficult to understand. Would they read the story of Christ if it were presented as a single story that is easy to understand? Most of them say they would, so Eyewitness answers that need.

2. Why do the Gospels appear to have conflicting stories?

At a crime scene, eyewitnesses always have different testimonies about what happened. Because each gospel writer had his own point of view and spoke to a different audience, the information is actually complementary, not conflicting. The apparent conflicts disappear when we use each viewpoint to compile a complete and compelling story.

3. How was writing and recording events different two thousand years ago?

We now use a computer keyboard to rapidly type and edit text that prints on our laser printers. In the first century, writers had only their parchment scrolls in which every word was hand written, one character at a time. Cut-and-paste editing and simple rearrangement of details into chronological order didn’t exist. Writers naturally put down information as it came to mind, giving us a flow of thought that isn’t always in date sequence.

4. What is the significance of John’s gospel being the last one written?

If John were to introduce his book to us today, he might say, “Let me tell you the rest of the story.” There wasn’t much need to repeat what had already been written, so he gives us clarification of events that were already being told and retold, as well as eyewitness reports that are found nowhere else. Unlike the other writers, who were not always chronological, John unfolds most of his story in date sequence in relation to the Jewish feasts. This gives us a chronological guide for putting all the biblical information in order.

5. In what way do you think the readers of Eyewitness will have a clearer understanding of the nature of God?

Jesus said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” If we can see what Jesus is doing and hear what he is saying, we become eyewitness of God’s nature. Because the words in Eyewitness are more like what we would read in a novel, readers are able to visualize themselves as present at the gospel events. It’s the next best thing to actually being there, walking with the other disciples.

6. How many different Bible translations were necessary to complete this project?

Hundreds of scholars have invested countless hours in the production of good translations. In the development of an easy-to-read wording for Eyewitness, translators’ handbooks and more than fifteen popular translations, as well as the Greek and Hebrew texts, were considered.

7. Is the Bible flawed in presenting the life of Christ in four separate books?

No, not at all. Each author’s report has its own perspective and meets a different audience need. Matthew points to the fulfillment of ancient prophecies to prove Jesus was the Son of God. Mark, the shortest of the Gospels, is the quickest to read. Luke, being a physician, gives many important details. And John adds clarity, chronology, and new information. Eyewitness was written for those who don’t read the Bible and for people who are helped by seeing how the story unfolded, chronologically.

8. Why do you think Eyewitness appeals to people who seldom attend church?

Even professed atheists and agnostics have questions about the meaning of life and what happens after we die. Eyewitness isn’t a book of difficult-to-understand rules that threatens punishment if we don’t do everything exactly right. The life of Christ is presented in a way so people can easily understand the value of loving our enemies and helping people in need.

9. Where can we find out more or purchase a copy of Eyewitness?

Please feel free to visit my web site at www.eyewitnesstools.com.

Group Publishing and Tyndale House Publishers have joined together to create an exciting and unique daily reading experience called God Sightings that will enable users to see God in the ordinary, in other people and in the events of their own lives. God Sightings is designed to bring God into people’s lives in a more tangible and authentic way than ever before. God Sightings: The One Year Companion Guide, along with God Sightings: The One Year Bible (NLT or NIV versions available), provides a focus too often missing in Bible reading programs: looking past the written pages and to God Himself.

God Sightings: The One Year Companion Guide, is meant to be used with God Sightings: The One Year Bible asks provocative and personal questions designed to bring God’s real presence to you and those you talk to online each week in a tangible way. There are questions like:

What is the best gift God has given you this week? What does this gift tell you about God?

In what areas of your life do you need God’s assurance right now? How can God speak into these areas?

Where did you see God at work around you? What guidance did you receive from watching God at work?

In what area of your life do you need a change of direction right now? How willing are you to let God set the course for that new direction?

Think of your recent encounters with God. What words would you use to describe how God tastes to you? Sweet? Bitter? Like comfort food?

Materials for God Sightings are available for individuals to use alone or with groups. They include a God Sightings: The One Year Bible (New International Version or New Living Translation), God Sightings: The One Year Companion Guide, God Sightings: The One Year Small Group Leader Guide and also God Sightings: The One Year Launch Kit for Pastors and Ministry Leaders who want to bring this transformation to their entire congregation.

Online communities (www.MyGodSightings.com)—public and private—will launch in November for individuals who want to share thoughts about captured “God Sightings” with others. It’s perfect for an on-the-go-lifestyle, as people can log on anytime and anywhere. It is ideal for military spouses during deployment, parents and their children who are away at college or distant friends who want to stay in touch. It’s a chance to witness and share God’s presence even when people are separated by hundreds or thousands of miles.

www.MyGodSightings.com

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Pastor Andy Deane’s new book teaches you forty different step-by-step Bible study methods to help you discover, apply and enjoy God’s Word. Each practical method has a handwritten example to demonstrate it and make it easy for you to follow the steps. Learn how to study the Bible with so much variety that you’ll never get into the rut that routine brings ever again. Learn to Study the Bible has more Bible study methods than any other book out there!

Whether you’ve been a Christian for some time or a newbie, daily bible reading along with prayer is essential for growth. Pastor Andy Deane opens his book up with an emphasis on prayer and then follows up with an amazing amount of bible study methods – 40 total. 

I’ve always been big on using journals as apart of my studies. Pastor Deane emphasizes the importance of “developing a habit of writing down what God is revealing to you as you read His Word.” Being a visual person, I really liked viewing the handwritten notes and diagrams for various methods.

I have ran across quite a few bible study method books and articles over the years. I must say this independently published book definitely impressed me. I’m not sure if it has more methods than any other book, but there were quite a few that were new to me. This is one of those resources that is a keeper and would be great to provide as a gift copy to someone you know struggling with bible reading.

I encourage you to check out the companion website for this book at http://www.learntostudythebible.com/

Reviewed by Tyora Moody

Disclaimer: This book was provided for review by Pastor Andy Deane.

God Sightings helps Christians to see God as present and active in their everyday lives

Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX— People are suggesting that they want more of God and less of the stuff that gets between them and their relationship with God.  A recent Barna study revealed that 75% of Christians polled say they sense that “God is motivating people to stay [spiritually] connected but in different ways and through different types of experiences than in the past.” 

Group Publishing and Tyndale House Publishers have heeded that call and joined together to provide a unique interactive Bible reading experience called God Sightings^TM where people can experience God in a refreshing and non-traditional way.  For the first time ever, the complete tools needed to make the pages of Scripture come alive and see God manifested in everyday life and events are now available.  By reading God Sightings: The One Year Bible and God Sightings: The One Year Companion Guide, whether in book form or online, users will become participants in something so profoundly simple and powerful that it changes their lives.  Through the first-of-its-kind free website, www.MyGodSightings.com, users will encounter something that is already out there but is often missed: God’s expressed love in the lives and circumstances of others.  Materials for God Sightings are available for individuals to use alone, with groups, as a church-wide campaign or even in online communities. 

By using the God Sightings website, groups or individuals can publicly or privately share their thoughts about Scripture and captured “God Sightings” with other people anywhere in the world at any time.  The private online community also offers a unique opportunity for groups or families separated by distance or time to look for God together.  It is ideal for military spouses separated by war, parents whose children are in college in another city or distant friends who want to stay in touch.  It’s a chance to witness and share God’s presence even when separated by hundreds or thousands of miles.

The God Sightings products include The One Year Bible (New Living Translation or New International Version ), The One Year Companion Guide, The One Year Small Group Leader Guide, and The One Year Launch Kit for Pastors and Ministry Leaders.  When used, these beautiful and inviting books along with the easy to access website will provide a renewed faith and passion for the Word.  The One Year Bible, today’s #1 selling annual reading Bible, leads people to experience God on a daily basis.  And when paired with The One Year Companion Guide, they will begin to see God’s magnificent presence reaching out to change their lives in ways that will startle awe and excite them as never before.

www.MyGodSightings.com

Ten different attributes women are designed to be are discussed in view of ten different women (groups of women) from the Bible. The author chose five from the Old Testament and five from the New Testament.
The main problem is there aren’t very many passages about any of these women. The author takes what little there is and then imposes what she thinks each woman would do in a given situation and then discusses how women were designed to do that. There are times when she really stretches it and has no basis in Scripture for most of what she says.

The idea of telling women what they were designed to be on the basis of Scripture is a wonderful idea. But passages that actually prove the point should be used. The author doesn’t have a right to impose her thoughts and feelings on the women of Scripture. The author would have done a better job to describe what Scripture actually says about the women whether or not they fit into a specific category.

When authors base a book on Scripture they have a responsibility not to add or subtract from the Word of God. What this author has done is add thoughts and feelings to historical people to try to prove a point that she’s making.

Although the idea of using Scriptural women to teach women of our age lessons in life is a good thing, it should have been done in a different way. Reading things into Scripture that aren’t there isn’t the right way to go about it.

This Sunday, a woman somewhere in America will don the literal head covering of 1 Corinthians 11 and depart for church, where she will be expected to remain silent.  In another church, a woman will stand before the congregation to deliver the sermon.  Most of us will fall somewhere between these two extremes—no head covering required and free to teach children or other women or to accompany the church choir, as long as we remember that some spiritual gifts are off-limits to us.  In this climate, many women are spiritually suffocating, unique giftings and God-given callings crushed by a male-dominated church culture determined to keep them in their place—regardless of what God is doing.

For author, ordained minister, and international speaker Ruth Conard, these feelings of rejection and confusion are all too familiar. Despite the contradictions in opinion within the church, Conard believes that God is consistent in His love and His plan for women.  In her new book, Designer Women: Made by God, Conard inspires women to rise up and embrace God’s unique design and purpose for them by examining the biblical accounts of women who were mightily used by Him.

Q:  Designer Women examines the lives of several women in the Bible, including some who are often overlooked.  Why is it important for Christian women today to study these stories?

A:  Throughout the Old Testament, God’s initial, redeeming plan continued to emerge through the lives of women who rose above the constraints of custom, the body-centered mania, and the fear of men.  These women, as leaders and strong examples in varied facets of life, did not act because there were no good men, but rather because they were good women, created in God’s image, gifted by God, and working in obedience with their Maker.  These women of strength were pillars in home, society, and faith communities.  These are the foremothers of all the women we celebrate within the pages of the New Testament: Mary, Elizabeth, Anna, Dorcas, Priscilla, and a myriad of others.  And they are my foremothers and your foremothers with much to teach us.

Q:  What is the biggest question that Designer Women was written to answer?

A:  The big question is this: Do we have a consistent God for women?  I have been in all kinds of churches, and it seems God is pretty consistent for men.  They don’t have to change their clothes, all offices are open to them, they have been redeemed from everything, etc.  For women, the verdict on these issues changes from church to church.  One issue I struggled with was the head covering of 1 Corinthians 11.  In some churches, I had to wear it if I sang or played the piano.  In others, no.  In some places, I had to wear it if I spoke, even if speaking only to women.  In some, I had to wear it even though I was expected to sit quietly, not permitted to say a word.  In other churches, what was on a woman’s head had nothing to do with anything at all.  Then there were the questions that always plagued me regarding spiritual gifts, as well as the part women could, would, and should play and had played in the church.

Q:  How did your treatment as a woman affect your passion and enjoyment of your faith?

A:  Over the years, I began to ask ministers and male church leaders these difficult questions.  The answers I received, along with divergent church practices, became like huge bars on which I slipped and slid.  Eventually, the struggles filled my mind with an enormous, resounding No! No! to the questions.  No! to what I sensed were the gifts God had given me.  No! to the exuberant joy I had felt in walking with Christ since childhood.  And, oh so sad, No! to the missionary spirit God had sewn into my very being.  Why, I reasoned, should I invite other intelligent, gifted women into the church only to have their fervent, creative, God-given hopes squelched?

Q:  Who was Designer Women written to reach?

A:  I wrote this book simply for the woman in the pew.  I want her to get a little shaken up.  I want her to look into these issues.  I know only too well the pain, frustration, and loneliness that come when your God-given gifts are squished out of you simply because you are female.  I want women to see that, yes, God is consistent in His love for women.  We were designed exactly the way He wanted us to be—no matter what kind of treatment we have received from others in the church.  I believe there is hope for us. 

Q:  Isn’t the Old Testament full of laws against women?  With laws like these, doesn’t it seem like God prefers men over women?

A:  We must continually remind ourselves that between the foyer of God’s original plan (Genesis 1-2) and the vast outlay of the Old Testament lies the narrow, dark hallway of Adam and Eve’s sin.  Their choice taints all the rest of Scripture’s pages, as well as our own lives today.  The results of their choice, described by God in Genesis 3, are carried out within the context of the patriarchal system that formed the parameters of their society.  It’s true, the language used in the Old Testament law supposes a patriarchal society.  The household belonged to the man.  The man initiated a divorce.  Property, family name, and children were all owned and given from the father to sons, not to daughters.  However, the law does not depersonalize women.  Women were held responsible for criminal actions.  Mothers, as well as fathers, were supposed to receive honor.  In fact, many of the Mosaic laws which may seem ridiculous to modern readers were actually for the protection and health of nomadic women and their families in the severe desert conditions.  The main point to remember is that the law was not developed to make a statement about male-female relationships.  The patriarchal system and male domination did not exist because God favored one sex over the other. The law was given so that the Israelites would be recognized as God’s people, no longer belonging to Pharaoh.

Q:  What are your feelings regarding the ongoing debate about the roles of women in the church?

A:  What is extremely fascinating to me is that this continual battle over women in the church does not seem to have caused any problem for God and how He has designed his daughters.  The reading of church history shows that in every century since the beginning of time, and in every land where Jehovah God has been acknowledged and the gospel has reached, women have always carried the good news of salvation, have always served God with whatever gi
fts He has given (whether quieter gifts or more visible gifts), and, alongside their brothers, have died for the cause of Christ.  It’s happening today, even as I was in the process of writing Designer Women. And God is still creating baby girls, all over this world, who grow, confess Jesus as Savior, and are given spiritual gifts from the complete list of gifts, as the Spirit wills, even while men and women continue to say that it just isn’t possible!

Q:  Why did women choose to follow Jesus during His earthly ministry?  What does that mean for us today?

A:  Jesus was countercultural, especially in the area of gender.  No off-color jokes, no demeaning attitudes, and no avoidance of women.  He never abused them in action, word, or thought.  When they raised questions, He never said “not goin’ there!” and then snickered with His male disciples.  He respected them and their actions toward Him, even when others in His party scorned them.  He listened to women, dialogued with them, and sought them out.  He didn’t define the parameters of their lives.  He was not afraid to touch them in public, accept their worship, commend their faith, and heal them.  He talked straight to them about their sin and how to do right.  Nor was He backward in treating them as full-blown, intelligent, competent adults.  It’s no wonder women followed this man.  This same Jesus walks beside you and me today!

Designer Women by Ruth Tuttle Conard

Authentic Publishing  

ISBN: 978-1-934068-75-5/238 pages/softcover/$14.99

www.authenticpublishing.com www.designedtobepillars.org

Naomi knew who she was.  She was a wife and mother.  She was from the nation of Israel, a follower of God, and she was blessed by God.  Life wasn’t easy—they had to leave their native Bethlehem and journey to foreign soil to escape famine—but with her family and her God, she could weather the storm.

But then her husband died.  And a few years later, both of her sons died.   The storm, now fierce and raging, ravaged her soul, told her everything had changed.  She was no longer a wife and mother.  And while she still had a relationship with God, she was no longer in His favor, certainly no longer blessed, “for the hand of the LORD has gone forth against me,” she said (Ruth 1:13).

The storm convinced her that her very identity had changed.  Her name, Naomi, meant “pleasant.”  But when she returned to Bethlehem without her husband and sons, she told the women, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara [which means ‘bitter’], for the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me.  I went out full, but the Lord has brought me back empty.  Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has witnessed against me and the Almighty has afflicted me?” (Ruth 1:20-21).

Can you identify?  Has a storm so shaken your life that it changed your perspective of who you are?  Of what’s true?  Did the storm tell you that you were out of God’s favor, no longer blessed?

Naomi thought God’s hand was against her, but she would learn that He was still with her, blessing her.  Though she returned widowed and poor, God provided for her needs.  Her daughter-in-law Ruth, who had come with her to Bethlehem, found such favor while gleaning the fields that they did not want for food (Ruth 2:17-18; 3:17).  And Ruth herself was a special blessing from God.  Though Naomi had lost two sons, Ruth loved her and was better to her than seven sons (Ruth 4:15).  And when Ruth married again and bore a son, it was Naomi who enjoyed the blessing of nursing him as her own (Ruth 4:16).

Maybe you’re in a storm right now.   Maybe you and your spouse are on the brink of divorce, and the grief is akin to losing someone through death.  Your storm may be a painful illness, unanswered prayers, unfounded accusations, or a past that keeps you bound.  Maybe, like Naomi, you know the enormous pain of losing a husband or child.  Whatever your storm may be, Naomi’s story speaks to us.

It’s during these times—through the storms—when we especially need to cling to who we are as followers of Christ—and who He is.  He’s our Good Shepherd who leads us by the still waters (Psalm 23).  He’s the One who says to the storm, “Hush, be still” (Mark 4:39).  He doesn’t leave or forsake us in the storm; His arms are open, beckoning us to run to Him, our refuge and our strength, our rock and our redeemer.

In the storm, God says, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you.  For I am the Lord your God… (Isaiah 43:1-2).

If you have a testimony of God’s faithfulness through the storm, I invite you to share it in the discussion thread.  Please also share any other thoughts or insights about Naomi’s story.

Next week we’ll focus on this book’s namesake—Ruth.  If you haven’t yet had an opportunity to read this awesome book, I encourage you to do so this week.

Heavenly Father, You are worthy of all praise, for You are my strength, my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer.  Even in the storm, You are there, working all things together for good for those who love you, who are called according to Your purpose.  Help me, Father, to run to You during the storm, to lean on You and to trust You.  Lift my focus from the storm to You in heaven above.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kimberly Cash Tate is the author of More Christian than African American. She is also founder and president of Colored in Christ International, Inc., a nonprofit ministry. www.kimberlycashtate.com

“I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans…” (Genesis 15:7).

I used to think Abram didn’t have much to leave behind.  I pictured him living in a tent in the middle of a desert when God called him.  He could easily pick up and go.  There wasn’t much happening in Ur anyway.

Boy, was I wrong.

Ur was an ancient city near the Euphrates River in southern Mesopotamia, in modern day Iraq.  This area produced one of the first developed civilizations of the Near East.  As a city-state, Ur had its own kings and temples dedicated to gods.  One of its famous kings erected a ziggurat, a high stepped tower near the city center, for worshiping Enlil, a Sumerian high god.  At one point, the Amorites came to power and dominated most of Mesopotamia.  The most famed Amorite king was Hammurabi, whose law code is now in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

Mesopotamian culture was rich in heritage and tradition.  It was also rich in idolatry, which is the worship of anything apart from the true and living God.  That’s what God called Abram out of.

That’s what He calls us all out of.

Ethnic culture.  Pop culture.  American culture.  The worldly culture of doing business.  Even the culture within some of our families.  Why does God call us out?  Because every culture of the world is under the influence of the evil one (1 John 5:19).  He’s the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4).  And as we saw last week, he’s a deceiver.  His mission is to keep us from a close walk with God and a divine identity.  He’s built up every kind of culture and subculture to do it.  It’s not enough to live in Mesopotamia.  He wants us to find our identity in Mesopotamia, bond solely with other Mesopotamians, adopt Mesopotamian ways, and worship Mesopotamian gods.

That’s where Abram was…but God called him out.  He told Abram, “Depart from your country and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you” (Acts 7:2-3).  Abram departed with his wife, father, and nephew Lot, in order to enter the land of Canaan, but settled in Haran, a town in northern Mesopotamia (Genesis 11:31).  When his father died, God called Abram again, saying, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I shall show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing…” (Genesis 12:1-2).

Twice God told Abram to leave his country and his relatives.  He needed to leave behind all that he was and all that he’d known so he could step into the new identity and existence God had for him.  And that’s just what Abram did.  The Bible says that “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness” (Romans 4:3).  Abraham (renamed by God) was seventy-five when God called him, but he didn’t cling to his Mesopotamian identity.  The Most High God had called him into a relationship and he didn’t look back.  He knew it was a higher calling and a higher identity.  Through Abraham, God would establish a people who were meant to show the world what an identity in Him looks like.

Abraham is an awesome example for all believers.  When God calls us, do we surrender all and follow?  We don’t have to pack up and move from our country and our families as Abraham did.

We move in our minds.

We recognize that in Christ we are new creatures, that the former things have passed away and behold, all things are new (2 Corinthians 5:17).  We understand that God has saved us, raised us, and seated us in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:4-6), far above all the cultures of this world.  We are now in the kingdom, where we find our true identity—the one reserved for us from the foundation of the world.  We bond with our kingdom family, adopt kingdom ways, and direct all of our worship and adoration to our King of kings.

While we walk this earth, we will still appreciate and enjoy aspects of the cultures of the earth, but they can never define us…not after we’ve experienced the divine.  In fact, when we’re surrendered to Him, God will use us to reach people in those cultures to show them the truth and the glory of the higher life.

Heavenly Father, thank You for calling me out of all that I had known and raising me to a new life in You.  I pray that You will renew my mind and teach me more about the heavenly kingdom.  Show me the treasures and blessings of living the higher life.  And help me to tell others about it.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kimberly Cash Tate is the author of More Christian than African American. She is also founder and president of Colored in Christ International, Inc., a nonprofit ministry. www.kimberlycashtate.com

There are few who can truthfully say they have never had questions about things God has done and said.  Even the most beloved and devoted theological scholars and believers throughout the ages have had questions for which they’ve never found satisfying, understandable answers. 

Dr. Chris Wright’s revealing new book, The God I Don’t Understand (Zondervan, January 2009), tackles tough questions and more.  Dr. Wright is the international director of the Langham Partnership International, a consortium of trusts founded by John Stott, including John Stott Ministries in the United States.

Q.  Your newest book, The God I Don’t Understand, will be an eye-opener for those who are under the mistaken impression that scholarly theologians must have most of the answers about all things relating to God, or at least they know where to find them.  What is it you hoped to share in writing such a personally revealing book?

A.  Everyone who has ever been involved in a relationship of any kind knows that knowing someone very well doesn’t mean you understand them fully.  Although I live every day loving and trusting God doesn’t mean I don’t have questions about how and why He does what He does.  I was hoping, with this book, to bring together biblical teaching, personal faith, important questions, and life experiences in such a way that it would create a more balanced look at biblical truth and Christian humanity.  I wanted honesty—my own, regarding what I don’t understand about God—and clarity—those things I think we can and should understand—to be the benchmarks of the book and to present a safe forum for those who also have questions to explore where and how, if possible, they might find answers.

Q.  The God I Don’t Understand addresses some of the most often-asked and always-perplexing questions asked not only by those of faith, but also by those who profess to be non-believers as well.  You mention Psalm 73 as being the biblical precedent for what you hoped to accomplish in writing the book.  Can you explain how that scripture was chosen as your guide and why it is significant? 

A.  Psalm 73 begins by affirming the essential faith of Israel.  In it, the writer talks about a God he can’t understand because God seems to have left things unresolved.  But the writer is also very concerned because he doesn’t want to shake anyone’s faith by expressing the questions he has about God.  Although near the end of the psalm the writer comes to a place of trust and contentment regarding what he does and does not know about God, he still lets the readers experience his struggling lack of understanding while witnessing his restored faith in the God he doesn’t always understand.  With this book, I have prayed that I would be able to build up God’s people, not betray their faith.  I don’t want to disturb the faith of those who already are uneasy.  But I do want us to face the limitations of our understanding and ultimately be able to say, like the Psalmist, “God is in charge and I trust Him.  I will stay near Him and make my refuge in Him, telling everyone of His deeds.”

Q.  What are the important questions regarding evil that most people find puzzling?

A.  Everyone who has experienced or observed pain, cruelty, illness, violence, accidents, bereavement, torture, emotional and physical suffering, and death has theoretical questions about the Christian perspective on suffering and evil.  How can we possibly explain evil and the suffering of those who clearly don’t deserve it?  Why does evil exist at all?  What is its purpose?  Where did evil come from?  The Bible affirms that God is all-loving and all-powerful and yet it also confirms the reality of evil.  People want to know if the Bible offers answers regarding evil that they can understand and, more importantly, that they can trust.  The ultimate answer is that, although we may not find the answers we want, we can find—and trust—the answers provided in Scripture.

Q.  What is your understanding about why God allows suffering in the world?

A.  God, in His infinite wisdom and perspective, and for reasons known only to Himself, knows that humans are incapable of understanding evil and suffering.  In fact, He knows we MUST NOT make sense of evil and suffering because evil has no proper place within God’s original creation, and when God redeems creation, evil will not be restored.  When something horrible happens and we find ourselves screaming, “Where is the sense in that?” and there seems to be no answer from God—that is our answer.  There is NO sense.  Do I understand it?  No.  But I can see that God wants me to concentrate not on my understanding of suffering and the allowing of it, but on how He will defeat and destroy it.

And most importantly, we have to think about suffering and evil in the light of the cross of Christ, which is where God not only chose to bear it Himself in the person of His Son, but also where God’s sovereignty accomplished the ultimate defeat of evil.

Q.  The issue about the destruction of the Canaanites seems to be a stumbling block for believers and non-believers alike.  Why is this such a difficult subject to grasp for so many?

A.  The God most people don’t understand is the God of the Old Testament.  The Old Testament tells stories that non-believers use to portray God as unforgiving, unjust, and petty, among other things.  They look at the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites as religious genocide and ethnic cleansing at its very worst.  The violence of the Old Testament is a difficult thing for seekers who are trying to reconcile their picture of what a loving and forgiving God should be like with the God of the Old Testament.  But the Old Testament also strongly shows God’s love and forgiveness, and the New Testament equally clearly shows His judgment.  So we can’t just set one part of the Bible against the other.  The Bible presents the conquest of Canaan as an act of God’s judgment on a wicked society—and that makes a moral difference, even if it doesn’t make it “nice.”  I may not understand it.  I may deplore the violence and wish that God had found another way, but at some point I must step away and understand that this was an act of God that was a limited part of a history that ultimately led to the world’s salvation through Jesus Christ. 

Humans have a very difficult time understanding things for which they have no answers their minds can comprehend.  I have learned to accept that we aren’t capable of understanding everything about God and His ways.  If we could, He would hardly be the God we worship.

Watch video of the author discussing the book at http://www.ToughQuestionsofFaith.com.

The God I Don’t Understand by Dr. Christopher J. H. Wright

Zondervan/January 2009

ISBN: 978-0-310-27546-6/224 pages/Hardcover/$19.99

And she said to them, Call me not Naomi [pleasant]; call me Mara [bitter], for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, but the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?
Ruth 1:20-22 (Amplified Bible)

If you have never read this story, here we have a woman whose life was drastically changed. First, she and her husband, Elimelech, and their two sons left Bethlehem because of a severe famine. Looking for a better life, they journeyed to Moab. While in Moab, Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, dies, and ten years later, her two sons die, leaving her to care for her two daughters-in-law. Naomi decided to return to Bethlehem, but upon returning she has no husband or sons, instead a bitter heart.

I can’t recall how many times I have read this passage of scripture and each time God would speak to my heart. I believe all the scriptures are written to teach us valuable lessons that will be taught through life’s experiences. I had no idea the one day I hade to practice applying this principle to my life.

Just as Naomi did not understand why God had chosen to take her through one of the most challenging experiences in life, I pondered as well. Just like a child growing up in life you have expectation and plans that usually don’t include bruises and bumps in the road. But I found that even when the unexpected things in life do occur, God has a plan and purpose to make something good out of the worse situations.

At 42 years of age I found hope, encouragement and a renewed spirit while going through a divorce. Although my plight was not one in which I welcomed or embraced I had to accept that this part of my life God had already known about before the foundation of the world.

He was taking me through one of the most unpleasant times in my life but I had to trust that the one in which I had given my life to knew exactly what was best for me and there was something about my life that He was going to reveal and what I had faced and conquered was really going to alter my life forever.

I had one choice to make either I was going to allow myself to be bitter with what He had allowed to happen or I was going to let the situation develop and make me into a better person, I decided to use the situation to make me better.

God was using my situation to bring me to a place of maturity, confidence and total dependency on Him. I learned not to look at my current condition although quite hard at times but I had to realize that some day God would show me why He had chosen me to carry this particular cross. A lot of things we go through in life are not for us at all but it’s for someone else, who is in need of encouragement, help and support.

The Bigger Picture

There was a bigger picture that God had for my life, a picture that was revealed at the beginning of 2007. God wanted me to begin telling people what He had did for me during my ordeal and How He carried me through the rages of life. How would God want me to do that’s? Since I was already a minister and speaking was part of my life how was I going to carry out this mandate from God? God didn’t take long to reveal how He wanted me to accomplish that and it was through writing. He has expanded my ministry to include writing about my own personal experiences. My book “That was then, this is now this broken vessel restored” was birth from my pain and no tear was shed in vain, a heart-wrenching account of one woman’s true story of determination, loss and triumph.

A 152 page turner, Paulette’s book takes you on a journey of her life as she went through the process of divorce, rediscovering the power of forgiveness through Gods’ love. In her book, God reveals Himself to her in ways she never before imagined possible. By sharing her struggles with transparency, she illustrates how a heart attitude of surrender allows God to use a broken vessel for His ultimate plans of glory.

When I hear over and over how my experiences in life have ministered to thousands of people, I’m so thankful to God for how my life has transformed. God had a wonderful plan and purpose for my life even when I couldn’t see how things were going to turn out.

So many times I wanted to give up, throw in the towel and quit but something inside me would not let me. Gods’ spirit was constantly bringing comfort to me, guiding me and assuring me that everything was going to work out for my good.

We are assured and know that ^]God being a partner in their labor all things work together and are fitting into a plan for good to and for those who love God and are called according to His design and purpose.
Romans 8:28 (Amplified Bible)

Saints of God I encourage you this day. Even when it appears that things don’t always go according to our plans, God plans are better. Choose to let the disappointments in life make you into a better person. Don’t allow your heart to become bitter with was has happened, embrace the changes, embrace the new things, embrace the season of new beginnings.

Allow God to take all that has happened in your life, pleasant and unpleasant, and make your life a praise on the earth. Your life will never be the same.

For more information about Paulette Harper or her book That Was Then, This Is Now visit www.bvministry.org