What is the Bible? What are the Scriptures? Is the message of God's word to mankind simply ancient history recorded in a book to be left on a shelf? Or is God's word alive today? Is He talking to you?Lillie has been hearing God's word throughout her life, although there were times when she tried to turn away from His message, risking her salvation. When she returned to God, He gave her a gift, the ministry of epistle writing, which took the form of letters written to friends searching for solace, answers and inspiration.Now Lillie is offering you letters of encouragement, beautifully highlighted with direct Scripture quotations intertwining the word of God with lessons of life, love and choices. May you be blessed with a better understanding of God's word and a deeper appreciation for His very personal love for you.Lillie Mae Jenkins is an ordained evangelist. She is a member of Evening of Prayer Church of God in Christ, where she serves under the esteemed leadership of Pastor William A. and Evangelist Ena M. Prioleau as Sunday School Teacher, Usher, President and Trainer of both Senior and Junior Usher Boards.After surrendering her life to Christ, it was then that God anointed Evangelist Jenkins with a writing epistle ministry. Lillie Mae is known in both New York and South Carolina for the truly inspirational letters she has written to those seeking guidance and encouragement.

Ezekiel 31:7 "Thus it was beautiful in greatness And in the length of it branches, Because its roots reached to abundant waters." Romans 11:13 "For if the first fruit is holy, the lump Is also holy; and if the root is holy, so Are the branches." Ephesians 3:17 "that Christ my dwell in your hearts through Faith; that you, being Rooted and grounded in love." By the Grace of God I have recently, with the passing of my father, been able to realize and understand my roots through the tribe of Aaron. As a result of this blessing I have been inspired by my church and family to write this devotional of Communion Messages. Hopefully, this devotional will be a blessing to anyone that can use it for Communion in Church, or at home. With this blessing I sign my name; Bruce Allyn Cohen

The author will try to explain and encourage those that are seeking to marry that marriage is a holy estate instituted by God. Marriage was ordained for the life-long companionship, help and comfort which husbands and wives ought to have for each other. The author's deepest focus points are: Life-long Marriage and Finding the Right Mate.

Many married couples do not keep the marriage vows they made. Because of that, I recommend marital counseling before marriage. The author does not focus too much on divorce because of his disbelief in divorce. It was Moses that executed the bill of divorce. He did it to protect the women because husbands would divorce their wives for anything just to marry another woman.

Women have a moral personality and are not a thing that men may hand over to another, and then take her back again at his pleasure.

The author believes there is not law instituting or commanding divorce. Most people use Matthew 19:9, where Jesus was only explaining what Moses meant. The marriage that God wants is a marriage of a life-long commitment; a forever happy home

When one has mastered the 'Elementary Teachings' [the milk of the word of God], the person is ripe to eat solid food [the mature teachings]. Of course solid food includes meat and some meats are strong to chew. 'Strong Meat' is strong but quite delicious. It is full of hope and prophetic insight. For the spiritual mind it is an invaluable asset, an appreciable truth that must be meditated upon over and over again; a never exhaustible meal.

Jill Gebhart Campbell's passion for poetry, writing, and drawing prompted her to write this book, utilizing these creative genres, in order to portray her bipolar illness in a more personal way. It is also a reflection of how the devastating effects of bipolar disorder shaped her life. The author's story is about a young woman's odyssey of triumph and sorrow and her journey to find herself again. Before her diagnosis, she was a beautiful, compassionate young woman who excelled in both athletics and academics. After her diagnosis she gained more than 120 pounds-due to health issues, sick children, psychiatric hospitalizations, and unsuitable medications. She became depressed, self-consumed, and bitter. The debilitating depression and hauntingly real hallucinations forever impacted the way she sees life and how life sees her. Her faith in God proved to be her ultimate anchor through her heart-wrenching circumstances. After admission to solitary confinement, due to hallucinations, she experienced an even more profound depression. "The white walls, barred windows, cold cement floors, and white bedding only exacerbated my feelings of isolation and left me swirling downward in an even deeper depression." However, the Lord's unconditional love has allowed her to walk on the bright side once again. She overcame all the odds to become the woman she longed to be. She has attained the serenity one reaches when they've been to the very end, beyond hope, yet made it back.

The time has come for a radical change in your life. It is time to 'Live Free.' The world says a life of success depends on you, but what do you say? For far too long people have depended on their performance and techniques to bring an abundant and fulfilling life, but nothing can be further from the truth. It is all about a work that has been finished for you. Begin to unveil the truth that will set the course of your life above sickness, poverty, emotional sorrows, and failures. This is that time for you.Joyner Brice o is a teacher of the Gospel of Grace of Jesus Christ in the United States and the world. He has been commissioned by God to bring back Jesus to the Church through the same radical Grace message that Paul preached in his day.In 2005, Joyner had a supernatural encounter with Jesus. It was then where the Lord corrected the way he believed and revealed His Grace in such radical way that transformed Joyner's life forever. In that revelation, Joyner was commission by God to teach the same Grace He had received from the Lord because performance based Christianity is as a cancer that is eating away every believer in Christ.To fulfill God's commission, Joyner established Joyner Brice o Ministries for the purpose of revealing Jesus to every believer in Christ, so their lives can be radically transformed. With boldness and clear understanding Bible truths, he is dedicated in helping believers in Christ discover how they can live free to reign in life through the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness. His heart desire is for the Church to perceive the new covenant of grace found in the person and the finished work of Jesus.

"These are all warning markers-DANGER -in our history book, written down so that we don't repeat their mistakes. Our positions in the story are parallel-they at the beginning, we at the end - and we are just as capable of messing it up as they were. Don't be so naive and self-confident. You're not exempt..." I Cor. 10:11-12 (The Message Bible). Just like these multitudes of Israelites that left Egypt (bondage) for Canaan (God's fullness, completeness and blessings), you as a Christian and believer in Jesus Christ are embarking on a similar spiritual journey. God has offered a Canaan Land opportunity to you as an individual, but the opposition to your seizing it can be threatening and formidable. What are the oppositions that God has allowed in your path? Maybe it is health issues, loss of relationships, joblessness, financial hardship, business failure or some other severe trials? Are there things that have you trapped in bitterness and discouragement? Then the story in this book may really apply to where you are right now with God. You may be getting ready to have your door opened to enter into your Promised Land. However, you are well aware of the giants and Canaanites with heavily fortified cities that you will be coming against if this door opens up for you. Will you affirm the giants and Canaanites with heavily fortified cities, like the generation that perished or the promise and faith of Joshua and Caleb?

We have many words that can describe our seasons of life. These words can lead to God's promises of love, mercy, and compassion. The Father wants to meet with you, refresh you, and encourage you...one word at a time. Jenny invites you to remember to live each day in the Light of God's faithfulness as she equips you with scriptures to remind you that, In Christ, every moment is a God moment. This devotional book is designed to be a study tool adaptable for group study, Sunday School lessons, devotions, or personal quiet times with the Lord. JENNY PFISTER is a powerful communicator, Bible teacher, and speaker whom God has anointed and used in a mighty way to touch the lives of countless women and men who are seeking the Lord. Gifted and lead by the Holy Spirit, Jenny thrives on teaching the Word of God through weekly interdenominational women's Bible studies and a weekly TV series called One Brushstroke at a Time. She also leads and teaches at women's retreats and conferences, offers spiritual direction and counsel to many, and regularly preaches and leads worship services at her home church, Breath of God Worship Ministry in Buckhannon, West Virginia. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Jenny felt overwhelming love for Jesus at an early age, and sensed God calling her to her first teaching ministry at the age of 22 at The Whitehouse Fellowship, a singles ministry at Timonium Presbyterian Church. At the same time, while teaching music at a private Jewish school in Owings Mills, Maryland, Jenny fell in love with the Old Testament. Layer upon layer, it exploded with life and relevance and became the canvas on which the Lord would paint a perfect picture of unity, truth, and fulfillment of the Old and New Testaments. The Lord was gradually birthing in Jenny the ministry that she would later establish, Brushstroke Ministries. After moving to West Virginia to serve in the Southern Baptist Convention as the state's keyboard and piano specialist, Jenny began to conduct women's Bible studies in homes and churches. In February 2001, she stepped out in faith and founded Brushstroke Ministries, a three-fold ministry of worship, prayer, and study of the Word of God for women of all denominations. Her fervent passion for the Word, along with her spiritual gifting and keen ear for the Lord's direction, has been Jenny's motivation for writing this series of devotional books. She paints a picture with her words, one brushstroke at a time, capturing the beauty of the Lord and His unfailing love for us. Those associated with this blessed ministry pray that as you read these devotionals, you will be touched by His Peace and find comfort in His Presence. To Him be all the glory

"Life, it's a Beautiful Thing" is Laura Schaufel's technique of spreading the love of God. It is her method of expectantly accomplishing a desired aim. Touching lives spiritually is her intent and purpose, promoting faith, hope, and inspiration.

Laura Schaufel is a witness to the power of prayer. She testifies to an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs that happened in 1990, in Folsom, California. This little book is an account of astonishing and noteworthy happenings of an ordinary woman who lives in the knowledge that God has a purpose, a destiny, and a plan for each of us. God has been showing her His plan all of her life through acts and actions that only now does she, to some extent, understand.

As she stood in that cold mechanical hospital room listening to her son fight for just one more breath of air, she prayed to God to let him live. Please return him to me for whatever time I may have, here on earth, she asked. But the plans laid out in heaven for that day called for her son to return home to our Father. "Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." (James 4:14 NKJV)

In the midst of death's storm is when your faith and the presence of the Lord are most needed to provide the strength to persevere. Look and listen to these true stories of God working in His way. Then see how you can reach the point in prayer where you are at ease with the world and can accept all of God's plans for you as your destiny unfolds.

To Be a Jew deals with the question of the meaning and rationale that the writer Joseph Chayim Brenner attributes to Jewish existence. Many of Brenner's readers assumed that Brenner completely negated Jewish existence and sought to form a new way of life completely disconnected from the traditional Jewish existence. In contrast to this perception, Avi Sagi proves that not only did Brenner not reject the value of the Jewish existence, but the core of his creation was written out of a deep Jewish commitment. Brenner's greatest innovation is found in his new conception of Jewish existence. To be a Jew, according to Brenner, involves the willingness to discover solidarity with actual Jews, to participate in a society in which Jews can live a free life and to fashion their culture as they wish. Sagi presents the idea that Brenner's is not a Utopian, but a realistic, conception of Jewish existence. Thus this unique conception of Jewish existence is founded on an infrastructure of existential thought.

For most of its history, contemporary Paganism has been a religion of converts. Yet as it enters its fifth decade, it is incorporating growing numbers of second-generation Pagans for whom Paganism is a family tradition, not a religious worldview arrived at via a spiritual quest. In Pagan Family Values, S. Zohreh Kermani explores the ways in which North American Pagan families pass on their beliefs to their children, and how the effort to socialize children influences this new religious movement. The first ethnographic study of the everyday lives of contemporary Pagan families, this volume brings their experiences into conversation with contemporary issues in American religion. Through formal interviews with Pagan families, participant observation at various pagan events, and data collected via online surveys, Kermani traces the ways in which Pagan parents transmit their religious values to their children. Rather than seeking to pass along specific religious beliefs, Pagan parents tend to seek to instill values, such as religious tolerance and spiritual independence, that will remain with their children throughout their lives, regardless of these children's ultimate religious identifications. Pagan parents tend to construct an idealized, magical childhood for their children that mirrors their ideal childhoods. The socialization of children thus becomes a means by which adults construct and make meaningful their own identities as Pagans. Kermani's meticulous fieldwork and clear, engaging writing provide an illuminating look at parenting and religious expression in Pagan households and at how new religions pass on their beliefs to a new generation.

We need answers-answers that are sure and dependable, answers that bring goodness and contentment. Today, perhaps more than ever before, the human condition has been confused and in turmoil. We are longing for essential aspects to fulfill our needs, but often fall short of the true fulfillment. We are created with core longings that were designed to be ultimately fulfilled by God. However, we have been hurt by bad relationships, abuse and neglect, unfulfilled promises, and shortcomings of our own contrived pursuits. As we begin the Created For series, we will introduce these six core longings and begin with the focus on significance. My prayer is that you will find healing for your soul and restoration for your spirit.

"Dr. Robert Shaw has spent his life in the people-helping business. He has a unique ability to key in on the many dynamics of the human condition and the biblical answers that can help individuals become all that God truly intends them to be. In this work, he introduces and expounds upon human core longings: love, significance, security, understanding, purpose, and belonging. In a culture that has become narcissistic and driven by 'what's in it for me, ' Dr. Shaw reveals what it means to live a truly meaningful life based on identifying and honoring these God-given core longings. In your quest for the experience of the truth as revealed in Scripture and most importantly in Christ, this work will provide you with a clear pathway to genuine satisfaction from the inside out in a way that brings glory to the One who created you for eternal significance." -Mark J. Chironna, MA, Ph.D., Senior Pastor and Life Coach, Church on the Living Edge, Orlando, Florida

"Dr. Shaw writes with eloquent simplicity on a complex matter of God's creative design. He has gathered nuggets of truth and packaged them for both scholarly and practical consumption, as a source of being reminded of our God-given significance. As a consummate clinician and a devout minister of the gospel, he possesses a rare capacity to write with a full measure of the spiritual savvy to discern and articulate timeless truths with grace and contemporary relevance. Everyone will be well served to drink deeply from this well of wisdom." -Adrian F. Starks, Senior Pastor, World Victory International Christian Center, Greensboro, North Carolina

At the end of each devotional is a brief review, and at the end of the book is an opportunity to dig deeper into God's Word. The reader and the disciple will be able to reflect on a key concept and re-examine the Scripture text together. This is an ideal time to work with another person or in small group to follow up and develop meaningful discipleship relationships.