Believe Again A Journey Back To Faith

This book was written for those who have left their Christian faith or who have become what Bishop John Shelby Spong calls, believers in exile. It also speaks to those who are questioning their current Christian faith. It describes a mystical view of Christianity that incorporates Gnosticism, quantum physics, shamanism, cognitive psychology, Jungian psychology, and biblical scholarship. At the end of each chapter are prompts, questions, and activities that invite readers to make personal connections with the ideas presented. These are designed to be recorded in a journal. This book can be used with a book club, a study group, or individually. It will be a tool for your spiritual growth and renewal.

How do you know when you need to believe again? If you have ever gone through burnout in your spiritual life or disappointment in your church experience, then it may be evident. For others, it is not so clear. You continue to push forward despite the check engine light warning you something is wrong beneath the surface. In Believe Again, Josh uses his real-life fish out of water story to demonstrate how you can leave behind exhausting religion and find refreshing faith. Josh's entire life was wrapped up in his job, relationships, and involvement at his church. But what happens when all of that is stripped away, and he enters the "real world" for the first time as an adult? Instead of preaching on stage and enjoying the trappings of being a successful ministry leader, he found himself delivering pizza, attending church with homeless people under a bridge, and wrestling with the realities of life outside of his church bubble. And that is just the beginning of this intentional yet unconventional journey to discover a new way to relate to God, church, and those who do not believe as we do. Whether you are like Josh and unaware of how much you need to make a change, or you are already looking for something new, Believe Again's raw and sometimes hilarious story will inspire you to overcome life's setbacks and rejuvenate your faith.

“God, if you’re real, make yourself real to me.” Each of us spends our lives on a journey toward God. Yet often our most deeply felt longings—for meaning, for love, for significance—end up leading us away from, instead of toward, our Creator and the person he made us to be. Finding Your Way Back to God shows you how to understand and listen to your longings in a whole new way. It’s about waking up to who you really are, and daring to believe that God wants to be found even more than you want to find him. It’s about making the biggest wager of your life as you ask God to make himself known to you. And it’s about watching what happens next.

Learning to Believe Again guides people back to healing, hope, and belief by tackling some of the harder topics in the Bible in relation to healing from trauma, including: forgiveness, how to deal with abusive people, God’s unfailing love, and regaining self-worth, among other topics. At some point in their life, most people face a trauma or harrowing loss that leaves them questioning God’s presence, love, and protection. In the US alone, 1 in 3 people have experienced some form of domestic abuse, and an estimated 8 percent of Americans suffer from PTSD. Brittany Bexton takes readers on a 30-day devotional journey through the healing process, beginning with devotionals that address brokenness and loss. She then moves into days that address the challenges of trauma and abuse, providing practical, Biblical tools for healing and changing mindsets, before focusing on breakthroughs experienced through life’s journey. Each day includes a plethora of supporting scriptures, as well as space for readers to journal. Designed to either be an easy, bedside reader with digestible thoughts for the day or a tool for deeper Bible study, Learning to Believe Again offers hope for continued healing, restoration, and growth.

The author argues that religion has inspired many of man's worst evils: war, prejudice, bigotry, cruelty, race hatred and fear. Without it, man would be free to be God. In this polemic, A.N.Wilson singles out the Pope and the Ayatollah for particular attack.

In How to Believe in God, Clark Strand, an accomplished master of both Eastern and Western mystical practices, takes on the most troublesome and provocative passages from Judeo-Christian scripture, transforming the Bible into a manual of spiritual liberation for the twenty-first-century seeker. Offering a revolutionary new model of approaching the Bible, he frees those sacred scriptures from superstition, dogma, and tribalism, and in the process recovers their universal teaching on salvation and belief. Drawing on his personal experiences, including his Bible Belt upbringing, his years as a Buddhist monk, and his life as a father and husband in a small rural community, Strand makes even the most subtle spiritual teaching heartfelt and accessible. How to Believe in God illuminates a clear path to reclaiming a God that leaves nothing out and leaves no one behind. His open, gentle, pioneering approach to faith allows everyone—from churchgoing Christians to those with no religious affiliation at all—to experience the Bible in new and exciting ways.

In this refreshingly candid look at what it takes to live a life of faith, John Ortberg takes an honest look at the misgivings and uncertainties that often shake our beliefs as we navigate through the highs and lows of life. Reflecting on his own bouts with doubt and uncertainty, Ortberg shares with readers his discovery that, rather than being a contradiction in terms, doubt and faith may be very much a part of each other. He challenges readers to consider how doubt can motivate us to study and learn, how questioning expands our understanding, and how uncertainty can lead to trust. These challenges point us toward the relief of being totally honest. The right kind of doubt can be a gift—an action-generating truth that actually allows us to deepen our faith and intimacy with God. Written to challenge, comfort, and inspire readers, Know Doubt reveals uncertainty as a cause for celebration.

Be the person who doesn’t just dream dreams, but actually lives them! Everyone has a dream, but far too many settle for the status quo. Death to a dream can cause death to the life you were possibly meant to live—but it’s never too late to begin again and dare to believe again. Dare to Believe Again will give you step-by-step guidelines for living an audacious, adventurous life when abandoned to God’s call. It also includes “The Dream Plan” guide, powerful life-changing stories, biblical instruction, and challenging questions; it is perfect for individuals or groups. Fan the embers of your dreams into a blazing fire of reality!

This book is designed to be a tool to provide readers with an opportunity to reflect upon their personal choices, behaviors and decisions and its connection to the written scriptures and biblical teachings. Generally our choices and behaviors are a matter of routine and habit. We go through life without taking the time to reflect on why we make certain choices and more importantly, how to redirect our thinking so that it has a different impact on our behaviors. By maintaining a journal we can see the interconnectedness of our past experiences and its influence on how we deal with those issues that impact these personal experiences and connection with the written doctrine. The author, a life strategist is clear, poignant and direct. This Devotional is a spiritual, self help tool. Each journal entry is designed to be reflective. It is non- judgmental, thought provoking and inspirational. The book is divided into 6 chapters based on the most relevant issues in spiritual growth and renewal: Direction, Faith, Trouble, Hope, Finances, and Relationships.