Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment

We have wanted the world to become Christian without the church becoming Christlike. Yet, what happens when believers repent of judging, self-righteousness and worldliness? As the love of Jesus Christ rises within us, even in the midst of great darkness, God promises "nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising" (Isaiah 60:3). Francis Frangipane proclaims the triumph of mercy over judgment, prayer over criticism, and faith over fear. Don't doubt! All things are still possible for those who believe. If your vision is to be like Jesus, and you are concerned about the direction of your nation, you'll be moved by this living message of grace and truth. Let it empower both you and your country toward the destiny of God.

Are there different degrees of faith? Does faith always prove itself only through action? James provides powerful, practical answers to timeless questions of the Christian faith, including teaching on how to gain wisdom, prevent hypocrisy, and control the tongue.

Everlasting hell and divine judgment, a lake of fire and brimstone--these mainstays of evangelical tradition have come under fire once again in recent decades. Would the God of love revealed by Jesus really consign the vast majority of humankind to a destiny of eternal, conscious torment? Is divine mercy bound by the demands of justice? How can anyone presume to know who is saved from the flames and who is not? Reacting to presumptions in like manner, others write off the fiery images of final judgment altogether. If there is a God who loves us, then surely all are welcome into the heavenly kingdom, regardless of their beliefs or behaviors in this life. Yet, given the sheer volume of threat rhetoric in the Scriptures and the wickedness manifest in human history, the pop-universalism of our day sounds more like denial than hope. Mercy triumphs over judgment; it does not skirt it. Her Gates Will Never Be Shut endeavors to reconsider what the Bible and the Church have actually said about hell and hope, noting a breadth of real possibilities that undermines every presumption. The polyphony of perspectives on hell and hope offered by the prophets, apostles, and Jesus humble our obsessive need to harmonize every text into a neat theological system. But they open the door to the eternal hope found in Revelation 21-22: the City whose gates will never be shut; where the Spirit and Bride perpetually invite the thirsty who are outside the city to "Come, drink of the waters of life."

Have you been enduring a difficult trial, accusation, misunderstanding or even betrayal? Be of good courage, you are earmarked for God's purpose. As we face increasingly turbulent times, God has been training believers who will "overcome" the challenges set before them to emerge in glorious victory. Understanding God's mercy in the midst of opposition, failure, disappointments, criticism, and difficulty transforms trials into stepping stones of authority. We are then catapulted into God's divine destiny. The victim becomes victor as we press through the veil of judgment to apprehend His heart of mercy. Truly, mercy can then triumph over judgment and the body of Christ emerges in new strength to "Prepare the Way!"

If You Love God's Word You Will Love This New Testament! The Disciples' Literal New Testament sets you free from our artificial 460 year old chapter and verse structure, replacing it with paragraphing that reflects the flow of thought in the original Greek writings. Paragraph headings make that flow of thought explicit to you, speeding your understanding of the NT books. This translation retains the writing style of the apostles themselves, rather than transforming their Greek ways of writing into an elegant or contemporary English writing style, as has been beautifully done so many times. It is the same translation as the author's New Testament TransLine, first published by Zondervan in 2002. Now you can read the New Testament as the original writers intended it, and see it with a clarity formerly available only to those who could carefully study their Greek New Testament. You can even see the difference in writing style between Matthew, Mark and Luke! Used along with your standard Bible version, you will profit from both methods of translation. *Easily grasp the relationship of the whole and the parts of each book with the big-picture overview outlines that use the words of the original author. *Gain quick insight into the flow of thought from descriptive paragraph headings that summarize the main point of each paragraph in its context. *You can visually follow the apostles' thinking because the 'Intelligent Paragraphing' visually displays their main and subordinate thoughts. *The hindrance to your understanding caused by our artificial chapter and verse structure is eliminated by paragraphing based on the Greek writings. *You will more fully appreciate the minds and thinking patterns and intent of the original writers because the translation corresponds more closely to their words and their grammar and their sentence structure. *Deepen and expand your understanding of the New Testament by meditating on the notes containing alternative renderings, explanations of what is being said, and different views of the meaning.

64-page booklet that contains daily inspiration taken from Beth Moore's women's Bible study on the book of James.

With a scholar's mind and a pastor's heart, N. T. Wright guides you through James to help you understand what it means to have the kind of faith that translates belief into action. That kind of faith, he explains, is the faith that matters, the faith that justifies, the faith that saves. Includes nine sessions for group or personal study.