Finding An Unseen God

A thought-provoking telling of the journey from atheism to confident faith in Jesus from "a fierce realist who prefers unanswered questions over fairy tales"

"'Science Mike' draws on his personal experience to tell the unlikely story of how science led him back to faith. Among other revelations, we learn what brain scans reveal about what happens when we pray, how fundamentalism affects the psyche, and how God is revealed not only in scripture, but in the night sky, in subatomic particles, and in us"--Dust jacket flap.

One man is dead, another in prison. This is not how I envisioned my life would go. I couldn't wrap my head around what was happening. Less than a month ago, I had been living the dream of every farm boy in Texas. I was almost sixteen and having the time of my life. I played football on Thursday nights and marched in the band on Fridays. Soon I would get my driver's license and be able to drive my dad's Dodge truck. Then I'd borrow it to take my girlfriend on a date. I was even planning to run for student council the next year. But in a span of three days my whole life had changed. Now we were running from tiny Glen Rose, TX to Pensacola, FL, and living the stuff of nightmares. And so began my long struggle with God--who, though I did not know it, would never give up on me. Each of us struggle with unplanned problems. Bad things happen to good people. Through this moving story, may you find hope, help, and comfort only found in Jesus Christ that will enable you not just to survive trouble but to thrive in the midst of it and come out the other side finding perfection only in God's grace.

Why does God feel so distant so often, and how do I bridge the gap? Does your hunger for God often seem more frustrating than satisfying? Have you sensed a disturbing disparity between God's promises and life's realities? Have you seen God's promises work, but you've stumbled and want to believe again? Award-winning author Philip Yancey articulates the fundamental questions that confront us all: "How do I relate to a God who is invisible when I'm never quite sure he's there?" Reaching for the Invisible God?offers deep, satisfying insights to the questions you’re sometimes afraid to ask. Honest and deeply personal, here is straight talk on Christian living for the reader who wants more than pat answers to life's imponderables. Ultimately, Yancey shifts the focus from your questions to the One who offers himself in answer. "A brilliant book. It is both profound and simple, the best blend, in my view. Simple is neither shallow, nor simplistic. The sections on doubt and God's 'absence' are classics." — Rick Warren, pastor and author,?The Purpose Driven Life

The Image of the Unseen God develops a novel understanding of God and God's action compatible with the teachings of Jesus, the Christian tradition, and contemporary science.

How do we find contentment in God when we feel so hidden? Sara Hagerty unfolds the truths found in the biblical story of Mary of Bethany to discover the scandalous love of God and explore the spiritual richness of being hidden in him. Every heart longs to be seen and understood. Yet most of our lives is unwitnessed. We spend our days working, driving, parenting. We sometimes spend whole seasons feeling unnoticed and unappreciated. In Unseen, Sara Hagerty suggests that this is exactly what God intended. He is the only One who truly knows us. He is the only One who understands the value of the unseen in our lives. When this truth seeps into our souls, we realize that only when we hide ourselves in God can we give ourselves to others in true freedom--and know the joy of a deeper relationship with the God who sees us. Our culture applauds what we can produce, what we can show, what we can upload to social media. Only when we give all of ourselves to God--unedited, abandoned, apparently wasteful in its lack of productivity--can we live out who God created us to be. As Hagerty writes, "Maybe my seemingly unproductive, looking-up-at-Him life produces awe among the angels." Through an eloquent exploration of both personal and biblical story, Hagerty calls us to offer every unseen minute of our lives to God. God is in the secret places of our lives that no one else witnesses. But we've not been relegated to these places. We've been invited. We may be "wasting" ourselves in a hidden corner today: The cubicle on the fourth floor. The hospital bedside of an elderly parent. The laundry room. But these are the places God uses to meet us with a radical love. These are the places that produce the kind of unhinged love in us that gives everything at His feet, whether or not anyone else ever proclaims our name, whether or not anyone else ever sees. God's invitation is not just for a season or a day. It is the question of our lives: "When no one else applauds you, when it makes no sense, when you see no results--will you waste your love on Me?"

We all long for certainty in life, yet things often don't go as we expect. When facing illness, job loss, strained relationships, and other struggles, our impulse is to question God and strive to fix things ourselves. In this book, Shelly Miller, a trusted ministry leader, explores how difficult times can actually be purposeful times of spiritual growth. Weaving the exodus story from the Bible with her own story, she shares how to focus on God rather than trying to overcome challenges in our own limited strength. Each chapter features a simple spiritual practice to help us enjoy the peace and security that is only possible through Christ. Uncertain seasons will soon be translated as an aha instead of an oh no.

"Who made the clouds?" Abraham asks. "Who made the flowers?" Even as a child, he knows there must be something greater than idols of clay and stone. As he observes and questions the world around him, Abraham comes to the conclusion that there is one God. A creative midrash about the father of the world's religions.

This is a book about science, religion, and the world in between. I was born into a Christian family, but fell out of religion and in love with the scientific method. I had little need of faith, I thought, when science could tell me so much more about the world, and ask so little of me in return. But as I aged into young adulthood, a new chapter of my story began. Did I really know why I believed what I believed? How could I be so certain of my convictions when I hadn't even honestly considered the evidence? This book traces my journey through the furthest reaches of thought, a journey that took me through the realms of psychology, biology, physics, and belief. Could I find a place for faith in the modern world? Or was I right to cast it off as I did?