What is in your toolbox? Most of us have hammers and screwdrivers for repairs, and of course power tools—because nothing brings greater happiness than making a mess and generating a lot of noise. But did you know that God’s fingerprints can be found in our toolboxes as well? We can uncover amazing spiritual lessons tucked between our pliers and wrenches. Sometimes we act as if God is distant, but God glimpses are present in every aspect of our lives. We just have to look for them. Take a trip through thirty items in a toolbox and discover encouragement, inspiration, and confirmation that God is so close you can reach out and touch Him. Get powered up to live as a man of character and strength.

Death is not the end; death is a new beginning, a new chance, and a new journey for your soul. All through time, man has wandered if there is life after this life. Does all life stop when we die? Does the body go back to earth from where it came from. Does your soul go on to another life, or does it simply go to heaven or maybe hell to remain until eternity? There are a few facts that we know. When we are born, in time we will die; this cannot be changed. This is a fact. Our body will go back to the earth. These are the facts. So you might say that you do not prepare your body for death, but you must prepare your soul for its next journey. Another fact, God is more powerful than evil. He created your soul, and He does not give up easily. In fact, He does not give up on your soul ever, but he will hand out punishments for the wicked but never gives up on them. This book is about my dream of where my soul ended up in the paradise that God promised. Remember that this was my dream; your dream of paradise may be totally different. I did not think too much about my dream until I read an article about dreams. The article said that you do not remember dreams completely. Most dreams you do not remember any of, and some you may remember parts of them. But a dream that you remember completely was not a dream, but it was a message. This made me think that just maybe, there was more to this dream than I was thinking. After writing my dream and reading it several times, it made me set back and think about the message that may be inside. Jesus said in His teachings that if we believed in Him and followed in His footsteps, He would give us a place in His paradise and have life through eternity. Read this book several times, and let your mind wander. Wander about where you want your soul to be. This dream has changed my life. Fears of growing old and death are all gone; anticipations of my next life are exciting or maybe just stay in the courtyards of paradise through eternity. Never stop dreaming, and no matter how old you are, your life can change in a heartbeat. And if you have a dream like mine, tell everyone your dream. Tell the whole world about your dream; it just might be more than a dream. This makes growing old fun! My glimpse into God's paradise...

God Loves You: Some Restrictions May Apply (and Many Other Christian Dilemmas) is written by a fairly well-educated, extensively travelled former Southern Baptist Bible Banger (SB3), professional layman, retired military intelligence officer, and keen observer of the human condition who happens to be fascinated with what we believe, why, and the effects of those beliefs on society. This is an appeal to honesty in the terms of epistemological disquisition, a critical analysis of the major truth claims of religion (especially Christianity), apologetic justifications, and foundational documents. Written from 2008 until 2018, parts of this book were written on four continents, in twenty-five countries, including an active combat zone (so forget the lie about no atheists in foxholes), and a number of the United States. The book’s focus is religion, but the implications are applicable to all dogmatic belief systems. The emphasis on religion is because it is perhaps the most pervasive and sublime crystallization of systematic dogmatic thinking in the human condition. This book is not intended for a single audience but for several. It is to serve as a reference work for unbelievers who simply don’t know how to articulate their unbelief. It is a position statement of why the author no longer believes. For those who are on the fence and might need a source against which to evaluate their own questions it may be helpful. And finally, it is for the devoutly religious for two reasons, to explain why not everyone agrees with them, and to appeal for them to at least be honest when articulating their own beliefs.

Most people approach the study of prophecy from the aspect of “when.” But what needs to guide our study is what Jesus had to say about His Second Coming. He gave two signs of His return—“the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel” and “as the days of Noah were so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.” In this book Richard J. “Dick” Hill, who has spent a lifetime in Christian ministry, explores how regeneration allows someone to be born into God’s kingdom. He observes that the seed of the gospel is absolutely necessary for new life (new genesis). The author notes that not only are we born into the kingdom, but we are baptized into the King by the Holy Spirit at the same moment. The church is within the kingdom of God, but the church is not the kingdom of God. God has brought Jew and Gentile together into one new man, the church. This mystery that was revealed by the apostle Paul was never mentioned in the Old Testament. God’s church will be snatched away in the fullness of time, and the dispensation of God’s grace for the Gentiles will be complete.

This book takes you on a journey to understand worship and what it means for believers in Christ. Like no other content read on this subject, the book takes you to the core of what it will take to be an effective worshiper. Embedded are practical tools on how to conquer expectations for worshipers based on biblical principles as well as real-life experiences. The information provided will support your understanding of worship. Included are self-study strategies to strengthen the quality output of your calling as a worshiper and a praise leader. What you will need to overcome and fully immerse yourself into the experience of worship that God has created will be awakened in your consciousness as you use the tools provided. If your calling is to spread God’s words and messages of hope in songs, the least you can do is to equip yourself. As you do so, He will give you powers beyond your human capacities to conquer areas in your life that will prevent full and authentic worship to Him.

Joplin. Aurora. New York/New Jersey. Newtown. Whether the disaster is natural or created by humans, churches respond by providing sanctuary, hope, and practical aid. Pulled from accounts of lay persons and "pastors in disasters," Help and Hope provides practical applications for nonprofessionals and volunteers from faith communities who want to help prepare for and respond to disasters. This book is designed with utility in mind, with key websites, useful lists of contact information, and space for your own notes. Help and Hope prepares you to be, literally, the shelter from the storm.

The author draws the reader through the drama and mediocrity of his personal experience. The hard work of peacemaking is clearly strengthened through team efforts. Space is provided for the reader to step into the shallows of peacemaking and then on into the depths. This book is intended to be acted into being!

This book argues that sound theological foundations are essential for sound pastoral care—and that pastoral care provides a rich resource for fresh, even profound theological reflection. The chapters present a series of case studies. Each begins with a chaplain’s encounter with a patient in crisis, whether from pain, loss, abandonment, trauma, or guilt. The quest for God in these circumstances may be overt but is more often indirect or simply absent. In any case, the chaplain must react, intervene, ask a question, and provide hints as to God’s possible presence. Her responses are always theologically driven and pose a challenge to the reader. Do we agree with her response? Would we have chosen a different approach? Should her own faith have been more obvious, or less? Her narrative is then followed by an essay of theological reflection showing what is theologically at stake in each case and what kind of theological tools are available. The book concludes with a theoretical consideration of the benefits of an interdisciplinary conversation between practical and systematic theology, fields that too often remain separate. Accessible and inspiring, this book itself embodies the combination of sensitivity, wisdom, and mature theology that goes into effective pastoral care.

Often we ask, is the way we live really the way we want to live? But do we stop to question whether our lives reflect who we are deep inside? Many sense, at a subconscious level, that they don't. How can they, when we live in a time of such faithless, fearful economic systems? Yet what do we do about it? Peter Strothers explores these questions by confronting the psychological schism and alienation of our times. He goes directly into our homes and work places; our collective mindsets and everyday addictions, our personal identities and personal relationships. Spiritual Beings or Economic Tools seeks to guide us in empowering and daring directions using original, diverse approaches, finally re-connecting us to the spiritual source of who we are.