Beacon2Light

How People Change by Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp from CCEF.org  Free on Kindle for a limited time Free Resources for the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (Downloads )   IDOP is November 2nd    (NEXT SUNDAY) UKRAINE Petition Calling for the Immediate End to the Persecution of Non-Orthodox Christians in Eastern Ukraine (International Christian Concern) A memorial service for four protestant Christians murdered by pro-Russian militants in Eastern Ukraine. On Sunday morning, June 8th, Viktor and three other ministers were taken from their church and stuffed into a car by men carrying automatic weapons. A month later, their burned bodies were found in a mass grave. Three of the ministers had been executed at point blank range. Viktor was shot in the back as he tried to flee his captors. These Christians weren't murdered in Nigeria, Iraq, or Pakistan. They were killed in Europe, shot dead by armed separatists in Eastern Ukraine. Tra...

Bart Ehrman is an atheist author who states he was a “devout and committed Christian.” He denied this faith because he couldn’t reconcile evil and suffering with God’s goodness.  He states that for most of his life he was a Christian. While in High School, Bart attended a Youth for Christ club and had what he called a born again experience. Later, Ehrman went to what he called a fundamentalist Bible college (Moody Bible Institute) to study for the ministry.  Bart claimed he could recite whole books of the New Testament from memory. He finished college at Wheaton then off to Princeton for an Master's in Divinity and a Phd in New Testament studies. After having served as a youth pastor, Bart stated that he began to lose his faith. Now, he no longer attends church, no longer believes or even considers himself a Christian.  But what happened was that Bart first started questioning the Bible’s authority and inerrancy. To him, it was “a very human book with...

Many people content themselves to read just one biography of a great man or woman. Yet it is in devouring more than one that one comes to realize that a biographer has all kinds of choices to make when writing his or her perspective on the life and influence of any famous person. There are a million details, some everyone agrees is important, and, even in those, the writer must decide on what to emphasize, what to summarize and how to weave the picture together. Often the starting point varies and, believe it or not, the ending point does as well as great people’s legacies outlive the year etched on the right hand of their tombstone. I believe Paul McCusker does a great job with his portrait of C.S. Lewis. Something he chooses to do is to give background information on the BBC, what life was like in Britain during the Second World War as well as the expected background story to Lewis’ life that included his upbringing, early trauma, his service in the World War I and the relati...

I want to start off by saying this is NOT a large church bashing post. The purpose for me writing this is NOT to beat upon mega-church pastors. However, it is not oriented toward them since I am a small church pastor and don't have the experience to speak to the unique challenges and concerns of a mega-ministry. Having said that, I believe that there are a LOT of pastors who serve small to moderate size congregations. These individuals also work hard and stick it out through some difficult circumstances. Their pay isn't great and their savings toward retirement is mediocre at best. They may have as many critics as they have fans. More than likely, they are the pastor, the secretary, perhaps even the janitor or security guard.  In other words, they wear many hats. A good number of them are bi-vocational.   And they love their churches and they love their people.  God has called them and they have answered.  These shepherds had dreams, and if they have bee...

When Your Husband Is Addicted to Pornography: Healing Your Wounded Heart  Free Kindle e-book Vicki Tiede, MEd, MMin, is a Bible teacher; conference speaker; author of Plug Me In and Let Me Charge Overnight(2009); and a contributing author for five other books. Her passion is to share God's grace and faithfulness with women through the Scriptures. Vicki transparently relates life experiences that resonate and draw others into a lifelong pursuit of knowing God. Living in Rochester, Minnesota, Vicki is also a wife, homeschooling mom, and women's ministries coordinator at her local church. Harvest USA brings the truth and mercy of Jesus Christ to help men, women, and families affected by sexual struggles and sin and equip churches to minister to sexually broken people. Go to www.harvestusa.org for more information. In His Steps by Charles Sheldon Free on Kindle Written in 1896, this fictional account follows the lives of seven Christians as they seek to live out...

Charis: God’s Scandalous Grace for Us (FREE) Free on vyrso too (author co-authored Erasing Hell with Chan) Be Patient (Job): Waiting On God in Difficult Times (The BE Series Commentary) [Kindle Edition] FREE Warren W. Wiersbe (Author) Digital List Price: $12.99 Print List Price: $14.99 Kindle Price: $0.00 Autobiography of George Muller for $1.50 (lots of positive reviews)

Note: my review appears at the bottom in italics after the trailer Wait? Haven't we been there, done that already (and recently)? The history of the remake  According to The Christian Post :  Although the first “Left Behind” film sold a staggering 2.8 million videocassettes before its theatrical release in February 2001 and reaped $2.1 million during its opening weekend, making it the nation's No. 1 independent film, the quality of the film disappointed LaHaye, who claimed the producers made a lower quality film than the contract demanded [emphasis mine] . The creators of the books, which are inspired by biblical prophecies, were also dissatisfied with the distribution techniques Cloud Ten was utilizing, including the film company’s decision to release the first installment on home video through mainly Christian outlets. "We thought we had a chance to reach millions of people with our message," LaHaye told the Los Angeles Times in an interview t...

By means of introduction, I must say that it isn't everyday that I find a social media post that so gets my attention that I ask its author for permission to post as a guest blogger on this page. For the purpose of full disclosure, the author of what follows was a student of mine when I taught at a Christian school a few years back (you're welcome, Becky ;)  She impressed me back then and, though she would herself admit to imperfections, impresses me to this day.  I hope that the following post inspires you. Perhaps God will give you the chance to see one of our nation's heroes: those who give life to those with disabilities and serve them selflessly long after most of the rest of us are pretty much done.  Thanks Becky for giving me the privilege of sharing this.   A Mother's Glimpse of God's Love by Becky Pete To the lady with her son that I noticed while out grocery shopping today:  You exhibited such a humble and poignant example of grace and lov...