Ambassadors For Christ

This book profiles Christians whose service for the Lord has ignited the flame of love and hope throughout the world. Within these pages, readers can find the fascinating stories of less-then-perfect Christians who overcame life's hardships and disappointments to bring God's message of reconciliation to their hopeless, turbulent world.

The monasteries of the Jerusalem desert were famous throughout the Byzantine Christian world. Yet whilst much has been written about their counterparts in Egypt and Syria, this book is the first to provide a comprehensive study of the monastic movement in Palestine during the Byzantineperiod, from the accession of Constantine to the fall of Jerusalem to the Persians in 614. The book is divided into three parts. The first examines the lives of the holy men of the desert, using contemporary source material, and looks at the culture which produced them. The second describes the environment, including chapters on Jerusalem and the expansion of monasticism into otherurban centres. The third section presents some of the main themes of the saints' lives, with chapters on the historical development, doctrinal debate, and spirituality. This is an important and valuable contribution to the study of ancient spirituality and desert monasticism, and should be ofinterest both to historians and scholars of patristics and theology.

What does it take for lasting change to take root in your life? If you've ever tried, failed, and wondered what you could do differently, you need to read How People Change. In the book, biblical counseling experts Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp explain the biblical pattern for change in a clear, practical way you can apply to the challenges of daily life. But change involves much more than just a biblical formula: you will see how God is at work to make you the person you were created to be. That powerful, loving, redemptive relationship is at the heart of all positive change you experience. A changed heart is the bright promise of the gospel, but many of us wonder if we'll ever see lasting change take root in our lives. When the Bible talks about the gift of a new heart, it doesn't mean a heart that is immediately perfected, but a heart that is capable of being changed. Jesus's work on the cross targets our hearts, our core desires and motivations, and when our hearts change, our behavior changes. How People Change targets the root of a person: the heart. When our core desires and motivations change, only then will behavior follow. Using a biblical model of Heat, Thorns, Cross, and Fruit, Paul David Tripp and Timothy S. Lane reveal how lasting change is possible. You don't need to be stuck anymore. In Christ, you are a new creation. The old has gone and the new has come. Includes a foreword by David Powlison.

“Without reconciliation we will not have any meaningful social life in this world." These words of Johannes Reimer, World Evangelical Alliance Director of Public Engagement point us to the importance of the next thirty days for you. Meaningful and flourishing life on earth, Shalom as the Bible calls it, depends on people like you, made in God's image, being reconciled to God through Christ and active as ambassadors of Christ. This daily reader is designed to ground your calling and identity as an ambassador of Christ so that you know why and how to be a reconciler in an unreconciled world. "

Maybe you are familiar with the growth in recent decades of "majority world" missionaries being sent all over the world from non-Western countries (i.e., countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Middle East). This book focuses on missionaries sent from one non-Western country, analyzing the experiences of Chinese missionaries on the mission field. The missionaries interviewed were sent from house churches in mainland China, have served overseas for at least two years, and are ministering cross-culturally to non-Chinese on the mission field. The first research question relates to Chinese missionaries' successes and difficulties in cross-culturally building relationships with locals, learning the local language, and adjusting to the local culture. The second research question analyzes factors that have contributed to the Chinese missionaries remaining on the mission field. This included how pre-field preparation and on-field support contributed to their retention. Also analyzed were other challenges and needs the missionaries had on the field. The interviewees were serving in countries in Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.

From what we see around us, we can conclude our beloved country is going in the wrong direction. We have felt safe while Christians around the world have been suffering incredible religious persecution. It is catching up to us. There is a growing cooperative relation between the government and several private groups to repress any Christian expression. Openly practicing our faith is under attack. God has appointed His believers to be His ambassadors to this world and has called us to stand up and defend the faith (1 Peter 3:15; 2 Corinthians 5:20). This book examines the forces that resist our openly witnessing for the faith. We will examine the world, the flesh, and the Devil and look at their interaction with man. Hopefully, we will open a supportive dialogue between ambassadors. Dr. Edward Jones is a seventy-five-year-old man living in a senior complex in central Florida. He led an active life prior to 1995 when he became disabled. Writing replaced preaching. In addition to his books, he writes for the Crossroads Bible Institute and is chairmen of his church’s prison ministry. He brings to his writing a unique balance between the spiritual and the secular. His books reflect the interplay of the two. Other books include Come up Hither and The Joy of Fellowship. Christ’s Ambassadors is his third book. All his books reflect his deep commitment to Biblical inerrancy.

Many Christians in the West sense that traditional Christian teaching is losing traction in the public square. What does faithful Christian witness look like in a post-Christian culture? Paul Williams, the CEO of one of the world's largest and oldest Bible societies, interprets the dissonance Christians often experience while trying to live out their faith in the 21st century. He provides constructive tools to help readers understand culture in myriad contexts and offer a missional response. Williams calls for a truly missional understanding of post-Christendom Christianity whereby local churches are reimagined as embassies of the kingdom of God and Christians serve as ambassadors in all spheres of life and work. This book invites readers to embrace the language of exile and imagine a hopeful mission of the scattered and gathered church in the post-Christian West. It shows a clear pathway for fruitful missional engagement for the whole people of God, helping Christians make sense of the world in which they live, more authentically integrate faith with everyday life, and orient all of their efforts within God's missional purpose for the world.