A to Z Challenge S is for Samson and Samuel Say So and Search my heart

First off I want to apologize for my unexpected absence for so long, but I am back.

So I pick up with S, and with perhaps one of the most complex stories in the Old Testament, that being the story of Samson.

Samson was born to a woman unable to give birth, she was past the age of becoming pregnant but was assured that she would carry a child and her child would be a Nazarite, a man dedicated to God from before his birth, he would have great strength as long as his hair was never shaved or cut.

Samson did not follow the instruction given him by his parents, instead he was drawn to the women who were Philistines, the people who had oppressed his own people for nearly 40 years and whom were unclean and uncircumcised for they were the Gentiles.

Although Samson lived in the lions den, his heart was Jewish, when the Philistines attacked his family he struck back with his super human strength.

Yet Samson could not control his love, for he fell in love with a Philistine woman named Delilah who stole the secret of his strength and made him a slave.

Slave or not, blind or not Samson found his courage and was a hero in the end,.

Next is another Old Testament book, this one the books of Samuel.  The first book does chronicle Samuel but makes a transition to the major players of Saul and David, the two men who would be called to be the first King of the Jewish people.

The wheels are set in motion by Chapter 9 to 15 we see Saul as the King of Israel, but by Chapter 15 God is dissatisfied by Saul and Samuel anoints David as the new King.

From here on we see the struggle the develops between Saul and David and how there is divided loyalty of Saul's son Jonathon who becomes David's closest friend.

These two books are well paced and teach many a lesson about being responsible and how one may end up in conflict unexpectedly..

Now we move onto some uplifting music.

The first song is  by Israel Newbreed and is titled Say So The song is rapid and upbeat as we would expect with the answer to the questions asked is that "The Lord Say So"

Our next and last song is titled Search My Heart sung by Hillsong Ministry and is a beautiful song of discovery and allowing God to look in us by our request as a way of making ourselves open to the complete presence and love of God.

Well this ends S, onto T next.

A to Z Challenge R is for Revive Us (Again) Rhythm of Grace and Rise. All uplifting Music

Today is an all music day, and it has one theme.  All three songs today deal with transformation and serving God.  I  realize that this is a common theme among Christian music, however today it is the main subject.  I hope you enjoy.

This song is again about transformation, but is one about how a person makes the conscious decision to be more than what the world expects and who they have been.  it is Rise and sung by Katy Perry.

A to Z Challenge P is For The Power of I am, Power in the Blood The book of Psalms Psalms 23 and The Purpose Driven Life

Welcome back today I have three books, two by contemporary authors, and one from The Bible.  I also have two songs, one of which is very traditional and one is somewhat contemporary.

Let's start off by a book by Joel Osteen, The book is The Power of I am  This book is similar to Joyce Meyer's book Me and My Big Mouth.  For what Joel Osteen is talking about is the power of the words we use and choose.

He gives an example in the inner fly leaf where he mentions, If you say you are Blessed then you are blessed,... if you say "I am Healthy, then Health will follow you."

There is no magick in this book, just common sense things that many times we simply forget because we get caught up in the moment.

The book is 269 pages and will be an empowering book in your life.

Our first song ties into the above mentioned book, it is an old song that is sung in many protestant churches today.  It is Power in the Blood.  also known by the title There is power in the Blood of the Lamb. 

The next book is actually two.  One is the main text and the second is the journal for the master book.  These books are The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Life Journal  By Rick Warren.

Warren's books are for all intensive self help books, which most of the books I have listed are.  Warren however breaks his book into several sections, the first is why we are here and looks at aspects such as that We are not accidents, discovering What drives your life,  

Each builds on the previous chapter and reinforces the steps toward bringing on change not just in who we are but how we live each day.  Now this is where things change, because of the second book.

It calls itself a Journal, but it is much more than this for The Purpose Driven Life Journal is more a workbook asking questions based on the chapter but going further by  challenging our belief, what has defined us.

The main text book is a total of 334 pages with an index,Resources and Why we use translations.

The workbook does not have page numbers it is a 40 day process, a listing of sources and list of other books written by Rick Warren.

Next is the Book of Psalms written by King David Psalms are a collection of reflections and prayers that David wrote.  The best known Psalm is the 23rd Psalm which we all know, for itstarts "The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want" Many times this is said at funerals and yet it is not a prayer of dismay.

The 23rd Psalm is a celebration of life, of how we are always with God and how he takes care of us even when we feel abandoned.  

With that being said, the next song needs no explanation for it is a musical representation of The 23rd Psalm,

Psalm 23

A to Z Challenge O is for Open the Eyes of my Heart, On Eagles Wings and Our Unmet Needs

Today I am starting with a contemporary Christian song that is popular among all paths of the faith.  The song is titled Open the Eyes of my Heart this song is about transformation from one who lives for their own needs to one who is open to the needs of others, of being able to reach out and help lift up others.

Another song that I used to sing all the time is On Eagles Wings A song of being lifted up by God.  This version is sung by Michael Crawford, best known as The Phantom of the Opera  In Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical of the same name.

Now we come to a book, by one of the most insightful writers Pastor Charles Stanley and his book Our Unmet Needs Dr. Stanley breaks this book down and helps us look inside to define our needs, what does work and what does not and perhaps one of the most insightful chapter Ten Reasons we Experience a Delay  

In this chapter we learn what leads to the delay of resolving the needs we all have.
He talks about How issues such as Our attempts to manipulate the outcome, instead of trusting that God will come through for us we attempt to on our own manipulate circumstances in our life to bring about the result,

Another aspect is that we have the wrong motivation for what we are asking for,we put a need of the flesh ,(Power,Money, Success,Sex) as what we are attempting to obtain instead of Financial security to avoid losing ones home or for the benefit of our family,  If we are selfish the need may never be met.

The book is 253 pages and is well worth reading.

A to Z Challenge K is for Kindness,King of My Heart, and Kingdom Come

Yes I know, today was N, I should be on O; however wjem I did my original hunt for music that began with K i found nothing.  Now since discovering Lifewayworship.com I am finding all kinds of music, with a wider array from A to Z.


So here is K for today.

The first song is titled Kindness there really is no need to explain the title, it says exactly what this song is about, us being kind to one and other through the love and grace of God.

Next is a song that I sing every Sunday at service, it is titled Kind of My Heart  and is about how we being engulfed and filled by the Holy Spirit and are drawn to live our lives honestly and fully in helping others.

Our last song is Kingdom Come and is based on the Our Father prayer and again about our transformation in action and thought.

So it is out of order, but as the saying goes "Better late than never."  Enjoy

A to Z Challenge N is for Nahum Noah,Now What, Nailed to the Cross Name above all names New Creation and New Day .

Nahum This   is among one of the shortest books in the Bible for there are only 3 chapters in the whole book, But  some of the best-known passages come from this book among them are :

The  Lord is a jealous  and avenging God; the Lord takes Vengeance and is filled with  wrath...

The  Lord is slow to anger but great in power the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished .

This  book talks of how God has turned his anger on the city of Nineveh yet although God has said how he intends  to punish the people of Nineva will survive, but they will do so forever with the stain as being one of the crulelist Nations of the Earth .

Although  this book is filled with representations of God's anger towards a people it is still a fair warning to us that we need to really think before we Act .



 Our next reference is not a book in the Bible yet the person that references is one of those people we can learn from , that being Noah .

 Noah appears in the book of Genesis and an example of how we need to  consider how we Act and what we say.


 Noah was honest and righteous in his actions that he was spared by God and through this that the human race could begin again .

 God was very severe in the fact that he eliminated the body of the human race and began the Earth over again  all because humans had turned away from God,   worst still they had turned  against themselves  and we're destroying the world on their own .

This  would be the only time stroy the human race and the Earth , after this  God attempts to work with humans we see with Moses and the Ten Commandments , and of course later still to the Forgiveness of Jesus towards the human race .


 Now this next item is not a book it is a pamphlet and it was given to me after I had been baptized  in the Holy spirit  .

 The pamphlet is divided into Severn sections , each section deals with an aspect  of the Holy spirit .   The purpose of this pamphlet is to help someone who has just been baptized into the Holy Spirit .    it is a very simple read and very beneficial.

Next several inspirational songs.

We  start off with a song that is titled Nailed to the Cross performed by Rend Collective Charts.   This song is about  how to Jesus's life and sac we change our viewrifice longer the same , for we have been freed from the sins that have controlled us for Generations and how we change our view and attitude towards ourselves and others.

Next  is a song but I sing every Sunday at service , that song is titled Name above all names  this song is about how we see Jesus the true representation of God and how we Believe that he (God),will always be with us and support us no matter Where We Are or the struggle we are involved in .

 These last two songs  are Mirror  images of each other; for they are both talking of how when we accept Jesus we are transformed into a new person or as the second song title says that we are a new creation .

The  first of these mirror songs is titled New Creation, the  title is out of 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 verse 17.

In  this verse Paul talks of how we are made new when we accept Jesus into our life how we become a new creation a new person the we have given up all the things that we're leaving us into the ways of sin such as; putting our own needs for comfort power sexual gratification and viewing others is merely Stepping Stones .

The  last song which has I've said is kind of a mirror of the above , is titled New Day.  Again  this song celebrates the transformation we go through when we begin to live our lives as Jesus showed us .

A to Z challenge M is for me and my big mouth , men's devotional prayer Journal, , and miracles of healing .

Welcome back again.  Today we look at books that start with the letter M.

The first book is by my favorite Christian author Joyce Meyer.

Me and my Big Mouth  is a book its focus is on how we communicate with God and how we deal with the things before us on a daily basis .

The book  begins with a question and a statement.  The statement is very simple and is that   obedience and forgiveness are as important as faith and persistence .  We  must always realize that everything is a matter of balance .

The  other point that  Joyce Meyer brings up is do we talk about our problems or do we  command our problems through spirit and conviction and by  having this spirit and conviction these are keys to overcoming the problems we confront .

This is a small book , but is as powerful as many of Joyce Meyers larger tomes.


Next is a book that is wonderful, especially if you are dealing with addictions and other types of problems in your life .

Men's Devotional Prayer Journal  is not just not another book that has scripture interpretation and prayer in it.

Instead  is explains about how scripture and prayer and meditation are all important in our daily lives and then it goes into sections where we look at things such as confession thankfulness and praise among other aspects.


There is written text explaining  we are thankful for each of these areas and then there's a section or sections of lined paper where we may put down what we are thankful for  or we may confess an issue or a problem that we need to turn over to God .


Again  this is a small book but it is very powerful for those who are in the process transforming their lives .

The last book is a collection of stories by people who have faced issues and survived and been transformed.  Miracles of healing  Makes us realize that miracles happen all the time, sometimes even in our own lives and we may not realize the fact, because it can be so subtle yet significant.

Next will be N.

A to Z Challenge L is for Life in the Word, The Life of Jesus, Living in the Spirit, Living the Spirit Filled Life, Living beyond your feelings and Living Courageously

Well I am back.  At this time I do not have any reading material of music to represent K, so we move onto L.  We begin with another book by one of my favorite authors Joyce Meyer.

The title is Life in the Word.  This is a daily devotional, however it is not the same format.  In  Life in the Word we start with a scripture reading, this is followed by Joyce's her reaction and description of scripture as well as any insight.

At the end of her insight she has a montra for the day,  Here is an example for you.

" For God so loved the world that he gave up his only begotten son, so that who ever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3 v 16

She says "...Unless you have received it yourself, you can not give love away."

Then the montra for the day is; "God Loves me, I am special to him.  I receive his everlasting love toaday and am strengthened..."

Above are quotes from Joyce Meyer's Life in the Word.

Next we have a publication by TIME LIFE on The Life of Jesus.

This is in a magazine format that goes into detail on who the four writers were, and why they wrote as they did and who their selected audiences are.  Each page goes into the life of Jesus using references to the scripture then building upon this.

This gives a reader a deeper understanding of the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles.  New breath is put into these classic books and one really gets to know Jesus and understand more deeply who he was.

Next up is a book by George O Wood, a Pentecostal minister.

The book is Rev. Wood's personal account of how the Holy spirit has impacted his life, this book is very heavy in the way it presents information and although Rev. Wood was hoping to make this a book that would be easy for others to read it is one that requires patience .

The book is very versed from a theological perspective and can be a slow read, but there is information here-in so it is worth working through the book.

Next another Joyce Meyer Book, as I said above one of my favorite authors.  This book is titled Living Beyond your Feelings and is subtitled Controlling emotions so they do not control you.

Like Developing a mindset of an attitude of Gratitude by Robert Gray this book is about transforming our mind, instead of walls of stone we live with unlimited potential.  Nothing is impossible when we rely on God.

Parts of this book Refer to Paul in Romans, where Paul says "I want to do what is right, but I do what is wrong"  This quote is the title of the first chapter of the book and it looks at how we at times trip ourselves up because we are living by our desires and not listening to what God is saying to us.

Joyce gets you to see past the wall you have built around you and knock down the wall.

A to Z Challenge J is for Jesus and the Apostles, Jesus C.E.O and The Journeys of Saint Paul

The first title, is not a book, it is a National Geographic that is dedicated to "Jesus, his Apostles" and the Early rise and days of the church.

This is beautifully illustrated with breath taking photos that only add to written text.  The text is a combination of National Geographic's writings concerning who Jesus was and the impact he and his Apostles had, but also quotes from the Gospels as well.


Next is a very powerful book by Laurie Beth Jones, it is "Jesus C.E.O" This book shows examples of how Jesus acted in the world; Chapters are titled He did not waste his time judging others, He was willing to Look Foolish and He Expressed himself.

Laurie Beth Jones will ask questions either at the beginning of a chapter or as the reader gets deeper in the chapter.

In Chapter 1 "He said I am." She starts with a question about did Jesus know how and what he was at the very beginning?  Or did he discover his identity as soon as he was three years old?

Most of know that according to The Bible Jesus did not know who he was until he was in his teens and went to temple and discussed scripture with the Rabbis,

Yet her approach opens our minds, when do we become aware that we are called to serve, when we realize that Jesus is real and has always been waiting for us?

The book does one thing exceptionally well, it gets the reader to think and to look at themselves.  Are they doing what God has called them to do, or are they just sitting on the side line?

Our last book today is by James Harpur with assistance from the Reverend Marcus Braybrooke and is published by Reader's Digest.

This book carries itself with a great deal of narration that tells the main story of Saul's transformation from Jewish pursecuter of the Christian community to becoming Paul a man who became one of the strongest and devoted followers of Jesus.

Also there are quotations from the books that Saul//Paul came to conversion and became a man of courage and principle who even when facing death he remained strong but remained calm and trusted in God.

This book is special to me, because Paul is a hero who I identify tremendously.  At another time I will explain why.

So done for today.  Tomorrow is a new day with the letter of the day being K.  we will have to wait and see what I come up with to fill in this letter.

A to Z Challenge I Belong, I Lift my Hands up,I Declare and I Will Follow

Today we have a mix of Music and written work aka a book.  This is because I only have one book with a title that begins with I.  We will work our way there.  First up song by Tim Timmons and Amy Grant and it is  titled "I Belong"

This song is a positive song that allows us to see that no matter how hard life is, how much we may struggle because we are God's children we survive and overcome because of God's Love.

Next we have our one book for today.  The book is "I Declare" by Joel Osteen.  

The book is a daily journey of affirmations to keep us steadfast in the positive and the presence of God in our daily lives.  Unlike a Devotional this is more directly focused on reshaping ones mind by getting rid of the cob webs and allowing God to get rid of the character defects we have.

Next up another song   "I lift up my Hands" By Israel Houghton.  This is a very short song, yet it is powerful, it is a song of submission to God and transformation from that submission.

Next up is another song by Chris Tomlin, this one is based on the book of "Ruth"  The song is "I will Follow"  And this is as I said a musical journey from the book of "Ruth"  It comes when Ruth pledges herself to Naomi.  Ruth Chapter 1 Verse 16,

                               
So this is today's journey in inspiration,  Tomorrow is the Letter... J.

A to Z Challenge H is for Hope for Each Day and Hitchhikers guide to the Soul

Two more books for you to look at and explore.

We start wirh a Devotional by Billy Graham that is titled Hope for Each Day.

Like "God's Wisdom for Today" this is a daily book filled with scripture and then a personal devotional penned by Reverend Graham. 

I know, some of you must be wondering why I have so many devotionals in my library of inspirational books?  Well the answer is, that each of these books has a slightly different way of inspiring one to be filled with God's presence and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Next book is "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Soul"  This is by Robert Clancy and not Douglas Adams.  (Douglas Adams was an English author who wrote the science fiction series "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy")

Clancy's book explores how each of us impact others lives, that without being conscious of it how we end up helping others.  Each chapter gives an illustration of this.

At the very beginning of the book in the first chapter Life ain't so bad Clancy states a very amazing thing, something we never think about.
He asks people the worst thing that could happen to them, then he says
"I know the one thing that would impact you most... You losing  your ability to lp another person...but this will never happen."

Throughtout Clancy uses this statement to set up and illustrate how we all impact others lives, sometimes without even knowing we are doing so  at the time,

This is a fast read and that you will read more than once,

A to Z Challenge G is for God is not mad at you ,God''s Wisdom for Today, and The Grave Robber

Today back to books.

 The first book is by Joyce Meyer and is titled "God is not Mad at You."

In this book Joyce Meyer opens dialogue on one thing that many follower's of Jesus struggle with, the fact that Gpd loves us and is not a God of condemnation or one of punishment.

She uses her formula of mixing personal stories and Biblical scripture to bring the point home that God does love us.  She explains how sometimes our parent may be upset or punish us, but how they will come back and express their love for us.

She also gives examples how God is loving no matter what our actions may be.

Unlike her other books. there are no surveys or questions in this book to track our progress,  In this book she applies the principle of Let Go and Let God.  In this case let go of the baggage we have carried and let God help us move forward through his love and compassion.

Next up is a book that is actually a daily devotional.  The book is titled "God's wisdom for today" and it is  a collection of scripture followed by a devotional prayer.

An example of this is the Scriptural reading for April 9th. the scripture for the day is from Psalms 62 Verses 1-12 and then the devotional that ties into the reading which in this case is "Look closely at the repetitions in this wonderful Psalm of David's.  It's as if he can not praise God long enough or loud enough..."

On days that are supposed to be the Sabbath it will have two questions  and space to respond.

Our last book for today is "The Grave Robber" 

This book explain the ministry of Jesus, so of the miracles he did and how his mindset was that of one who is a servant of all.

This is an over-simplification of the book, it is again a book that uses personal examples to bring home points in each chapter.

It is well worth reading.

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A to Z challenge F is for Finally,Forever and Forever Home

Today is all contemporary Christian Worship music, because i do not have any books that start with the letter F that are either spiritual or inspirational.

So instead here are several pieces of contemporary Christian music.

Let's start with Finally by James Arthur

Next is Mercy Me with Finally Home

Next up is Chris Tomlin with his version of the song "Forever"

Finally here  is Kari Jobe's version of "Forever"

A to Z challenge E is for Ecclesiastes, Everyday is a Friday and Exodus

 welcome back , today we pick up with the letter e . now here is the thing with the letter e I have only one physical book that begins with this letter, which i will get to.

So i will beging with books from the Bible.

The first book is Ecclesiastes, both Ezra and Solomon have been credited with writing this book from The Old Testament; although in pre NIV        versions the author was only known as the Teacher.

Ecclesiastes is however  a book that comes across as one that can be very depressing because of the constant repetition that "This too is meaningless.  Yet if you really look at what ivs being written this takes on an entirely different meaning.

From a spiritual perspective we are talking how things of the world ,(Acts of the flesh as Paul wrote in Galatians 5 verse 17-21), then the book takes on an entirely different perspective and is well worth reading.

Next is a contemporary book that is titled "Everyday is a Friday" By Joel Osteen.  Now this is actually a  book with both a prayer and a prompt to refocus our mind.  This is as the title says Daily Readings from  the actual book that Joel Osteen wrote.

The readings are looking at how we live, the decisions we make and the consequences that may come ; but instead of us being left dangling on a ledge we are rescued by a prayer that ties into the chapter then comes the prompt to change how we look at things.  The prompts say to us, hey try looking at today this way make a change in your thinking just to see how this can change your entire day.

Next up is Exodus the book of Moses and the liberation of the Jewish people from the yoke of domination of the Egyptian people.

Exodus is a book that is long in the tooth but it is very inspiring because shows that with patience and trust in God we can accomplish anything.  But we must remember that we must put our hope in Gods hands because we can not accomplish the goal on our own.

A to Z Challenge D is for Develop the Mindset of an attitude of Gratitude

With this book,i must admit something; I had the pleasure of having the writer Roger Gray as my teacher.                                                                                                    At the time i was in a study group to develop a relationship with God and to become a servant of God.                                                                                                      Part of this was to change ones mindset to one of showing gratitude to others as well as showing gratitude to God for all the positive things in our life and that surround us daily.                                                                                                                  The book is a guide to discovering how actions bring about either positive or negative results in our life.  How  by being great-full   can make a difference in others lives and how people will respond to us differently by such a simple change in our behavior.                                                                                          The book  contains exercises to help us in our journey of developing an attitude of gratitude in our lives.                                                                                                             Next up is a book titled the Disciples Cross , in this book we  are given w Ways in which we can change our lives so that we look at others in a manner of showing acceptance and a willingness to help those in need,without expecting some form of payment for helping the person in need.                                                                                                                       The Disciples Cross is a work book, throughout the book there will be many questions.  Best advice is be honest, as a statement of fact if you find yourself struggling with this book put it aside;  at this time you are not ready for this book.                           

A to Z Challenge C is for Closer to God Colossians Action Plan, O Come to the Alter and I can only imagine.

C is another challenging letter when it comes to finding book titles and titles of music.

However I found two books both by one of my favorite authors, Joyce Meyers.

The first is Closer to God devotional.  This a remarkable book that by using a word as a subject, her definition of the word, and a personal reference and of course a verse from the bible either new or old testament.

This method gives one a deeper and more honest idea of the impact of the word and how we can

The second is not a book but a complete study program, you receive 4 audio texts, the same 4 teachings on DVD; the nice thing here is depending on what method best works for you, you have both available to you.

You also receive in this study package  a personal study guide and the book of Colossians for easy access.

Meyers again goes in depth and explores Paul's teachings in this book from a much deeper aspect.  Again she expresses the teaching as is from the bible, then adds to this, giving a deeper understanding by personal examples and definitions of the teachings that take away the mystery of Paul's letters.

A third book is one that I am reading now, it is a very powerful book and it hits home on how we create strife in our lives, and how we can break this chain.

The book is titled Conflict Free Living  and as I said above, the book explores how we set up conflict in our lives, one example that Meyer's uses is the  "I am right even when I am wrong I am right" attitude made famous in the television series Boston Legal and spoken by the character of Denny Crane aka William Shatner.

Many of express the above attitude without even being aware of it.  We set ourselves up, we feel we know everything, or we know more than those around us, and we do not listen or listen with the filter on while we are already thinking of our response that will be belittling and condescending to the person because of course we are always right.

Meyer's as always uses personal history and events to illustrate this and at the same time shows how we can change this attitude so that we void the "Strife in our life."

I have found Joyce Meyer one of the most prolific, positive uplifting and impassioned writers of inspirational scripture based books.

I also found three songs that fit the category  one actually begins with the letter c and two are songs with the second word in the title being C.  One begins with I starts  and the last songs starts with O.

The first is by Mercy Me and is titled I can only imagine.  This is on of their best known songs, it is their take on the after life and it helps to encourage one to be filled with hope.

The second is by  Casting Crowns and is titled  Courageous,

This song is about two things, being courageous in faith when confronting the issues of the world, remembering that Jesus and God are always present in our lives and will help us overcome what ever the crisis we confront through belief and through the word.

It also reminds us to stand strong in our faith, not to weaken when we feel overwhelmed.

The last song is performed by Michael Capo and is titled O come to the alter.

This is a powerful song that is about the power of having an alter call by a minister, of opening ones self to the full presence of God into our life, allowing the love of God and Jesus to fill us and bring forth in us a sence of peace, compassion and self control.

The song is also about how we may be called to the alter to have the presence of the Holy spirit to fill us and be able to communicate more deeply and directly with God and to be more aware of what our calling through God is meant to be.

So this is C.

Next up D

A to Z Challenge B is for The Bible The Bible Code and The Bomdage Breaker

Last time I got a bit carried away, I found more versions of Amazing Grace than I had ever been aware of.  I may end up doing a follow up on that song with additional versions.

Now onto B.

We have three separate books this time, although the first book has been published many times in such versions as The (New) King James Bible, The New International Bible, The Living Bible,The Amplified Bible and then there is Joyce Meyer's Battlefield of the Mind Bible.

The key difference in all these versions is the way that they have been written and developed by the companies that release them.

The Amplified Bible is very contemporary in how it states the various books in the Bible, not only is the language contemporary, but the images speak to a modern generation.  To some this seems to be a sin because no one is to change a word in the Bible.

This belief has been for a very long time, however the Amplified Bible speaks well to many.

The New International version or NIV is a more traditional version but gone are thys and thou's and other language of generations passed.

One tip I give to you, do not go into reading this book with preconceived notions, be open.  And read it, if you are not certain go back and read it again or look up the chapter and verse in another version, you may be surprised by what you learn.

The Bible Code by Michael Droskin
The Bible Code was first published  in 1997.

The book was first in a series of three books all with the same title except for the addition of 2 and 3.

The claims that contained inside the Bible is a code that when translated by computer gives predictions of future events.  Now when I first read the first prediction it did surprise me, it spoke of the assanation of Israeli  Primeminister  Yhitzhak Rabin as wells as who would replace him.

However here is something I was not aware of until now.  These predictions came to pass before the book was published, since any prediction that came after did not come to be, then read it and make up your own mind.

The Bondage Breaker By Neil T Anderson
First published 1990 Revised version 2000



I have not had a chance to read this book, however I am very familiar with Neil T Anderson as a writer, because I have read Victory over the Darkness, which in some ways this book is a continuation of VOTD.

Anderson always gives actual examples in his writing, from people he has known.

His solutions are scriptural in nature but give practical means to achieve positive results.

I will be reading this book in the future and will come back and give a proper review,

This covers B onward to C

A is for Ask It, Amazing Grace with an international flavor

To being this journey  An overview of a Book that I have not had the opportunity to read yet, but very well shall in the near future   Then I am offering two of my favorite inspirational songs

Ask It by Andy Stanley

This is a book that looks at how we struggle to be honest, forthright and open to the process of transformation from living in the world and following the spiritual path of being positive and uplifting one and other.

How we say to ourselves that it is too difficult and turn away.   But Andy Stanley then give us positive examples of how we can move toward living a more positive path in life.

He makes reference to Paul's letter to the Ephesians and shows how Paul gave examples of how to be spiritual in a world of temptation and mistrust.

As I said this is an overview because I have only scanned the book,  I hope to read it more fully and give you more details in each chapter of the book.

No onto the music.  This features two songs, or one song with a current addition that makes it more contemporary.

The first is the original song  Amazing Grace, which has had numerous variations over the years, everything from Judy Collins, Aretha Franklin, The Three Tenors,  Elvis Presley  Meryle Streep and Celtic Women among many others.

To start off with, here is a version of Amazing grace sung in Hawaiian

Next up is the lady I first sing this powerful song, Ms. Judy Collins

An introduction to me and my A to Z challenge.

Welcome one and all to my new blog page.

This page, The Epistles of Mark Paul will be a dedicated blog about the spiritual journey that I have been on since December 31st 2015.

Understand,I had explored other pathways before 2015, however they had left me hollow and instead of filling me with joy and peace i was filled with selfishness, distrust and anger.

On December 31st 2015 i ended up in a mens shelter in Springfield Missouri, yes I had become homeless and this changed my world view forever.

Why?

Because i discovered that not all of the people who are homeless do not fit the established stereotype of having homelessness as their lifestyle.

There are those who came to a state thinking they had a job or could get one quickly and found that that did not happen, instead their money ran out, they had no friends they could rely on so they found themselves suddenly homeless for the first time in their life.

The other group that surprised me was the number of children and young adults who are homeless, in Springfield there was a large enough contingent that a separate shelter for this group was established.

During my time in the mens shelter, I took a variety of courses including bible studies.

I had never in my life read the Bible, it was not part of my life.  For the first time in my life I actually started to read The Bible and suddenly I found myself relating to the people and events.

I read about David and his struggles and I read about Paul, who had been Saul and a man who had hunted down and persecuted Christians and how on the road to Damascus.

I identified with Paul so much that I adopted his name as my middle name, then simply started referring to myself as Mark Paul.

Since then I have read many other books in The Bible and have started to read a variety of books by such people as Joyce Meyer, Rev Charles Stanley and Neil T Anderson among others.

What follows are some of the books I have read along with some of my favorite Christian music.

I hope you will enjoy and feel free to comment