The Meanings of Colors

This is an extract from Perry Stone's title How to Interpret Dreams and Visions. To view the book, please click here 

The law of first mention is also found in the presentation of colors,
metals, and fabrics found in the Scriptures. When Moses was building
the tabernacle in the wilderness, God instructed him to use purple,
blue, red, and white dyed fabrics. Without entering into a detailed
study of the fabrics of the tabernacle, blue is heavenly, purple is royalty,
red is redemption, and white is righteousness. A scarlet (purple)
robe was placed on Christ at His trial while the soldiers mocked Him
as the king (Matt. 27:27–29). A red cord was hung in the window of
the harlot Rahab’s apartment, marking her house for redemption and
protection from destruction (Josh. 2:17–18). In heaven, the saints will
wear white robes, which represent the “righteousness of the saints.”
When it comes to metals, three are mentioned frequently in the
Scriptures: gold, silver, and brass. Gold is the most precious, representing
deity. Gold never tarnishes, never needs cleaning, is eternal
(never aging), and just as God is sinless, never needs to repent of any
sin. Silver is a precious metal that represents redemption. Under the
old covenant, a silver shekel was collected from all men over twenty
years of age, called the shekel of redemption. The entire collection
was placed in the temple treasury and was used for repairs of the
tabernacle and, later, the temple in Jerusalem. When Jews celebrate
the yearly Passover, four silver cups are used for the fruit of the vine,
each cup representing an aspect of the redemption from Egypt.

Biblical Sy mbolism

Some of the most common forms of symbolism found in Scripture
are animals that are used to identify nations or individuals. You may
wonder why Scripture uses the animal kingdom as symbolism so
frequently. I believe the simple answer is that God used what the
people of ancient history were most familiar with. The same could be
said of Christ’s outdoor teaching ministry. When Christ spoke of a
man sowing seed in a field, the wheat and tares, and the thorns, His
Galilean audience was completely familiar with the objects He used
in His famous illustrated messages.

The biblical symbolism of objects and animals is similar to the
symbolism of numbers, metals, and colors in that the first mention
of the object or thing usually sets the pattern for the cryptic, mystical,
or symbolical understanding of that particular object or thing.
The first created creature that became prominent in the Bible was
the serpent, which was “more cunning than any beast of the field
which the Lord God had made” (Gen. 3:1). Notice that the Bible does
not use a term like “reptile” or “slithering thing” but places the serpent
with the “beast of the field.” Today when we think of a beast
in a field, we picture a large ox, a bull, a cow, or other large animal
that roams in the field. However, the serpent was more than a skinny
snake. He was subtle or crafty and was also able to communicate in
some manner with Adam and Eve. Because a serpent initiated the
first deception, the fallen angel, Lucifer, called the devil and Satan,
became a picture of a deceiving serpent. In fact, he is called a serpent
in Revelation 20:2.

One of the most commonly mentioned animals in Scripture is the
lamb. The word lamb or verses using the word lamb first appear in
Genesis 22, where Abraham predicted that God would “provide for
Himself the lamb” (Gen. 22:8). However, the main story of a lamb
that connects this precious creature with Christ is the Passover narrative
recorded in Exodus 12. A perfect pet lamb was chosen from
the flock. Its blood was sprinkled on the left, right, and top post of
the outer door of each Hebrew home, forming an invisible hedge that
restrained the destroying angel from taking the firstborn Hebrew.
The entire lamb was then roasted, and all parts were eaten by the
family prior to departing from bondage to their homeland. This was
not just an exodus but also a redemption from bondage and slavery.
It was a preview of coming events—when Christ would appear as the
“Lamb of God” taking away the sins of the world (John 1:29). In the
Book of Revelation, the word lamb is used twenty-seven times, and
in all instances but one (Rev. 13:11), the lamb is Christ.

The Bible uses other symbolism that is often found in a spiritual
dream. In the Bible we read of wheat and tares. The wheat alludes to
the good seed that produces children of the kingdom, and the tares
are the bad seed that produces the children of the devil (Matt. 13).
There are certain animals that I call the “odd flock.” They are the
sheep, goat, and pig—each representing a different type of believer.
The sheep always refers to believers or individuals who faithfully
follow the shepherd. Sheep are never spoken of in a negative manner
in the New Testament and are to be protected, loved, and cared for
by their spiritual shepherd. On the opposite end are the goats. Goats
are actually a part of the flocks in the Middle East, but they are
separated from the sheep, as they can become difficult to get along
with at times. A goat can allude to someone in the flock who has a
negative attitude or refuses to obey the instructions of a shepherd.
As a youth, I knew members in churches where my father was the
shepherd who were definitely goats. They were always causing some
type of difficulty through their stubborn and stiff-necked attitude.

The other creature is the pig. In Judaism, a pig is considered a very
unclean animal, and religious Jews will not eat any form of pork. In
2 Peter 2:20–22, a pig is a metaphor used to describe a backslider, or
someone who returns to their old filthy ways.

Most believers know that the Holy Spirit is symbolized as a dove,
and for good reason, when we compare a natural dove to the characteristics
of the Holy Spirit.

One form of dove is pure white in color, which represents the
purity of the Holy Spirit. A dove is an affectionate bird that expresses

Why the Symbolism—Can't God Make It Plain?

its emotions through cooing. It is also a gentle creature, a perfect
imagery of the gentleness and affection of the Holy Spirit. When
a dove is attacked, it does not retaliate but simply cries in distress.
Believers who are filled with the Holy Spirit are instructed never to
retaliate against our enemies. The Holy Spirit makes intercession for
us in prayer with “groanings” (Rom. 8:26).

The great Christian minister Vance Havner once pointed out
that a dove has nine main feathers on each wing and five main
feathers on its tail. It is noted in Scripture that there are nine gifts
of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:7–10) and nine fruit of the Spirit listed
in Galatians 5:22–23. The tail feathers are similar to the rudder of a
plane and assist in guiding the dove in flight. The five feathers would
well be a picture of the fivefold ministry of apostle, prophet, pastor,
teacher, and evangelist—the fivefold ministry provided to the body
of Christ (Eph. 4:11–12). The dove is also unique from other birds
because instead of its wings pointing toward its tail, they actually
point toward the head. The Holy Spirit does not speak of Himself but
points believers to Christ.

In the parables, the field where the harvest grain is maturing is
symbolic of the world itself. Water is symbolic of the Holy Spirit
when He is manifesting within the life of a believer, as indicated
when Christ compared the infilling of the Spirit to someone with
living water flowing from their innermost being (John 7:38).
When a believer experiences a spiritual dream with the meaning
veiled with symbolism, the meaning of the dream can be understood
by using the Scriptures to interpret the symbolism. On occasions I
have heard sincere individuals attempting to bring understanding to
a dream that was actually nothing more than a strange dream. There
was no order, no instruction, and no biblical symbolism. It reminds
me of the woman in my father’s church who said to him, “Pastor,
I had a strange dream. I saw the congregation here at the church,
and instead of having normal heads, they all had large, round cabbages
sitting between their shoulders.” With concern on her face, she
inquired, “What do you think this means?”

Dad paused and in a serious tone replied, “Sister, I believe you had
too much pizza before you went to bed.”
I recall a self-acclaimed dream interpreter interpreting the dreams
that people phoned in. From a purely biblical standpoint, most of the
dreams made no sense. Yet the person in charge made every dream
a spiritual revelation and had the most elaborate system for interpretation
that I had heard. However, the colors he used were totally
opposite of the biblical patterns, and at that point I realized he was
stretching the meanings in order to provide some form of comment
for each caller.
In a spiritual dream that is meant as a warning, it is common to
see serpents, wolves, tares, dark clouds, hurricanes, fish, churches,
and other symbols that are used in the Bible.

The Effects of a Spiritual Dream

When the king of Babylon arose from his dream of the metallic
image, we read:
Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign,
Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled
that his sleep left him.
—Daniel 2:1

During my many years of ministry, one common factor in any
warning or instructional dream from the Lord was the fact that
after waking up, I could not go back to sleep. The dream continually
remained with me for days, weeks, and months. A warning
dream remains in your mind and spirit. At times there were parts
of the dream that I could not remember, but I always recalled the
major details of the dream or vision. I have learned by experience
that the average nightly dream will occur and often be forgotten
after awaking or before the day concludes. For example, last night I
dreamed, but at this moment I cannot recall any details, in part or
in whole, of the dream. However, a dream from God will remain in
your mind or spirit for long periods of time.

Writing Down What You See

King Nebuchadnezzar’s prophetic dream of the metallic image was
so dramatic, yet when he awoke, he could not recall what he had
dreamed. When Daniel began his explanation, the king remembered
all of the details and exalted Daniel in the kingdom (Dan. 2). I have
discovered by experience that the moment you awake from a dream,
and you believe it may have a spiritual connotation, it is important to
write it down on paper. For many years I have kept either a notebook
or paper and a good pen on the nightstand beside our bed near the
lamp. At numerous times I would awaken after dreaming or actually
hearing a word or phrase spoken in my ear, and I would turn on the
lamp, grab the pen, and begin to write down the word or the events
seen in the dream.

On the other hand there were a few occasions that I would
awaken and think, “I will remember that in the morning,” as I was
too exhausted to get up and make the effort to record the dream.
Sadly, there were times when I awoke and could not recall the details
that may have been a significant part of the meaning of the dream.
Occasionally that day I would be traveling and would see or hear
something that would trigger my memory, like a small light from
a flashlight suddenly appearing in a dark room. The small memory
jolt, however, was not enough to bring any substantial light to reflect
on the dream.
If you are spiritually sensitive, you should keep a notebook and
pen close to you at all times, even when traveling. You may be in
the presence of someone who will speak a word during a spiritual or
biblical conversation that will be exactly what you need to hear. The
best avenue of recall is to write the insight on paper or in a journal. I
have three offices, two in ministry facilities and one at home. In each
location are numerous file cabinets with drawers stacked full with
notebooks and notes from thirty-four years of ministry. To this day
I will occasionally pull a stack of white or yellow notepads and muse
over the handwritten nuggets on the paper. At countless times I have
gleaned a phrase, a title, or a series of outlines from notes that were
written years earlier.

I have more than sixteen Bibles that I have used over the years
when preaching in revivals and conferences. In each Bible the inside
and backside pages are filled with small handwritten notes and nuggets,
some of which were deep words I heard in my spirit in prayer.
In 1979 I was a teenager traveling in Virginia and ministering in
revivals. While I was in Richmond preaching, a youth group gathered
around me and began praying for my protection and for a major
spiritual breakthrough. Suddenly I grabbed a pen and wrote in the
back of my Bible, “The Lord says that you will see the great breakthrough
in three weeks!” The next meeting was in Pulaski, Virginia,
and the revival continued for three weeks. At the conclusion it was
said to be one of the greatest revivals in the church’s history, and it
was also the revival that opened the door of opportunity for me to
minister in other states. To this day I see the small inscription in
the back of my old Bible, and I can recall all of the details of that
moment and weeks following—all as a result of writing it down!
At times you will personally receive a special word from the Lord,
and at other times someone you have confidence in will receive a
warning or an instruction for you. If you are a husband, that person
is often the one person closest to you—your wife.

Telling Others Your Dreams

In the event of a spiritual warning or a dream with spiritual symbolism,
a person must exercise wisdom and discretion when sharing
any dream with a second or third party. When Joseph related his
double dream to his father, Jacob, his dad successfully interpreted
the meaning, since Jacob himself had experienced spiritual dreams
(Gen. 37:10). However, when the lad told his brothers, he was ridiculed
and mocked, and they envied him, eventually selling him as a
slave, all because of his dreams (Gen. 37:8, 11, 26–28).

Believers are at different levels of spiritual understanding and
maturity, just as children are at various levels. There are some children
who reach age twelve and are as mature mentally and emotionally
as if they were eighteen. Others reach eighteen and are as mature
as a twelve-year-old! This was true in biblical times, as we see when
Christ was twelve years of age and confounded the doctors of the
law at the temple (Luke 2:42–47). Believers are either milk drinkers
or meat eaters. The milk drinkers are the babes in Christ who are
unskilled in the Word of God and must hear the simple and basic
teachings from Scripture (Heb. 5:13). The meat eaters are those who
understand the deeper knowledge of the Scripture, such as the major
biblical doctrines, the Hebraic roots of the faith, the prophetic teachings,
and other subjects that require deep and detailed study and
biblical research, which produces spiritual growth.
I suggest the one thing that a new convert or babe in Christ
should not immediately do is begin his or her study of Scripture in
the books of Daniel or Revelation! However, anyone who has been
raised under strong meat teaching should have at least a basic understanding
of the symbolism found in these apocalyptic books. New
believers need to understand their relationship with God and how
to pray, worship, and walk by faith before engaging in the in-depth
study of things to come.

I recall years ago sharing a major spiritual dream with my son,
who I thought would be interested in hearing the unusual warning
I felt the Lord had given me. He became quite despondent and discouraged
after I shared this warning with him. Later I realized that
this type of dream was not intended to share with a young man who
was attending high school and had limited understanding or, for that
matter, little interest in some strange warning given to his father. As
my son, he interpreted the dream as just more negative stuff that
Dad was seeing. This was an important lesson for me. He needed to
be encouraged and built up as a young person. On the other hand,
I sat down with my father and shared the same word, and he interpreted
the meaning and began to pray about the information the
Holy Spirit had revealed through the dream. The difference between
these two reactions is the spiritual and emotional maturity level of
the person.

You may have a dream that something bad is going to happen to
someone. The last thing to do is to worry the person by screaming
over a phone demanding he heed the warning before it is too late.
The first thing to do is what Daniel did when he received a troubling
vision or dream: he set his heart for prayer and understanding.
(See Daniel 9.) Pray first before sharing this type of dream. Now, if
a person comes to you with his or her dream and asks for a possible
meaning, then you have more freedom and permission to search for
the understanding. When I was eighteen, I was earnestly seeking
God during a fast, and the Holy Spirit revealed to me many forms
of ministry I would use to reach entire nations. All of the words He
gave me then have since come to pass after thirty-four years of ministry.
I was so excited, and I recall that at ages eighteen and nineteen
I sat with other groups of ministers and told them what I saw and felt
that the Lord would accomplish through my efforts. Some read this
revelation as some form of pride or arrogance, which was not in my
heart. Their response and actual rejection of the information could
have discouraged me. Wisdom later taught me that it is not wise to
publicly tell all the secret things God reveals to you. When the angel
told Mary she was pregnant, she went to the one person who would
understand her strange circumstances, her cousin Elizabeth (Luke
1). After all, can you imagine Mary, an unmarried virgin, running
through a Jewish community yelling, “I’m pregnant! I saw a vision
of an angel, and I’m pregnant, and the Lord did it—the Lord did it”?
First, who would believe it was the Lord alone who helped her conceive?
Second, imagine how Joseph would have been persecuted and
Mary forever rejected if the community thought she was pregnant
out of wedlock! There are times to make information known and
times to hide and ponder things in your heart (Luke 2:19).
If you have a believing spouse, it is always good and in order not
to hide personal secrets from one another, but to have such a trusting
relationship that you can share with each other your personal feelings,
desires, dreams, and visions—both visions and dreams of your
plans and destiny, and visions or dreams that are messages from
heaven.

 This is an extract from 40 by Travis Thrasher. To view the book, click here.

What Difference Does It Make?

I feel watched when I turn onto the dirt road leading to the dead end. I
can see this desolate strip in the dark of my dreams, the wild growth of
untouched Appalachian wilderness, stifling on all sides. The hanging
branches blocking the sun can’t block the gaze of God. His face has always
shone on this small stretch of land. Why, I don’t know.
The house resembles an uncle I haven’t seen in years. A little more
gray, a few more wrinkles. It would make a pretty picture on a postcard if I
hadn’t lived here for a chunk of my life.
The shape by the window I park beside is surely Mom waiting for me.
The front door of the quaint log cabin opens and she smiles. There is nothing
rooted in that smile except love.
“Make it okay?” she asks after I hug her small frame.
“The plane had to crash land in Asheville. Otherwise I was headed to
Aruba.”
“A little color might do you some good.”
“How’s Dad?”
“Come into the kitchen for a while. He’s fine—
just
went down for a
nap. Want something to drink?”
“How about a shot of bourbon?”
“Stop it.”
Her accent is polite southern, sweet southern, the kind the movies
never seem to get right. There’s more character in that tone than in a bottle

of some outrageously expensive vintage wine. She makes me a glass of
sweet tea and I’m once again reminded how there’s never a good substitute
for the real thing.
“How’s work going?”
“I’d be fine if I didn’t have to deal with temperamental artists.” I stand
at the kitchen table and look into the family room. “Good to see you got it
replaced.”
Mom nods but doesn’t appear like she wants to bring it up. I sent them
the check for the window. I guess I never really thought that the bookend
I threw would actually go through two panes, but I wasn’t really thinking
about much of anything when I threw it except how much I hated my
father. I didn’t want to break glass; I wanted to break his face.
That was the last time I’d been here. The last thing I did before going
out the door and driving away and vowing never to come back to this place.
Mom remembers but I’m sure Dad doesn’t.
I don’t even know if he remembers who he is anymore, much less the
curses I hurled out as I chucked some big block that looked like a remnant
of a Roman sculpture from the New Testament.
That was over a year ago.
The older I get, the more I discover how ruthless and uncaring time
can be.
His eyes are see-
through
glass, his face curled up in a joker-
like
smile on
only one side. I’m a moving picture to him, as meaningful as cable television
or blowing rain.
I’m ready, and I stand and swallow.
“Hi, Dad.”
It’s easy to say those words with this tone and this security when there’s
nobody looking back. When there’s nobody listening on the other side,
demanding an apology or demanding anything.
I see him shift forward, then back, in the wheelchair. So slight, steady,
like the twitching hand of a clock with a dying battery.
“It’s Tyler,” Mom says behind me, speaking in a way I’ve never heard her
speak to my father.
She’s no longer a servant. She’s now his interpreter.

Hearing her words moves me more than seeing him here like this, here
but not here, alive and breathing, but not really.
He looks feeble and frail. The heart attack might as well have killed him.
It took that strong, seemingly unbreakable backbone and snapped it in half.
“Why don’t you sit down?”
I follow my mother’s advice and then watch as she slips away.
He coughs and sounds like an animal. I study the face.
Then I just sit there for a long time.
I hear myself take a breath. The things we take for granted.
It’s remarkable. Really. This life.
I want to ask God why He didn’t just take him. What purpose does this
shell of a man in front of me have?
God’s timing, I hear Charles W. Harrison say.
You can’t speak to me, you’re a vegetable.
Want to know what Hell is, son?
Don’t ask me that question again.
I see you and hear you, TW.
My father’s the only one who’s ever called me TW, and only at selective
moments. Teachable moments. The moments that count, Charles liked to say.
Every moment counts, doesn’t it? Doesn’t it, Dad?
I look at the library surrounding us. His fleet of battleships against the
evil one, our own Sauron that wages war against us daily. My father chose
to fight back with words.
The Word, Son.
Afternoon light slips through the blinds, casting my father’s shadow
over the wall. I see several frames in its wake. Pictures of my mom, Kendra,
Kendra’s boys. Nowhere do I see my face.
I wonder if he took down my mug before the incident or after.
It’s chilly in this room, the smell of cut wood in the air, perhaps just in
my mind. Can memories contain scents?
“Everything okay?” Mom asks on her way to their bedroom, which is
another door down.
I am ten or twenty-
two
or thirty-
four
years old and the answer is the
same as always.
A wrong and a fake and a hollow yes.

Before I leave, I take hold of my father’s hand. It’s not cold and it’s not hard
and it doesn’t shock me. I want to say something.
The moment calls for something to be said and I’m the only one here
that can do it.
I can’t think of anything.
“How long did they give him?”
“I didn’t ask.”
“What did Kendra say?”
“She’s Kendra. Thinks she’s a surgeon and a scientist and Mother
Teresa.”
“Yeah.”
“Are you hungry?”
“I was before the dinner you fixed an hour ago.”
“We never had dessert.”
“Mom, please.”
“You’re not around enough for me to fatten you up.”
“I have beer to do that for me.”
The sliding glass door facing the table we sit at opens onto a deck that
overlooks the valley below. The sun floats like a bright beach ball in the
distance.
“Remember that tree that used to block the view?” Mom nods toward
the bright glow.
“I thought something was different. You can actually see the sunset.”
“Pretty, isn’t it?” Mom looks out behind the shield of her coffee, lost
somewhere way out beyond the rays.
“I told him for years to cut it down.”
“He finally listened.”
“For once.”
“He wanted to cut it down himself. I told him, ‘over my dead body.’ He
got one of the local workers around here to cut it down.”
“Probably would’ve killed him right then and there.”
“He listened to you more than you know.”
This is the part of being a son I’m not so good at.

The moment when I fail.
I have nothing to say.
I’m embarrassed by the stockpile of emotions in this room. Ashamed
that I can’t find the combination to open the door and let a few of them
come out. Just a few, like dusty tools in a forgotten shed somewhere. Maybe
even just one.
“You know he loves you.”
I nod. Of course I know that. That isn’t the question. How he loved was.
I note that Mom isn’t using past tense like I am.
He’s not in the past tense, not yet.
Yet to me he’s always lived in the past tense. I am always and forever in
fourth grade and can’t ever move on.
The voices sound stronger in the silence than they were when they were
spoken.
“So what do you want out of life?”
It was a simple question my father asked last time I was here.
“I haven’t really had much time to think about it after being stuffed
with your guilt and loathing of this life, Dad.”
“Seems you’ve done a pretty good job of living your own life these past
ten years.”
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t bring her up.”
“You know my feelings on this.”
“Yeah, and every single time I see your face you bring her up.”
“Which seems to be less and less often.”
“People get divorced every day. Christians, even.”
“A man is known by the fruits of his spirit.”
“So what are you saying? Or what are you trying to say through these
nice little quotes?”
“That a man is known by his actions, his life. Are you like the barren
fig tree?”
“I don’t even know what a fig tree is.”



“The Bible says that if salt loses its flavor, how’s it supposed to be seasoned?
That it’s good for nothing except being trampled upon.”
That’s what did it. I didn’t want to hear it anymore and I didn’t want
him suggesting that I was still not quite right, like a car he brought in every
week but that still had some strange and distant clinking that sounded
every time he took it out for a drive.
I wasn’t a damned fig tree or some spreading salt for the sidewalk.
A son shouldn’t be talked about like something worthless, like something
dying, like something that doesn’t matter.
What doesn’t matter is what I said then or what I might have said now.
In the pit of night when the noise is gone, all I can hear are voices.
His remains the loudest.
It’s here that I can’t lie.
I don’t question Heaven or Hell.
Yet I still sometimes question which one I’ll arrive at when my time has
come.

 This is an extract from 40 by Travis Thrasher. To view the book, click here.

Leadership is one of my passions. So is teaching it. I’ve dedicated
more than thirty years of my life to helping others learn what I know about leading. In fact, I spend about eighty days every year teaching leadership. In the last several years, I’ve taught about it on six continents. The subject is inexhaustible. Why? Because everything rises and falls on leadership. If you want to make a positive impact on the world, learning to lead better will help you do it. In all the years that I’ve taught about leadership, there has been one lecture that I have been asked to give more often than any other from West Point to Microsoft and in countries all around the world.

That lecture explains how leadership works, and it provides a game plan for learning how to become a leader. It’s “The 5 Levels of Leadership.”

My belief that everything rises and falls on leadership solidified in
1976, and it set me on a leadership journey that I am still traveling to
this day. I began the journey by asking many questions. How do you
define leadership? What is a leader? How does leadership work?

Unfortunately, people’s usual answers to those questions are not very
helpful. Some people identify leadership with obtaining a leadership
position. But I’ve known bad leaders who had good positions and good
leaders who had no position at all. Haven’t you? Other people say of
leadership, “I can’t describe it, but I know it when I see it.” While that
may be true, it doesn’t help anyone learn how to lead.

The conclusion I came to early on is that leadership is influence. If
people can increase their influence with others, they can lead more
effectively. As I reflected on that, a concept for how leadership works
began to crystallize in my mind. That concept was the 5 Levels of
Leadership, which took me about five years to develop. I have been
teaching it ever since. And whenever I present it, one of the questions
people always ask is, “When are you going to write a book about this?”
As you can see, I’m finally answering that question.

There are a lot of books about leadership lining people’s bookshelves.
Why should you read this one? Because it works. The 5 Levels has
been used to train leaders in companies of every size and configuration,
from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies. It has been
used to help nonprofit organizations understand how to lead volunteers.
And it’s been taught in more than 120 countries around the
world. Every time I talk about it, people ask questions and make observations.
Those things have helped the 5 Levels of Leadership to
become stronger and to develop greater depth. The concept is tested
and proven. In addition, it offers several other benefits:
The 5 Levels of Leadership Provides a Clear Picture of Leadership
How do people get a handle on leadership? For those who are not naturally
gifted for it, leadership can be a mystery. For them, leading people
is like walking down a dark corridor. They have a sense of where
they want to go, but they can’t see ahead and they don’t know where
the problems and pitfalls are going to lie. For many people in the academic
world, leadership is a theoretical exercise, an equation whose
variables are worthy of research, study, and rigorous debate. In contrast,
the 5 Levels of Leadership is visually straightforward, so anyone can
learn it.

The 5 Levels of Leadership Defines Leading as a
Verb, Not a Noun. Leadership is a process, not a position. There was a time when people
used the terms leadership and management
interchangeably. I think most people now recognize
that there is a significant difference
between the two. Management is at its best
when things stay the same.

Leadership deals with people and their dynamics, which are continually
changing. They are never static. The challenge of leadership is
to create change and facilitate growth. Those require movement,
which, as you will soon see, is inherent in moving up from one level of
leadership to the next.

The 5 Levels of Leadership Breaks Down Leading
into Understandable Steps. The subject of leadership can be overwhelming and confusing. Where
does leadership start? What should we do first? What processes should
we use? How can we gain influence with others? How can we develop
a productive team? How do we help followers become leaders in their
own right? The 5 Levels of Leadership gives answers to these questions
using understandable steps.

The 5 Levels of Leadership Provides a Clear Game Plan for Leadership Development. Too often when people think of their journey into leadership, they
envision a career path. What they should be thinking about is their
own leadership development! Good leadership isn’t about advancing
yourself. It’s about advancing your team. The 5 Levels of Leadership
Leadership is a process, not a position.

Lead people well and help members of your team to become effective leaders, and a successful career path is almost guaranteed.

 This is an extract from The Five Levels of Leadership by John C. Maxwell. To find out more, please click here. 

This is an extract from A Year with Jesus by William Barclay. To buy the book now, click here

Jesus is not a figure in a book;
He is a living presence.

- William Barclay

The best way to get to know other human beings is to spend time with them and to listen to what they have to say. We can then discover what matters to them and get a sense of their personalities. We have a wonderful opportunity to get to know Jesus through the Bible. We can hear directly from him with his own words spoken in a variety of circumstances to a variety of audiences. Through these words we can learn who Jesus is and what matters most to him.

What do we learn from listening to Jesus?

We learn that the kingdom of God has come to us and that the members of his kingdom are motivated by one thing: love for one another. Love does no harm to anyone, but instead seeks to bring out the best in each person. Love leads us to forgive rather than to seek vengeance. In fact, there is no room for vengeance at all. In its place, Jesus offers forgiveness and mercy.

Jesus was not concerned with whether a person deserved forgiveness and mercy. He didn’t focus on whether the person was respected or important. Instead, he did what was best for each individual he met. Sometimes that meant healing people. Sometimes it meant answering people’s questions. Sometimes it meant teaching or feeding them. Sometimes it meant eating a meal with them. And sometimes it meant criticizing them harshly. We learn from Jesus that love, though always seeking what’s best for others, does not always feel good at first.

Spend a year with Jesus. Listen to his heart as you contemplate his words. You’ll soon discover that what matters most of all to him is you. He knows what will make you happiest, and so he freely offers it to you—his Father’s kingdom.

God lives fully in Christ.

Colossians 2:9 

 Jesus Christ turns life right-side-up,

and heaven outside-in.

Carl F. H. Henry

LOVE AND HATE

Loving no matter how someone behaves is rare. We come closest in our relationships with our children. Babies give only sleepless nights and dirty diapers. They never mow the grass or do the dishes. And yet we love our babies. In the same way, God loves us. Hate, in contrast to real love, is entirely dependent upon performance and stands in opposition to love.

Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous
man, though for a good man someone might possibly
dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for
us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:7–8 niv

DAY 1

Kingdom News

John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.

Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

Mark 1:4–15 nkjv

This is an extract from A Year with Jesus by William Barclay. To buy the book now, click here

This is an extract from Becoming a Man of Unwavering Faith by John Osteen.

 To view the book, click here

Every man faces struggles and temptations. There are
moments when every man feels surrounded by trouble
on every side.

Overwhelmed.

Unfortunately, many men become convinced that
their destiny is to suffer pain, disease, troubles, anxieties,
and defeat. Some resign themselves to the position that
nothing can be done about their situation.
The Bible says, “In the world you will have tribulation”
(John 16:33). The time will come, if it hasn’t already,

when you’re going to have to believe God for something
significant—for your marriage, your finances, your
children, your spiritual growth, your health. You need to
know how to come to Him in unwavering faith and how
to stand on the Word of God.

My own personal journey to becoming a man of faith
began as a boy on a cotton farm with five siblings during
the Great Depression. As a child, I thought about God
many times, but I grew up into my teens having gone to
church very little. My best friend, Sam Martin, constantly
told me about the love of God, but I wouldn’t listen to
him and chose to leave Jesus out of my life.
At the age of seventeen, I found myself without
peace in my heart. One night while walking home alone
from a nightclub in Ft. Worth, Texas, at two o’clock in
the morning, I began to think about time . . . eternity . . .
heaven. Where would I spend eternity? When I got home,
I pulled out our old family Bible and came upon a beautiful
picture of Jesus standing at a door knocking. Under
the picture were the words: “Behold, I stand at the door
and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door,
I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me”
(Revelation 3:20). I could understand opening the door
of my life and letting Jesus in, so early the next morning I
called Sam, and he invited me to go to church with him.
That Sunday morning, I beat Sam to the church!

Although I didn’t understand the sermon that morning,
I had come to give my heart to Jesus, and that was what
I was waiting to do. However, when the pastor invited
anyone who wanted to receive salvation to come to the
front of the church and the invitation song began, it felt
as though my shoes were nailed to the floor. I couldn’t get
the courage to move. Finally, Sam slipped his arm around
my shoulder and whispered he’d come with me.
When I got to the front of the church, the pastor asked
me if I wanted to receive Jesus in my heart, and I said, “I
don’t know. I’ve been real wicked.” He shook my hand
real hard and said, “I didn’t ask you that. Will you receive
Jesus as your Savior?” I balked and said, “I don’t know.
I work in the wrong kind of place.” He nearly shook my
hand off as he said, “I didn’t ask you that. Will you accept
Jesus into your heart as your personal Savior?” It was
then that I surrendered all to Jesus and said courageously,
“Absolutely!” With that word, I passed from death into
life, became a new creature in Christ Jesus, and took my
first step to becoming a man of faith.

From that day, things were different. My grades in
high school went from Cs and Ds to As and Bs. That first
year I began preaching anywhere I was welcomed—Bible
study groups, nursing homes, and missions. Eventually,
I worked my way through college and seminary and
became a pastor.

For nineteen years, I ministered in all the knowledge
I had and was the pastor of a successful, growing church.
But I knew that I had not experienced and was not enjoying
the things the believers did in the New Testament, and
deep within me I felt God had more for me. One day,
with God’s help and the prayers of others, I received the
baptism in the Holy Spirit and experienced the power of
God, which revolutionized me and my ministry.
Introduction

On Mother’s Day 1959, we founded Lakewood
Church with ninety members. Over the years, the church
grew, and we built an 8,200-seat sanctuary in the middle
of the recession in 1988 a few weeks before Christmas—
debt free. By 1999, we had 10,000 members. During
my ministry, I had the privilege of traveling extensively
throughout the world, taking the message of God’s love
and power to people of all nations, which included making
over forty mission trips to India. For sixteen years I hosted
my own weekly television program, reaching millions in
the U.S. and in many other countries with the Gospel. My
books, cassettes, and videotaped messages went all over
the world.

The principles of faith in God and His Word set forth
in this book have been tried in the crucible of my life. I
remember when the doctor told us that our baby daughter
Lisa had brain damage and would never be normal. She
had no sucking reflexes, no muscle tone, and symptoms
similar to cerebral palsy. It was the miracle of her healing
that opened my eyes to the miracle-working power of

God and the power of the Holy Spirit.

I remember the time when my nervous system
collapsed, and I lost all sense of purpose, direction, and
initiative. I felt that life held no hope of reality. I came
under a dark hole of fear that God was no longer with
me, and I could not sleep. When day came, I wished for
night. When night came, I wished for day. God graciously
delivered me from that condition, not instantly, but
through trusting His Word the victory came.
Some years later, I went through months of agonizing
pain in my back and legs and faced back surgery and
visions of being paralyzed and unable to walk. Another
battle came in 1986 when I was in Methodist Hospital,
awaiting open heart surgery. In both situations, Jesus
brought me through to victory, permeating my whole
being with faith and assurance as I read and believed His
Word!
It was in the midst of the great challenges of my life
that I learned how to exercise my faith. The Lord Jesus
worked in my life and my family through all these conflicts
and many more. Through His grace and strength, the
fields of battle became my greatest victory ground. Now
when fear knocks at my door, faith answers. I learned the
power of faith to help me stand and overcome.
So what makes the difference between living a life
of victory and faith or living one of defeat and unbelief?
What are the qualities of a man of genuine faith? I believe
they are exemplified by the lives of the great men of faith
in the Bible, particularly Jabez and Elijah and others on
whom I will focus in this book.

We are privileged to live in a generation when God is
pouring out His Spirit in a mighty way. The gentle rain of
the precious Holy Spirit is falling upon the dry religious
ground of our day to give sweet refreshing to wearyhearted
men of God. He can do it for you . . . today.

The Lord said in the Book of Joel, “I will restore . . .”
He is restoring to His Church the power and love of God,
and His will is that we become men of faith who bring
His presence into the lives of our families and the world
around us.

This is an extract from Becoming a Man of Unwavering Faith by John Osteen.

 This an extract from Between the Covers by Dr. R. Dainty Shaw and Dr. Christo A. Scheepers. To buy the book now, Click here

Between the Covers was birthed from the obvious lack of availability in resources and the lack of sexual fulfillment in marriages, confirmed by the high divorce rate and the numerous affairs married people are having. When people are  experiencing marital problems it is often carried over into the bedroom, leading to sexually frustrated and unfulfilled couples. It is evident in modern-day society and characterized by either extramarital affairs or very unhappy people longing for more action in the bedroom.

Even if you or your spouse have never been involved in an extramarital affair, the question still remains whether you are fully satisfied with your sexual life. Are you truly fulfilled with your sex life or are you longing for more, but do not know how to share this yearning with your spouse? Do you want to try something new in the bedroom, but fear rejection? Are you having difficulty adjusting to your spouse’s sexual cycle and need for sex?

If you answer yes to any of these questions, then you should continue reading and even take the next step: inviting your spouse to share in your reading experience of Between the Covers. The purpose of Between the Covers is to make you aware of the inner passion within you. We believe that every man and woman has a sexual passion inside them, but it may have been suppressed due to circumstances, fear, rejection, past sexual experiences, negative connotations to sexual pleasure or sexual abuse. Allow us to facilitate the process of discovering the passion inside you and unleashing this inner sexual need within the confines of marriage so that you may also experience sex as God intended it to be from the very beginning.

In Between the Covers you will discover what true sexuality was meant to be, based on the godly plan revealed in the Word of God. You will discover how to deal with dormant sexual desires while involving your spouse in this exciting journey towards sexual fulfillment. Most important of all, you will learn how to become compatible with your spouse’s sexual needs and desires while giving each other the non-judgemental platform in the bedroom to unleash each other’s passion, thus giving your spouse the opportunity to be a truly whole person.
Why do two people who are not married to each other write a book of this nature together, you may ask? Well, most books on sexuality are either written by married couples or professionals (usually of the same gender and of the same opinions). This causes a tendency to portray a specific couple’s opinion of sexual matters or a certain professional opinion. This may result in is a very one-sided or limited point of view, sometimes seen as very judgemental towards people who differ in opinion.

With two friends of different genders writing Between the Covers together, you are ensured of a well-balanced point of view on sexual matters. We offer you the opinions, backgrounds and experiences of different people and couples. As authors we both agree on the crucial matter of believing in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior matter what our past experiences entail. This foundation is strengthened by our professional backgrounds in counseling.

As you can imagine, when friends of different genders write a book of this nature together, very personal information is shared and discussed and as born-again Christians, we embarked on this project with two very definite policies; firstly to have our spouses’ blessing on the project and being open to discuss anything coming up with our respective spouses, and secondly to protect and keep confidential the other’s sensitive information. True to our confidential nature in the counselling profession, this was a natural outflow of common courtesy.
The interesting part was learning from another married couple very intimate details about sexuality while comparing it to your own relationship. The challenging part was to openly and honestly share very intimate sexual details about your own life and marriage. The enlightening part was to become conscious about the truth of the Word of God when applied to sexuality, and the positive influence it has on your own sexual life, and releasing your inner passion when looking at a Scripture like John 8:32, which states that you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free.

The Truth mentioned in this Scripture is referring to Jesus and since He is the Truth, getting to know Him is what sets a person free. When your relationship with Jesus develops and you draw closer to Him on a daily basis, you soon realise that the past cannot be changed and the future is yet to come, but how you live in the present is what will determine your future. When you live in the present in a godly way, you become aware of how important it is to enjoy every single moment of your life. You soon realise there is no reason to hide your sexual needs and desires from your spouse, but to be honest enough to discuss them with your partner, regardless of how uncomfortable it makes you feel.

Do not fool yourself; it might be very uncomfortable at first because some of us have grown up where sex is not something we talk about or parents teach their children that sex is dirtyn an attempt to keep them from exploring sex at a too young age. That being said, children today find it much easier to talk about sex and do not see any problem with multiple sexual partners due to what the media is suggesting. This is, however, not the case for the older generation who still see sex as a taboo subject. But the reality is that this approach is totally ineffective - you look at the current pregnancy rate of teenagers and the rate at which abortions are performed on a daily basis. So if this approach is totally ineffective in keeping teenagers from having premarital sex, what is it doing? The obvious answer is it is causing people to suppress their sexual desires instead of effectively dealing with it in a godly way. It is causing teenagers to view sex as something to hide from their parents and other people, resulting in these incorrect beliefs being carried over into their marriages which can lead to innumerable sexual problems inside the confines of marriage.

What is the answer then? We believe that when parents honestly and openly teach godly principles and moral values to their children from an appropriate age, they will be able to make the correct decisions about premarital sex instead of just getting involved in it without their parents’ knowledge. When parents take up their godly responsibility to share the Truth with their children and live as godly role-models, their children will grow up with a deep-seated knowing of who they are in Jesus Christ and experience a godly dignity, thus setting them up to make decisions based on the Word of God instead of peer pressure. When they know who they are, they will not have to get approval from their peers to feel good about themselves and this will lead to moral and godly decisions.

As a result, these teenagers will grow up and get married to the right spouses instead of settling for ungodly partners. They will then be able to truly experience sexual fulfilment in their marriages and live out their sexuality within the safety and confines of marriage, thus reducing the risk of HIV, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and emotional pain and hurt. As whole people they will be able to unleash their inner passions in marriage.

Unleashing your inner passion has been mentioned a few times now, but what exactly is meant by this? It can be said that every person has a ‘naughty’ side; a so-called inner sexual passion. This is a side often suppressed due to past experiences, wrong beliefs taught to us since childhood and fear of rejection if our spouses find out.

Is this inner passion thus a side of perversion and sin? No, definitely not! It is a side every person and married couple should embrace, to take their sexuality from mediocre to extraordinary. It is the playful side that often becomes dormant as we grow up and take on more and more responsibility; the effortless side forced into hibernation in order for the responsible adult to emerge. Unleashing your inner passion is getting in touch with this playful side again, but especially in the area of your sexuality. When your inner passion is unleashed, you will be able to combine marital sex with playfulness and be able to experience your sexuality as a wonderful part of yourself and your marriage without seeing sex as a marital duty to perform. It will change your sex life from an obligation to a game, a delightful and intimate pastime making God smile on your marriage.

Sex was never intended to be a duty or only something to be done to procreate. If it was, God would never have made it such a pleasurable experience. God gave sex to be used within the boundaries of marriage for husbands and wives to enjoy each other and share their love with each other in a very intimate and pleasurable way. Yes, it was also intended for married couples to procreate and produce children, the ultimate result of their love for each other, but it was never for reproduction only.

‘God Himself invented sex for our delight. It was his gift to us – intended for pleasure.’1 ‘It was God who invented sex. The devil is incapable of creative powers. his purpose is to destroy, corrupt and defile that which is good.’‘We would indeed displease God if we associate every need for sexual fulfilment with sin.’

Looking at these statements, it is evident that God gave sex to married couples to enjoy each other and not only for reproduction. It is furthermore confirmed by the Word of God in Genesis 2:25 where it says, ‘And the man and his wife were both naked and were not embarrassed or ashamed in each other’s presence’. It should be clearly noted this Scripture mentions a husband and wife being naked and comfortable in each other’s company; this was all before sin even entered the world. God gave sex for husbands and wives to get pleasure from each other and the more comfortable, honest and open you are with your spouse, the more enjoyable and satisfying sex will be.

Coming from this premise of sex being a godly gift to married couples, Between the Covers was written from a Christian perspective and from an experiential environment instead of being a medical textbook on the subject of sex.
We invite you to accompany us on this sexual journey of unleashing your inner passion and discovering again the pleasures of sex within your marriage. As far as possible we will avoid professional jargon and we will openly and honestly talk to you about sexual fulfilment. So, make the decision now to involve your spouse as you both buckle up for this straight-to-the-point ride of unleashing your inner passion hidden inside each of you.

 This an extract from Between the Covers by Dr. R. Dainty Shaw and Dr. Christo A. Scheepers. To buy the book now, Click here

A New Year, a New Beginning

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation,
the old has gone, and the new has come.
– 2 Corinthians 5:17

It is a New Year and a new beginning and you need to choose today to live the life God wants you to and be where He wants you to be. It is a choice that you, and no one else, have to make.
Sometimes we live our lives based on the past and focus on what we could have done or should have done. When we do that, we lose perspective of the present and the future. There is very little you can do about the past year other than to learn from the mistakes you might have made.

Yes, there are areas where you might have missed God last year. The enemy could be reminding you of the sins you committed during the previous year. Rejoice on this first day of the New Year because those sins were forgiven when you confessed them. God does not remember them anymore. You have been redeemed as He promised and you need to see yourself that way – the redeemed of the Lord.

This is a new day that the Lord has made and in you He has created a new person. You need to stand up and get excited about the New Year and the tasks that lie ahead. There are new projects to be executed, new mountain peaks to be reached, new goals to be achieved and new dimensions to be discovered in your walk with God.
God’s timing is always perfect. He knows why you made it into this New Year. You are not here merely to take up space while drifting along in life. God has kept, and indeed, redeemed you for a purpose. That which God begins, He always completes, and He wants to do exactly that in your life – whether it is personal, financial, emotional or physical. You can enable Him to do that by leaving behind your past and embracing the newness of life He has given you. Get up and do what needs to be done.

Choose to be Redeemed

Jesus Christ is the beginning, the middle, and the end of all.
In the Gospels He walks in human form upon the earth,
and accomplishes the work of redemption.
– Philip Schaff

Choose to Be Strengthened
Strength – … that quality which tends to secure results;
effective power in an institution or enactment; security;
validity; legal or moral force; logical conclusiveness.

Because by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever,
those who are being made holy.
– Hebrews 10:14

By giving his life for us, Jesus has made us whole. He became our Substitute and took our punishment. Salvation is a legal matter and, lawfully, no punishment can be meted on us because Jesus has already served the sentence for us. In 2 Corinthians 5:21, the Bible says Jesus (He who knew no sin) was made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. We have been made perfect, not temporarily but for ever.

When man sinned, Jesus offered to take our penalty and die in our place. Revelation 13:8 says that He was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. His mission in relation to us was well captured by John the Baptist when, upon seeing Jesus, he said: ‘Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world’ (John 1:29). How profound that the sinless One was willing to become a sacrifice for a sinful race.

No angel could die in our place. Only Jesus and his sinless nature could match the law of God. He had the nature and the character that could ransom for our fallen race. The sacrifice was offered and when we accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour, his blood is applied on the doorposts of our personal lives and we get exempted from the wages of sin, which is death.
We need to recognize the value of our worth in the eyes of Him who redeemed us and handpicked us for his Kingdom.

Jesus knew the pain which lay before Him when He would be crucified. Yet He did not turn back. Instead, He chose to follow through because God’s love for us is greater than anything we can ever imagine. We are special creatures in his eyes. We were worth the life and sacrifice of his only Son. So how can we not choose today to be revitalized in the Word, in his glory, and in our lives? Choose to recognize and accept the sacrifice He was for you.

You’ve Been Redeemed by the Blood In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness for our sins, in accordance with the riches of God.
– Ephesians 1:7

Sometimes we become victims of our fear. We think of what could happen, instead of what we can make happen, and it stops us from doing the things we should. We allow ourselves to hold on to our past mistakes, regrets and failures.
But Jesus has redeemed us from our past sins and He has picked us up from the deep pits we were in and given us new life in Him. The surety of our redemption lies in Him through his blood. Isn’t that wonderful? That is what the above verse says. Jesus has, through his blood, not only redeemed us but provided collateral (security) for the same redemption. Nobody (Satan and his demons included) can challenge our redemption. There is no better indemnity or guarantee beyond the blood of Jesus.

In the Old Testament, the word redemption generally means a ‘ransom price’ and in the New Testament it means the ‘great price’ which Jesus, the Redeemer, paid for our liberation from sin. Whichever way one looks at it, the concept denotes buying or purchasing. When man fell in the Garden of Eden, that produced humanity’s servitude under Satan. The Redeemer, Jesus Christ, has ‘purchased’ you from the power of darkness into the Kingdom of Light. And this has been done according to his riches – riches not defined by the streets of gold in heaven but the ones found in the blood of Jesus. No wonder it is called the ‘precious’ blood of the Lamb.
Be careful how you value yourself and how you allow other people to value you. The accuser of the brethren (Satan) and others might have told you that you are worthless and will never amount to anything. God thought you were worth the blood of his Son. Therefore, walk, talk and act like one who is worth the blood. Recognize God’s redemption and go into the New Year excited about what He did for you at the cross. Yes, you can say today, like that most prolific hymnist in all of history, Fanny Crosby, once wrote: Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it!

Justified Freely by Grace

Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness.
– Romans 3:24–25

Paul here speaks about us being justified freely by God’s grace. But what does justification mean? When Adam and Eve committed sin in the Garden of Eden, we inherited that original sin which in turn destroyed the righteousness man originally had.

But because of the love and mercy of God, Jesus Christ willingly paid for our sins through his crucifixion and resurrection, thus meriting the redemption of humanity. Whoever believes in and confesses the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus can have their sins forgiven and become children of God. From this perspective, justification means being transformed from a state of unrighteousness to divine sonship through Jesus Christ.

The justification takes place through grace. But what is grace? Grace is the free and undeserved favour that God gives us to respond to his call. Man cannot be justified or acceptable in God’s sight except through his grace. However much people may believe that a good man can earn favour and acceptance with God, humanity cannot of itself meet God’s standard of righteousness. Whatever we do, we cannot win God’s favour except through Christ.

Through our redemption, God has made us righteous. God promised to bless us, provide for us, give us peace and protect us. He has a plan and purpose for each of our lives. As his children, He wants only the best for us. He promised to complete the good work that He has started in us. But unless we choose to allow Him to complete the good work in our lives, we will not experience the joy of his power and love. He wants us to rise to every challenge and grab hold of every opportunity that He presents us. He wants us to shine in his Name. Jesus has taken care of the worst part when He was nailed to the cross. All we need to do is be faithful to God and his purpose in us. Choose today to embrace his grace and the free justification He has given you.

This is an extract from Choose This Day by Ray McCauley. For more information, please click here

My desire is that everyone who reads this book will be encouraged
to become actively involved in seeing the Kingdom of God
come on this Earth and to live in intimacy with the Lord.

I chose the title Dare to Dream because I see around me so many Christians who
have, for one reason or the other, become discouraged, and as a result,
no longer dare to dream. It seems as if they don’t know how to get
from point A to point B in their Christian walk. They have given their
lives to the Lord and, in the past, have had many visions and dreams.
However, due to various adverse circumstances, they have abandoned
any hope of ever accomplishing these dreams. Instead they choose to
remain on the sidelines, while Jesus is still encouraging them to, “Go
to the other side!”

His own disciples faced difficult circumstances, but despite storms
and disappointments, despite religious currents and winds, they persevered
until they reached the other side. Like them, we are also called to
step out in faith, overcome our own obstacles, and go to the other side.

Bridge -Builders

I hope to show you how to build a bridge between your conversion
and your calling, and how you can effectively carry out the mission
that you have been given by the Lord. The best bridge-builder is the
Lord Jesus Himself, for it is by His death on the cross that he built a
bridge between us, as sinful people, and God, our heavenly Father. The
cross is the most beautiful bridge imaginable—a bridge that we must
all cross if we surrender our lives to the Lord and want to follow Him
successfully.

“Bridge-builder” is a name commonly associated with Dutch
nationals. We are a nation of bridge-builders and we love challenges
and pioneering. For centuries we have defied the encroaching waters
that threaten a large part of our country by building bridges, dams, and
tunnels. In 2005 we used our expertise to assist the U.S. authorities to
secure New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina’s winds ripped through it
with devastating consequences.

(In 1613, the first Dutch settlers arrived in America establishing
many villages and towns, including one called New Amsterdam, which
is now known as New York. According to a 2006 census, more than 5
million Americans claim to have a total or partial Dutch heritage. This
creates a bridge between America and the Netherlands, and even today
we stand together to support Israel. My own personal bridge between
the two countries is that I married an American from Seattle!)
However, in the Christian world, there is often little to remind us
that we are bridge-builders. We are often preoccupied with building
our own dams, our own kingdoms, our own systems, and our own
church—and unfortunately, this scenario is echoed worldwide.
I believe that we are living in an era in which we can no longer
play games. It is “Game Over” for religious systems and structures. It is
time that, without compromise, we surrender all our selfish ambitions
and personal agendas to our Lord Jesus. If we want to see revival in our
communities and countries, we need to start doing things His way. We
have to build bridges between each other, between churches, to our
neighbors, to friends and family, and even to our enemies.

It is time for the Body of Christ to rise up and take the Good News
about Jesus to the poor, wounded, and blind; in fact, to the whole
world. The anointing was never meant to be only for ourselves; the
anointing, or power of God, is so we can be witnesses in the world.
This is why Jesus tells His disciples in Acts 1:8 to go back to Jerusalem
where “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you
will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to
the ends of the earth.”

Luke 4:18 says:
The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed
Me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent Me to
proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight
for the blind, to set the oppressed free, Isaiah 61:1 says exactly the same thing and this same Spirit and this same anointing is available to every believer today. However, only those who want to see the Great Commission fulfilled will see
real revival.

I wrote this book because I want to release something in you. I
want you to once again believe that you can achieve your dreams and
believe that God will provide. Go and walk in the authority that God
has given you as a believer. Put simply, this means go and do what Jesus
did by proclaiming His Kingdom, preaching the Gospel to the poor,
taking care of orphans and widows, loving others, giving God all the
glory, seeking first His Kingdom, laying hands on the sick and seeing
them healed, comforting the brokenhearted, and seeing the captives
set free—all in the name of Jesus.

It does not matter what your background is, what training you
have, or what church you belong to—Jesus is the Way, He is the Truth,
and He is the Life. He wants to bring revival in you and through you!
My prayer is that, as you read this book, you will realize that you
can trust God with your whole heart; and when you do, He will do
amazing things to help you make your dreams a reality.

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and
in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen (Ephesians 3:20-21).

Chapter 1

A Great Adventure

Life with God our Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and
all the angels is a great adventure. From a very young age I clearly
remember that we went to church every Sunday and, as my father was
a pastor, we moved from one place to another quite regularly.

At the age of 14, I was at the Weena Skating Rink in Rotterdam, and I heard a voice saying, “Mattheus, why are you going to church?” It was a good question, and it shocked me. I had been aware of God’s existence from a very young age, and I remember warning people in the supermarket as a ten-year-old that
they were going to go to hell if they did not accept Jesus as their Savior.
I have to admit, this often caused great annoyance to my mother and
sister. During one Christmastime, I wrote in big letters on my bedroom
window that JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY, which further annoyed my
sister!

However, talking about Jesus was one thing, but giving my life and
my heart to Him was an entirely different matter. I did not have a personal
relationship with Him. When I heard that voice at the skating
rink, I felt as if a hot liquid was flowing over my body and I can vividly
remember feeling large tears running down my cheeks. My friends
with me at the rink that day were all members of an evangelical church.
That night the youth pastor of the church prayed with me, and I surrendered
my life to Jesus. Later that evening, although I felt shy about sharing my news, I was able to tell my father and mother that I had given my life to Jesus. They were so happy that we ended up having a party to celebrate! A few weeks later, my father baptized me in the Baptist church, and the whole youth group from the evangelical church came to witness this important event. We had a wonderful time.
In the following weeks, I continued to wrestle and reflect on the
question I had heard at the skating rink. Why was I going to church?
What is the function of the church? I came to the conclusion that I
attended out of habit and that even though I was present during the
sermon, I didn’t really hear it, and ultimately didn’t understand the
message at all. In addition, I most certainly didn’t understand the
church culture! I also concluded that I went to church because my
friends did; and I not only had no personal relationship with the Lord,
but I did not communicate with Him either.

In 1993, I read an article by Brother Andrew van der Bijl (also
known as God’s Smuggler) in a magazine. The article described how
retirement facilities are filled with people who are still waiting for a
call from God telling them what He specifically wants each of them to
do. He went on to say that we are all called by God and that we don’t
necessarily need to hear a clearly audible voice or a prophet who picks
us out of a crowd and prophesies over us, before we obey God. It may
happen, but is not absolutely necessary.

He then wrote that he just goes ahead and does what God tells him
to do in the Bible. He often compares the voice of God to a traffic light,
with green meaning “go” and red meaning, “don’t go!” I began to see
that indeed many people were complacently waiting for the green light
in their lives when, in fact, 90 percent of the time, the light was already
green! They just needed to go into everyday life following Jesus and
being His hands and feet in whatever situation or community God
placed them. Upon realizing this, I did just that and have come to learn
that the light is more often green than red.

Later on, Brother Andrew became my mentor and, when my sister
married his son Jop, we became part of the same family. Jop also
became one of my best friends.

Marine Officer

As a child I lived in the village of Pernis, which is on the edge of
Rotterdam’s large harbor. Some of my most treasured childhood memories
are of the times I spent watching all the big seagoing vessels moving
in and out of the harbor. I regularly saw one of the pilot boats going out
to one of the many large ships waiting to come into the harbor. When
the pilot boat came alongside, the ship’s pilot would climb on board, via
a ladder, and then guide the ship safely into the harbor.
I was fascinated and, in my dreams, I saw myself standing on the
bridge of a huge ship in a smart white maritime officer’s uniform.
I once prayed and asked the Lord if it was OK to go to the nearby maritime
building. I didn’t get a red light, so I got on my bicycle and cycled to
the building. At the entrance there was a sign saying, “Prohibited Area,”
but I cycled past it and went to the harbor captain’s office. As I arrived
there, an older man came out of the building on his way to one of the
ships. He introduced himself as Mr. Tazelaar, and he told me that he was
a pilot and nearing retirement age. We started talking and, to my amazement,
he invited me to accompany him. You can imagine how exciting
this unexpected trip was for me! We went out on the pilot’s boat to a big
ship that had just arrived from China and, after a dangerous climb up
the ladder wearing my wet shoes, I arrived on board.

A Great Adventure

On the bridge, the pilot gave me his cap to wear. That day was a
dream come true for me and, after having had this wonderful experience,
I wanted to experience more of this kind of life on board a
ship. (Many years later, over a four-year period, I had the privilege
of working with more than 300 different pilots in various parts of
the world.)

When I researched what training I would need to achieve my
dream of being a marine officer, my teacher discouraged me from
pursuing the higher level of education required, saying it would not
be “realistic” for me as I only had the ability to attain a mediumlevel
education. She then advised me to pursue a lower, more technically-
orientated course. Despite what I had been told, I chose not to
abandon my dream of standing on the bridge of a ship in a white maritime
officer’s uniform. Disregarding all the advice I had been given, I
enrolled myself at a marine officer’s training school. Again I received
the same warning that the first three months would be too difficult
for me, and again I decided not to listen to people, but instead to
follow my dream. I believed that I would get my diploma with the
support of my parents and by putting my faith and trust in the Lord. I
was determined to succeed.

The training was not easy, and sometimes it felt like I was going
through some really “stormy weather,” but five years later, I received
my diploma from the Nautical College; and shortly afterward, my
dreams became reality as I stood in a white uniform as a marine officer
on the bridge of the ship MV Anastasis.

Sinatara

The Anastasis belonged to a Christian ministry called Mercy Ships
which was, at the time, part of the Youth With A Mission (YWAM)
organization. At the time, it was the largest floating hospital in the
world. The aim of Mercy Ships is to spread the Gospel in third world
countries while providing practical assistance to the communities in
the vicinity where their ship is moored. This is a wonderful way to
give hands and feet to the mission Jesus called us to do.

There were hundreds of volunteers on the Anastasis, ranging from
the captain to surgeons, nurses, chefs, and waiters, and everyone paid
a few hundred dollars per month to work on the ship. Every year the
Anastasis went to a different port in Africa where, over a six-month
period, thousands of medical and dental procedures were performed
on those identified as being most in need. There were also dozens
of people on the ship’s construction teams, and they built wells and
small clinics in the area.

While all this was happening, evangelism teams visited the villages
and towns nearby to share the story of Jesus with the local
community.

During my time on board the Anastasis, the ship was moored for a
few months in a harbor in Madagascar, an island southeast of southern
Africa. In addition to my work as a marine officer, I was also involved
in evangelism and reached out to the local community on the days
when I was not working on the ship. I was intensely affected by the
poverty and the people I saw living on the streets there.

One day we were in the jungle, and I met a boy who was about 8
years old and who told us he had no parents. His name was Sinatara
and he lived with a friend. The heartbreaking situation of this orphan
touched my heart enormously. During the three months the ship was
moored in the harbor, I visited Sinatara every Saturday to talk and
play with him. When the time came to say farewell, he threw his little
arms around my legs and screamed and cried in French, “Daddy, don’t
go away.”

This touched me deeply and for the first time in my life I became
acutely aware of the fate of orphans. I was deeply affected, and a new
desire grew in me to help them.

Prophecy

The Anastasis then sailed to South Africa where we stayed
for a period of six months. Here, Peter Helms, a speaker from the
Netherlands, joined the ship. I was told he had a prophetic ministry;
but, because of my Baptist background, I was not that familiar with
the gift of prophecy and did not know what a prophetic ministry was.
However, I soon found out. During a meeting we both attended on
board the Anastasis, Peter Helms pointed at me and my heart began to
beat faster, both in fear and anticipation. He began prophesying over
me according to what the Spirit of God was telling him. He said that
I would play a key role in the endtimes by training an army of people
and releasing them to do what they were called to do by God. He saw
lots of fire and passion, waves of revival, and thousands of people in
many nations who would come to know Jesus as their Savior. I was
well and truly shaken. First, the orphan Sinatara, and now this word
from God.

These two events brought me to a point where I felt that I had
to make a choice. Should I continue my training to become a ship’s
captain, which would take another nine years, or should I stop
sailing and commit myself to being trained to serve needy widows
and orphans? I chose the latter, returned to the Netherlands, and put
my white uniform and certificate in the closet at home. Today, years
later, I miss the sea every day, but I’m still convinced that I made the
right choice.

Jesus Is the Rock

In 1994, I became involved in Jesus Is the Rock Ministries and, at
the time, there was a revival among the young people in a city in the
center of the Netherlands. It was a wonderful time when non-Christian
young people radically came to Jesus. Led by Jop van der Bijl and

Henk Foppen, we conducted services for non-churchgoing youth.
There were mega-baptisms, worship celebrations, outreaches, and evenings
of refreshing.

In the few short years I was with this ministry I gained a wealth
of knowledge. Jop van der Bijl had just returned from Africa where he
had facilitated major training campaigns for evangelists. Henk Foppen
was, at that time, a member of the evangelism committee of a church.
Both men had a heart for missions and evangelism, and they were very
excited by the plans to generate new ideas to evangelize the youth.
In an effort to better understand the people they wanted to reach
for Christ, Jop and Henk had gone onto the streets and talked with
and listened to young people as they told them how and what they felt
about their lives and their circumstances.

I believe that this is a very good and constructive approach. First,
determining who your target group is; second, how they feel and
think; and last, how you can reach them and those like them with the
Gospel in the most effective way. It turned out that most of the surveyed
young people found the message of Jesus and the Gospel too
difficult to comprehend. They didn’t like the traditional approach to
“church” and how Christians related to one another.
Initially, Jop and Henk didn’t dare bring young people like this
into their church, but after much prayer, they plucked up the courage
and did just that!

Irritating the Status Quo

One Sunday morning, they invited 15 young men to church and
sat them in the back row. Among them were young men who were
addicted to soft drugs, were homeless, and had social issues. Jop and
Henk were very excited by the large turnout of youngsters. During
the service, the boys went in and out of the building, taking turns to
smoke cigarettes outside, until one of the elders requested that they sit
still. Other well-meaning members of the congregation were irritated
as well and would even look back at them holding their finger to their
mouth indicating that they should be quiet. At the end of the service,
the 15 young people left the building very frustrated. They knew they
were not acceptable as they were, and that was precisely the reason
they had not wanted to attend church in the first place.
Jop and Henk were deeply frustrated too, and eventually the
church developed a special committee to reach out to those outside
the church who were lost and did not know Jesus as their Savior. After
a year, they went onto the streets again and invited young people into
the church. When they accepted and went to church, once again the
reactions of the congregation drove them away. The young people and
the way they behaved were simply not acceptable.

Unfortunately, this scenario is happening in many churches and
communities worldwide because we value the man-made order and
structure more than we welcome unbelievers. We do not give them
time to be touched and changed by the Lord, and so we drive them
away. I believe the Lord is pleased to see the lost come to church, but
we left when the youth left, and I am sure He was shaking His head
and filled with grief.

It is time for a radical change. We need to pray that God will
give us compassion for the lost and we need to repent from the sin of
valuing the order in a service more than the lost people God cares so
much about.

In the same month, a few young people organized a house party,
complete with the top musical hits of the ’90s. All of a sudden churches
were stirred into action and, at a meeting at the local town hall,
launched a campaign against holding the party. Due to the immense
pressure applied by these Christians, the party was canceled and many
young people, angry at the older peoples’ decision, asked why they
had not been allowed to organize their own entertainment. After that,
other recreational ideas for the youth were put forth and organized, but
it wasn’t long before the church objected to those as well.

Jop and Henk did not know what to do next. What could today’s
Church offer these young people who would not attend church? The
church seemed so focused inwardly that there was no room for the
children and young people from outside the church walls, who were
looking to be loved and accepted, to find hope and friendship.
The city council eventually decided to allocate a place for young
people to get together. It was right next to the town hall, and it was
called the Plaza. Organizations were allowed to use the space during
certain hours of the day, and Jop and Henk immediately jumped at
the opportunity to use it for youth gatherings. They organized weekly
Bible studies above the Plaza in a room where young people regularly
met during the week to smoke cannabis and drink heavily.
In addition to the Bible studies, they also organized music concerts.
Christian volunteers were part of the newly created Plaza Team.
At first this new outreach to the youth encountered opposition from
the churches as they felt that they needed to work together, so first a
committee had to be formed. To honor the church leadership, Jop and
Henk joined the committee on behalf of their church, but all the committee
did was talk and deliberate and discuss ideas—it rarely managed
to arrange any activities to reach out to the youth. In the end, Jop and
Henk decided to follow their hearts and continue their outreach work
to the youth without involving the church. They decided to pay all the
expenses for future meetings out of their own pockets.
It was around this time, in 1995, that our family moved to this
city. We soon came into contact with Jop and Henk, and there was an
instant connection. One day, my sister Viviane (who was no longer
attending church) and I were urged by our mother to go to one of
the evening meetings at the Plaza. I remember the night of our first
visit. We passed through a haze of cannabis smoke on our way up the
stairs and as we entered the room, the smell of newly made coffee
and freshly baked cake greeted us. The atmosphere was relaxed, and
we immediately felt at home. There were five other young people
that night as well as Jop and Henk. One was a boy from Amsterdam
called Frits, who was partially blind. He was a very mischievous boy,
but very funny. He had several bad experiences during his lifetime,
and that evening he gave his life to Jesus. I felt like a fish in water. We
continued to attend these meetings and eventually Viviane returned
to following Jesus. She also fell in love with Jop, and they got married
three years later.

Meanwhile, attendance of the Bible study group was growing so
we had to look for a larger room to meet in. By then my sister and I
were on the ministry team along with Jop and Henk, and I eventually
became a full-time worker for Jesus Is the Rock Ministries. At that
time, Jop and Henk, who were still paying for everything themselves,
began organizing concerts with popular bands and singers like Darrel
Mansfield, Rezz, and White Cross. As a result, the number of young
people attending grew very quickly.
There were so many young people who were accepting Jesus as
their Savior that it did not take long before we were ready to hold our
first baptism service, which was held at a lake just outside the city
where we lived. After we had conducted a few of these services, they
became very popular for tourists, passersby, and the media to come
and watch.

We thought it would be a good idea to organize special services for
young church seekers and non-believing youth. The first service was
a tremendous success, with more than 200 young people attending.
We experienced a small revival. A “youth church” did not exist in the
Netherlands at that time, and so we were one of the first in the country
to introduce the idea.

Working Together

The surrounding churches witnessed our success and, for the most
part, instead of cheering for Jesus, the councils of elders and church
governing boards were deeply frustrated by the fact that we were
experiencing such success and that, through this, young people were
becoming active followers of Jesus—while they had only a few young
people attending their churches. We had always stretched out our
hands to them and blessed them, as it was our desire to work together
with them. Some people took our outstretched hands and wanted to
cooperate, but most of them were either too scared or too proud. They
were afraid of losing the few young people they had. They were afraid
we would steal their sheep.
To this I have only one thing to say. As long as churches have this
attitude, they will have little impact in our communities and the fruits
they produce will be those of division, jealousy, and ultimately the
splitting of churches. In addition, a spirit of manipulation and control
will emerge if we are not open to other believers. I believe that the time
of building our own kingdoms is over and, personally, I do not believe
in denominations any more.

If the whole Body of Christ wants to start moving and experience
a revival, I believe that the whole Body of Christ, meaning every part
of the Body, will have to cooperate with each other in a spirit of unity.
Unfortunately, the Bride, the Body of Christ, is broken and infected by
sin; but God can perform a miracle if we are prepared to work together
and look beyond our own small worlds and at His bigger picture.
Jop and Henk’s original plan to start a church in a pub was different—
and it became a movement. In that movement, so many young
people became believers that we started discipleship training, organized
nights of refreshing, leading worship celebrations, and evangelism
outreaches. We also established a place where young people could
gather and relax, talk, have a snack, play snooker (billiards), or find
a listening ear. It was an awesome time in which God showed His
strength and where we, as pioneers in this field, learned so much.
We knew there were people outside the church walls who were
lost and hurting, and we were passionate about reaching them with
Jesus’ love.

It is a sad fact that many people are so engrossed in church activities
that they forget that they are commanded to “go into all the world”
and make disciples. Many of these people prefer criticizing the behavior
of the lost instead of asking God to give them His heart for them.
I have difficulty understanding this type of person, and so did
Jesus. He even had a name for them—“a brood of vipers” (Matt. 23:33).
These were Pharisees who lived their lives upholding all their religious
customs and traditions, but didn’t understand the real reason for doing
so. They were without compassion for the deprived, the sick, and unbelievers.
They were the type of people who turned a blind eye and a deaf
ear, just like the Pharisees who, in the story of the Good Samaritan,
hurriedly passed by a badly injured man who had almost been killed
by robbers. They walked right around the injured man, even though
they saw the pitiful state he was in, and attended their worship service.
Ultimately it was the Samaritan, a heathen, who by stopping to help
the injured man, showed the heart of Jesus.

Knowing His Heart

Dear reader, we must repent of our selfishness and attachment to
the petty things of this world. It’s time to wake up and go and do something!
“How?” you ask. Begin by taking the time to talk to God to see
where your help is desperately needed. To this you might say, “There
are needs everywhere and I cannot operate in emergency response
mode.” Or you might say that you aren’t skilled enough. Nonsense! If
you read Matthew 25:31-46, you will see that one doesn’t have to have
a special calling to help people in need, and that God even condemns
a group of people for what they have not done.
I don’t yet fully understand Matthew 25:31-46 because it is so
radical and simple, but I believe that God has set a high value on us
helping the outcasts, the poor, the orphans, and the widows in their
distress—an action that results from spending time with God and
learning to know His heart for these people. You do not need a special
calling to tell people about the love of God.

Most Christians don’t realize that people really do go to hell if they
do not accept Jesus as their Savior. It is written in John 3:16:
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and
only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish
but have eternal life.
Almost every Christian is familiar with this Scripture. Whenever
we hear it mentioned in a sermon, it makes us sigh deeply because we
have to listen to the same message yet again, but then most still do
not respond to it. For the most part, it just goes in one ear and out the
other! Yes, God is love, but He is also powerful and holy. The Word
of God says that, out of love God gave His Son Jesus to be sacrificed
in order to pay for our sins, and that anyone who believes in Him and
follows Him will have eternal life and therefore a home in Heaven.
Anyone who refuses to believe in Him will be lost and spend eternity
in hell.

My hope is that, if you have not accepted Jesus as your Savior, the
Holy Spirit will convict you of God’s Word. He is waiting for you to
live a life where you are believing and teaching John 3:16 and sharing
with others that God is love and that there is room in Heaven for
everyone. There is no standard way to do this, but when you decide to
follow Him wholeheartedly, He will give you various talents and gifts
to equip you to do the job well.

I think there are far too many Christians who are complacent.
They are so bored that they would rather sit at their computers
playing games than go out and share the love of God with people
and see His Kingdom come on Earth. Surrendering your life entirely
to God, as I have personally found out, is both exciting as well as a
great adventure!

Oman and Kosovo

After a number of years in youth ministry, more and more doors
were opened to me and I became involved with a ministry working in
underground churches in Muslim countries. In 1999 in Muscat, Oman,
the Lord woke me up one night and, in a vision, gave me an enormous
amount of compassion for the nations and especially for third world
countries. My heart was deeply moved by the burden the Lord had laid
on me; and in the subsequent months, I would weep nightly as I felt
His sorrow for the plight of these people. I began to realize that the
Lord wanted me to focus on helping orphans and widows.
In that same year, after I had returned home to the Netherlands
from Oman, war broke out in Kosovo, a country where Albanians were
being brutally raped, murdered, or forcefully driven from their homes
by Serbian militias. In Europe, several refugee camps were established
for the displaced Kosovarans. In the city where I lived at that time,
there was a very large refugee camp set up to accommodate them, and
the Lord gave me the desire to go and work there as a cook. I was successful
in obtaining the position and worked there for three months
with a team of people feeding 3,000 refugees a day. My position
afforded me the privilege of having personal contact and interactions
with Kosovaran youth, so I was able to share the Gospel with them.

This is an extract from Dare to Dream by Mattheus van der Steen. To read more about the book, click here

A Gift of Encouragement

Encouragement is oxygen to the soul
- George Matthew Adams

Encourage Others and Change Their Worlds

Everyone needs encouragement. And everyone – young or old, the successful or less-than-successful, unknown or famous – who receives encouragement is changed by it. As Mark Twain said, ‘One compliment can keep me going for a whole month.’

Encouragement’s impact can be profound. A word of encouragement from a teacher to a child can change his life. A word of encouragement from a spouse can
save a marriage. A word of encouragement from a leader can inspire a person to reach her potential. What does true encouragement look like – the kind that changes lives forever? To encourage people is to help them gain courage they might not otherwise possess – courage to face the day, to do what’s right, to
take risks, to make a difference.

You never know
when a moment and a few
sincere words can have
an impact on a life.
– Zig Ziglar

If you are an organizational leader, the effectiveness of your team increases
dramatically in proportion to the amount of encouragement you give the people you lead. As a friend, you have the privilege of sharing encouraging words that
may help someone persevere through a rough time or strive for greatness.

In the following pages, we’ll see how encouragement has the power to change everything – individuals, families, schools, businesses, churches – by creating an environment
where people can become their best. I hope this book is an encouragement to you. I trust
the stories, quotes and observations will help and inspire you. And once you have been encouraged, I pray you will pass that encouragement on to others.

Be of good courage,
and He shall strengthen your heart,
all you who hope in the Lord.
– Psalm 31:24

A Word to the Wise
Nineteenth-century writer Walt Whitman struggled for years to get anyone interested
in his poetry. In the midst of his discouragement, Whitman received a life-changing letter from an admirer of his work. The note read: ‘Dear sir, I am not blind to the worth of the wonderful gift of Leaves of Grass. I find it the most extraordinary piece of wit
and wisdom that America has yet contributed. I greet you at the beginning of a great career.’

 It was signed by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Whitman enjoyed a long career and is now considered one of the giants of American literature. But when times were tough, he needed encouragement to keep
going. When we’re on the brink of failure, the right words at the right time can keep us in the game. When we’re too tired or discouraged to keep going, an act of
compassion can give us new strength. There’s no doubt about it: Encouragement enables us to persevere like nothing else.

Let no feeling of discouragement
prey upon you, and in the end
you are sure to succeed.
– Abraham Lincoln

When someone does
something good, applaud!
You will make
two people happy.
– Samuel Goldwyn

The way you see people
is the way you treat them.
And the way you treat them is
the way they often become.
– John C Maxwell

 This is an extract from Enfold me with your love, Lord. To buy the book now, click here.

 God wants to give you a future!
Read: Jeremiah 29:10–14

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of
peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon
Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
– Jeremiah 29:11–12

In the time of the prophet Jeremiah, the Israelites were suffering extremely
hard times. Most of them had been carried off into exile and
the few who remained at home were struggling to survive. And yet the
Lord promised them that He had a prosperous future in mind for
them and would put an end to their current adversity; that He would
rescue them from their exile and bring them back to their country.
When they called upon Him, He would hear their prayers. This prediction
took seventy years to come to pass.

At present things don’t look so bright in South Africa. It is difficult
to remain optimistic when we read the newspapers and listen to the
news bulletins on radio and television. But God is the same God as in
the time of Jeremiah. It is entirely possible for Him to provide us with
a new future; a future to which we can look forward with joy and
anticipation. Perhaps, like the Israelites, we must simply wait patiently
until it happens and not become despondent too soon because
things are not improving.

Are you prepared to wait upon the Lord this year until He changes
your circumstances in his own time and way?

Lord, I know that You have good times in mind for me. Forgive me for
trying to prescribe to You when and how this should happen. Make me willing
to wait upon You. Amen


Choose the best
Read: Luke 10:38–42

And Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and
troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen
that good part, which will not be taken away from her.’
– Luke 10:41–42

The story of Jesus’ conversation with Mary and Martha, the two sisters
of Lazarus, is well known. Martha was understandably indignant
that Mary had left her to do everything alone while she sat at Jesus’
feet and listened to Him. Martha insisted that Jesus direct Mary to her
duties, but Jesus answered that Mary had chosen ‘the best part’.
We, too, will need to make time in the year ahead to sit at Jesus’
feet, to make time in our busy schedules to listen to his voice in his
Word. To sit at Jesus’ feet is the very best choice that you can make this
year. If you do this, everything else will fall into place for you; God
Himself will bless you and make your dreams come true. You will find
yourself no longer tired and frustrated, like Martha, through trying to
do everything alone. God will give you the strength for coping with
everything that comes your way.

Today – the second day of the New Year – choose ‘the best part’ by
deciding to remain in constant contact with God.

 This is an extract from Enfold me with your love, Lord. To but the book now, Click here.

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Copyist Practices

The Bible is the chief moral cause of all that is good, and the best corrective
of all that is evil, in human society; the best Book for regulating the temporal
concerns of men, and the only Book that can serve as an infallible guide . . .
the principles of genuine liberty, and of wise laws and administrations, are to
be drawn from the Bible and sustained by its authority. The man therefore,
who weakens or destroys the Divine authority of that Book may be accessory
to all the public disorders which society is doomed to suffer.
—Noah Webster

Writing a book is an arduous process. In the early years all I had at my
disposal were a yellow pad and a Pentel with an eraser invariably worn
down to the nub. Thankfully, those days were short-lived. Greg Laurie,
one of the best evangelists on the planet, dropped by my office and sold
me on “the gospel according to Mac.” I instantly converted, enrolled in
typing classes at a community college, found my way to the nearest Apple
store, purchased a computer, and never looked back. Today, more than two
decades later, I can’t even imagine going back to writing a manuscript with
a pen and a yellow pad.

Yet for thousands of years a Pentel and a piece of paper would have
been considered a luxury. Throughout history people etched their words
on materials ranging from stone and silver to papyrus and parchment.
Paul references his etchings on parchment when he implores Timothy to
bring “the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially
the parchments” (2 Timothy 4:13), and John mentions the use of “paper
and ink” in his second epistle (2 John 1:12). Someone writing some seven
centuries before Christ etched the priestly benediction found in Numbers
6 on silver amulets uncovered in a burial chamber outside the Old City of
Jerusalem at Ketef Hinnom—these tiny, rolled-up silver sheets representing
the oldest of all extant Hebrew manuscript fragments.1 And Joshua,
son of Nun, one of two legendary figures who survived the wilderness
wanderings to lead the Israelites into the promised land, “copied on stones
the law of Moses, which he had written” (Joshua 8:32).

Those who copied the autographs of biblical writers likewise faced
an arduous task. Imagine being an Old Testament copyist engaged in the
practice of hand-copying biblical manuscripts prior to the invention of
computers. Perhaps you were one of the exiles who had just exited Babylon
and reentered the land of promise. Your hero might well have been Ezra—
the Michael Jordan of scribes. Thrilled to be back in the homeland, you
coupled yourself to a community of copyists committed to the preservation
of the sacred text. In your wildest imagination you could not have conjured
up the image of movable type—much less a Mac computer or a mechanized
copier.

Each day, you engaged in the tedious process of hand-copying an Old
Testament missive—letter by letter by letter. No letter could be inscribed
without looking back at it and verbalizing the text. As a Sopher (literally, a
counter), you had to tally the words and letters to make certain that nothing
was amiss. You must ever remain aware of the middle letter of the middle
word of the manuscript so as to have an enduring reference point by which
to make certain that not a jot was found missing. You must even allow for a
prescribed number of letters and words in each column of the painstaking
practice. Should the most exalted dignitary address you during your labors,
you must ignore him, for you are a copyist in the employ of the King of

kings and Lord of lords. And you must not so much as hazard to write the
sacred name YHWH with a freshly dipped reed lest it blotch and desecrate
the name of your God. Indeed, as part of the Jewish Sopherim, you would
have had such an exalted view of the Old Testament text that you would perceive
the missing of a mere tittle—a microscopic appendage at the end of a
Hebrew letter—to be an affront to the holiness of your Creator. In short, you
would make certain that your copy was as good as the copy that preceded it.
In time the Jewish Masoretes would succeed you. And they would be
ever as vigilant. As underscored by professor of Old Testament Dr. Kenneth
Barker, the Masoretes developed a system of checks and balances to ensure
that every copy produced was as perfect as humanly attainable.
To make certain they had not added or left out even a single letter, they
counted the number of times each letter of the alphabet occurred in
each book. They noted and recorded the middle letter of the entire Old
Testament. They recorded the middle letter on each page and the number
of letters and words in each column. They examined every copy of the
Old Testament and withdrew from circulation all copies in which any
error was discovered. These carefully copied Hebrew texts have remained
virtually unchanged since about 600 to 700 AD. In 1947 the discovery of
the Dead Sea Scrolls yielded copies from all the major sections of the Old
Testament, except Ruth, dating back more than a century before Christ.
When compared to these ancient copies, the Masoretic texts were found
to be virtually identical.

The point here should not be missed. The Dead Sea Scrolls predated the
earliest extant text—Masoretic—by more than a millennium.3 Yet when
compared to one another, differences in style and spelling were noted but
no significant difference in substance. The Great Isaiah Scroll (c. 100 BC),
discovered in the first of the Qumran caves, is an apt illustration. When
compared to the text of the Masorites (c. AD 1000), it was found to be virtually
identical—despite the passage of eleven hundred years. The famous
fifty-third chapter contained only seventeen variants from the Masoretic
text. Ten were a matter of spelling, four a matter of style, and three accounted

for by the Hebrew letters in the word light. None substantially alters the
meaning of the text. Even where copyist errors exist in the text, they are generally relegated to mere matters of mistaken names or numbers. A classic case in point is 2 Chronicles 22:2—riveted in our minds due to a memorable address as well as the political intrigue involved. Some translations of 2 Chronicles, such as
the King James Version and New King James Version, identify Ahaziah—
youngest son of Jehoram (fifth king of the Southern Kingdom)—as
forty-two years of age. The parallel passage (2 Kings 8:26) has him exactly
twenty years younger when he mounted the throne. Thus, the problem. Was
Ahaziah twenty-two or forty-two when he became king? As with other copyist
errors, this question is easily resolved by a cursory look at context. Two
verses prior to the error, we read that Ahaziah’s father, Jehoram—whose
death, like that of Judas, includes a description of spilled-out bowels—was
forty years old when he died (2 Chronicles 21:20). Thus, the “aha” moment.
Ahaziah would, obviously, not have been older than his father!
In sum, Old Testament scribal luminaries ranging from Ezra to the
Masorites set an unimaginable standard of excellence in their copyist practices—
a standard that should provide us with complete confidence in the
Old Testament canon. Says Barker, “Bible students of today can be confident
that the text available to us is not significantly different from the texts
which Jesus and his disciples read twenty centuries ago.”

In contrast to Old Testament copyists, New Testament counterparts
were not constrained by the same systematized copyist practices. Instead
they were rather like you and me. They likely loved the Lord and thus willingly
sacrificed themselves to the tedious practice of copying the sacred
text. And considering the hardships involved, copying the text was more
than a career; it was a considerable calling.

Some stood at writing desks, and others worked in unbearable cold.
One New Testament copyist describes the physiological effects in daunting
terms: “Writing bows one’s back, thrusts the ribs into one’s stomach, and
fosters a general debility of the body.”6 Another adds a marginal warning
akin to that found in the Apocalypse of John: “If anyone adds anything
[words] to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.

Copyist Practices

And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take
away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are
described in this book” (Revelation 22:18–19). Guided by the admonition
“Do not add to it or take away from it” (Deuteronomy 12:32), New
Testament copyists engaged their copyist practices with reverential awe
akin to their Old Testament predecessors.

Did they make mistakes? Of course! While they engaged their craft
with care, they were far from infallible. Unlike preprogrammed automatons,
they were subject to all the frailties that are part and parcel of the
human condition. The beauty from a biblical perspective, however, is the
wealth of manuscripts by which textual critics can sort out their errors
even apart from context and common sense.

While fundamentalists on the left7 obsess over their many errors, textual
critics render them trite, trivial, and easy to resolve. What is more difficult
to resolve is public sentiment to the contrary. People en masse are being
deluded by books such as Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed
the Bible and Why, in which Bart Ehrman alleges “mistakes and changes that
ancient scribes made to the New Testament and shows the great impact they
had upon the Bible we use today.”8 Says Ehrman, “The more I studied the
manuscript tradition of the New Testament, the more I realized just how
radically the text had been altered over the years at the hands of scribes, who
were not only conserving scripture but also changing it.”9 Worse yet, according
to Ehrman, were the dark and sinister motives of the copyists. According
to Ehrman, “the anti-Jewish sentiment of early Christian scribes made an
impact on the texts they were copying.”10 For in text after text, “it was anti-
Jewish sentiment that prompted the scribal alteration.”11 In evidence he
offers the following copyist variant from Matthew 27:26:

Pilate is said to have flogged Jesus and then “handed him over to be crucified.”
Anyone reading the text would naturally assume that he handed
Jesus over to his own (Roman) soldiers for crucifixion. That makes it
all the more striking that in some early witnesses—including one of the
scribal corrections in Codex Sinaitius—the text is changed to heighten
even further the Jewish culpability in Jesus’ death. According to these
manuscripts, Pilate “handed him over to them [i.e., to the Jews] in order
that they might crucify him.” Now the Jewish responsibility for Jesus’ execution
is absolute, a change motivated by anti-Jewish sentiment among the
early Christians.

If anything, Ehrman succeeds only in demonstrating his own anti-
Christian bias. Had copyists genuinely been motivated by anti-Jewish
sentiments, the very next words (Matthew 27:27) would attribute the stripping,
mocking, and crucifying of Jesus to Jews, not Romans. Moreover, it is
instructive to note that the variants in question occur only in two manuscripts
and are at best ambiguous.

While the public has taken a significant bite out of this poison apple,
textual critics are well aware of the fact that Ehrman has presented the skin
of the truth stuffed with a lie. Even if Ehrman has rightly judged copyists as
anti-Semitic, the notion that their sinister motives lie undetected in modern
Bibles would be laughable if it were not so tragic. The sheer volume of extant
manuscripts is more than sufficient to retrieve the original message of New
Testament authors.

 This, however, has not deterred the sophists. A new generation of scholars
is now disseminating the notion that not just copyists, but the gospel
writers themselves were singularly anti-Semitic. As noted, William Klassen
(Judas: Betrayer or Friend of Jesus?), like Ehrman, suggests that John wanted
“to vilify Judas,” thus his gospel gets “caught up in anti-Jewish propaganda.”
14 Robert Funk, founder of the Jesus Seminar, took it one step further
by suggesting that Judas might well have been invented as an anti-Semitic
slur. As we have seen, Funk claims the story of Judas’s betrayal of Jesus was
“probably a fiction because Judas looks to many of us like the representation
of Judaism or the Jews as responsible for His death. If it is fiction it was
one of the most cruel fictions that was ever invented.”

The problem here, of course, is not anti-Semitism but ahistorical sophistry
and vindictive prejudice. New Testament writers and their copyists
clearly proclaimed that salvation through the Jewish Messiah was given
first to the Jewish people and then to the rest of the world (Matthew 15:24;
Romans 1:16). Additionally, Peter’s vision followed by Cornelius’s receiving

the Holy Spirit (Acts 10) and the subsequent Jerusalem council (Acts 15)
clearly demonstrate both the inclusive nature of the church as well as the
initial Jewish Christian resistance to Gentile inclusion (Galatians 2:11–14).
Far from being anti-Semitic, New Testament manuscripts simply
record the outworking of redemptive history as foretold by the Jewish
prophets who foresaw that one of Christ’s companions would betray him
(Psalm 41:9; John 13:18). There is nothing subtle about the crucifixion
narrative. The Jewish gospel writers explicitly state that it was their leaders
who condemned Christ of blasphemy (Matthew 26:57–68; Luke 22:60–71;
John 19:1–15). There would be no motive to fabricate a fictional Judas to
represent the quintessential Jew.
As is obvious to any unbiased person from scholar to schoolchild, the
New Testament is anything but anti-Semitic. Jesus, the twelve apostles,
and the apostle Paul were all Jewish! In fact, Christians proudly refer to
their heritage as the Judeo-Christian tradition. In the book of Hebrews,
Christians are reminded of Jews from David to Daniel who are members
of the faith hall of fame. Indeed, Christian children grow up with Jews as
their heroes! From their mothers’ knees to Sunday school classes, they are
treated to Old Testament stories of great Jewish men and women of faith
from Moses to Mary and from Ezekiel to Esther.

The Bible goes to great lengths to underscore the fact that when it
comes to faith in Christ there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile
(Galatians 3:28) and that Jewish people throughout the generations are
no more responsible for Christ’s death than anyone else. As Ezekiel put it,
“The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the
guilt of the son” (Ezekiel 18:20). The “cruel fiction” referred to by Funk is
not Judas but the notion that Christian copyists were anti-Semitic. Truly,
such scholars owe the world an apology for an idiosyncratic brand of fundamentalism from the left that foments bigotry and hatred by entertaining
the absurd notion that the biblical accounts of Judas were fabricated because
“‘Judas’ meant ‘Jew.’”

While biblical authors and their copyists were clearly not anti-Semitic,
they were, as previously acknowledged, far from perfect.

 This is an extract from Has God Spoken? by Hank Hanegraaf. For more information about this book, please click here.

 This is an extract from the #1 New York Times best-seller Heaven if for Real by Todd Burpo. To view the book, click here

THE CRAWL-A-SEE-UM

The family trip when our nightmare began was supposed to be a celebration. In early March 2003, I was scheduled to travel to Greeley, Colorado, for a district board meeting of the Wesleyan church. Beginning the August before, our
family had traveled a rocky road: seven months of back-to back injury and illness that included a shattered leg, two surgeries, and a cancer scare, all of which combined to drain our bank account to the point where I could almost hear sucking sounds when the statements came in the mail.

My small pastor’s salary hadn’t been affected, but our financial mainstay was the overhead garage door business we owned. Our medical trials had taken a heavy toll. By February, though, we seemed to be on the other side of all that. Since I had to travel anyway, we decided to turn the board-meeting trip into a kind of marker in our family life—a time to have a little fun, revive our minds and spirits, and start moving forward again with fresh hope.

Sonja had heard of a neat place for kids to visit just outside Denver called the Butterfly Pavilion. Billed as an “invertebrate zoo,” the Butterfly Pavilion opened in 1995 as an educational project that would teach people about the wonders of insects as well as marine critters, the kinds that live in tide pools. These days, kids are greeted outside the zoo by a towering and colorful metal sculpture of a praying mantis. But back in 2003, the giant insect hadn’t taken up his post yet, so the low brick building about fifteen minutes from downtown Denver didn’t shout “Kid appeal!” on the outside. But inside, a world of wonders waited, especially for kids Colton’s and Cassie’s ages.

The first place we stopped was the “Crawl-A-See-Um,” a room filled with terrariums housing creepy-crawly critters from beetles to roaches to spiders. One exhibit, the Tarantula Tower, drew Cassie and Colton like a magnet. This stack of terrariums was, exactly as advertised, a tower of glassed-in habitats containing the kind of furry, thick-legged spiders that either fascinate you or give you the willies.

Cassie and Colton took turns climbing a three-step folding stool in order to get a look at the residents of the Tarantula Tower’s upper stories. In one terrarium, a Mexican blonde tarantula squatted in a corner, its exoskeleton covered with what the exhibit placard described as hair in a “lovely” pale color. Another habitat contained a red-and-black tarantula native to India. One of the scarier-looking residents was a “skeleton tarantula,” so named because its black legs were segmented with white bands so that the spider looked a little like an Xray in reverse. We later heard that this particular skeleton tarantula was a bit of a rebel: once, she had somehow engineered a jailbreak, invaded the habitat next door, and eaten her neighbor for lunch.

As Colton hopped up on the footstool to see what the rogue tarantula looked like, he glanced back at me with a grin that warmed me. I could feel my neck muscles begin to unknot, and somewhere inside me a pressure valve released, the emotional equivalent of a long sigh. For the first time in months, I felt I could simply enjoy my family.

“Wow, look at that one!” Cassie said, pointing into one of the terrariums. A slightly gangly six-year-old, my daughter was as smart as a whip, a trait she got from her mom. Cassie was pointing to the exhibit sign, which read: “Goliath Birdeater . . . females can be over eleven inches long.”

The one in this tank was only about six inches long, but its body was as thick as Colton’s wrist. He stared through the glass wide-eyed. I looked over and saw Sonja wrinkle her nose. I guess one of the volunteer zookeepers saw her expression, too, because he quickly came to the birdeater’s defense. “The Goliath is from South America,” he said in a friendly, educational tone that said, They’re not as yucky as you think. “Tarantulas from North and South America are very docile. You can even hold one right over there.” He pointed to where another zookeeper was holding a smaller tarantula in his palm so that a group of kids could take a closer look.

Cassie darted across the room to see what all the fuss was about, with Sonja, Colton, and me bringing up the rear. In a corner of the room decorated to look like a bamboo hut, the keeper was displaying the undisputed star of the Crawl-A-See-Um, Rosie the Spider. A rose-haired tarantula from South America, Rosie was a furry arachnid with a plum-size body and legs six inches long, thick as pencils. But the best thing about Rosie from a kid’s point of view was that if you were brave enough to hold her, even for a moment, the zookeeper would award you with a sticker.

Now, if you have little kids, you already know that there are times they’d rather have a good sticker than a handful of cash. And this sticker was special: white with a picture of a tarantula stamped in yellow, it read, “I held Rosie!”
This wasn’t just any old sticker; this was a badge of courage!
Cassie bent low over the keeper’s hand. Colton looked up at me, blue eyes wide. “Can I have a sticker, Daddy?”
“You have to hold Rosie to get a sticker, buddy.”
At that age, Colton had this precious way of talking, part-serious, part-breathless, golly-gee wonder. He was a smart, funny little guy with a black-and-white way of looking at life. Something was either fun (LEGOs) or it wasn’t (Barbies). He either liked food (steak) or hated it (green beans). There were good guys and bad guys, and his favorite toys were good-guy action figures. Superheroes were a big deal to Colton. He took his Spider-Man, Batman, and Buzz Lightyear action figures with him everywhere he went. That way, whether he was stuck in the backseat of the SUV, in a waiting room, or on the floor at the church, he could still create scenes in which the good guys saved the world. This usually involved swords, Colton’s favorite weapon for banishing evil. At home, he could be the superhero. I’d often walk into the house and find Colton armed to the teeth, a toy sword tucked through each side of his belt and one in each hand: “I’m playing Zorro, Daddy! Wanna play?”

Now Colton turned his gaze to the spider in the keeper’s hand, and it looked to me like he wished he had a sword right then, at least for moral support. I tried to imagine how huge the spider must look to a little guy who wasn’t even four feet tall. Our son was all boy—a rough-and-tumble kid who had gotten up close and personal with plenty of ants and beetles and other crawling creatures. But none of those creepy-crawlies had been as big as his face and with hair nearly as long as his own.

Cassie straightened and smiled at Sonja. “I’ll hold her, Mommy. Can I hold Rosie?”“Okay, but you’ll have to wait your turn,” Sonja said.

Cassie got in line behind a couple of other kids. Colton’s eyes never left Rosie as first a boy then a girl held the enormous spider and the zookeeper awarded the coveted stickers. In no time at all, Cassie’s moment of truth arrived. Colton braced himself against my legs, close enough to see his sister, but trying to bolt at the same time, pushing back against my knees. Cassie held out her palm and we all watched as Rosie, an old hand with small, curious humans, lifted one furry leg at a time and scurried across the bridge from the keeper’s hand into Cassie’s, then back into the keeper’s.

“You did it!” the keeper said as Sonja and I clapped and cheered. “Good job!” Then the zookeeper stood, peeled a white-and-yellow sticker off a big roll, and gave it to Cassie. This, of course, made it even worse for Colton, who had not only been upstaged by his sister but was now also the only stickerless Burpo kid. He gazed longingly at Cassie’s prize, then back at Rosie, and I could see him trying to wrestle down his fear. Finally, he pursed his lips, dragged his
gaze away from Rosie, and looked back up at me. “I don’t want to hold her.”
“Okay,” I said.
“But can I have a sticker?”
“Nope, the only way to get one is to hold her. Cassie did it. You can do it if you want to. Do you want to try? Just for a second?”

Colton looked back at the spider, then at his sister, and I could see wheels turning behind his eyes: Cassie did it. She didn’t get bit. Then he shook his head firmly: No. “But I still want a sticker!” he insisted. At the time, Colton was two months shy of four years old—and he was very good at standing his ground.
“The only way you can get a sticker is if you hold Rosie,” Sonja said. “Are you sure you don’t want to hold her?” Colton answered by grabbing Sonja’s hand and trying to tug her away from the keeper. “No. I wanna to go see the
starfish.” “Are you sure?” Sonja said. With a vigorous nod, Colton marched toward the Crawl-A-See-Um door.

 This is an extract from Heaven is for Real Conversation Guide by Todd Burpo. To buy the book now, Click here

What Is Heaven Like?

We all have questions about what heaven is like; but trying to describe heaven is a lot like trying to describe New York City to someone from an ancient time. Heaven is beyond our world, outside our dimension. It is a spiritual realm, and we live in a physical one. We can only use our own limited words, knowledge, and experiences to communicate things that are beyond our physical world. Some things Colton saw during his visit to heaven have been the source of disagreement and much discussion. We understand that.

All we can do is share what he saw in the best way we know. But there are certain truths about heaven that cannot be denied. In this session, we want to focus on those truths as Colton experienced them and, most important, as Scripture
describes them.

Jesus said, “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may
be also” (John 14:2–3 nkjv). He also confirmed to us that His Father is our Father (Luke 11:2). What amazing truth: Jesus has prepared a place for us in our heavenly Father’s house! Colton’s favorite place in God’s house was His throne room. Colton sat there with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. You may find yourself wishing you could experience that same presence of the one true God. You can! God’s throne room is a place where all who believe on the name of Jesus are welcome. God has issued an open invitation to live forever with Him in His house; to accept, we must simply believe in Christ as our personal Savior. Jesus is the door to God’s house, giving us entrance into our true home of pure joy, meaning, and purpose.

We can have discussions about particular details of heaven, such as the presence of animals or whether or not we will have wings, but the ultimate truth is that heaven is very real, and we can live there eternally with God. Now let’s go a little further in Colton’s journey, exploring the Word of God as we find out even more about what heaven is like.

Group Discussion

What are some specific questions you’ve had about heaven? So far in our study, has the idea of heaven become more real to you? Why or why not? If it has become more real to you, in what way?

When considering what heaven is like, it is often tempting to be overwhelmed by complicated theories or details. Trying to describe an unknown place, much less a heavenly one, can be a massive challenge. We can get caught up in discussions about things such as streets of gold, or whether or not we’ll see our
pets there. And those aren’t bad discussions. But perhaps the essence of what heaven is like doesn’t have to be that complex. In the midst of all the details, what is it that truly defines heaven? Very simply, heaven is God’s house. God’s presence is there, and that is what makes heaven, heaven.

Genesis 1:27 tells us that we are created in God’s image. But here on earth, it can be difficult to look in a mirror and see a reflection of the divine. It is easy to get caught up in our shortcomings, failures, and sometimes decidedly ungodly
behavior. Yet, we are created in the image of God, and we are the very object of His affection (John 3:16). We were created by Him and for Him, so living eternally in His presence will be our ultimate fulfillment.

Heaven is meant to be our eternal home. As masters of our own homes, we do not grant entry to uninvited, unknown people; they cannot come in and do as they please. We welcome people into our homes who have requested entrance; we open our doors to those we know. We learn through God’s Word that Jesus is the door to God’s house and the only way into that perfect place (John 10:9). Heaven was prepared for us before the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34), but entrance into that perfect place will be granted only to those who know heaven’s Master, Jesus. None of us can follow our own road to heaven; neither can we map out our own strategies to gain entrance. There is no alternate door.
Jesus told us that He went to prepare a place for those who know Him, and that He will one day return to take them home with Him (John 14:2–3). No sin will be able to break in to God’s house; it is not allowed through the door. But even though sin is a fact of all our lives (Romans 3:23), because of Jesus’ love and sacrificial death on the cross, our sin is erased and heaven is available to all who will call upon the name of the Lord (Romans 10:13). To be assured of entrance into God’s eternal kingdom, to know the perfect joy and peace of heaven, we need only to believe that Jesus is God’s Son, that in dying for us He conquered sin, and that in rising from the grave, He conquered death. Through Jesus we can know eternal life in God’s presence because Jesus said, “Where I am, there you may be also” (nkjv).

God’s house is amazing—a home where no sin, shame, grief, or pain can follow us; an eternal dwelling into which we are all invited; a place where Love Himself rules. If sinful humanity can give and receive love, we can only imagine the love that pours forth from the One who is the very source of love. For you see, God is love (1 John 4:7–16), and all are invited to come to know Jesus and be granted entrance into God’s timeless kingdom of love.

Group Discussion

Have you previously thought of heaven as God’s house?
How can this image make heaven seem more personal to
you?
Why do you think Jesus chose to use the image of His
Father’s house to describe heaven?

How does being reminded that you’re made in the image of God affect the way you think of yourself? How does it influence the way you see God? Imagine what it will be like to live without sin and its effects. How will it feel to live without temptation? Without shame? Without the destructive consequences that sin always brings? In the place where Love Himself rules?

  This is an extract from Heaven is for Real Conversation Guide by Todd Burpo. To buy the book now, Click here

This is an extract from I Never Thought I'd See the Day! By David Jeremiah. To buy the book now, click here

When Atheists Would Be Angry

On May 15, 2007, Jerry Falwell, one of our generation's leading Evangelicals, died. That same day, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper asked the outspoken atheist Christopher Hitchens for his reaction:

COOPER: I'm not sure if you believe in heaven, but, if you do, do you think Jerry Falwell is in it?

HITCHENS: No. And I think it's a pity there isn't a hell for him to go to.

COOPER: What is it about him that brings up such vitriol?

HITCHENS: The empty life of this ugly little charlatan proves only one thing, that you can get away with the most extraordinary offenses to morality and to truth in this country if you will just get yourself called reverend.

COOPER: Whether you agree or not with his reading of the Bible, you don't think he was sincere in what he spoke?

HITCHENS: No. I think he was a conscious charlatan and bully and fraud. And I think, if he read the Bible at all - and I would doubt that he could actually read any long book . . . that he did so only in the most hucksterish, as we say, Bible-pounding way.

Because Jerry Falwell and his family have been personal friends of mine for more than thirty years, I found Hitchen's words to be cruel and insenstitive, and most of all inaccurate. But I am sure Hitchens would argue that he was not singling out Falwell for any special treatment.

He and his atheist friends have mounted an aggressive offense against all Evangelicals.

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This is an extract from LEMON Leadership by Brett Johnson. To buy the book now, click here 

Why another book about leadership?

My work involves meeting with many leaders from around the world
each year, and they have this in common: they all want to have an
impact. They have mastered their craft and moved beyond the basics of
running an organisation. Best Practices are routine. They are looking
at the deeper life issues. This inevitably brings them to the topic of
leadership, and more specifically, who they are.

This book is not a ‘How to’ of leadership, but a ‘Who are you?’ book
that considers leadership in a fresh way. Those who work at the coalface
of human need are convinced that the lack of leaders is the number
one issue in the world today. This stems partly from the fact that our
definitions of leadership are too narrow – incomplete. We know lots
about entrepreneurs and managers, but there are other types of leaders
about which we know precious little. LEMON Leadership® expands
our view of leadership to cover five distinct types of leaders; not styles,
not temperaments, not preferences ... types.

The simple truths about LEMON Leadership have transformed the lives
of individual leaders and changed the working of executive teams. Since
the first edition we have conducted hundreds of leadership assessments:
Traditional leadership approaches ignore about 50% of the world’s leaders.
This book has many generalisations and definite statements to which
there are clear exceptions. If I paused to deal with the exceptions to every
observation, this book would be twice as long and half as interesting.

Brett Johnson
Saratoga, California

PS: To those leaders who object to being thought of as a LEMON ...
lighten up – it will do wonders for your leadership.

Chapter 1

Five types of leaders

How did you happen upon these five types of leaders?
Was there some empirical research, or is this just
intuition?

Let me answer this question with a story.
An extraordinary set of events steered a group of leaders from
four different organisations into a real estate venture. With
some excitement mixed with soul searching, they decided to
team up on what could be a multi-million dollar venture. Excited about
the synergies of the organisations, they suspected that the definite gifts
of the leaders of the various organisations would be a great plus. Each
leader had twenty to thirty years of experience under their belt.

They were passionate and had a strong sense of purpose. Perhaps most importantly, they had common values that could pave the way for good
relationships, communication and decisionmaking. Things should
have gone smoothly, but they didn’t. I was one of the leaders, and on
more than one occasion I found myself nonplussed by the perspectives
of people whom I considered to be good friends, gifted individuals and
all-round great people. I observed what I perceived to be an inconsistency
between reality as I saw it and actions from other leaders. Did we
not believe the same things, have similar values and profess shared
goals? Were we not passionate about the same things? Faced with the
challenges of understanding how people who were committed to me,
my family, my business – people who wanted the best for me – could conduct themselves in a way that was somewhat inconceivable to my way of thinking, I had to conclude that there was some understanding of leadership that broke my past moulds.

In the business world I might have explained this situation away as
‘swimming with the sharks’ or ‘just the way business is done’ or ‘if you
can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.’ But these trite sayings
seemed less applicable because I knew the leaders involved to be people
of high integrity. We talked, we wrestled with concepts, we dreamed
about accomplishments, we laughed, and we cried. In short, we invested
in relationships so that we had a solid foundation for working together.

So what could explain the degeneration? Over time I began to
understand that all the pieces of paper, the contracts, the vision statements,
the prospectuses, and the business plans paled in comparison to
one bigger factor that lay in the shadows, threatening our joint venture.
I began to poke at it, name it, define it: each of the many things that we
thought we had going for us was subject to a greater reality. Slowly the
notions of LEMON Leadership began to take shape, like people emerging
from a morning mist. Initially they were just some ideas.

Over the past seven years they have become clearer, sharper and more powerful.
This month, this week – sometimes days in a row – I gain new insights.
Reading this book will provide seed capital for your own journey of
discovery. But I am getting ahead of the story.

Each of us leaders came from a corporate context that had its own influence
on who we were as leaders. The values and operating principles
of our corporations greatly influenced things. Some were for-profit
corporations, and some were non-profit organisations. But this was not
the key. Another influencing factor was the imperfections each of us
brought to the table because we were not without our own blind spots.
These two elements paled in comparison to the overriding reality of
leadership DNA that affected the whole venture. Who we were as leaders
coloured more than we cared to know. Each of us was acting out of
our identity as leaders more than out of anything to which we had
agreed on paper or conceived of over many fine hours of dreaming.

Just how many types of leaders are there – not styles, not personality
traits, not Myers-Briggs profiles, but categories of leaders? Much has
been written on leadership, and the more serious writings focus on two
types of leaders: Managers and Entrepreneurs. There are books on variations
of managers, such as General Managers, Business Managers and
Personal Managers, but the field of leadership literature categorizes
leaders into these two broad boxes – Managers and Entrepreneurs –
and then adds stylistic variations to explain differences such as:

• Direct, indirect
• Random, sequential
• Concrete, abstract
• Intuitive, analytical, etc., etc.
Then, to top it off, if someone is a little out of the box or creative or beyond
the pale in some way, a catch-all that covers a plethora of quirks is
added to this list: ‘Visionary.’
• ‘She’s an entrepreneur ... real intuitive.’
• ‘He’s a manager … concrete, direct, analytical … a real manager.’
• ‘She’s interesting … a real visionary,’ which normally means she
has some qualities that I cannot put my finger on, but she has
energy, panache and some notions about the future that sound
plausible.

As I looked at our joint venture group it was easy to see that there were
one or two managers and entrepreneurs. But there were others who
were neither; and when I knew that I could not explain all of our behaviour
as intentionally malicious or deceitful or obstructive, I had to find
another explanation.

Backing away from the immediate story for a moment, my own experience
in management consulting has created wonderful opportunities to
work closely with senior executives from FORTUNE 500 companies
and with entrepreneurs in smaller organisations.

This is an extract from LEMON Leadership by Brett Johnson. To buy the book now, click here 

Decision and confession

I am going to talk about my positive feelings so they will increase, and keep quiet about my negative feelings so they lose their strength.

You can always tell God how you feel and ask for His help and strength, but talking about negative feelings just to be talking does no good at all. The Bible instructs us not to speak with idle (inoperative, nonworking) works (see Matt. 12:36). If negative feelings persist, asking for prayer or seeking advice is a good thing, but once again i want to stress that talking just to be talking is useless.

In a multitude of words transgression is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is prudent.  -Proverbs 10:19

The main theme of this book is that although feelings can be very strong and demanding, we do not have to let them rule our lives. We can learn to manage our emotions rather than allowing them to manage us. This has been one of the most important biblical truths I have learned in my journey with God. It has also been one that has allowed me to consistently enjoy my life.

If we have to wait to see how we feel before we know if we can enjoy the day, then we are giving feelings control over us. But thankfully we have free will and can make decisions that are not based on feelings.

If we are willing to make right choices regardless of how we feel, God will always be faithful to give us the strength to do so.

Living the good life that God has made ready for us is based on our being obedient to His way of being and doing.

He gives us the strength to do what is right, but we are the ones who must choose it... God won't do it for us.

He helps us, but we must participate by choosing right over wrong. We can feel wrong and still choose to do what is right. Nobody can consistently enjoy life until they are willing to do that.

For example, I may feel like shutting someone out of my life because they have hurt my feelings or treated me unfairly, but I can choose to pray for them and treat them as Jesus would while I am waiting for Him to vindicate me.

If I act according to my feelings, I will do the wrong thing and forfeit peace and joy. But if I choose to do what God has instructed me to do in His Word, I will have God's reward in my life.

Feelings in and of themselves are neither good nor evil. They are just unstable and must be managed. They can be enjoyable and wonderful, but they can also make us miserable and drive us to make choices we eventually regret.

Unbridled emotions might be compared to a small child who wants to have and do everything, but does not understand the danger some of those things present.

The parent must control the child, or he will surely hurt himself and others. We must parent our emotions.

We must train them to serve us so we don't become their slave.

If you are ready to master your emotions, this book is for you.

I believe I will be able to help you understand some of your feelings, but understanding them is not nearly as important as controlling them.

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This is an extract from Passing it On by Myles Munroe.

 To view the book, click here

Measure leadership success by the success of the successor.

This means that true leadership does not use achievements or goals, programs and projects as measures of success, but looks to the quality, character, competence,and passion of people around the leader who can fulfill the vision.
Leaders are not in the business of focusing on projects. To a true leader,
people are more important than projects. People are more important than
paper, personal ambitions, or pride. Leaders do not manage people. Leaders
develop people.

Mentoring is the greatest and highest responsibility of leadership. It is
not just a necessity for the operation. It is obligatory. Yet the responsibility
for mentoring is usually not in the forefront of leaders’ minds. Most people
we consider leaders focus mainly on themselves, their own achievements, and
their successes. They focus on what they want to do, what they want to be
known for, and what they want to build as a legacy. Most leaders build their
legacy in their work and not in people. I encourage you to shift that paradigm.
Your greatest legacy is not a product or an institution that you left
behind, but rather a person or people. This approach is different from anything
else I have read on succession and leadership.

Leaving your child a building or a house is not succession. That is inheritance.
Whatever a person inherits, he can lose, but if you mentor a person,
he cannot lose what you gave him. Mentoring is a transfer of things that are
durable: vision, passion, intent, and character.

The average leader today has no interest in mentoring. He or she is preoccupied
with defending a position and protecting turf. These are insecure,
false leaders with titles. You know people in your company who have been there for forty years, and you still cannot get rid of them. They do not even want promotions.

They just want that position. How do you break that spirit? You teach them
about mentoring. Teach this to your staff, those you are mentoring, because
if they understand this early, they will not hold on to jobs too tightly. They
will not develop the spirit of entitlement. That spirit of “this is my space”
will be broken if they study and embrace mentorship.

Mentoring involves encouraging another to serve in that person’s area of gifting.
Through the opportunities for service that you provide, the mentee can
discover, practice, and refine a gift. By serving that gift to others, the mentee
discerns and fulfills purpose. At the same time, seeing you serve so willingly
and joyfully influences the mentee. The mentee helps you carry out your vision
and fulfill your purpose.

I have come to define true leadership as the capacity to influence others
through inspiration, generated by a passion, motivated by a vision,
brought by a conviction, produced by a purpose.

To lead people anywhere, you have to influence them. Your influence inspires
the mentee to carry out your vision. No one will buy into your vision
if you do not have passion for it. Your passion grows out of conviction that
your vision is worth pursuing. That conviction grows out of finding your
purpose. The mentee finds purpose in your passion for your vision. He or
she catches the vision.

The secret to leadership is not the pursuit of power. Leadership is a pursuit
of self. While you may delegate some authority and confer a position
on your mentee, you demonstrate that leadership is not a pursuit of those
things. You show your mentee that when you discover what you were born
to do, your leadership is born. Thus, leadership has very little to do with
people. It is about self-discovery. It is finding your passion and pursuing it,
and then people will find you. This is why leadership really cannot be taught.
It can only be mentored. You can teach people the principles for discovering
themselves, and when they find their purpose, the leader is born.
Purpose is the beginning. Purpose is having a sense of destiny. Your purpose
then fuels your conviction. Your conviction is a sense of significance. In
other words, a leader is someone who discovered that he or she is important
to the world. Your mentoring must endow your mentee with a sense of purpose.
That happened to me. I had an argument with my Creator.

I said, “I cannot be that important.”
He said, “Yes, you are.”
I said, “No, I can’t be that important. Don’t you know where I was born?
Who my relatives are?”
He said, “Look, you are that important.”
Do you know that the attitude I had is common to all the leaders that I
have studied? When God spoke to Abraham, He got an argument (see Genesis
17:17). When God spoke to Moses, they argued (see Exodus 3:11–14).
When God first spoke to Gideon, He had to argue with Gideon just to make
him believe (see Judges 6:13–24). In other words, we never believe the truth
about ourselves.

You must help your mentees see they are that important, and the sooner
they accept that, the sooner the third step develops, and that is vision. They
begin to see how to fulfill their purpose. Vision is a concept of the future,
and when the vision comes, passion comes. Passion is a deep desire and commitment to achieve the vision. That passion inspires other people. In other
words, passion becomes what I call “contagious energy,” and that breathes
air into people.

When your mentees become so passionate about something that they are
willing to strive for it, it breathes life into them. You have become contagious.
Think about great leaders. Most of them went to prison or in other
ways demonstrated they were willing to die for their passion: Jesus, the
Apostle Paul, Martin Luther King Jr., and Mohandas Gandhi. They inspired
people. Once you inspire people, you can influence them and attract support.
You do not demand it. You attract it. People are attracted to passion.
Therefore, if you want people to follow you, find your passion, and if your
passion takes over your life, people will run after you. A leader does not look
for followers. Followers are attracted to the leader’s passion. If you say you
are a leader, but no one is following you, you are simply taking a walk.
Your mentee must see from your example that following is a privilege that
people do not have to give you. They can leave your church or resign from
your company at any time. To keep people submitted to your passion, never let
them see your passion waning. Keep your passion. Share it with your mentee.
You can become tired, but you must maintain and renew your passion.

New and Improved!

If you are going to be successful in producing a successor, you must make
mentoring your priority. Mentoring is hard work. You serve as a model, an
advisor, a counselor, a guide, a tutor, an example for another. Your goal is
to produce one greater than yourself. That may come as a shock. When you
are mentoring someone, you are not trying to produce a person who is like
you. You are mentoring to develop someone better than you. Mentoring is
about replacement with a better product. Always leave in place someone who
is better than you were. A true leader is always training a replacement, and
the goal is to make that person better than the mentor is.

The greatest leadership challenge is establishing the priority of self-replacement.
Leaders do not clone others in their own image. They help others
discover themselves, deploy their own abilities, reach the height of their own
capacities and refine their unique personalities. Mentoring is not about making
a person you—making someone talk like you, act like you, or dress in a
suit like you. That is not leadership. That is personality worship.

The greatest leader of all time taught me so much by His attitude. He
would say something like this: “If I do not leave you, you will not be able to
do greater works. But if I leave you, knowing how well I trained you, then
you will do greater works than I have done.” In other words, a successor
should achieve more.

John 14:12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will
do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than
these, because I am going to the Father.”

Succession is the greatest measure of true leadership. Most leaders define
success in leadership as what they achieve, but if everything dies with them,
they are failures. If everything you achieve stops when you stop, you are a
failure. We have many examples in the world where we can visit relics of old
organizations, the building projects that died with the leader. Thus, the challenge
of true leadership success is to ask, “What will die with you?” The goal
of leadership should be to answer confidently the question, “What will live
after I die?”

Succession protects the value of history. Succession uses the foundation
of history to make history. Succession guarantees the value of effort. For example, you work for twenty years building something. If you have a good
successor, they will protect all the work that you put in. In the absence of
proper planning for succession, someone else can tear down something that
you built for twenty years in twenty minutes. Your successor can just wipe it
out.

Effective succession is the only way to secure desires from the grave. What
did that dead person desire? Only succession can secure that. Succession is
the only way for a leader to live beyond the cemetery. The bottom line is
that it does not matter how great your leadership was in your lifetime. Will it
survive beyond your lifetime is the greater question.

The answer lies in how well you have prepared the heirs to your domain.

 This is an extract from Passing it On by Myles Munroe.

Foreword

I cannot think of a greater living example of the consistent ability
to draw on the strength to stand through the anointing of the
Lord. T.D. Jakes is a man without equal. There is much we can
all learn from his words, his spirit, and his passion in delivering
the word of the Lord. Just watching him is a wonder in itself. The
presence of the Lord flows freely from him as he teaches. He is
simple, clear, and honest in his delivery; sometimes urgent, sometimes
gentle, but always accurate and penetrating. He is a man
whose inner focus is on the Lord Himself. Even in his most emotional
presentation, you can also see the rest and peace in his eyes.
The strength and power of the Holy Spirit will always move
freely through those who have no other desire than to share the
word of the Lord to hungry people. And make no mistake about
it, God has much to say to His people. He has much He wants to
communicate to the world around us. There is much to learn from
the Bishop’s words, but also his method, his passion, and his love
of the Lord Jesus.

I first met the Bishop at a small conference in the Pocono
Mountains where he was ministering. That was just before he
wrote Woman, Thou Art Loosed. We literally walked into each
other that fateful afternoon in the basement area of the conference center where vendors were displaying their products.

The moment I touched him I prophesied about a book churning in his heart. A
few weeks later he called me and the rest, as they say, is history.
There are three criteria we use when determining the possibility
of publishing a new author. We look at the person, his message,
and his ministry. In the Bishop’s case, all three were intricately
wrapped with integrity, gentleness, and truth. We are proud to
offer this work to you. He is a man who has allowed the Lord to
mold him into a vessel He can use to change the lives of millions
around the world. We are grateful to be part of God’s plan for the
life of Bishop T.D. Jakes.

- Don Nori Sr.
Founder
Destiny Image Publishers

Introduction

This book will equip you to meet the devil’s end-time onslaught
to thwart the plan of God. Believers are equipped with the
Strength to Stand because of the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Whether or not we make ourselves available to that strength is the
question.
You are capable of achieving more than you ever imagined by
accessing the power that the Lord God has designed especially for
you. His master plan is to carry you to new and exciting heights of
splendor, hope, and love.

When economic troubles, family struggles, political upheavals,
and natural disasters take center stage, you can rest assured
with an inner peace that passes all understanding, that you have
the power to victoriously live through it all. You are the salt of
the earth, the beacon in a dark world, the refreshing stream for a
thirsty land.

Only through the powerful anointing of the Holy Spirit will
the Church forge ahead with strength to overcome, succeed,
thrive, advance, and win! As we share our Savior with others,
His best flows through us to make the world a safer, stronger, and
more beautiful place. A place where children are welcomed, and

grandparents are respected; a place where Jesus is Lord and His
Kingdom will come.

The strength to stand through whatever comes your way is at
your fingertips. As you discover His will for you, keep your heart,
mind, and spirit open to receive His anointing. Allow Him to fill
you to overflowing, and watch your family, coworkers, and those
around you enjoy the glory of God splashing all over them!
Christians must know that their lives with God can be full of
new experiences every day. Instead of merely enduring our salvation,
we can enjoy the fullness that God has provided in the Holy
Spirit—by availing ourselves to His strength and power within us.
If you have been saved by the grace of God, you have a calling
on your life. God may want you to be a pastor, an evangelist, or
a missionary. He may call you to be a light in the business world.
You may have been apprehended by the hand of God to write
books, lead people in worship, or raise godly children.
These gifts and callings were not placed in your life to lie dormant.
Only by the power of the Holy Ghost will you see them fulfilled.
This book shows you how to meet challenges and overcome
them victoriously as you have the strength to stand and to realize
your full potential.

If you apply these practical truths in your life, you will begin
to experience a new freshness in God. The plans that you have
hoped to fulfill all your life will become reality. Do you long for
certain things in God? Does your sanctified soul stir at the thought
of doing exploits for God? A sense of destiny causes you to determine,
“No matter what I must go through, I can and will make it!”
These truths will take you to higher heights and deeper depths in
God.

Get ready to experience a new joy and strength that will
change your life as you overcome adversity, succeed in achieving
your goals, thrive in all aspects of your life, advance your dreams
and visions, and win each race that you run with the grace of God.

Chapter 1
Your Strength to Stand

Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his
own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be
made to stand, for God is able to make him [you]
stand (Romans 14:4).

Do you believe God is able to pick you up and make you stand?
Until you know that God is able, you will never cry out for
His help.

God asked the prophet Isaiah, “Hast thou not known? hast thou
not heard, that the everlasting God, the lord, the Creator of the ends
of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary?” (Isa. 40:28a KJV).
God wants us to understand that there is no lack of strength
in Him. You may not have much of a prayer life, but God says,
“Has thou not known?” In other words, you should have known
that He would take care of you.

The Word says that the everlasting God, the Creator of the
universe, is all powerful. He has brought you through many problems,
so don’t let satan deceive you into thinking that it was just
luck or coincidence that delivered you.

God is my strength and my power, and He makes my way perfect
(2 Samuel 22:33).

Remember what God has done for you. If you can’t seem to
remember anything He has done for you personally, then look
around at others who have been delivered out of situations worse
than yours. See what God did for them and tell yourself, “If He
can do it for them, I know He can do it for me.”
God’s divine love and power brought them through, and He
will do the same for you. God says, “I have the strength that is
necessary to escalate and motivate and move you up and out of
your circumstances.”

Remember what God
has done for you.

Some live in rebellion against God’s Word, which clearly
commands:

Trust in the lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto
thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him,
and He shall direct thy paths (Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV).
Because of their pride, such people never seek God’s counsel
on anything or consult the advice of the Word of God on important
decisions. When they do go to the Bible about some matter
or pressing issue, they misinterpret God’s Word to make it mean
what they want it to say. They have become very skilled and crafty
at erroneously using the Word to rationalize and justify their own
selfish motivations.

Remember, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man,
but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Prov. 14:12 KJV).

Instead of traveling this road of destruction, you can take the
righteous alternative, which is the counsel of God. If you want to
be victorious in all your endeavors, then don’t lean on your own
understanding or to your own devices or innovations. Instead, in
all your ways acknowledge the Lord, and He will direct your path.
Trust in the lord with all your heart, and lean not on your
own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and
He shall direct your paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Seek the Word of the Lord about everything that concerns
you, and you will, like the great warrior Joshua, have good success.
If you want to be profitable in business and successful in life,
develop an attitude and habit of inquiring of the Lord, and you
will never fail. Turn from the wicked way of your own fleshly wisdom
and acknowledge the Lord—and He will direct your path.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons
of God (Romans 8:14).

Renewed Strength

The Bible says that God, “gives power to the weak, and to those
who have no might He increases strength” (Isa. 40:29). In other
words, He is saying, “I won’t kill you because you fainted. I give
power to the weak.”
When you start losing the strength you once had, you are
fainting. When you can hardly stand up, and you begin to stagger
in the throes of sin, lust, envy, and strife, God declares, “I give
power to the weak [faint]!”

God says, “I give power, not to the person who is standing
strong, but to the one who is swaying on wobbly knees. I give
power to the faint.” To those who have no might, He said, “I will
increase their strength.”

If you have looked inside yourself and cannot muster the
strength to get up, God says, “I will increase your strength.”
Think back for a moment to the elderly woman in that television
commercial when she said, “Help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get
up.” She did not only need someone to help her up, but she needed
someone or something to make her stronger.

God will not only raise you up, but He’ll give you enough
power to pull yourself up if you stumble again. He won’t help you
up so you can be handicapped the rest of your life. No. He gives
power to the faint, and to those who are weak He gives strength.

God gives power
to the weak.

Are you weak with no will-power, no strength, no ability
within yourself to resist the enemy? When your body gets tired,
remember God and His strength. When satan begins to attack
you, remember the power of God residing within your innermost
being. Remember that God does not faint or grow weary. In fact,
the Holy One does not even sleep.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast
spirit within me (Psalm 51:10).

When you remember these things about your Father, your
strength will suddenly be renewed. Your joy will be restored, and
your power will return. You will begin to experience a life of victory.
Waiting on God
God says, “If you wait on Me, I’ll renew your strength. If you
wait on Me, everything will be all right.”

But those who wait on the lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run
and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint (Isaiah
40:31).
You may be hurt right now, but be patient. Help is on the way.
I know you’ve cried out, “Lord, help! I’ve fallen, and I can’t
get up.” The Holy Spirit says, “Wait. Help is on the way. Just hold
on, God is coming to your aid. He’s coming to deliver you and to
set you free.”

God is going to bring you out and loose you from your captivity.
He’s going to renew your strength. If you hold on a little while
longer, your change is going to come.
Remember Samson who lost everything; he lost his hair, his
strength, and his eyes. Samson lost his position, his family, his
wife, and his reputation. He was reduced from a great warrior to
grinding at the mill. But without a doubt, at an appointed time,
Samson’s strength was renewed.
Samson’s attitude was, “Lord, I’m waiting on You. If You
don’t help me, I’ll die without ever being redeemed from the error
of my ways. Lord, if You don’t help me, I’ll never get my honor
back. God, if You don’t help me, I’ll never get up from where I’ve
fallen.”

While he was waiting, Samson’s strength began to return.
The secret to renewing your strength is waiting on the Lord.
God’s Word says, “But they that wait upon the lord shall renew
their strength…” (Isa. 40:31 KJV).
At times you may not have been able to explain it or prove it,
but you knew you were waiting on something to happen in your
life. The devil said, “You need to give up and die,” but something
inside you said, “Hold out a little while longer.”
The devil said, “You’re not going to get it,” but something
else said, “Wait. You’re hurting, but wait; you’re crying, but wait;
you’ve missed it, but wait on the Lord and everything is going to
be all right.”

On Eagles’ Wings

…they shall mount up on wings like eagles, they shall run
and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint (Isaiah
40:31).

God declares, “I’ll cause your wings to stretch out. You will
mount up on wings like eagles. I’ll take you above the top of the
storm clouds.”
The eagle does not fly in the storm; it flies above the storm.
Spreading its wings wide, the eagle uses the wind blowing against
it to take it higher instead of lower.
You don’t have to let the wind bring you down. If you just
stretch out on God’s Word, the same wind that is trying to take
you under will hold you up and take you over into the glory of
God.

You’re going to walk and not faint, but first you must come
to God with your whole heart. Humble yourself and tell the Lord
that you’re unable to do it alone. Tell the Lord that you’ve tried,
but you can’t seem to get the victory—you just can’t get up.
“Lord, I’ve been lying here on the ground of adversity and
defeat. I’ve tried, but I can’t get up. The desire is there in my mind
and my will, but when I try to get back on my feet, I can’t get my
flesh to cooperate with what the Word of God says I can do. I’m
thinking right, but I’m not doing right. I’m saying the right things,
but I can’t get up.”

“Lord, help me!”

It is at this point that you must call out: “Lord, You’ve got to
help me, or I’ll never get out of this. Lord, help! I’ve fallen, and I
can’t get up! I’m pretending to be stronger than I am, but I need
You to renew my strength. God, give me back my will to fight.”
Then Samson called to the lord, saying, “O Lord god,
remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once,
O God… (Judges 16:28).

You also need to confess: “Lord, I know I’m allowing things
in my life that should not be there. I repent of my sin. I want to be
delivered, but I continue to be bound. I don’t have the strength to
deliver myself. I need the Holy Spirit working in my life again.”
Brothers and sisters, when your situation gets desperate, you
need to run to God like you have never run before and cry out:
“Jesus, I’m on the verge of destruction. If You don’t help me, the
enemy is going to annihilate me. He’s about to take me out! Help
me, Lord Jesus!”

The Holy Spirit is calling you. Put away the excuses and the
complaints. God is calling you. Give Him everything, and allow
Him to renew your strength.

Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of
stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved,
every man for his sons and his daughters. But David
strengthened himself in the lord his God (1 Samuel 30:6).
The areas of your life that you have not given up to Him, you
need to release right now. Don’t be bound any longer. The Lord
will not renew your strength until you are willing to throw everything
on the altar, without restrictions or reservations.

God will pick you up
and make you stand.

When you’ve given Him all of you, He’ll give you all of Him—
no more “some” of you and “some” of Him. It’s time in your life
that it’s “none” of you and “all” of Him.
And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding,
with all the soul, and with all the strength…
(Mark 12:33).

When you make that decision, He’ll enable you to mount up
on eagles’ wings and soar with the mighty wind of the Spirit.
God will pick you up and make you stand.

Stamina Secrets and Solutions

1. Do you believe God is able to pick you up and make you
stand? List the things and/or people keeping you from
standing. Are these things/people greater than the God you
serve?

2. Until you know that God is able, you will never cry out for
His help. When is the last time you cried out for Him? Did
He come to your rescue?

3. Have you ever heard the devil say, “You need to give up and
die”? What was your response to him? Do you believe the
devil over what God tells you?

This is an extract from Strength To Stand  by Myles Munroe. For more information, click here

 This is an extract from Supernatural Destiny by Don Nori. To buy the book, click here

Do You Know Who You Are?

As the prophet Mufasa said to his son Simba in the Disney movie classic The Lion King, 'You are more than you have become'. Most of us can say we have heard that from our friends and family, but few of us understand that God says that to all of us all the time. He made us. Therefore He knows what we are capable of. He knows the power, gifts, and possibilites within that are just waiting to be used. We are more than we have become. There is a deposit within us. Resting within our spirits are inventions, songs, leadership, love, compassion, wisdom, and the answers to life's most puzzling questions, and much more. There are depths of comfort, peace, and hope that we cannot imagine. All these things are part of who we are but are largely untapped within. ''He is able to do far above what we are able to ask or think'' (see Eph. 3:20).

If we can think it, then it is too small. If we can imagine it, God can do far greater. His plan, His dream, His destiny for us is far beyond what our finite minds can comprehend. We see ourselves and our human smallness. We judge ourselves by the mistakes that we make. We determine our probability of success by the failures we have had. We judge our future by our past. We judge what we can do based on what others have told us we cannot do. Our talents are often diminished by the jealous opinions of others. So we live far below who we are. We live far below what we can accomplish.

But you are more than you have become. You already have what you need within you to succeed. You may need education. It might take some training. It might take gaining new experiences. But the raw talent and the gifts that are within you are all you need to become everything God has dreamed for you to become. You, like most people, need to remember who you are.

 This is an extract from The 365 Most Important Bible Passages for You. To buy the book now, Click here

The Bible is a series of little stories that add up to one big story. It is the story of God and his people. He made them for himself. He made them to enjoy him. But his people chose otherwise. The rest of the story tells of God’s pursuit of his people—his willingness not only to rescue the people who had rejected him, but also to give his life in order to do it.

The story gets ugly at times. There is real danger, real hurt,real sorrow. But in the end, God succeeds in getting his people back. As Frederick Buechner said, “The story of any one of us is in some measure the story of us all.” Each of us has rebelled. And each of us is being pursued by a God who is relentless in his love. The grand epic that we call the Bible is your story too.

No more will anyone call you Rejected, and your
country will no more be called Ruined. You’ll be
called Hephzibah (My Delight), and your land
Beulah (Married), because God delights in you and
your land will be like a wedding celebration.
Isaiah 62:4 msg

The story begins in a garden. God. A man. A woman. Everything unfolded from there. A fall. A promise. A hope for better things. The book of Genesis is full of strange, mysterious stories that sometimes feel as if they came from another planet. But still, in their humanness they resonate with the humanity
of the reader.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good.
Genesis 1:1–4 nasb

 There was only darkness, chaos, and emptiness. There was only
nothing. And then there was everything, spoken into existence by the
voice of God: “Let there be . . .” With those words, light shone out of
the darkness, order arose out of chaos, and the emptiness was filled
with good things, beautiful things—things that gave God pleasure.
It was good, God said. It wouldn’t be long before the perfection
of the natural order would be wrecked, but this first chapter of
Genesis reminds us of something we all feel in our hearts already:
the way things are is not the way things were supposed to be. The
Creation story tells us that everything in this universe—every single
thing—is of supernatural origin. Every event is an echo, however
distorted, of God’s voice speaking, “Let there be . . .”
It was the Word that set things in motion, and that Word still
speaks. For the Word is Christ. He was with God before the beginning;
indeed, he was God, shining in the darkness. The Word still
speaks. The Light still shines.

 To err is human,” according to the old saying. Maybe so. But
there’s a lot more to being human than error-proneness. We have all
been made in the image of God. That urge to create, to bring order
out of chaos, to make our mark on the world; the anger we feel in
the face of injustice, the pleasure we feel in the face of beauty, the
hope we feel for a better future—all of that is the image of God finding
expression in us, human beings.

It is true that the image of God we express is distorted, even fractured.
But there it is nevertheless, glimmering in this interaction,
shining in that choice, bursting forth in our longings. God’s image in
us forever calls us back to the One who is its original.

That realization changes the way we look at ourselves. It also
changes the way we look at others. “There are no ordinary people,”
C. S. Lewis wrote. “You have never met a mere mortal.” Once you
start seeing the image of God in yourself and others, the world never
looks the same again.

 Throughout the Creation story, a phrase repeats like a refrain:
“God saw that it was good.” The day was good. The night was good.
The seas were good. The dry land was good. The trees, the plants,
the mountains, the rivers, the birds, the creeping things, the beasts of
the field, Adam, Eve—God saw all of it and saw that it was good.
So it is a little jarring when God declares that something is not
good. “It is not good for the man to be alone,” God says. He corrected
Adam’s aloneness by creating a companion out of his very
flesh and bone.

“At last!” Adam said. That little exclamation is telling. The world
was freshly made. This was before the Fall, remember. Adam had
the delights of the Garden spread out before him. He even had
the full presence of God. And yet in the absence of another human
being with whom to enjoy it all, Adam couldn’t truly enjoy it. Time
dragged on.

We were made for relationship, not for self-sufficiency. It isn’t
good for any of us to be alone.

 This is an extract from The 365 Most Important Bible Passages for You. To buy the book now, Click here

 This is an extract from The 40 DAY Soul Fast by Cindy Trimm. To buy the book now, Click here

The most desperate need of men today is
not a new vaccine for any disease, or a new
religion, or a new “way of life.” Man does not
need to go to the moon or other solar systems.
He does not require bigger and better bombs
and missiles…His real need, his most terrible
need, is for someone to listen to him,
not as a “patient,” but as a human soul.
—Taylor Caldwell

Joining the Movement

Begin to see yourself as a soul with a body rather
than a body with a soul. —Wayne Dyer

Capacity building by learning to live authentically is what The 40 Day Soul Fast is all about. Capacity building, in a way, is also about community building. It’s about
growing into “the fullness of God” as a community (see Eph. 3 and 4). Don’t journey alone! There is power in community. There is strength in numbers. I challenge you to bring at least four friends along with you on this soul-healing adventure If everyone who picks up this book takes it upon him or herself to encourage four other people to participate, we would create an unstoppable movement! You may think that one healed soul cannot heal the world, but it can.
If you would like to bring healing to your community, nation, or hemisphere—or if you would like to see positive change even closer—in your home, your family, church, or organization, please consider doing the following:

1. Give your pastor, group facilitator, or community
leader a copy of the book.

 2. Identify and promote the long-term benefits of
soul healing.
3. Get The 40 Day Soul Fast program on the agenda
and calendar!
4. Start a signup sheet. Pass around a clipboard asking
interested individuals to sign up.
5. Start your own small group that meets weekly for
the next eight weeks.
6. Find all the tools you need to become a soul fast
leader online at www.soulfast.com.
7. Order books in larger quantities at a discount.
8. Buy two extra copies and share with two of your
closest colleagues, family members, or friends.
For more information about how to facilitate a 40 Day Soul
Fast in any setting, please visit www.soulfast.com. Every one of
us can make a difference. Together, we can heal the world.

I am personally convinced that one person can be a change catalyst, a “transformer” in any situation, any organization. Such an individual is yeast that
can leaven an entire loaf. It requires vision, initiative, patience, respect, persistence, courage, and faith to be a transforming leader. —Steven Covey
Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? (Isaiah 58:6 NIV)

Preface

For Freedom!

To deprive a man of his natural liberty…is
starvation of the soul. —Mohandas Gandhi

I am so glad you have chosen to join me on this 40-day journey to greater mental, emotional, and spiritual health! If you are looking to transform your life, you are in
the right place! Over the next eight weeks, I will teach you the foundational principles of spiritual and personal empowerment— no matter what your background or experience, you will learn and grow and be empowered like never before to maximize your personal potential and break through to
greater success.

My heart’s cry is to liberate the souls of humanity so people everywhere would be empowered to grow into their most authentic, God-created, divine selves. Of course, it is only through a personal relationship with your Creator that you
can truly be set free. As St. Augustine once said of the Lord, “You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.” Throughout the next 40 days, we will be talking a great deal about entering into that rest, what it means, and how it The 40 Day Soul Fast Journal can empower us to live more authentically. We will be stopping to look around as we are told in Jeremiah, “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk
in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls…” (Jer. 6:16 NLT). And as Jesus so gently implored, “Let Me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt. 11:29 NLT).

This 40 Day Soul Fast is about finding rest and restoration for your soul. When all is well with the souls of humanity, all will be well in the world. When you have peace in your soul, you will bring that peace to bear on the world around you—
you will become the change you are hoping to see. A prayer offered by the Rev. Noelle Damico, a respected clergywoman and activist who has coordinated fasting campaigns for social change, echoes my prayer for you as you
begin this 40-day journey: May this fast be a time of purification for you, as
you seek truth and clarity. May it be a time of divine encounter, when you experience the presence and power of God. …May it be a time of re-orientation
that you may name the patterns of injustice and commit anew to their transformation. …Together, may we be the change we wish to see in the world.2
May we all feel the presence of God each and every day as we “do our best to enter that rest” (Heb. 4:11 NLT). And as we take up residence there, may we become more acquainted with our authentic selves and equipped to walk in the light of what we discover.

Be your authentic self. Your authentic self is who you are when you have no fear of judgment, or before the world starts pushing you around and telling you who you’re supposed to be. Your fictional self is who you are when you have a social mask on to please everyone else.

Give yourself permission to be your
authentic self. —Dr. Phil McGraw

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore,
and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery (Galatians
5:1 ESV).

Chapter One
A Series of Unfortunate Events?

There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can circumvent or hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul. —Ella Wheeler Wilcox Have you ever had a feeling that something is holding you back? Have you ever wanted to do something different, be someone greater, or go somewhere you’ve never
been, but you don’t because of one reason or another? What trips you up? What is it that keeps you from being your best self and living your best life filled with joy, peace, and happiness?

What could it be that is holding you back, weighing you down, and keeping you from forging ahead and achieving your goals? Is it your environment, your circumstances, or isit you? Could things be the way they are because you are the
way you are? Has your success been hindered by a series of unfortunate events—or could it actually be a series of unfortunate decisions?

If you picked up this book, you are among the few “courageous souls” bold enough to take a deeper look into their lives and face some potentially painful and maybe even embarrassing— yet liberating—truths.

This is an extract from The 40 DAY Soul Fast by Cindy Trimm. To buy the book now, Click here

This is an extract from The A to Z of names (Revised and Expanded Edition) by Isebell Gauche. To buy the book now, Click here

Female

A

Aaren

Origin and meaning: Female form of Aaron or Aron, which is derived from the Hebrew Aharon and means ‘exalted; high; high mountain; teacher’. The name became popular with the Reformation period.  Aaron was the brother of Moses, the leader of Israel. It is a prominent name in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy in the Bible. His descendants inherited the priesthood (Exo. 4-31; Lev.1-24; Num.1-33; Deu. 9:20; 10:6; 32:50; Jos. 21:4,10,13,19; 24:5,33; Jdg. 20:28; 1 Sam. 12:6, 8; 1 Chron. 6:3,49, 50,54,57; 12:27; 15:4; 23:13,28,32; 24:1,19,31; 27:17; 2 Chron. 13:9,10; 26:18; 29:21; 31:19; 35:14; Ezr.7:5; Neh. 10:38; 12:47; Psa.77:20; 99:6; 105:26; 106:16; 115:10,12; 118:3; 133:2; 135:19; Mic.6:4; Luk.1:5; Act. 7:40; Heb.7:11; 9:4). Aarina is the most common female form of the name.

Variants and diminutives: Aarina; Ahreanna; Arin; Arinne; Arna; Aronda.

Famous people: Aaren Lashone Simpson (1977-1979) was the daughter of football star O.J. Simpson.

Inspiration: Leader and priest, carrier of light and innovative, equipped as a teacher and to assist others. 1 Pet. 2:9

lAbbey

Origin and meaning: It is a name used for both genders although far more popular as a girl’s name.  It is often used as a pet form for Abel that has its origin in the Hebrew habôl meaning ‘breath; son; vapour; high; bright; shining’. The name is also a short form of Abner that comes from the Hebrew Avner (father and light). Used as a short form for the Germanic Abelard, it means ‘noble strength’. The variant Abby or Abbie is used as short for Abigail, a Hebrew name which means ‘my father’s joy or my father rejoices’. The name is furthermore used as the short form of the Hebrew Abisha that means ‘the Lord is my father’.

Variants and diminutives: Abba; Abe; Abelia; Abeline; Abell; Abi; Abie; Abby; Abbye; Avner.

Famous people: Abby Lillian Marlatt, home economist and educator in the USA. She pioneered the teaching of high-school home economics in Rhode Island (1894–1909).

Inspiration: It refers to God’s breath, giving life. The Lord accepted Abel’s offering and His glory was bestowed upon him. The bearer of the name has His light in her and represents light and life to those around her. Isa. 60:1

See Abel, Abelard, Abigail, Abisha and Abner

See also Abelina

lAbeba

Origin and meaning: African name that means ‘flower’. The name should not be confused with the Nigerian similar sounding name of Abebi which means ‘she came after being prayed for’ or the African name of Abebe, which means ‘grown’.

Variants and diminutives: Abeb; Abebe; Abebi; Beba.

Famous people: Abeba Haile, a famous Eritrean singer.

Inspiration: The flower brings joy and is full of beauty to the glory of God. Mat. 6:28

See also Abena

lAbelina

Origin and meaning: Female for Abel, which is derived from the Hebrew habôl, meaning ‘son (daughter); breath; shining; high’. It could also mean ‘vapour’. Abi was Zechariah's daughter, married to Ahaz, and was Hezekiah's mother (2 Kin. 18:2).

Variants and diminutives: Abe; Abelia; Abeline; Abell; Abi; Abie; Abby.

Famous people: Abby Lillian Marlatt, home economist and educator in the USA. She pioneered the teaching of high-school home economics in Rhode Island (1894–1909).

Inspiration: It refers to God’s breath, giving life. The Lord accepted Abel’s offering and His glory was bestowed upon him. The bearer of the name has His light in her and represents light and life to those around her. Isa. 60:1

See Abel

See also Abbey and Abisha

lAbena

Origin and meaning: African Yoruba name that means ‘daughter prayed for’ or ‘we asked for and received her’. It is a name often used in the Congo with the focus being on answered prayer. Abrema, Araba, and Abla are Akan variants. Abeni is the most common Yoruban variant while Kwabena is used in Ashanti. Abebi is a variant of Abeni and means ‘we asked for her and she now belongs to us’.

Variants and diminutives: Abena; Abebi; Abeni; Abla; Abrema; Araba; Kwabena.

Famous people: Cecilia Abena Dapaah was elected as member of the Ghana Parliament in 2008.

Inspiration: It means an answer to prayer, a gift from God. The bearer is a gift to those around her, created by God to His glory. Isa. 43:7

See also Abeba

lAbia

Origin and meaning: Arabic name that means ‘great’. The name is used for both genders. The Hebrew Abiah refers to ‘the Lord is my Father’ or ‘YAWEH is my Father’. The first part of the name is derived from Ab (father). The variant of Abijah has the same meaning and both the Arabic and Hebrew meanings thus refer to the greatness of God as Father. Abijah is mentioned in the Bible as the name for two women and six men (1 Sam. 8:2; 1 Kin. 14:1,31; 15:1, 6, 7-9; 2 Kin. 18:2; 1 Chron. 2:24; 3:10; 6:28; 7:8; 2 Chron. 11:20,22; 12:16; 13:1-4, 15-22; 14:1; 22:1; Neh. 10:7; 12:4,17; Mat. 1:7; Luk. 1:5). Abia is also mentioned in Greek mythology as a nurse maid of Heracles.

Variants and diminutives: Abbia; Abbiah; Abbie; Abiah; Abijah, Abijam; Abya; Avia; Aviah; Aviyah.

Famous people: Abbia is the Old German for Abja-Paluoja, a town in Estonia.

Inspiration: Serves God with the assurance of His love and with all the rights and privileges that a child of God has. Loving God. 2 Cor.6:18

lAbigail

Origin and meaning: Derived from the Hebrew Ab (father) and gil (joy, rejoice, and glad), ‘father’s joy’. The first carrier of the name was the wife to Nabel. She became the third wife of King David after her husband’s death and is described as intelligent and of good character. She was a fine hostess and a tactful person with a servant’s heart (1 Sam. 25:1, 3, 14, 18, 23, 32, 36, 39-40, 42; 27:3; 30:5; 2 Sam.2:2; 3:3; 1 Chron. 3:1). Another Abigail is mentioned in 1 Chron. 2:16-17.

Variants and diminutives: Abagail; Abagael; Abagale; Abagil;  Abaigeal; Abbagail; Abbe; Abbea; Abbegael; Abbegail; Abbeigh; Abbey; Abbie; Abbigail; Abbigale; Abbigayle; Abbigale; Abbygale; Abe; Abeey; Abegael (Irish); Abegail; Abegale; Abegayle; Abgail; Abgale; Abgayle; Abiageal; Abichail; Abigajil (Hebrew); Abigal; Abigale; Abigayil; Abigayl; Abigayle; Abigil; Abihail; Abugail; Avigail; Avigayil; Avihail; Gael; Gaelle; Gail; Gaila; Gaile; Gayel; Gayle.

Famous people: Abigail, the confidential and trusted helper of the heroin in the 1916 play, The Scornful Lady by Beaumont and Fletcher.

Inspiration: Carrier of love and compassion, the joy of the Father. Phi. 4:5

See also Abihail

l 

lAbihail

Origin and meaning: Hebrew name used for both genders in the Bible, but more frequently used today as a female name. It is derived from Ab (father) and hail which can come from the root hull, referring to ‘dancing; rejoicing; whirling’. The name thus means ‘my father rejoices’ or ‘joy of my father’. It can also mean ‘Father of strength’ when taken from the root of hil that refers to ‘contractions; pain; shuddering; might; strength’. In the form of ‘my father’s joy’ it is used as a variant for Abigail, but in its original form of Abihail the name refers to ‘Mighty Father’ or ‘My Father’s strength’. Father in this sense denotes God. There were five name bearers in the Bible of whom two were females (Num. 3:35; 1 Chron. 2:29; 5:14; 2 Chron. 11:18; Est. 2:15; 9:29). Abi is a short form of the name.

Variants and diminutives:  Abi; Abigal; Abigail; Abihael; Abihajil; Abiyhayil.

Famous people: No famous name bearers.

Inspiration:  The bearer is protected by God and rejoices in His strength. Isa. 49:5

See also Abigail

lAbrahama

Origin and meaning: Female form of Abraham, which means ‘father of a multitude’ and thus ‘mother of a multitude’. Abra is often used as a short form, but when used in the African culture, it is an Akan name with the meaning of ‘girl born on a Tuesday’.

Variants and diminutives: Abarrane; Abbot; Abbrienna; Abbriene; Abbryana; Abra; Abrahana; Abrahamina; Abrama; Abramina; Abrea; Abree; Abreeana; Abreia; Abreona; Abreya; Abri (Italian); Abria; Abriah; Abriana; Abriann; Abrianna; Abriéa; Abrielle; Abrien; Abrienne; Abrietta; Abrione; Abrionée; Abrionne; Abriunna; Abrya; Aby; Bramie; Mina.

Famous people: Helen Abbot Merill (1864-1949), famous mathematician.

lInspiration: God promised Abraham a large descent and he never lost faith in God’s promise. The bearer of the name has the promises of God and can stand in faith that He is able to make His Word come true. It also means to be the first of a multitude, an inheritance and faith. Isa. 60:22

lSee Abraham

lAda

Origin and meaning: Derived from the Old English Aeada which means ‘prosperity’. When derived from the Old German Eda it means ‘happy one or blessed one’. As diminutive of the German athal, it means ‘noble’ or ‘noble kind’.  Ada is also used as the short form for Adah, Adamina, and Adalia.

Variants and diminutives: Adda; Addie; Adie; Aida; Eada; Eda.

Famous people: Ada (1815), daughter of the well-known poet, Byron. He referred to her as his one and only daughter of his heart in his poem titled Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage.

Inspiration: The core meaning of the name is happiness and blessed, chosen to carry and spread the Lord‘s blessing. Eph.1:3

See Adah, Adalia, and Adamina

lAdah

Origin and meaning: Derived from the Hebrew adoh, which denotes ‘decoration; adornment; jewel; beautiful; ornament’. It is one of the oldest names. Apart from Eve, it was the first woman name in the Bible. Adah was the first of two wives to Lamech and was the mother of Jabal (Gen.4:19-23). There was also Adah, a Hitite, first wife of Esau, and mother of Eliphaz. (Gen. 36:2-4,10-16).The name is often combined with the French belle to indicate a beautiful ornament”.

Variants and diminutives: Ada; Adiel (ornament of God); Adabel; Adabell; Adabella; Adabelle.

Famous people: Adah Menken, one of the best-known American actresses of the nineteenth century and writer of Infelicia (1868).

Inspiration: Adah denotes inner beauty, which makes a valuable ornament to God. Tit. 2:10.

lAdamina

Origin and meaning: Latin female for Adam and means ‘man’ derived from Adamah, ‘the red earth’ (Gen. 2:7) from which God created man.

Variants and diminutives: Ada; Adama; Adamah; Adamine; Adi.

Famous people: Ada, Countess of Holland, the only daughter of Dirk VII of Holland.

lInspiration: Adam was the first human.God created him to His glory. The bearer is to live accordingly, knowing she is loved and created in His image. Rev.4:11

lSee Adam

lAdalia

Origin and meaning: Derived from the Hebrew Adaliah, meaning ‘refuge; shelter and protection in God’ and also ‘one who draws water’ or ‘cloud’.  The Germanic Adalia is derived from athal that refers to ‘noble’ while the name is often used as variant for Adah, a Hebrew name with the meaning of ‘brightness’ or ‘adornment’.

Variants and diminutives: Ada; Adal; Adala; Adalah; Adalee; Adalene; Adali; Adaliah; Adalie; Adall; Adalla; Adalle; Adaly; Adalya; Addal; Addala; Addaly; Addalya; Lia; Liah.

Famous people: Ada Lovelace, (1815-1852), English mathematician. The programming language Ada was named after her.

Inspiration: Water is a symbol of life and a blessing. The bearer is thus blessed and a bringer of life and blessing. She is washed through the water of the Living Word. She is protected by God’s love as she seeks her refuge in Him. Joh. 7:38

See Adah

l 

lAdela

Origin and meaning: Germanic name derived from athal (noble) and denotes ‘noble birth’. It also means ‘friendly’ and ‘noble strength’. The Norse made it popular with their conquest of England. The French changed it to Adèle.

Variants and diminutives: Ada; Adala; Addie; Addy; Adel; Adèl; Adèle; Adelia; Adella; Adelle; Alena; Audine; Audelia; Edalene; Edaline; Edeline; Edelle; Ethelyn; Idela; Idelia.

Famous people: Adela, daughter of William the Conqueror married Stephen and their third son, Stephen, became King of England in 1135.

Inspiration: Nobility comes from within. We reign as kings with Jesus to the glory of His name. Jesus is her strength. Rev. 1:6

See also Adelaide, Adeline, and Idelia

lAdelaide

Origin and meaning: English form of the Germanic athal (noble) and haidu (English suffix:hood). It means ‘nobility; noble cheer; noble woman’.  In its oldest form, Adalheidis (nobility) it was used as a German title of honour for princesses. This was equal to the title Augusta, bestowed upon the wives and daughters of Roman emperors.

Variants and diminutives: Ada; Adal; Adalheid; Adalheidis;  Addie; Addy; Adel; Adele; Adelle; Adelheid; Della; Heidi.

Famous people: Adelaide (1830), popular queen of England.

Inspiration: It describes a woman of noble character who is worth far more than gold because she spreads joy and brings glory to God. Prov.31

See also Adela and Heidi

lAdelinde

Origin and meaning: Derived from the old-German words athal (noble) and lind (soft), thus ‘soft, tender and noble girl or woman’. It could also have been derived from the Germanic linde, which means ‘shield’ and as such it would be ‘noble shield’.

Variants and diminutives: Adel; Adele; Adelle; Adelaine; Adelene; Adelina; Adeline; Alina; Alinda; Aline; Alyna.

Famous people:. Adeline Virginia Stephen Woolf (1882-1941) was a British novelist and critic.

Inspiration: Honest, truthful, noble and loved protector as well as kind and tender girl or woman, protected by the shield of faith, a child of the King. Psa. 18:2

See also Adela

lAdina

Origin and meaning: Female form of the Hebrew Addi; Adin; Adina, which means ‘beautiful; sensual; adorned; tender; slender; voluptuous; my witness; delight’. It was derived from the Hebrew word eden referring to ‘delightful’. Adina was the son of Shiza of the tribe of Reuben, the leader of a troop of thirty soldiers (1 Chron.1:42). Edna is another Hebrew female variant of the male Adin or Adina and means ‘pleasure; rejuvenated; delightful’. The male version is rather uncommon in modern times.

Variants and diminutives: Addin; Addina; Addi; Addie; Adeana; Adeen; Adeena; Adena; Adin; Adine.

Famous people: Lady Beatrice Adine Bridgeman, daughter of 4th Earl of Bradford.

Inspiration: God has created the bearer to be loved. His love in the bearer creates a tender heart and a true witness. Joh. 1:8

lSee Adin

lSee also Edna

lAdolpha

Origin and meaning:  Female form of Adolph which is a variant of Adolphus, the Latinized form of the Old-German Adalwolf, meaning ‘noble wolf or prosperous wolf.’ The 17th and 18th century German royal families used the name. The German dictator Adolph Hitler, made the use of the name unpopular,even though it is a very noble name. Edulph or Edwulf, a variant of Adolphus, is no longer in use. The Arabic Adolfa means ‘exalted’.

Variants and diminutives: Adolfa; Adolfina; Aldolphina; Adolphine; Dolfie; Dolphine; Edulpha; Fina; Phina; Phinie.

Famous people: Esther Adolphine, sister of Sigmund Freud.

Inspiration: Wolves were symbols of strength, unity, and perseverance and as such the bearer’s name suggests inner strength and a noble character. Our strength is in God. Isa. 40:31. See Adolph

lAdora

Origin and meaning:  The name originated in the Greek mythology when Pandora was the first created female. She was charming, had a sweet voice, and was graceful. All men adored her. She was sent to earth and had a little gift with her. She was warned not to open it, but her curiosity won and she opened the box. All the evil escaped and filled the earth. The name means ‘adored; loved one; a gift.’ It can also be derived from the Biblical Adoraim and then means ‘strength of the sea’ or Adoram, ‘their beauty.’ The name Adoram in Hebrew context is believed to also mean ‘majestic’. The variant of Aldora means ‘winged gift’ and refers to Pandora who descended from heaven with a little box in her hands as a gift to mankind. The English Adora means ‘noble’. The Greek variants of Isidora and Ysidora mean ‘fair gift’. Adoram is mentioned in the Bible as Adoniram, a person in charge of slaves (2 Sam. 20:24). The name is not  often used in its male context.

Variants and diminutives: Adoraim; Adoram; Adoré; Adorée (French); Aldora; Dora; Isidora; Pandora; Ysidora.

Famous people: British painter and designer Dora Carrington (1893-1932).

Inspiration: A gift from heaven that is loved because of her inner beauty. She is the bringer of good news in service of the Lord. Gen. 18:25

See also Isidora and Pandora

lAdriane

Origin and meaning: Latin and French feminine forms for the Latin Hadrian, Adrian or Adriaan. Several explanations exist for the origin of the name. One meaning is ‘farmer’ derived from the Latin hadria (acre), another suggests ‘man’ and as such ‘woman’. Adria was a port city at the Adriatic Sea and therefore some experts believe that it means ‘from the sea’ or ‘black’ since the sand at Adria had a dark or black colour. The Latin adjective for coal-black is ater. Legend has it that a man from Adria established himself in Rome. The Romans also spelt it Hadrianus or Hadrian. Adrian and Adriana are used for the noble class from the Betsileo tribe in central Madagascar.

Variants and diminutives: Adria; Adriana; Adrianna; Adrianne; Adri; Adrie; Adrien; Adriene; Adrienne; Adrietta; Adriette; Ariana; Arianna; Driana; Hadrian; Hadriana; Riana; Riane.

Famous people: Adriana, wife to Antipholus of Ephesus (William Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors).

Inspiration: The farmer labours in expectation of a harvest. As such the bearer sows seed and expects a harvest. The Lord provides the harvest and the fruit. The sea also provides a harvest of fish; we are to be fishers of men. Mat. 9:37

lSee Adrian

lAgatha

Origin and meaning: It originated from the Greek agathos which means ‘good and honorable’ or ‘good girl’ and can also be derived from the Greek achates for which the French version Agathe means the same as the Afrikaans agaat or the English agate (a type of precious stone). The Latin form of the name is Agathe. The first woman by the this name was St. Agatha, a Christian Sicilian, who was persecuted by the Roman emperor Decius in the third century for her Christian faith. Aggie is a common pet form for the name.

Variants and diminutives: Agaat; Agacia; Agafa; Agasha (Russian); Agata; Agate; Agathe; Agathi; Agathie; Aggi; Aggie; Aggy; Agi; Agot; Agota (Hungarian); Agueda; Augeda (Spanish); Agytha.

Famous people: Agatha Christie (1890-1976), British writer and creator of Hercule Peroit.

Inspiration: The agate stone is precious and because of its qualities is used to make beautiful jewellery, resembling noble characteristics. 2 Tim. 2:22

lAgnes

Origin and meaning: Derived from the Greek agnos or hagnos that means ‘pure’ or ‘sacred’ and also from the Latin agnus meaning ‘a lamb’. It implies small and innocent. Another meaning is that of ‘God has given favour’. It was at first written and pronounced as Annis. St. Agnes was a young Christian martyr who died at the hands of Emperor Diocletian. She is normally depicted as a girl with a lamb in her arms. There are five old churches named after her in England. It is still sometimes written as Annis, and therefore the confusion with Ann. The Spanish version is Ines and the Welsh forms are Nest or Nesta with diminutives such as Nessa and Nessie. The variant of Anice or Annice is also a Greek name with the meaning of ‘satisfaction’.

Variants and diminutives: Aggi; Aggie; Aghna; Agna; Agneis; Agnella; Agnelle; Agnese; Agnesca; Agnese; Agneska; Agness; Agneta (Swedish); Agnetha; Agnethe (German); Agnie; Agnies;  Agnieska; Agnita; Agniva; Agnieszka (Polish); Agnola; Agnus; Aigneis; Anaïs (French); Anesa; Anessa; Aneska; Aneske; Anezka;  Anice; Annes; Annesse; Anniesse; Annest; Annis; Annice; Annise; Hagne; Ina; Inah; Ines; Inessa; Inez; Necha; Nessa; Nessia; Nessie; Nest; Nesta; Nesti;  Nezka; Neysa; Oona; Oonah; Una; Unah; Ynes; Ynez.

Famous people: Agnès Varda (1924-?), French filmmaker and writer, creator of complicated scripts and films such Sans Toit ni Loi (1985; Vagabonde).

Inspiration:  The Lord created the bearer with a pure heart to His glory.  Psa. 73:1

l 

lAida

Origin and meaning: There are numerous theories about the origin of the name. Some experts believe it was derived from Ada (eadig), which means ‘happy or prosperous one’ whilst others say it was derived from the German Adela meaning ‘noble’. When derived from the German Eda, it also means ‘blessed one’. The French Aider means ‘helper’. The Arabic and Turkish Ayda refers to ‘gift or reward’ and ‘returning visitor’. It can also come from Zenaida (Zenobia) which means ‘ornament of the father’.  Aide is a short form of the name.

Variants and diminutives: Ada; Aeeda; Aide; Aidee; Aider; Adin; Adela; Ayda; Ayeeda; Eda;  Ieeda; Iyeeda; Zenaida; Zenobia.

Famous people: Aïda (1871) is one of the best-known operas from Giuseppe Verdi.

Inspiration: Ornament to the father and means a beautiful blessing and joy to her father because she makes him proud. A noble woman who brings joy to her King because she helps others and brings joy; blessed with heavenly gifts. Tit. 2:10

See also Zenobia

See Adela

lAileen

Origin and meaning:  Irish variant for the Greek Helena (the most famous Greek name), derived from the root word ele. It means ‘light; bright; shining; bright one; bringer of light; brilliant’. Eileen is often used in Ireland. Helen of Troy eloped with Paris to Troy and this led to the ten year siege of Troy by Sparta. She resembles feminine beauty. The Gaelic form is Elidh and the Welsh is Elen. Aileen is sometimes used as a Scottish variant of Evelyn. Aila and Ailee are popular short forms.

Variants and diminutives: Aila; Ailee; Ailene; Ailey; Ailin; Aleen; Alene; Aline; Alleen; Allene; Alline; Elaine; Eileen; Eilene; Eleen; Elen; Elidh; Elleen; Ellene; Evelyn; Helen; Helena; Hellen; Ileana; Ileane; Ileen; Ilene; Ilena; Iliana; Iliane;  Ilke; Illona; Isleen; Leana; Lena; Lina.

Famous people: Mother of Constantine the Great as well as Hellen Keller, famous deaf and blind author.

Inspiration: Bringer of truth, good news, shine for the Lord, bringer of joy and aiding those who are in darkness. Psa. 31:16

lSee also Helen and Evelyn

lAimée

Origin and meaning:  French name derived from the Latin Amata, which means ‘love; loved; beloved’. The older French form of Esmée was replaced by its more masculine form of Esmé. The Scottish apply the name to boys and girls. The earliest form of Aimée, was the Latin Amata. There was a 13^th century St. Amata, but little is known about her, except that she stayed in Bologna, Italy. The name is also used as Amicia or Amice. Amy is the English variant. The French Amity means ‘friendship’.

Variants and diminutives: Aimé; Aimi; Aimy; Amada; Amata; Amicia; Amice; Amy; Amity; Esmé; Esmeé.

Famous people: French sculptor, Aimé-Jules Dalou (1838-1902).

Inspiration:  Beloved of God. Know and behold, the bearer is much loved and blessed. Son. 2:16

See also Esmé

lAin

Origin and meaning:  Egyptian, meaning ‘an hour; eye; fountain; priceless’. Fountains are rare in the desert and are therefore very valuable. Time can’t be bought and is therefore priceless. The variant Aini means ‘spring; flower; source; choice’. The Hebrew Ain means “God has shown favour’.

Variants and diminutives: Aine; Aini; Ayan.

Famous people: Ayan Rand (1905-1982) was a Russian American philosopher and writer.

Inspiration: Refreshment to those who experience hardship, provider of hope and wisdom, valuable to God and fellow humans. Joh. 7:38.

lAine

Origin and meaning: Celtic and is the variant of Eshne, which means ‘fire of joy’. The variant Aina means ‘joy’. It is still common in Ireland and Sweden. Aine was a Celtic goddess of love, wealth, and summer. Numerous Irish clans still claim her to be an ancestor although she was merely a mythological character. It was also believed that the Aine was something that carried those who die to their place of rest. According to myth, the Aine changed into a fairy with the same task when Christians aarived in Ireland.

Variants and diminutives: Aina; Eshne.

Famous people: Although there are no famous bearers of the name, there is a place named Cnoc Áine in honour of the Celtic mythological character.

Inspiration: A fire provides light in darkness and warmth in cold and as such gives joy.It is strong and active, passionate, and inspires. Heb.1:9

See also Aithne

lAinsley

Origin and meaning:  A Scottish name with its origin derived from the British Nottinghamshire’s place name of Annesley. The name of Annesley comes from the Old English for ‘hermitage’ and ‘field’. It means ‘my meadow’ or ‘from Ann’s meadow’, implying a beautiful place of rest.

Variants and diminutives: Ainslie; Ainsly; Annesley; Ansleigh.

Famous people: Ainsley Earhardt (1977-), American news correspondent.

Inspiration: A meadow provides rest as well as food, green pastures of rest. The name implies refreshment for the weary and rest for the tired. Psa. 23:2

lAislin

Origin and meaning:  It is an Irish name that means ‘vision or dream’. Originally a feminine name, it is now also used as a male name. It is a fairly young name, which only became used in the 20^th century. Aisling is a type of genre found in Irish poetry writings. In the Old English, however, the name means ‘ash wood’. Ash wood is a red type of wood. The tree grows tall and can become rather old. The Celts believed the tree to be a symbol of deep rooted faith which provides strength and growth.

Variants and diminutives: Aisling; Aisline; Aisling; Aislinn; Aislyn; Aislynne; Ashleen; Ashlen; Ashlene; Ashling; Ashley; Ashly; Ashlynn; Isleen.

Famous: Aisling O'Sullivan (1968-), award winning Irish actress, best known for her role in the film The Butcher Boy.

Inspiration: Creative, working towards a goal, God has a plan and a dream for the bearer, prophetic, provider of direction and clarity. Believe that in God, all things are possible. Prov. 29:18

See also Ashley

lAithne

Origin and meaning:  Derived from the Celtic word aodhnait, meaning ‘little fire; ardent or fire of joy’. Aidan is the masculine form. It is an ancient name and is still common in Ireland. Modern versions include Eithne or Ethne and Aine.

Variants and diminutives: Aidan (male); Aine; Eithne; Ethne.

Famous people: Aine Hennessey, producer of The Humours of Claire.

Inspiration: A fire provides light in darkness and warmth in cold and as such gives joy. The fire is strong and active, passionate and inspires. Heb.1:9 and 11:29

See also Aine

lAlana

Origin and meaning: The origin is Gaelic and Alana is the feminine for Alan which means ’noble; fair; handsome; stone; man’. The Celtic variant Alanna, means ‘beautiful; honest; pretty; fair; fair child; my child; my fair child; dear child; my dear child’. The Irish spelling is Alannah. The Celtic variant of Alane has the meaning of ‘beautiful’ and the English version of Aland is a feminine form of Alan (little rock). When derived from the Latin alun, the name refers to ‘harmony’. The Irish Alani, means ‘dear beautiful child’.

Variants and diminutives: Alan (male); Aland; Alanda; Alande; Alani; Alanis; Alane; Alanes; Alanna; Alannah; Alayna; Alayne; Alaynna; Alaynna; Alyna; Alyn; Alyne; Lana.

Famous people: American actress, Lana Turner (1920-1995).

Inspiration: Beloved and dear child of God, innocent as a child, protected by God and beautiful. Children are honest and dependant on their parents and as such the bearer is dependent on God and much loved by Him. Noble means of good character. Stone indicates steadfastness and reliable. Jesus is the solid rock foundation. Isa. 44:2.

See Alan

lAlanza

Origin and meaning: Teutonic name and the female for Alphonso meaning ‘ready noble man or woman’. Alanza is the Spanish form for Alfonsine or Alphonsina. It also means ‘battle ready’.

Variants and diminutives: Alansa; Alfonsine; Alphonsina; Alphonsine; Ansa; Anso; Anza; Anzo; Elanza.

Famous people: Ansa, wife of Desiderius, the King of the Lombards. She was the founder of the Saint Michele and Saint Pietro monasteries.

Inspiration: Warrior of faith and prayer warrior. 2 Cor.10:3

lSee Alfonso

lAlarice

Origin and meaning: Germanic or Teutonic in origin. It is the feminine for Alaric. It means ‘ruler of all; fair ruler; rule in a noble way; noble ruler; patrimony; powerful’. The name in Germanic form is derived from ala meaning ‘all’ and ric for ‘ruler; splendour; power’.  King Alaric I conquered Rome in the 5^th century and this led to the meaning associated with the name. The name became popular during the Gothic period.

Variants and diminutives: Alaric; Alarica; Alaricia; Alarika; Alarisia; Alaritia; Ulricka; Ulrike.

Famous people: Alaric Vas was the mother of Fabian in the Howard Norman novel titled The Bird Artist.

Inspiration: Lead with wisdom and fairness. Prov. 21:1

lSee Alaric

See also Ulrika

lAlba

Origin and meaning: The name originated from the Roman city Alba Longa which derived its name from the Latin albus meaning ‘white; blonde’. Alba is also the feminine form for Albanus which is a name that is rarely in use today. St. Alban was the first martyr (fourth century) from Britain. Albinia is the Italian variant and was frequently used by members of the aristocratic family of Cecil.

Variants and diminutives: Albani; Albanese; Albany; Albie; Albina; Albine; Albinia; Albinka (Polish); Alby; Alva; Alvina; Aubina; Aubine (French).

Famous people: Albanese Licia, operatic soprano born in Bari Italy.

Inspiration: Pure, cleansed, washed, sanctified, and holy. Rev. 19:11

lAlberta

Origin and meaning: Germanic feminine for Albert or Albertus. It means ‘noble; intelligent; bright; illustrious’. Albertus is derived from the Old-German adelbert.

Variants and diminutives: Alba; Albertina; Alberteen; Albertine; Albertyna; Albie; Berta; Elberta; Elbertina; Elbertine; Auberta (French).

Famous people: A Canadian province was named Alberta after Princess Louise Alberta, who was married to a former Canadian Governor General.

Inspiration: A noble person is honoured and renowned. Bright means luminous. The bearer must shine with the glory of God. 1 Joh. 5:35

lSee Albert

lAlda

Origin and meaning: Derived from the Germanic ald, which means ‘old or wise’. Ald is the first syllable in many Anglo-Saxon names. The Latin masculine form of Aldus or Aldo is also written as Aldous. It is a popular Italian name. Aldys frequently refers to ‘old house’.

Variants and diminutives: Aldina; Aldene; Aldine; Aldona; Aldona (Polish); Aldonsa; Aldonza (Spanish); Aldys; Aldyth.

Famous people: Aldona Juozevicius, daughter of Lithuanian President (1920-26) Aleksandras Stulginskis.

Inspiration: The older people who have learned from their experiences are considered wise and respected for their counsel. Divine wisdom comes from the Lord for all situations and to assist others in their choices. Prov. 2:4

lSee Aldo

lAldreda

Origin and meaning: Anglo-Saxon female for Aldred or Aldrich derived from Ealdred, which means ‘old and wise counsel’ or ‘ wise man or woman’. Aldrich is furthermore a variant of Aldo or Aldous.

Variants and diminutives: Aldrida; Aldrieda; Ealdreda; Eldreda; Eldrede.

Famous people: Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836-1907), American poet.

lInspiration: Wisdom that comes from the Lord. Jam. 3:17

See Aldo

lAlegra

Origin and meaning: Italian, meaning ‘cheerful or lively’ and relates to the music term allegro. It also means ‘comforter’. The Spanish form of Allegria means ‘happy; full of cheer’.

Variants and diminutives: Alecra; Alegria; Alleffra (French); Allegra; Allegria.

Famous people: Daughter of the poet Byron (1817).

Inspiration: Joyful person who brings joy and happiness to others in the same way that music does. This joy comes from the Lord. 1 Pet 1:8

lAlet

Origin and meaning: The name has several meanings. As derivation of the Germanic Athalheid it means ‘noble woman; noble or precious stone’. Aletta as feminine for Ale derived from the Germanic Alhi, means ‘temple’. The Greek derivation from Aletheia means ‘truth’, while the related Althea means ‘healthy’. The Hebrew meaning is that of ‘brightness’. Alet is sometimes used as diminutive for Adelheidis and Adelaide while it is also an English variant for Alice that is originally derived from a Greek name with the meaning of ‘noble truth’.

Variants and diminutives: Aleida; Aleta; Aletea; Alethea; Aletheia; Aletia; Aletta; Alette; Ali; Alie ;Alitia;  Alletta; Allette; Althea; Altea; Athal; Athalheid; Letia; Letta; Lettie; Letty; Olethea; Olithea; Tea; Thea.

Famous people: Spanish Princess Maria Aletea.

Inspiration: A noble woman walks in truth and is worth as much as a precious stone. The bearer is a living temple of God who brings restoration.  Eph. 4:15

See also Alice

lAlexandra

Origin and meaning: Feminine for the Greek Alexander, which means ‘protector of men’. The first female bearer was Queen Alexandra of Judeah, who died in the year 69 B.C.  It is a very popular name in Russia as Aleksandrina.

Variants and diminutives: Alaksandra; Alastair; Aleks; Aleksandria; Aleksandrina; Aleksis; Alesandra; Alessandra; Alex; Alexa; Alexandria; Alexandrina; Alexia; Alexis; Alla; Allie; Allistair; Allister; Allester; Alzandra; Alzane; Alzahne; Lex; Lexie; Lexus; Lexy; Sandie; Sandra; Sandy; Zan; Zanne; Zahne; Zandra; Zandria.

Famous people: Alexandra, eldest daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark.

Inspiration: Guardian and protector  to free those in bondage. Isa. 61:1

lSee Alexander

See also Sandra

lAlfreda

Origin and meaning: The name is derived from the Germanic athal (noble; wise) and fridu (peace). It is also the female form of Alfred, which is derived from the Swedish Alf and means ‘wise or oracle’. The derivation Elfreda comes from the Old English Aelfthryth meaning ‘elf counsel or peace’.

Variants and diminutives: Aelfthryth; Alfie; Alfrida; Alfrieda; Alvera; Alvira; Auverey; Avere; Avery; Elfie; Elfreda; Elfrida; Elfrieda; Elvera; Elvira; Freda; Frida; Frieda.

Famous people: Aelfthryth  of Crownland, the daughter of King Offa of Mercia. 

Inspiration: Those who seek peace are wise. The bearer is a peacemaker. Isa. 52:7

lSee Alfred

See also Alvira

lAli

Origin and meaning: Arabic, meaning ‘Lion of God; noble; exalted; greatest’. The variant Aliana means ‘exalted’ and the German Alia means ‘all’.

Variants and diminutives: Alia; Aliana.

Famous people: Aliana Taylor, fashion model, formerly Ali Lohan (1993-), sister of actress Lindsay Lohan.

Inspiration: Jesus is the Lion of God. It means strong with courage, a warrior in the kingdom of the Lord. Rev. 5:5.

lAlice

Origin and meaning: Comes from the Greek Aletheia meaning ‘noble truth’. It is also a French form of the Old German Adalheidis, a compound of athal (noble) and haida (hood) and has the meaning of ‘noble exalted’. The Teutonic Alicea means ‘noble humour’. The Teutonic Alison means ‘divine fame’. Alisha is a variant form, but the Sanskrit meaning for the name is ‘protected by God’,

Variants and diminutives: Adalheid; Adalheidis; Adelice; Adelize; Aleasha; Alecia; Aleesha; Aleisha; Alesha; Aleta; Aletheia; Alethia; Aletia; Alicea; Alicia; Aliesha; Alisa; Alisanne; Alischa; Alisea; Alisha; Alishia; Alisia; Alisna; Alison; Alisse; Alisya; Aliza (Hebrew ‘joyous’); Allice; Allisha; Allisia; Allison; Alyce; Alys (Welsh); Alysa; Alysha; Alyssa; Elicia; Elisha; Ilisha; Lisha.

Famous people: Alice, wife of the American President, Theodore Roosevelt.

Inspiration: A royal priesthood, resembling the truth. Job 36:7

See also Alet

lAlida

Origin and meaning: Latin name derived from alaida that means ‘birdlike or winged’. The Germanic meaning is ‘she that is able to withstand and overcome dangers’. It also refers to ‘girl’. It could also have been derived from the Germanic athal, which means ‘noble woman or treasure’. Alida is also used as derivative for Adela (‘noble strength or birth’), Adelaide (‘noble woman’), and Alda (‘noble’). Lida, Leda, Lita, and Lydia are amongst the short forms used for the name.

Variants and diminutives: Adela; Adelaide; Alda; Aleda; Aleida; Aleta; Alie; Alidia; Alita; Alleda; Allida; Alyda; Elida; Elita; Leda; Lida; Lidia; Lita; Lyda; Lydia; Oleda; Oleta.

Famous people: Alida Visser Boshoff, contemporary South African musician, known for her focus on Afrikaans music.

Inspiration: Messenger of truth and brave in the Lord. Isa.53:7

See also Lydia

See Alda, Adela, and Adelaide

lAlma

Origin and meaning: There are several interpretations for the meaning. It could have been derived from the Germanic Almachilde that means ‘labouring fighter’. The Latin meaning is ‘good hearted girl’. It is the Italian for ‘soul’ and is also a Russian place name where the Battle of Alma took place in 1854. It is the Spanish for ‘blessed’ and the Celtic for ‘all good’ while the Hebrew meaning is also ‘girl’, but can furthermore refer to ‘secret’.The Roman description is ‘bountiful mother’ and in Swedish it means ‘loving kindness’. The name is sometimes used as a variant for Amalia or Amelia, which means ‘beloved’ in Latin, but can also refer to ‘work’ and for Alumit (Hebrew) when it means ‘secret’.

Variants and diminutives: Al; Almachilde, Allma; Almah; Almar; Aluma; Alumit; Amalia; Amelia; Elmina.

Famous people: Alma Moodie (1898-1943), renowned Australian violinist.

Inspiration: Woman with a pure and good heart and who cares for those around her. 2 Cor. 9:8

See Amelia

lAlmeta

Origin and meaning: Latin and variation of Almeda that means ‘driven; ardent; goal orientated; ambitious; brisk’. The German meaning of ‘pearl’ adds value to it.

Variants and diminutives: Alme; Almeda; Almita; Elmeta; Elmita.

Famous people: Almita Vamos, world-renowned violin teacher.

Inspiration: Purpose driven in the Lord. Heb.12:1

lAlmira

Origin and meaning: Arabic, meaning ‘princess; sincere; noble; sublime’. Almire is the Albanian variant while Elmira is used as an Arabic variant. The Sanskrit Almira means ‘clothing basket’.

Variants and diminutives: Almera; Almeira; Elmera; Elmeira; Elmira.

Famous people: Almira was the name of the first opera of George Handel.

Inspiration: Honest with pure motives, a princess of the Lord. Mat. 5:8

lAlona

Origin and meaning: The oldest form is found in Hebrew where it means ‘as strong as an oak tree’ derived from alon (oak). The Irish meaning is ‘dear pretty child’ and the Spanish meaning is ’light’. Elon is a Hebrew variant. The masculine form is that of Alon (oak), but it is rarely used today.

Variants and diminutives: Alon (male); Allonia; Elon (male); Elona; lonna (Irish); Lona.

Famous people: Alona Frankel (1937-) Israeli author of children’s books.

Inspiration: A tree planted to His glory, strong and bearing fruit, a place of rest to others, rooted in Jesus. Isa.61:3

lAlta

Origin and meaning:  Latin name derived from altus and means ‘high; elevated; exalted’.

Variants and diminutives: Allta; Altha; Althea.

Famous people: Alta Rockefeller Prentice (1871-1962), daughter of John D. Rockefeller who was a famous millionaire and business tycoon in the USA.

Inspiration:  The Lord exalts and uses the bearer is to exalt His Name. Jos. 3:7

lAlthea

Origin and meaning: Greek, meaning ‘healthy; wholesome; healing shrub; herb’ and should not be confused with the Greek Alethea, which means ‘truth’. The original Althea (Althaia), was the Greek mother of Meleagar, a well-known hunter in the classical Greek mythology.

Variants and diminutives: Altea; Altha; Althaia; Altheda; Altheva; Althia; Althya; Eltha; Elthea; Tea; Thea; Thia; Tia.

Famous people: Althea Gibson (1927-2003), American sport star in tennis and golf and named  the 1957 woman athlete of the year.

Inspiration: Beneficial to others, free of danger, restoring others, full of goodness, protected by God. Isa. 61:1

l 

lAlvira

Origin and meaning: Visi-Gothic name and also a variant of Alfreda, Alfrida or Elfrida. The Spanish Alvera (female for Alvero), is derived from al and wer meaning ‘true; truth; bringer of truth; ‘guardian of truth; foreign truth’. The Teutonic Alvera means ‘loved one’ or ‘beloved’. Elvire is a French variant.

Variants and diminutives: Albira; Alfreda; Alfrida; Allovera; Alvera; Elfrida; Elva; Elveera; Elvera; Elvia; Elvina; Elvira; Elvire; Elwira;. Vera; Vira; Wira

Famous people: Nurse Alvira played by Esther Scot in 1995 film Don Juan De Marco.

Inspiration: Loved by God, bringer of truth and peace. John 8:32

lSee also Alfreda; Vera

lAlwina

Origin and meaning: The female form of Alewyn or Alwin. It is a Germanic name compiled from athal (noble) and wini (friend). Alverna is the Hebrew female variant for Alwin or Alvin.

Variants and diminutives: Alvina; Alewena; Alwena; Alverna; Verna; Wena; Wina.

Famous people: Verna Bloom (1939-), American actress who starred in several well-known films including Higher Plains Drifter in 1973.

lInspiration: True friend of God. Joh. 15:14

lSee Alwin

lAlzan

Origin and meaning: It is an Arabic name that means ‘woman’ or ‘woman of God; godly woman’. It is sometimes spelled as Alzahn or Alzahne. Alzan is also used as a variant for Alexandra or Alezandria.

Variants and diminutives: Alzahn; Alzahne; Alzane; Alzena; Alzene; Alezandria; Elsane; Elzahn; Elzahne; Elzane; Elzena; Alzene; Zahn; Zahne; Zane; Zanie; Zena; Zenica.

Famous people: Zenica is an industrial town in central Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Inspiration: Noble and honest a woman dedicated to the Lord and to service. Prov. 31:30

lSee Alexandra

lAmalthea

Origin and meaning: The name is derived from the Greek word of malthasso and means ‘to soothe’. Amaltheia was a nymph in the Greek mythology that cared for the mythological Greek god Zeus while he was an infant and such the meaning of soothing and thus caring or taking away discomfort or pain came to be associated with the name. As reward for the work done, Amaltheia received a place amongst the stars of heaven in the Capra constellation. Thea is sometimes used as a short form for the name.

Variants and diminutives: Almathea; Amaltheia; Thea.

Famous people: Amalthea is one of Jupiter’s satellites and the last moon to be discovered through normal direct visual observation.

Inspiration:  She has a nursing and soothing character and is one that loves and cares for others. Psa. 28:9

lAmana

Origin and meaning: Hebrew, meaning ‘faithful’. It is often used in the Swahili language where it means ‘trust’ while the name refers to ‘warrior’ or ‘strength’ in the Hawaiian language. It can also mean ‘truth’ and ‘integrity’. Derived from the Arabic Amina, the name means ‘feel safe’ and can also refer to ‘trust’.

Variants and diminutives: Aamina; Amina; Aminah.

Famous people: Amana is a mountain mentioned in the Bible (Son.4:8).

Inspiration: The bearer is faithful, trustworthy, and a pillar of strength. Psa. 43:3

l 

lAmanda

Origin and meaning: Derived from the Latin amare and means ‘to care or to love’ or ‘worthy of love; beloved’. The name became popular after its use in the 1694 drama called Love’s Last Shift by Colley Cibber. It is also the female form of Amandus, a masculine name which is rarely used today.

Variants and diminutives: Amada; Amandi; Amandine; Amandy; Amanta; Amantha; Amata; Manda; Mandaline; Mandee; Mandi; Mandie; Mandy.

Famous people: Amanda Coetzer, famous South African tennis player.

Inspiration: Beloved caretaker with a heart full of love and worthy of His love. Rom. 9:25

lAmarissa

Origin and meaning: The oldest form is the Hebrew Ameriah, which means ‘promised one’ or ‘given by God’. Marisa and Marissa are sometimes used as short forms, but Marisa is also a name in its own right.

Variants and diminutives: Amarisa; Amarise; Amarisse; America; Ameriah; Maris; Marisa; Marissa; Marrissa.

Famous people: Marisa Tomei (1964-), American actress known for her role in the soap opera titled As the World Turns.

Inspiration: Jesus is the Promised One and God’s gift of eternal life is in Him. The bearer is a gift from God, someone precious to Him. Rom.6:23

See also Marisa

lAmber

Origin and meaning: The Gaelic origin means ‘brutal and savage’. Meanings from other languages indicate more acceptable descriptions. The Arabic Amber means a type of gemstone called Amber. It is often used in the crafting of jewellery. The stone has a distinct orange yellowish streak and has a honey like quality in its colour. The name as such can refer to the qualities of the gemstone including the colour. Amber is a popular English name. Although the name has been in use for many centuries, it only became popular after the publication of a novel by the famous author Kathleen Winsor. The novel was titled Forever Amber.

Variants and diminutives: Ambar; Amberlee; Amberlyn; Amberlynn; Ambra; Ambre (French).

Famous people: Amber Corwin (1978-), well-known American figure skater and winner of several medals.

Inspiration: Amber is precious and because of its qualities, is used to make beautiful jewellery. 2 Tim. 2:22

l 

l 

lAmbrosine

Origin and meaning: Female variant of Ambrose, a name derived from the Greek ambrioses that means ‘immortal’ or ‘divine in nature’. Ambriosa was the place, according to Greek mythology, where the gods came to feed on nectar. The first well-known bearer of the name was St. Ambrosius who lived in the 4^th century A.C. He was the provincial governor of Northern Italy and did his work so well that his peers forced him to become their bishop. He is normally depicted as standing with a bee hive in his hands. It is a symbol of sweetness and grace, but also as an instrument of punishment for wrongdoers. He even warned the emperor against being cruel to his subjects. Short forms of the name are Bros, Nam, Ambie and Rosie. The Welsh variant is Emprys. It is used for both  genders. The French form for the name is Ambrozine.

Variants and diminutives: Ambi; Ambie; Ambrine (Arabic); Ambro; Ambrogina; Ambrose; Ambrosia; Abrosina; Ambrozia; Ambrozine;  Bros; Brosia;  Emprys; Nam; Rose; Rosie; Rosina; Rosine.

Famous people: Ambrosine Phillpotts (1912-1980), British actress who played in Aunt Clara in 1954 and numerous other films until 1980.

Inspiration: The promise of everlasting life in Jesus. Bearer of wisdom and insight, just and fighter against evil. Psa.105:14

See Ambrose

See also Rose

Amelda; Amelde see Imelda

lAmelia

Origin and meaning: Variant of the name Amalia, derived from the Germanic amal and means ‘hardworking’. There is a legend of a noble man in Rome, who was part of the Aemelius or Aemelia (female) tribe. Aemelius means ‘work; strive; labour’. Another interpretation is that it is derived from the Greek Ameleia, which means ‘care free’.  The Hebrew origin means ‘labour’ and ‘created by God’. Pet forms include Milly or Millie.

Variants and diminutives: Aemelia; Alma; Amalea; Amalica (Romanian); Ameleia; Amalia; Amalie;  Amalija; Amalle; Ameldy; Amelie; Amelina; Amilia; Amiliji (Russian); Amy; Emelia; Emilea; Emilie; Emily; Melita (Italian); Millie; Milly.

Famous people: William IV of England’s queen was Amelia, Adelaide, Louisa, Theresa, Caroline.

Inspiration: Hard worker and labourer in the Lord’s kingdom. 1 Cor.15:58

lAmina

Origin and meaning: Arabic, meaning ‘honest; truthful; protected; secure; trustworthy’. The name is also used in Swahili, but is spelt Ameenah. It is related to the amen used to end a prayer.  The male form of Amin is rarely used today.

Variants and diminutives:  Aamena; Aamina; Aaminah; Ameen; Ameena; Ameenah;  Amen; Amena; Amiana; Amien; Amin (male); Aminatta; Aminda; Amine; Amineh;  Aminta; Aminah;  Emina; Emin (male); Emine; Miena; Mina.

Famous people: Amina was a Nigerian Queen and lived from 1560-1610.

Inspiration: His will be done, truthful and protected by God. Joh. 17:11

lAmira

Origin and meaning: Female variant of Amir, an Arabic name that means ‘full; well established; well settled; well populated; prosperous; civilized; chief; commander; leader; prince; general’. The Hebrew Amira means ‘mighty’, but can also mean ‘one who speaks’ while Amiram refers to ‘lofty or worthy of praise’. The Persians used it for ‘king or queen’. In all instances, the name represents leadership, power, stability, and settlement. Emira is the feminine form of Emir. It is used both as a title and as a name.

Variants and diminutives:  Emira (English); Mira.

Famous people: Amira Casar (1971-), French actress from Russian and Iranian origin who has played in more than fourty films.

Inspiration: The core meaning is might and abundance. We live in abundance as children of the King. Jesus came so that we may have life and have it in full. Jer. 20:11

See Amir (male)

lAmoré

Origin and meaning: French variant of the Latin Amor and means ‘love’. The Latin Amorette means ‘small love’. Amore in the Italian language often refers to ‘passionate’.

Variants and diminutives: Amare; Amor; Amora; Amore, Amoree; Amoretta; Amorette; Amorita.

Famous people: Amore Bekker (1965-), well-known South African radio personality.

Inspiration: Created through His love and made to spread His love. Psa. 63:3

Analda; Anelda; Analida are combinations of Ana and Elida (see Anna and Alida)

lAnastasia

Origin and meaning: Anastasia is the female form for the Greek Anastasius which is derived from anastasis, meaning ‘risen; risen one; arise’. The ana part means ‘to rise’ or ‘up’ while the second part means to ‘stand’ with the full meaning of ‘resurrection’. It is a symbol of immortality and as such the name is usually given to girls born at Easter. The early Christians gave the name to young children after baptism as a sign of resurrection into a new life. There are two Christian martyrs with the name. The Irish shortened it to Stacey. The English use it as Anstey of Anstice. It is very popular in Russia as Nastyenka. The male forms of Anastasius; Anastasio and Anastasie are rarely used today.

Variants and diminutives: Ana; Anastace; Anastascia; Anastase; Anastasha; Anastashia; Anastasie; Anastasjija; Anastasiva; Anastassia; Anastassja; Anastasya;Anastasysia; Anastatia; Anastey; Anastice; Anastatia; Anastazia; Anastazie; Anastice; Anestasia; Anstace; Anstass; Anstey; Anstice; Anya; Asja; Asya; Nast’a; Nastasia; Nastasie;Nastasiea; Nastassja; Nastka; Nastusia; Nastusya; Nastyenka; Nastya; Nessa;  Stacee; Stacey; Stacia; Stacie; Stacy; Stasa; Stash; Stasha; Stasia;.Staska; Stasva; Staz; Tacy; Tasa; Tasenka; Taska; Tasoula; Tasya.

Famous people: Daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia who may have escaped when the Red Guard massacred the royal family in 1918.

Inspiration: Risen to a new life in Jesus Christ. Joh. 11:25

lAndrea

Origin and meaning: Female for the Greek Andrea and the English Andrew. It is popular in France as Andrée. The name is derived from the Greek Andros and means ‘manly (feminine); brave; strong’. The Norse Andra means ‘breath’. The name is also a diminutive of Alexandra.

Variants and diminutives: Andra; Andreana; André; Andrée; Andria; Andrienna; Andrienne; Andriesa; Andrika; Andrya.

Famous people: Andrée Borrel, the first female SOE Agent to be parachuted into France.

Inspiration: Called to be brave and strong. Eph.6:10

See Alexandra and Andrew

Anelida and Anelide are combinations of Anne and Elida, a variant of Alida – see Anna and Alida

lAngela

Origin and meaning: Derived from the Greek angelos, which means ‘angel’. The Dutch and Afrikaans variant is Engela. It indicates a messenger of good news, a servant of God and holy. It is also the female form of Angelo. The use of the name was banned for a period since it was believed to be blasphemous. It regained usage in the 19^th century.

Variants and diminutives: Aingeal; Anakela; Andela; Andelka; Andjela; Angel; Angelca; Angele; Angelea; Angelena; Angeles;  Angeletta;  Angelette; Angelia; Angelica; Angelien; Angelika; Angelina; Angeline; Angelique; Angelita; Angella; Angelle; Angelyn; Angi; Angie; Angia; Angla; Angle; Anglea; Angy; Anhelina; Anja; Anjela; Anjele; Anjelica; Anjelina; Anjewla; Anjie; Aniela;  D’Angela; Dangela; Engel; Engela;  Erala;  Gelva; Inglina; Lina.

Famous people: St. Angela Merici, founder of the Ursuline order of nuns at Brescia in 1537.

Inspiration: Messenger of good tiding. Isa. 40:9

See Angelo

See also Lina

lAnne

Origin and meaning: The name has several variants and diminutives such as Ann, Anna, and Anita. It is derived from the Hebrew Channah, which is mentioned in the Bible as Hannah. It means ‘grace of God; God’s merciful gift; gracious gift; favoured; decorated; answered prayer; favoured by God’. It is used in several combinations such as Annemarie and Mary-Anne. Hannah was Samuel, the prophet’s mother and was previously childless. Her prayer for a child was answered (I Sam.1 and 2). John is also derived from the same root, which means ‘grace’. The Greek form of Anna or Anne is more popular than Hanna. The only Anna in the Bible is the prophetess (Luk. 2:36). The name spread to Russia during the 10^th century. The French changed it from Anna to Anne. The French combination Anne and Marie: Anne-Marie or Mary-Ann is still very popular. Anelle is another popular variant.

Variants and diminutives: Anamie; Anamy; Anarosa (Spanish); Anechka (Russian); Anel; Anelle;  Anemie; Aneska; Anet; Anetta; Ance; Ancel; Ani; Ania; Anika; Anina; Anisa; Anisha; Anita; Anja; Anke; Ann; Anna; Annatjie; Annchen; Anneen; Anneke; Annelie; Annelle; Annemie; Annemi; Annetjie; Annette; Annica; Annie; Annika; Annina; Annine; Ans; Ansa; Ansel; Ansie; Antjie; Anya; Channah; Hanna; Hannah; Hannatjie; Hannetjie; Hannie; Ivena (Hebrew); Nan; Nana; Nancy; Nanette; Nanna; Nannie; Netta; Nettie. There are several combinations such as Anna-Marie; Annamarie; Annemarie; Mary-Ann; Mary-Anne; Marianne. Ana combined with Lize or Lise: Analisa; Analise; Analiza; Analize.

Famous people: It is well used as a royal name in England:

Anne of Bohemia, who married Richard II in 1382; Anne Neville, the wife to Richard III; Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII; Anne Cleves; the fourth wife to Henry VIII; Anne of Denmark, wife of James VI from Scotland.  Other bearers of the name include the daughter of Queen Elizabeth II (1950), the wife of Benjamin Disraeli, who was christened as Marianne Evans, but was better known as Mary Ann Evans.

Inspiration: The grace of the Lord is bestowed upon the bearer to be a girl of mercy and grace to others. 2 Pet.3:18

See also Hannah

lAnnabel

Origin and meaning: The name comes from the Latin amabilis, which means ‘lovable’. Some experts believe that it originated from Anna (grace) and Belle (Latin and French for beautiful). Mabel is derived from Amabel. Annabel was already in use in Scotland long before Anne became a popular name there. The related Arabella comes from Orabilis, which is the Latin for ‘yield in prayer’. That is where the notion originated that Annabel is related to Anne, since Anne is derived from Hannah who yielded in prayer for a son (I Sam. 1 and 2).

Variants and diminutives: Amabel; Amabell; Amabelle; Amebel; Amebell; Amebelle; Anabel; Anabell; Anabella; Anabelle; Anaple; Anebel; Anebell; Anebelle; Annabell; Annabella; Annabelle; Arabel; Arabell;  Arabella; Arabelle; Arable; Arbell; Bella; Belle.

Famous people: Annabella Drummond, wife of King Robert III of Scotland.

Inspiration: Lovable and beautiful, full of kindness and guardian in prayer. Isa. 62:6

Anselma see Selma

lAnthea

Origin and meaning: Derived from the Greek anthos (flower) and as such the same as the Latin Flora. According to Greek mythology, it is the title bestowed upon Hera, the queen of Olympus. It therefore means ‘lady of the flowers; beautiful; fertile; blossom; prosperity’.

Variants and diminutives: Antea; Antia; Anthia; Thea; Thia.

Famous people: Thea Beatrice May Astley (1925- ), Australian novelist who has won the Miles Franklin Award for Australian fiction no less than four times, including for her work Drylands in 2000.

Inspiration: Flowers are not only beautiful, but also have a sweet fragrance. The bearer has the fragrance of life and grace to share with others and to bring joy. 2 Cor.2:16

See also Flora

lAntonia

Origin and meaning: Female form of Antonius. It is a Roman clan name that means ‘priceless; praiseworthy’. It is both Latin and Italian. The Spanish form is Antonina, sometimes shortened to Nina. The English form is also Antonina or Antonia whilst the French masculine form of Antoine, became Antoinette. Toy is a pet form.

Variants and diminutives:  Antionet; Antionetta; Antionette; Antoinet; Antoinetta; Antoinette; Antonella; Antonia; Antonina; Antonietta; Antonique; Antonita; Nina; Nita; Tionet; Tionetta; Tionette; Toi; Toinette; Toni; Tonie; Tony; Toy.

Famous people: Antonia White (1899-1980), British novelist.

Inspiration: It resembles a noble character, excellence in everything. Glory to God. Isa. 43:4

See Anthony

Anso and Anzo see Alfons (male)

lAppolina

Origin and meaning: Female for the Greek Apollo who was the god of medicine, health and sunlight. It thus means ‘beauty and health’.

Variants and diminutives: Appolla; Apola; Apolina; Apoline; Apollonia; Polina.

Famous people: St. Apollonia was a 3^rd century Christian martyr.

Inspiration: Resembles inner beauty and life, light of God. Exod. 15:26

See Appolo

lArdine

Origin and meaning: Female for the Latin Ardin and means ‘ardent; persevere; diligence; forest’. Originally a boy’s name, it has become more popular in recent years as a name for girls and is widely used as a surname referring to the original bearers coming from a forest region.

Variants and diminutives: Ardeen; Ardeena; Arden; Ardena; Ardene; Ardin; Ardina; Ardinia; Dina; Dinia.

Famous people: Elizabeth Arden (1878-1966), American beautician and cosmetics manufacturer.

Inspiration: Strong, with good courage to persevere in order to reach the goal. 2 Pet. 1:6

See Ardin

lAreta

Origin and meaning: Female for the Greek Aretas, which means ‘virtuous; excellence; pure’. Aretas IV was the ruler of Damascus (2 Cor. 11:32). Aretas is rarely used in its masculine form.

Variants and diminutives: Aretas; Aretha; Aret; Aretta; Arita; Reta; Retha; Rita.

Famous people: Aretha Louise Franklin (1942- ), American singer.

Inspiration: Symbol of excellence and purity. Col. 3:14

lAriel

Origin and meaning: Hebrew and means ‘Sprite’ or ‘Lion of God; altar or light of God’. It is also used as an alternative name for Jerusalem (Isa. 29:1,2,7). Reference is made to a person by the name of Ariel as one of the men of learning sent by Ezra to find ministers to work in the temple (Ezr. 8:16). The name is used for both genders, although more popular as a girl’s name.

Variants and diminutives: Aerial; Aerielle; Aeryal; Aire; Airial; Arel; Areli; Areyle; Arhiel; Arial; Ariala;  Arie; Arieale; Ariël; Ariela; Ariele; Ariella; Arrielle; Arik; Arika.

Famous people: Ariella Käslin (1987-), Swiss gymnast who has won five gold medals at the Swiss National Championships held in 2007.

Inspiration: Resembles the light, power, and might of the Lord. Luk.12:35

lArlene

Origin and meaning: Modern English name with possible Celtic and Old English origins, meaning ‘promise’ or ‘pledge’.  It is also a short form for names ending on Arlene including that of Darlene, Charlene, and Marlene.  The name of Arlene was not in use until1843 when Michael Balfe coined it for one of the lead characters in an opera titled The Bohemian Girl. A popular modern coinage of Arlene and Linda is that of Arlinda with the meaning of ‘golden birth’. Arlinda is mostly an Albanian name.

Variants and diminutives: Arla; Arlan; Arlana; Arlean; Arleana; Arlee; Arleen; Arleene; Arlen; Arlena; Arleta; Arleth; Arlette; Arleyn; Arlie; Arlien; Arliene; Arlin; Arlina; Arlinda; Arline; Arlis; Arluene; Alryn; Arlyne; Erline.

Famous people: Arlene Semeco Arismendi (1984-), gold medalist and freestyle swimmer from Venezuala.

Inspiration: The bearer has the promises of the Lord God, who cannot lie. Act. 2:30

See Darlene, Caroline (Charlene) and Mary (Marlene)

lArmien

Origin and meaning: Female form of the French Armand, which is a variant of  Herman. Herman is Germanic and compiled from heri or hari (fight; battle or army) and man, thus ‘soldier; warrior’ and as such ‘battle maid’. The Polish meaning is that of ‘vigilance’.

Variants and diminutives: Armanda; Armilda; Armin; Armina; Hermien.

Famous people: Hermien van der Merwe, South African artist.

Inspiration: Warrior of faith and prayer warrior. 2 Cor. 10:3

See also Hermien

See Armand

lArnolda

Origin and meaning: Female for Arnold or Arnoldus. It is a Germanic combination of aran (eagle' and walt (ruler). The eagle is a symbol of strength and might, the king of the birds. It therefore suggests ‘mighty and industrious ruler’.

Variants and diminutives: Aquilla; Aquiline (Italian); Arenda; Arnalda; Arnauda; Arnaude; Arnaulda; Arne; Arnelda; Arnelle; Arnoldina; Arnoldine; Ernalda; Ernaldine; Ernaulda; Ernolda; Nalda; Nolda.

Famous people: Arne Evenson Garborg (851-1924), Norwegian poet and writer of several famous novels including the religious works A Freethinker (1878) and Weary Souls (1891).

Inspiration: Soar above circumstances, close to God, free in Jesus. Isa. 40:31

lSee Arnold

lAshley

Origin and meaning: Anglo-Saxon, based on a place name and the Old-English for ash wood trees. It means ‘he or she who dwells at the ash wood meadows’. It is used for both genders. Ash wood is red in colour and was of frequent use in England. The tree can grow exceptionally tall and has a deep and strong root system. The Celts of old believed the tree to have healing powers and for them the tree symbolized growth and firmness in one’s faith. Ainslin, Aislin and Ashlen are often used as variants although Ainslin is a form of Ashling, which refers to an Irish poetry genre. Aston is often used as variant, but can also stand on its own as ‘settlement in the east’. It is a Germanic and Anglo-Saxon name, which refers to the area to the north east of the city of Birmingham. It was originally mentioned in the Doomsday Book as Eston. The name was made popular by the sports car Aston Martins and is also a Swedish surname.

Variants and diminutives: Achton; Acton; Ahslee; Aislin; Ainslin; Aishlee; Ascon; Ascot; Ashala; Ashalee; Ashalei; Asheley; Ashelie; Ashe; Asher; Ashla; Aslaie; Ashlay; Ashleay; Ashlee; Ashleigh; Ashlen; Ashleye; Ashli; Ashlie; Ashliegh; Ashling; Ashly; Ashlye; Ashten; Ashtin; Ashtine; Ashton; Ashtynne; Asten; Aston; Eston; Lee.

Famous people: Sylvia Ashton-Warner (1905-1984), New Zealand teacher and writer.

Inspiration: Blessed and favoured, to be of great use. It resembles deep rooted faith and thus healing and strength in the Lord. Job 29:19

See also Aislin

Ashira and Ashra see Asher (male)

lAstrid

Origin and meaning: The Germanic meaning is ‘strength’ and in Norse ‘strength God; Godly power’, but an additional meaning of ‘divine beauty’ is associated with Astrida. The Latin Astra means ‘star’. The Teutonic includes ‘impulsive’. The Latin form is derived from the Greek astralos that also means ‘star’. The Greeks and Romans gave godlike attributes to the stars and as such it complements the Germanic meaning of ‘Godly strength’. It has been a Norwegian royal name for many years. The name is mostly used in Scandinavian countries.

Variants and diminutives: Asta; Astra; Astrea; Astred; Astrelita; Astrida; Astro.

Famous people: Astrid, the mother of King Olaf I of Norway.

Inspiration: God’s strength and His power protect.  Eph.6:10

lAtaliah

Origin and meaning:  Derived from the Hebrew Athaliah or Atalaih and means ‘God is great’. The Spanish Atalaya means ‘watchtower’ while the Swedish Atali means ‘pure’. The Hebrew Atayah means ‘God helps’.

Variants and diminutives: Atalaih; Atalaya; Atali; Atalia Ataliah; Atalie; Atayah.

Famous people: The Athaliah in the Bible was of lesser character. She was the granddaughter of Omri and when Ahaziah died, she seized power and killed his children (2 Kin. 8:26; 11:1-20; 2 Chron. 22:2, 10-12; 23:12-15).

Inspiration: The Lord helps and protects the innocent. The bearer is sanctified by the blood of Jesus and is a watchtower in the kingdom of the Almighty God who is greater than any situation. The bearer is a witness to God’s greatness. Psa. 48:1

lAubrey

Origin and meaning: Derived from the Anglo-Saxon Aelfric that means ‘elf rule or effective ruler’ if the male name is used as base. It also comes from the Germanic Alberic, the king of the elves, the so-called guardian of the treasure of Niebelungs. The second part of ric refers to ‘a rich and powerful ruler’. It is a female name with a male variant. The Franks changed the name to Auberta which received another variant by the 13^th century when it became Auberon. Shakespeare spelled the name as Oberon in A Midsummer-Night’s Dream. A related name is that of Abriana, a combination of Aubri and Anne or Anna, which combines ‘elf rule’ or ‘effective rule’ with that of ‘God’s gracious gift’.

Variants and diminutives: Abri; Abriana; Abriane; Abrianna; Abrianne; Abrie; Abrey; Aelfric (male); Alberic; Albericha; Auberta; Auberte; Aubery; Aubra; Aubree; Aubri; Oberon; Oberta; Oberte.

Famous people: Juliet Aubrey (1969-), British actress who played the role of Helen Cutter in the television series Primeval.

Inspiration: Good and effective leader with wisdom from God and a guardian of the truth. 2 Cor. 4:7

lAudrey

Origin and meaning: Derived from the Anglo-Saxon Aethelthryth, which means ‘noble power; strength; might’. It became Etheldreda after the Norman conquest of England. The princess of East Anglia was one of the first name bearers. The shortened versions of Audrey and Ethel are more commonly used today. The Norwegian meaning includes ‘wealth’. Audeline and Audelina are German variants of Audrey.

Variants and diminutives: Adrey; Athelthryth; Aethol; Aethal; Aethel; Athel; Audee; Audelina; Audeline; Audra; Audray; Audrea; Audreane; Audre; Audree; Audreen; Audrene;. Audri; Audrie; Audrina; Audrine; Audry; Audrye; Awdrey; Dee; Dreda; Ethel; Etheldreda.

Famous people: Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993), well-known actress, starred in Breakfast at Tiffany's and other films in the 1950’s and 60’s.

Inspiration: God’s strength and His power protect. Bright light in darkness.  Eph.6:10

See also Ethel

lAugusta

Origin and meaning: Female form of August which is derived from the Latin augere that means ‘increase; majestic; holy’. It is the title bestowed upon royal Romans by their mothers and sisters as a sign of honour. The pet forms of Gusta and Gussie also came in use. Asta is a Finnish short form of the name.

Variants and diminutives: Ada; Agusta; Agustina; Auguste; Augustia; Augustina; Augustine; Austina; Austine; Austyn;  Austyna; Austyne; Gussie; Gusta; Gustava; Gustie; Tina.

Famous people: (Augusta) Ada Lovelace, (1815-1852), English mathematician. The programming language Ada was named after her.

 Inspiration: Set apart to be holy and exalt the Lord and bearer of increased favour. Psa. 118:28

lSee August

See also Gusta

lAurelia

Origin and meaning: Female for the Latin Aurelius, which is derived from aurum or onrum meaning ‘gold’. Aureolus was a golden coin associated with the Aurelius gens of Rome,  a ruling family. The females of the family were often called Aurelia. Some speculate that ‘golden’ referred to the colour of their hair and as such the name is often bestowed upon girls with blonde or gold blonde hair because of the association. Aurelius is rarely used in masculine form.

Variants and diminutives: Arely; Aura; Auralea;  Auralei; Auralia; Aureal; Aurel; Aurele; Aurelee; Aurelian; Auria; Aurelie; Aurelius (male); Aurette; Auriel; Aurielle; Aurene; Aurien; Auriol; Auriole; Aurita; Ora; Orel; Orelia; Oriel; Oriole.

Famous people: Aurelia "Lillie" Colman Coffin, daughter of Thomas Jefferson and Deborah Coffin. Aurelia, daughter of Antoninus Pius was the wife of Lucius Silvanus.

Inspiration: As valuable as gold, a precious metal that is refined through fire and has noble qualities with many uses to God, shining and workable. Rev. 3:18

See also Oriel

lAurora

Origin and meaning: Latin name from the Roman mythology and means ‘dawn; sunrise’. Sórea, Zora and Zorica are Slavic variants.

Variants and diminutives: Arora; Arore; Aura; Aurea; Auror; Ora; Orica; Sórea;  Zora; Zorica.

Famous people: Charles Perault’s Sleeping Beauty.

Inspiration: Carrier of light, messenger of a new day, turning darkness into light, bringer of hope. Isa.60:3

lSee also Ora

lAva

Origin and meaning: Germanic from aiva which means ‘century’. Another explanation is that it came from the Latin avis which means ‘birdlike’. It is also used as a variant of Eve and as such means ‘giver of life or mother of life’.

Variants and diminutives: Ave; Aiva; Avia; Avis; Eva; Eve.

Famous people: Ava Gardner, (1922-1990), American actress. It is also Lucy Johnson’s professional name.

Inspiration: Swift and free, soaring high above circumstances, strength and freedom in the Lord. Isa. 40:31

See also Avis and Eve

lAveril

Origin and meaning: Germanic, from the Old-English Everhard which is a combination of ebur or eofor (wild boar) and hardu or hyld (strong; protect; favor; durable). The wild boar was a holy animal and was hunted not so much for its skin and meat, but more so as an offering to the gods. The French Avril means ‘born in April’. April is Latin and means ‘open in spring; blossom in spring’ and stands for fertility and growth. The Hebrew Avivah is related to April and also means ‘spring’, but refers to the springtime in a person’s life with the variant of Aveva.

Variants and diminutives: Apprel; Apprelle; Aprel; Aprelle; April; Ave; Averill; Averille; Averyl; Aveva; Avila; Aviva; Avivah; Avril.

Famous people: St.Teresa of Ávila, (1515-1582), Spanish founder of the religious order of Carmelites, also known as Teresa of Jesus.

Inspiration: Spring is a time of blossoming and as such the bearer has the promises of God in her, life and blessing, bringing forth new life, growth, hope, and fruit. Isa.55:11

See April (male)

See also Avis

lAvis

Origin and meaning: It is an old Germanic name and even though sometimes mixed with Ava, it is a name in its own right. It was first used as Haduwig, which means ‘refuge in war; warlike’. The French changed it to Edwige and the Norse changed it to Havoise that later became Avicia and Avice. Today, it is more commonly used as Avis.

Variants and diminutives: Avi; Avice; Avicia; Avisa; Edwige; Haduwig; Havoise;  Hedwig.

Famous people: Saint Hedwig 91174-1243) was the Duchess of Silesia and remembered for her charity work amongst leper women.

Inspiration: Warrior in the Lord. 2 Cor.10:4

See also Ava and Hedwig

Axelle see Axel (male)

 This is an extract from The A to Z of names (Revised and Expanded Edition) by Isebell Gauche. To buy the book now, Click here

 This is an extract from The Bible Cure for Cancer. To buy the book, click here.

Your first victory over cancer must be on the battlefield of fear. Most people want to put their heads in the sane and ignore this kind of problem. I encourage you to make a bold decision to stand up against this giant and reach beyond fear to discover the hope and faith possible through The New Bible Cure for Cancer. 

 The path to victory is clearer and better plotted out today than ever before. Modern medicine, along with cutting-edge nutritional therapies-all built upon good nutrition and sound principles of daily living - make the threat of cancer much less lethal than it once was.

 Add to this a bold Christian faith to lay hold of the promises of God in Scripture for your health, and you have all you need to arm you against this fearful Goliath and equip you to face any physical or spiritual onslaught. After all the word of God says:

Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals my diseases.

- Psalm 103:2-3

 This is an extract from The Bible Cure for Stress. To buy the book now, click here

A Brand-New Bible Cure
for a Brand-New You!

Feeling stressed out? It’s no wonder! You and I may be
living in one of the most stressful times in recent history.
Daily you are being forced to cope with an onslaught of
political fear and insecurity, financial uncertainty, job layoffs,
constantly increasing job demands, increasing debt, relationship
pressures, and much, much more. If stress is making you feel
like a kettle that has reached its boiling point, then you’ve come
to the right place. There is hope for you! You really can conquer
stress and its overwhelming mental and physical effects.
By picking up this Bible Cure book, you have taken an
exciting first step toward successfully surviving and conquering
stress and reclaiming control over your spiritual, emotional, and
physical health. Right now you may be confronting some of the
greatest challenges of your life. But by understanding some of
the real root causes of your stressed-out feelings, you can rise to
a new level of physical, emotional, and spiritual health and joy
in God.

God revealed His divine will for each of us through the apostle
Paul, who wrote, “Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares
for you” (1 Pet. 5:7, nkjv). Surely when we are stressed out, we are
missing God’s best for us. But how? A closer look will reveal some
hopeful answers.

Addressing the Spiritual
Roots of Disease

As a Christian medical doctor I’ve studied and prayed about
the causes of disease, and increasingly I’ve discovered that many
diseases have very strong spiritual, mental, and emotional roots.
If you are familiar with my books, then doubtless you are aware
that I believe in the health of the entire person: body, mind,
and spirit. Although traditional medicine often sees these facets
of our being as very separate, in truth they are not. A vital link
exists between the spirit, soul, and body. And although much
of the disease and physical pain we suffer comes from the body,
often these distresses begin in the soul, which encompasses the
mind, will, and emotions.

Therefore, truly living in the divine health that God intends
for us requires that we look a little deeper, beyond the physical
process of disease, to the spiritual, emotional, and mental roots.
I trust that you will find these pages extremely enlightening as
you gain new insight and revelation to help you live your life in
the robust, joyful, peaceful state of good health that God desires
for you.

Stress and Your Health

Surveys and research over the past two decades reveal these
startling statistics concerning stress:


• Forty-three percent of all adults suffer adverse
health effects due to stress.
• Seventy-five to 90 percent of all visits to primary
care physicians are for stress-related complaints
or disorders.

• Americans are consuming approximately five
billion tranquilizers, five billion barbiturates,
three billion amphetamines, and sixteen tons
of aspirin every year. Much of this medicine is
taken to relieve stress or the pain associated with
stress.

• Chronic stress has been linked to many leading
causes of death in the United States, including
cardiovascular disease, cancer, lung ailments,
accidents, and suicide.

• On an average workday an estimated one million
workers are absent because of stress-related
complaints. Stress is said to be responsible for
more than half of the 550 million workdays lost
annually because of absenteeism.

• A three-year study conducted by a large
corporation showed that 60 percent of employee
absences were due to psychological problems
such as stress.

Today, the negative results of stress are at an all-time high.
But you do not have to sit back and become one more stress
statistic. With God’s help, you can fight back and win. So, as
you begin to read through the pages of this book, get ready to
feel better!

Originally published as The Bible Cure for Stress in 2002, The
New Bible Cure for Stress has been revised and updated with
the latest medical research on stress. If you compare it side by
side with the previous edition, you will see that it’s also larger,
allowing me to expand greatly upon the information provided
in the previous edition and to provide you with a deeper
understanding of what you face and how to overcome it.

Unchanged from the previous edition are the timeless, lifechanging,
and healing scriptures throughout this book that will strengthen and encourage your spirit and soul. The proven principles, truths, and guidelines in these passages anchor the
practical and medical insights also contained in this book.

They will effectively focus your prayers, thoughts, and actions so you
can step into God’s plan of divine health for you—a plan that
includes victory over stress.

Another change since the original The Bible Cure for Stress
was published is that I’ve released a book called The Seven Pillars
of Health. I encourage you to read it because the principles of
health it contains are the foundation to healthy living that will
affect all areas of your life. It sets the stage for everything you
will ever read in any other book I’ve published—including this
one. Because the topic of stress affects so many people, I’ve also
released a book called Stress Less, which expands even further on
my principles of stress management and offers you a way to live
in health and peace.

There is much you can do to rise above stress and its negative
health impact upon your life. You really can stand up and
face the challenges of stress with fresh confidence, renewed
determination, and the wonderful knowledge that God is real,
that He is alive, and that His power is greater than any other
force in the universe.

It is my prayer that these powerful strategies for conquering
stress will bring health, wholeness, and spiritual refreshing to
you—body, mind, and spirit. May they deepen your fellowship
with God and strengthen your ability to worship and serve Him.
—Don Colbert, MD

A Bible Cure Prayer for You

Dear heavenly Father, You created me, and You are well aware
of the pressures and emotional turmoil that surround me every
day. As I read through this Bible Cure book, give me a special
grace to rise up to a bold new level of faith and courage in You.
God, I thank You that before my circumstances were ever
set in motion, You had created a plan for my victory over
them. Thank You for Your wonderful Word, which promises
special protection and deliverance when I am tempted to
feel overwhelmed by stressful circumstances. Thank You for
making it possible for me to walk in Your divine health for my
total being—body, mind, and spirit—free from the physical
and emotional ravages of stress. In Jesus’s name, amen.


Understanding the
Roots of Stress

The Bible says, “People judge by outward appearance,
but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7). In other
words, God looks far beyond what people see, for He is
able to see the very root of a problem.
Often I meet people who complain about the modern medical
profession. They tell me that their doctors seem to usually treat
symptoms with a variety of drugs, but seldom do they attempt
to discover the root causes. Under the present medical system
in America, today’s physicians often can be left feeling like little
more than legal drug dispensers.

God promises us that if we seek, we will find; if we knock,
the door will open to us (Luke 11:9). He promises to give us
wisdom and understanding; all we must do is ask Him for it.
To understand and overcome stress, I believe it is extremely
important to go beyond simple pharmaceutical remedies, such
as Prozac and Xanax, that merely mask the symptoms.
What would happen if the red oil light in your car was on
and you took it to a mechanic to have the warning light turned
off? The annoying problem has been alleviated, but the root
could remain. In time, the problem would grow much worse,
creating even more serious problems. Before long, your engine
could be destroyed because you only treated the symptoms and
never discovered the root cause.

Your body is similar. Stress is little more than a symptom of
something much more serious lying right beneath the surface of
your life. If you don’t discover the root of your stress, eventually
you could develop chronic diseases.
So, let’s dig a little deeper to begin to understand how stressed
out you really are.

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you
won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.
—Galatians 5:16

What Is Stress?

The dictionary defines stress as “mental or physical tension or
strain.” In my opinion, stress is simply the pressures of life and
how one perceives, reacts, and copes with those pressures.
We have mentioned that chronic stress has been linked to
many diseases, including cardiovascular disease, high blood
pressure, spastic colon, tension headaches, ulcers, cancer,
chronic fatigue, insomnia, depression, anxiety, strokes, asthma,
skin rashes, arrhythmias, panic attacks, autoimmune diseases,
and much more.

This is an extract from The Choice is Yours (New Edition) by John C. Maxwell. To buy the book now, Click here

Life is ten per cent how we make it;
ninety per cent how we take it.

 Attitude is the Difference Maker

What’s all the fuss about attitude?

Does it really make such a difference? You bet it does!
Never underestimate the power of a positive attitude. When facing an opponent of equal ability, the right attitude can give you the edge. Who enjoys everything more, sees more opportunities and lives life with greater enthusiasm? The individual with the best attitude. Truly, attitude is the difference maker.

As you examine your attitude and decide what to make it, remember these truths:

1. No matter what, your attitude is a choice. Circumstances may not be of your choosing, but your attitude is all yours.
2. It’s much easier to maintain the right attitude than 3to regain it. Fight to develop a positive attitude and then don’t let it slip.
3. Your attitude determines your actions. Your outlook will determine your life’s outcomes more than any other single factor.
4. The people you lead reflect the attitude you possess. If you have any responsibility for others – as a boss, parent, or volunteer leader – the attitude of your people is a reflection of your own.

 Happiness does not depend on outward things, but on the way we see them.
– LeoT olstoy

Let no feeling of discouragement prey upon you, and in the end you are sure to succeed.

– Abraham Lincoln

Promises with a Payoff

1. Promise: If you learn from your mistakes and then let them go …
Payoff: … you will be able to focus on the present.
2. Promise: If you rise above the pettiness of people and small annoyances …
Payoff: … you will be able to give your energy to the important things.
3. Promise: If you take time for physical rest, spiritual reflection, and relaxing recreation …
Payoff: … you will be able to think clearly
and energetically.
4. Promise: If you enjoy today and all it has to offer …
Payoff: … you will be better prepared
for tomorrow.

5. Promise: If you express gratitude to God and others through words and actions …
Payoff: … you will be aware of the value they bring to you.
6. Promise: If you give more than you receive …
Payoff: … you will contribute to society, surprise your spouse and model for your children.

God chooses what we go through.
We choose how we go through it.

The optimist thinks this is the best
of all possible worlds.
The pessimist fears it is true.

– Robert Oppenheimer

Attitude more than age determines energy.
– Robert Schuller

It’s All In Your Mind

His name is Roger Crawford. He makes his living as a consultant and public speaker. He’s written two books, and travels all across the country working with Fortune 500 companies, national and state associations and school districts.
Those aren’t bad credentials. But if that doesn’t impress you, how about this: before becoming a consultant, he was a varsity tennis player for Loyola Marymount University and later became a professional tennis player certified by the United States Professional Tennis Association. Still not impressed? Would you change your opinion if I told you Roger has no hands and only one foot!
Roger Crawford was born with a condition called ectrodactylism. The moment he emerged from his mother’s womb, the doctors saw that he had a thumb-like

projection extending out of his right forearm and a thumb and finger growing out of his left forearm. He had no palms. His legs and arms were shortened. And his left leg possessed a shrunken foot with only three toes. (The foot was amputated when he was five.) Roger’s parents were told by various medical professionals that he would never be able to walk, probably would not be able to take care of himself and would never lead a normal life.

After recovering from the shock, Roger’s parents were determined to give him the best chance possible for living a normal life. They raised him to feel loved, to be strong and to develop independence. ‘You’re only as handicapped as you want to be,’ his father used to tell him. They encouraged him to do everything his heart desired. And they taught him to think positively.

‘Something my parents never did was to allow me to feel sorry for myself, or to take advantage of people because of my handicap,’ observes Roger.

Roger appreciated the encouragement and training he received from his parents, but I don’t think he really understood the significance of it or his achievements until he was in college and he interacted with someone who wanted to meet him. After receiving a phone call from a man who had read about his tennis victories, Crawford agreed to meet him at a nearby restaurant. When Roger stood up to shake hands with the man, he discovered that the other guy had hands that were almost identical to his. That got Crawford excited, because he thought he had found someone similar to him but older who could act as his mentor. But after talking with the stranger for a few minutes, he realized he was wrong.

 This is an extract from The Choice is Yours (New Edition) by John C. Maxwell. To buy the book now, Click here

To buy or to view an extract from The Princess Bible,  click here

With pretty, pink princess-themed product being all the rage, this affordable Bible is cute to carry and easy-to-read. This full-sized Bible in the International Children’s Bible^® translation is the Bible kids can read and understand! Embellished with glittering foil and fun sparkle, this Bible is sure to be an instant favourite among princesses of all ages.

The Presentation Section includes: 

Family Record pages

Princess Favorites (verses, songs, memories)

Scripture Memory Page

Verses I Should Know

You Are Loved by the King of Kings

Live Like a Princess

and more.

 Now little girls can enjoy having a fun, sparkly Bible to take to church and to school.

Topz is a fun-packed, bi-monthly devotional for 7-11s.

Subscribe to Topz for 1 year and you will receive an issue posted to you every 2 months.

Click here to look inside.

The Topz gang teach children biblical truths through:

•  Word games
•  Puzzles
•  Riddles
• Cartoons
• Competitions and
• Simple prayers

To subscribe to Topz Times for 1 year, fill in the order form and email it or fax it back to us. Click here for the order form.

If you have any questions, feel free to email: nicoleneb@struikchristianmedia.co.za or call us directly on: Tel (021) 462 4360 or Fax (021) 461 3612

 This is an extract from Understanding Your Place in God's Kingdom by Myles Munroe. To buy the book now, click here

Misunderstanding Jesus

I believe no one who has ever lived has been misunderstood more
than the young teacher who happened to be born, not by preference but
by promise, through the line of the Old Testament Hebrew patriarch
Abraham—Jesus the Christ. Misunderstanding Jesus has caused Muslims
to reject Him, Hindus to suspect Him, Buddhists to ignore Him,
atheists to hate Him, and agnostics to deny Him. But it just may be those
who claim to represent Him the most—Christians—who have in fact
misunderstood and, therefore, misrepresented Him the most.
If my last statement sounds outlandish and way off the mark to you,
let me encourage you to read the rest of this book before closing your
mind to this possibility. In my own life I have had to come to grips with
my own personal defects related to my understanding of Jesus and His
message. This book will demonstrate beyond doubt that Jesus’ message,
assignment, passion, and purpose were not to establish a religion of rituals
and rules but rather to reintroduce a kingdom. Everything Jesus said
and did—His prayers, teachings, healings, and miracles—was focused
on a kingdom, not a religion. Jesus was preoccupied with the Kingdom;
it was His top priority, His heavenly mandate.

Those to whom He came first, the Jews, misunderstood Jesus and
saw Him as a rebel, a misfit, and a fanatic. In their minds He was, at best,
a misguided rabbinical teacher spreading heresies that contaminated the
teachings and laws of Moses and Judaism. In truth, they had reduced
the message of Moses to a sophisticated religion where strict observance
of the laws became more important than the original purpose for those
laws. And they expected Jesus to do the same. The original intent of
God’s mandate to Moses was not to establish a religion but a nation of
people who would love, serve, and honor God—a “royal priesthood [and]
a holy nation” (see 1 Pet. 2:9).

The Muslim misunderstands Him as simply another in a line of
prophets who was a great teacher, a good man, and a great prophet, but
who fell short and failed to deliver the finished work of redemption to
mankind.

The Hindu misunderstands Him as a good teacher, a good man, and
just another deity to add to their list of gods to provide a service in their
need for spiritual security.

The atheist, agnostic, and humanist see him as a mere man, an historical
figure, whom a group of misguided men transformed into a god
and an object of worship. They acknowledge that Jesus existed but deny
any of His miracles as well as His claim to divinity.

The media, scientists, and secularists see Him as fair game for investigation
and criticism. They acknowledge Him as an interesting subject
for arguments, theories, discussion, and debates while ignoring His
divine claims and questioning His validity, integrity, and sometimes, His
very existence.

Christians have misunderstood Him as the founder of a religion and
have transformed His teachings and His methods into customs and His
activities into rituals. Many even have reduced His message to nothing
more than an escapist plan for getting to heaven and His promises as a
mere fire insurance policy for escaping the pains of a tormenting hell.
And yet a simple study and review of His message and priority reveals
that Jesus had only one message, one mandate, and one mission—the
return of the Kingdom of Heaven to earth. From the very beginning,
Jesus made it clear that the principal need of the human race, and the
only solution to mankind’s dilemma was the Kingdom of Heaven. His
first public statements reveal this Kingdom priority:

From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom
of heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17).

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
(Matthew 5:3).

Understanding Y 20 our Place in God’s Kingdom
Jesus’ first announcement was the arrival of the Kingdom of Heaven.
His solution to the malnourished and bankrupt human spirit was not a
religion but the Kingdom of Heaven. In other words, if you are spiritually
poor, only the Kingdom will satisfy and fulfill your hunger. The
Kingdom is God’s priority and must become our priority if we are to
overcome the confusion of religions and the threat of self-destruction.

Religion versus Kingdom

The power of religion lies in its ability to serve as a substitute for the
Kingdom and thus hinder mankind from pursuing the genuine answer
to his dilemma. My study of the nature of religion and how it impacts
the process of man’s search for the Kingdom uncovered several significant
truths:

• Religion preoccupies man until he finds the Kingdom.
• Religion is what man does until he finds the Kingdom
• Religion prepares man to leave earth; the Kingdom empowers man to dominate earth.
• Religion focuses on Heaven; the Kingdom focuses on earth.
• Religion is reaching up to God; the Kingdom is God coming down to man.
• Religion wants to escape earth; the Kingdom impacts, influences and changes earth.
• Religion seeks to take earth to Heaven; the Kingdom seeks to bring Heaven to earth.
• Perhaps this is why Jesus addressed the religious leaders of His day so strongly when He said:
  

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You
shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not
enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.…Woe to you,
eachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over
land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one,
you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are (Matthew
23:13,15).

Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from
Jerusalem and asked, “Why do Your disciples break the tradition
of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!” Jesus
replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake
of your tradition?” (Matthew 15:1-3).

Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition
(Matthew 15:6b).
For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the
Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter
the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:20).
Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the
prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you” (Matthew
21:31b).
It seems clear from these words that religion is one of the greatest
obstacles to the Kingdom. Perhaps this may be cause for us all to take
another look at the power of religion over our lives, culture, and society.
Back to the Kingdom
Christianity as a religion is well-known, well-established, wellstudied,
well-researched, well-recorded, and well-distributed; but little
or nothing is known about the Kingdom. As a matter of fact, most of
those trained in official institutions to understand the Christian faith
and propagate its purported message graduate without ever taking a single
course in Kingdom studies. Often, no such course is available. The
result is that few so-called ordained ministers and priests have any formal
instruction at all in any Kingdom concept. Their priority is in propagating
the Christian religion rather than the message and concepts of the
Kingdom of God.
Understanding Y 22 our Place in God’s Kingdom
This perpetuation of the Christian religion and its rituals, customs,
and rites has left a great vacuum in the world that must and can be filled
only by understanding the Kingdom.
In this book you will learn what a kingdom is, what it consists of,
how it functions, and all the components that make a kingdom unique.
You will also discover the difference between a kingdom and a religion,
and how it compares with all other forms of government. You will be
instructed in principles of Kingdom concepts, how they relate to your
daily life and how you can appropriate Kingdom citizenship here and
now. This book will help you appreciate that you cannot appropriate
what you don’t understand nor experience what you postpone. This is
your practical guide to understanding the most important message mankind
has ever received; a message the whole world desperately needs to
hear. This book will equip you not only to receive that message but also
to share it effectively with others.

John Bevere is a best-selling author and popular conference speaker, founder of John Bevere Ministries in 1990, that has grown into a multi-faceted international outreach that includes their weekly television programme. John has authored numerous books.

To buy or to view an extract from his books click here.

Jesus Calling is a devotional filled with uniquely inspired treasures from heaven for every day of the year.  After many years of writing in her prayer journal, missionary Sarah Young decided to listen to God with pen in hand, writing down whatever she believed He was saying to her.  It was awkward at first, but gradually her journaling changed from monologue to dialogue.  She knew her writings were not inspired as Scripture is, but journaling helped her grow closer to God.  Others were blessed as she shared her writings, until people all over the world were using her messages.  They are written from Jesus' point of view, thus the title Jesus Calling. 

It is Sarah's fervent prayer that our Savior may bless readers with His presence and His peace in ever deeper measure.
About the Author

Sarah has a philosophy degree from Wellesley College, a counseling degree from Georgia State University, a Master’s degree from Tufts University, and studied with Francis Schaeffer’s L’Abri Fellowship. Sarah and her husband have traveled around the world planting churches and counseling, and they currently reside in Australia.

To buy or to view an extract from Jesus Calling,  click here