Battlefield of the Mind

Hi there,

We have just read "Battlefield of the Mind" by Joyce Meyer. Please share your comments and thoughts with us if you have read this book.

Kind regards,

Ope

Synopsis

A WAR IS RAGING.

Your Mind is the Battlefield.

Worry, doubt, confusion, depression, anger and feelings of condemnation... all these are attacks on the mind. If you suffer from negative thoughts, take heart! Joyce Meyer has helped millions win these all-important battles – and she can help you, too. In this popular bestseller, Joyce Meyer shows you how to change your life by changing your mind. She teaches you how to deal with thousands of thoughts you have every day and focus your mind to think the way God thinks. She shares the trials, tragedies and ultimate victories from her own marriage, family and ministry that led her to a wondrous, life-transforming truth, and reveals her thoughts and feelings every step of the way.

Now it’s your turn to:

• Gain control over your mind and find freedom and peace

• Recognize damaging thoughts and stop them from influencing your life

• Be patient with yourself even when you make mistakes

• Arm yourself with the word of God, praise, prayer, and other powerful spiritual weapons

• Follow the light out of your mental “wilderness” – the bad attitudes and excuses people use that keep them from God – and find undreamed of happiness and fulfillment. Don’t surrender to misery another day.

Find out today how to guarantee your victory in your BATTLEFIELD OF THE MIND!

The five people you meet in Heaven

Hi there,

Our first meeting of 2011 was held on Saturday January 22 where we discussed "The five people you meet in heaven" by Mitch Albom.

I quite enjoyed this fiction and found it easy to read. I liked the way Mitch Albom switched the setting back and forth as well as the subtle suspense of wanting to find out if the main character saved the little girl’s life. This made the story more appealing and interesting to read.
Regardless of the fact that I found spiritual depth lacking, the book gave me a lot to think about life and how our actions – deliberate or accidental, can have an altering effect on others and vice versa.

I certainly recommend this book for reading!

Please share your comments and thoughts with us if you have read this book.


Regards,

Ope



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Synopsis

This is an enchanting and beautifully written novel that explores a mystery only heaven can unfold. Eddie is a grizzled war veteran who feels trapped in the toil of his father before him, fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. Then he dies in a tragic accident, trying to save a little girl from a falling cart. He awakens in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a lush Garden of Eden, but a place where your earthly life is explained to you by five people who were in it. The author gives us an astoundingly original story that will change everything you've ever thought about the afterlife -- and the meaning of our lives here on earth.

Happy New Year!

Sorry for the belated post here, ladies!

Happy 2011! It’s amazing how fast the days have gone by… it's already the end of January! I pray that 2011 will be a year of blessings and fulfilment for each of us.

Don’t you just love the variety of books we get to read in Activate? Well, I do and I have you ladies to thank for that.


Love,

Ope

What is God's Language?

Hi there,

At our last meeting on November 20, 2010, we discussed “The Language of God” by Francis Collins.

In this interesting and well written book, Francis Collins puts forward his views on how science and belief in God are compatible. In it, he shares his personal conversion from agnosticism to theism and raises some arguments for the idea of God as well as responds to several objections to belief in God. He examines various issues such as moral law, the big bang, the origins of life, evolution and DNA, and concludes that DNA sequencing only shows us something of how God operates but doesn’t explain the source of things that make humanity special and the universe itself.
He finally considers theistic evolution, which he believes is ‘science and faith in harmony’ and encourages believers that science and faith are compatible and that faith makes sense.

I enjoyed reading "The Language of God" and found it packed with lots of information geared towards finding harmony between the existence of God and science, especially in our current world, where science and the existence of God are at war. In addition, I found parts of the main text and appendix to be a good resource of information in knowing more about the human genome and the science of embryonic and adult stem cell research and cloning. I therefore feel more equipped and comfortable in holding “the unavoidable” discussion of God vs. science which usually crops up during conversations with non-believers.

I think it is a good book to be read by all – Christians, theist, agnostics, atheist, creationists etc.

If you have read “The Language of God”, please share your comments with us.



Stay blessed,

Ope







The language of God
by Francis S. Collins


Synopsis


Dr. Francis Collins, head of the Human Genome Project, is one of the world's leading scientists. He works at the cutting edge of the study of DNA, the code of life. Yet he is also a man of unshakable faith in God and scripture.
Dr. Collins believes that faith in God and faith in science can coexist within a person and be harmonious.
In The Language of God he makes his case for God and for science. He has heard every argument against faith from scientists, and he can refute them. He has also heard the needless rejection of scientific truths by some people of faith, and he can counter that, too. He explains his own journey from atheism to faith, and then takes readers for a stunning tour of modern science to show that physics, chemistry, and biology can all fit together with belief in God and the Bible.
The Language of God is essential reading for anyone who wonders about the deepest questions of faith: Why are we here? How did we get here? What does life mean?

Comments on "Gladys Aylward:The Little Woman"

I was moved by Gladys’s level of faith, humility, obedience and determination to serve God at any cost. She was convinced that God had called her to go to China to preach the Gospel and was undeterred by the criticism and contrary advice of others.

Believing that it was her calling from God, she was determined to make it to China by all means, trusting that God will meet all her needs. Her journey was filled with every kind of obstacle you can imagine, but these did not deter her. It was a testimony of God making a way where there seems to be no way.

She was humble and obedient and never once doubted that God was not there with her all the way. Her Life truly shined as an amazing example of being willing to submit and give it all for her Saviour. How amazing!

Kind regards,

Ope

"Gladys Aylward"

Hi there,

I just love the fact that we get to read a variety of inspirational books in Activate. This has given me the opportunity to read books I would not readily pick up to read and broaden my horizon. Having said that, we have just finished reading yet another fantastic book, “Gladys Aylward: The Little Woman”. What an amazing woman!

Please share your comments and thoughts with us if you have read this book.

Thanks.

Kind regards,

Ope



Synopsis:

A solitary woman. A foreign country. An unknown language. An impossible dream? No, God's call on the life of Gladys Aylward. With no mission board to support or guide her and less than ten dollars in her pocket, Gladys Aylward left her home in England to answer God's call to take the message of the gospel to China. With the Sino-Japanese War waging around her, she struggled to bring the basics of life and the fullness of God to orphaned children.
Time after time, God triumphed over impossible situations, and drew people to Himself.
The Little Woman tells the story of one woman's determination to serve God at any cost. With God all things are possible!

The Prodigal God

Hello,

We have just finished reading "The Prodigal God". This is a short book structured around Jesus' parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15 and explains how to adapt ourselves to live in relationship with the Father.

If you have read “The Prodigal God”, you are welcome to share your thoughts. Please leave a comment.

Kind regards,

Ope




Synopsis

In THE PRODIGAL GOD, New York pastor Timothy Keller uses the story of the prodigal son to shine a light on the central, beautiful message of Jesus: the gospel of grace, hope and salvation.

Keller argues that the parable of the prodigal son, while Jesus’ best-known parable, is also his least understood. He introduces the reader to all the characters in this timeless story, showing that it concerns not just a wayward son, but also a judgemental older brother and, most importantly, a loving father.

This short but powerful book is a reminder to the faithful, an explanation to the seeker, and finally an invitation to all – both older and younger brothers – to enter in to the ‘unique, radical nature of the gospel’: the reckless, spendthrift love of God.