By Ligon Duncan

Few things trouble our hearts and minds like suffering. “Why is this happening?  Why me? How can I get through this?  Can I get through this?”  God says we can, but he says more. Suffering is not merely to be endured. It comes into our lives for good reasons. Suffering affords seasons for growth in ways we would not grow otherwise.

This book prepares believers for hardship when it comes their way. Learning some of the purposes for suffering, how it connects us with our Lord and his people, and what God’s Word says to us in the midst of our pain will enable us to glorify him in the most troubling times.  The wealth of Scripture in this readable book, its focus on the passion and sympathy of Jesus, and thoughtful study questions for reflection or group discussion will help to transform not only our outlook on suffering but on our lives.

Regardless of your current circumstances, this book will help you to perceive God’s purpose in suffering, receive God’s grace in trails and draw near to our great High Priest who suffered the unimaginable horrors of the cross for us.

CBD PRICE: R120.00

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by Jennifer Rothschild

Finding hope when life just doesn’t make sense ……

This is a book about finding more than just answers. It’s for anyone who needs hope when life doesn’t make sense – for all who reach for a God who feels distant. Do you believe God is just not fair? If you’re like Jennifer Rothschild, you wrestle with questions when you experience painful circumstances. Does God care? Does he hear my prayers? Is he even there?

Author: Kyle Idleman

Reviewed by Mike Budler

DECIDE – COMMIT – FOLLOW

About a decade ago, I told God that “He could have all of my life!”  Well, He took me up on my offer, as I have lost much of my life – finances, spouse, jobs, and relationships with some so-called friends.

Stated in a different way, author Kyle Idleman challenges his readers and small group participants to be followers of Jesus rather than just fans.  Idleman encourages believers to “deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and follow Jesus.”  For those following Jesus, this book/small group study will confirm one’s confidence in following Christ wholeheartedly.  For those who are just “fans” of Jesus, Idleman encourages them to allow God to convict which produces a deeper commitment of one’s faith.

As I enter my second week of six in the small group study, I have been both encouraged that I am following Jesus, but I have also been challenged to allow God access to my whole life and not just the areas of my life that I choose.  Bottom line:  are we going to surrender our diaries, finances, relationships, hearts and minds?  Or are we going to try and control our lives and emotions ourselves?

The small group resource includes a powerful video that looks realistically at life and death; the big questions of life are addressed with a decidedly Christian Worldview.  This resource is also unique in that the workbook is actually a daily journal in which participants interact with the DECIDE – COMMIT – FOLLOW  theme.  There are morning, noon, and evening daily questions in which one interacts, but the time needed for each day of journaling is not overwhelming.

Sports enthusiasts will surely understand the concept of being a “fan.”  Some fans are fickle – they follow their favorite teams only when the team is winning.  When teams begin to lose on a regular basis, attendance and interest drops significantly.  There is another type of” fan” – the one who is faithful to their favorite team whether the team is winning, just average, or losing regularly.  Idleman summarizes this 6 week small group study by stating that “it costs little to be a fan; it costs everything to be a follower.”

So why did God allow my decision to “let Him have it all?”  I believe that the apostle Paul answers this question as he writes:

^“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.  Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.“

Idleman asks this: “Are you ready to lose all things and count them as rubbish, in order that you may know Christ more intimately?  Are you ready to stop being a fan of Jesus?  Will you be a sold out follower of Jesus?”

CBD PRICE: R140.00 (limited stock)

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Treasuring the Gospel in your home : Gloria Furman

Sometimes life feels a lot like a burden—day-in and day-out its the same chores and tasks, challenges and discouragements, anxieties and responsibilities. Dust bunnies show up on the stairwell, social commitments clutter the calendar, and our families demand daily attention and care. At times, just catching our breath seems like an impossible feat.

So where is God in all of this? Does he care about the way we unload the dishwasher or balance the budget? Do the little things like changing diapers or cooking meals make a difference? And how can we use our spheres of influence for God’s glory and our joy?

Whether you are a stay-at-home mom or a working woman splitting time between the office and home, Gloria Furman—writer, pastor’s wife, cross-cultural worker, and mom—encourages us to see the reality of God’s grace in all of life, especially those areas that often appear to be boring and unimportant. Using personal examples and insightful stories, her richly theological reflections help us experience the gospel’s extraordinary power to transform our ordinary lives.

CBD PRICE: R170.00

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Author : Naomi Reed

Reviewed by Nikki Brandsma (CBD Store manger)

My Seventh Monsoon is the first in Naomi Reed’s award-winning trilogy. Written during the monsoon of 2005, Naomi, wife to Darren, both trained physiotherapists, shares their Himalayan journey of faith and mission. She does this by reflecting on the various seasons and the trials, challenges and joys that accompany them.

This book is a fresh and honest account of the thoughts and real encounters that they are faced with in their journey of obedience to do what the Lord has called them to do. Naomi is vulnerable in that she shares her inner thoughts and doubts, her private struggles and her joys through life in two countries, both as serving in the medical field as well as serving in their local church and communities. Her writing sets the scenes really well and you can almost picture the green lush hills at the base of the snow capped Himalaya’s and smell the spicy dal bhat as they sit down for a meal.

A great and enjoyable read for everyone but a ‘must’ for those considering overseas mission work as well as thought provoking for those wondering what you have been called to do, with the talents you have been given.

This book is followed by its sequel ‘No Ordinary View’ and ‘Over My Shoulder’ (about the impact of personality on cross-cultural mission).

CBD Price: R145.00

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Greed is not the most fashionable concept these days. It ranks with guilt and sin as words that many modern people have virtually stopped using.  According to Brian Rosner, greed is also a massive blind spot for Christians, which is surprising given how much the Bible has to say about it.

Sometimes it’s hard to spot the difference, because the ‘air we breathe’ is laced with the love of money and the race for material comforts. But should we be the same?

“The most disturbing thing about the fact that greed is idolatry is that hardly anybody owns up to being a worshipper. Imagine the response of disbelief in the local church if it were revealed that the vast majority of its members were secretly worshipping other gods. Yet if our analysis of the religion of money is right, the unthinkable may not be so far from the truth.”

Beyond Greed helps open our eyes to the problems, and proposes a liberating lifestyle that trades-in greed and materialism for something of far greater worth and satisfaction. Brian steers us with biblical logic and words of encouragement towards a life beyond greed and materialism. You’ll find ideas on living a life of generosity rather than luxury, and contentment rather than comparison.

You’ll learn how Jesus taught us not to be rich in this world, but rather to be rich in the next.

WAS: R85.00 NOW: R70.00

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Gospel Meditations for busy moms : Gloria Furman

Moms are busy—and they are looking for methods to manage the madness. From grocery shopping to soccer practice, running a household is exhausting work, sometimes making it hard for mothers to experience joy in the midst of the craziness of life.

As a pastor’s wife and mother of four, Gloria Furman encourages women to refocus and reorient their vision of motherhood in this thoughtful resource for frazzled moms. Showing them how to pursue a vibrant and ever-growing relationship with Christ -even when discouragement sets in and the dirty laundry is still waiting to be washed – this book recasts the monotony of everyday life, showing how moms can treasure Christ more deeply no matter how busy they are.

Mom’s don’t need another book telling them how short they fall.  Mom’s need a book that will lift their eyes away from themselves and onto Christ, and this book does just that. Its pages are filled with helpful honesty and gospel centrality as we are invited into the wonderful and messy world of motherhood.

CBD PRICE : R125.00

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 Sylvia Bester has been part of the CBD family since August 2009 after retiring from her career in banking.  She has always loved books (the smell and feel of them). Sylvia is a Social Media junkie, passionate about people and how she can make a difference in their lives by encouraging them to read good books. 

by Martin Ayers

Shifting your thinking on doubt ……

This great little book is part of a collection of “Guidebooks for Life” published by Matthias Media and its very aptly titled.

The author reminds of the times when we as Christians feel as if we are going in the opposite direction to our family and friends and we feel very lonely and isolated. At times like this it’s important to keep going in that opposite direction, the direction of our redeemer.

Our Christian faith defines who we are and that faith and union with Jesus is sufficient for all our needs. We are reminded that if we become doubtful about what we believe it will become increasingly harder to rely and live according to those beliefs.

Living in a society where your friends think you’ve gone mad is not easy for the Christian especially when adherents of other faiths dismiss our faith in Jesus with mockery and scorn.  What we need to remember when we are challenged by doubt is the reason why we put our trust in Jesus and that Christianity has been weighed and measured throughout history and never been found wanting.

We need to be careful that we don’t reduce our levels of commitment and involvement and so enter into a vicious circle that will eat away at our faith. Following Jesus is an all or nothing experience and serving him wholeheartedly will allow your doubts to dissipate.

I totally agree with the author that the most practical step in dealing with doubt is remembering the Fall and to be encouraged by how we have been rescued from the results.

On page 124 “Our delight will only grow stronger as we mature in our faith by contemplating his(Jesus’s) words and his actions, by serving him wholeheartedly, by speaking to him more often and by getting to know him better through the scriptures”.

A tremendously encouraging book full of anecdotes and scripture references which belongs on every Christian’s bookshelf.

CBD PRICE: R85.00

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By C.J. Mahaney

Sports are a gift from God—but we’ll waste this gift if we play for our own glory.  

So how do we play sports for God’s glory and not our own?  

Don’t Waste Your Sports is for athletes, parents, and coaches. It provides a biblical worldview of sports so that we don’t waste this gift. “I had the opportunity to glorify God in my sports,” C.J. writes, “and I fumbled it. I wasted my sports. You have the opportunity, by the grace of God, not to waste yours.” 

This booklet covers topics like:-

• What are sports really for?
• Meeting god before the opening tip;
• Play to the glory of God;

The booklet includes two sets of application questions: one for athletes and one for parents. 

CBD PRICE: R40.00

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By Peter Bolt.  Reviewed by Nick Collins

What does ‘Underworld’ mean?   Does it refer to the mafia and Tony Soprano, or the world of the dead and Buffy the Vampire Slayer?

As Peter Bolt shows in this frankly frightening book, it can mean both – and the two often behave in similar ways. I say ‘frightening’ because the book uncovers the unseen spiritual world – and you might prefer it remain covered.

How, asks Bolt, do we explain the fascination for the (spiritual) underworld in ‘enlightened’ Western society? He explores all the pagan ideas of the ancient world – underworld spaces such as the world below (where the dead are buried) and the world above (where spirits dwell). And we sit uncomfortably in between, forced to interact on occasions with both. How do we understand charms, curse tablets and the invasion of “our” world by the other world?

 “In some Christian circles, interest in the devil is climbing to almost medieval proportions. .. sadly, this has led to a number of weird practices that are certainly not endorsed by the New Testament and are actually discouraged.”

It is a dark and threatening book. However, the last three chapters cover ‘Neutralizing the underworld’, ‘A New Space in the Universe’ and ‘Living with the Underworld’. It is the victory of Christ and the clear teachings of the New Testament that deal with the lower and upper worlds, and define our lives and practices.

CBD Price: R120.00

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