Michael Collender and I have written a book together, with plans for three more. The one we have just completed is Sick Bay for the Saints. We are open for comments.
Many of you have been very conscious of the spiritual sickness of the United States and many of the evangelical churches. Recently a friend of mine, John Sanford of Cornell University, author of Genetic Entropy, asked me if I could apply what I teach in my book Principles of War to situation in the United States. I asked Michael Collender of St. Anne’s Public House, to join me in writing a series of books to do just that.
There are many books that explain how bad things are in America right now. These books are right—it’s bad. However, the Bible teaches that we have every reason to be hopeful about what God will accomplish. God gives us counsel on how to be effective and advance the gospel, especially in times like these. He has explained how His people win victory in individual hearts, in personal obedience, in the local church, and with networked Christians and church denominations.
The series of books we are writing will address each of these “levels” of the kingdom. This first book, Sickbay for the Saints, is about defeating the sinful habits that keep us from fulfilling the Great Commission. It’s a spiritual hospital you can hold in your hands.
There are several basic truths that every born-again believer knows. When each of us was saved, whether at four years old or forty, we had a joy that we could not describe but could express. Over the years, I have talked to thousands of believers and found that they had a similar experience. But I also found out that the saints do not have the same joy that they had when they were first saved. They do not sing, and they do not testify. (Or if they do testify, it is not with love and joy. It is just with information.)
This is a simple problem with a simple solution. What is the problem? We are storing up unconfessed sin. When we first confessed Jesus Christ is Lord, we were saved. All our sins were forgiven. That is why we had joy. But then we lose the joy because we do not practice 1 John 1:9 and 2:1: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness…. My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.”
In Sick Bay for the Saints, we help you (or your church, if you want to use the book in a group setting) find out if you have a backlog of unconfessed sin that is holding you back from being as effective as you could be for Christ and his Kingdom. A Christian can have what God promises in 1 John 1:5, 7, and 9: “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all…. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin…. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
When a Christian receives this cleansing, his friends and family are going to see it. If this person is you, you will be the beginning of an awakening in your town, church, and family.
We all need this. And no one can do it for us. This book is written to help Christians discover what they may not see on their own. It starts here: Do you want that love and joy? If you do not want it, ask God to give you that desire.
After Sick Bay for the Saints, the next book will teach you how to make an impact through personal obedience. The third and fourth books will address how to turn the tide through the local body of believers and then the national stage.
Please pray for our effort. We also welcome your recommendations. If there is something you think we should address, please email us at michael@collender.org. You may also send comments to me at jimwilson27@frontier.com.
To get your copy of Sick Bay for the Saints for $0.99, click this link.
Many of you have been very conscious of the spiritual sickness of the United States and many of the evangelical churches. Recently a friend of mine, John Sanford of Cornell University, author of Genetic Entropy, asked me if I could apply what I teach in my book Principles of War to situation in the United States. I asked Michael Collender of St. Anne’s Public House, to join me in writing a series of books to do just that.
There are many books that explain how bad things are in America right now. These books are right—it’s bad. However, the Bible teaches that we have every reason to be hopeful about what God will accomplish. God gives us counsel on how to be effective and advance the gospel, especially in times like these. He has explained how His people win victory in individual hearts, in personal obedience, in the local church, and with networked Christians and church denominations.
The series of books we are writing will address each of these “levels” of the kingdom. This first book, Sickbay for the Saints, is about defeating the sinful habits that keep us from fulfilling the Great Commission. It’s a spiritual hospital you can hold in your hands.
There are several basic truths that every born-again believer knows. When each of us was saved, whether at four years old or forty, we had a joy that we could not describe but could express. Over the years, I have talked to thousands of believers and found that they had a similar experience. But I also found out that the saints do not have the same joy that they had when they were first saved. They do not sing, and they do not testify. (Or if they do testify, it is not with love and joy. It is just with information.)
This is a simple problem with a simple solution. What is the problem? We are storing up unconfessed sin. When we first confessed Jesus Christ is Lord, we were saved. All our sins were forgiven. That is why we had joy. But then we lose the joy because we do not practice 1 John 1:9 and 2:1: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness…. My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.”
In Sick Bay for the Saints, we help you (or your church, if you want to use the book in a group setting) find out if you have a backlog of unconfessed sin that is holding you back from being as effective as you could be for Christ and his Kingdom. A Christian can have what God promises in 1 John 1:5, 7, and 9: “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all…. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin…. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
When a Christian receives this cleansing, his friends and family are going to see it. If this person is you, you will be the beginning of an awakening in your town, church, and family.
We all need this. And no one can do it for us. This book is written to help Christians discover what they may not see on their own. It starts here: Do you want that love and joy? If you do not want it, ask God to give you that desire.
After Sick Bay for the Saints, the next book will teach you how to make an impact through personal obedience. The third and fourth books will address how to turn the tide through the local body of believers and then the national stage.
Please pray for our effort. We also welcome your recommendations. If there is something you think we should address, please email us at michael@collender.org. You may also send comments to me at jimwilson27@frontier.com.
To get your copy of Sick Bay for the Saints for $0.99, click this link.
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