Not so long ago it was taken for granted that God exists. Today, there is a blindness to him even though he makes his presence known to all. The book begins by showing how better to recognize his presence and understand how he reveals himself to us. The next three chapters discuss how we move from an awareness of his presence to beginning to know him, and through a knowledge of him, begin to know what his purpose is for us and how our lives are shaped by that knowledge. Having seen how he reveals himself to us and how we know the world and see the world through different eyes, we then look at how to apply our new view in the face of a society that remains blind to this knowledge. Chapters 5–7 explore truth first from the standpoint of its existence, then in how to recognize its counterfeits, and finally to understand the consequences of its loss. Chapters 8–10 look at how and why being able to see God’s hand in all aspects of life, and to center life on him by faith in his son Jesus Christ, completely changes life for the better. Non-Christians often hear this claim made by evangelists. If they ask why, too often the answer is in “Christian-speak” that is foreign to them. The intent is to bridge from the place where they are and explain how Christians have found peace in times of suffering, even joy in the most horrific circumstances, enabling them to give thanks in all things. In a sense, the book finishes where it started, by looking at who we truly are, what kind of world this is, and how God has made all into his glorious plan.

To the dismayed and disappointed disciples making their way back home to Emmaus the Sunday afternoon following the crucifixion of Jesus, the resurrected Lord came alongside them and taught them all things concerning Himself from the scriptures beginning with Moses and the prophets. From scripture, He showed them how a crucified Messiah fulfilled all which had been written concerning His redemptive work as Immanuel (God with us). He opened their eyes to understand God’s salvation plan for fallen man and His role in completing that work. This daily devotional seeks to show how scripture reveals the Lord Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, and He stands at the crossroads between eternal life with God and eternal life separated from God. It is my sincerest prayer and desire that you will see His glory reflected in the scriptural texts for each day, the associated meditations of my heart, and be compelled to take up your cross and follow Him to victory and glory. “To my wife, Carol and sons: Thomas, Michael and Solomon. I would not have written this book were it not for you and our mutual loved ones.”

Flannery O'Connor was a writer of extraordinary power and virtuosity. Her strong supple prose blends humor, pathos, satire, and grotesquerie which leads the reader to the evil at the center of the self's labyrinth. There, she confronts that evil with originality and power, pulling the reader into consideration of the terrifying dependencies of love in the recesses of the heart. This study focuses on Flannery O'Connor's sense of the coincidence of the eternal and cosmic with worldly time and place—"the eternal crossroads"— and how that sense controls and infuses her fiction. From an examination of various influences upon Miss O'Connor's work—Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Mauriac, Nathaniel West, and Hawthorne—the authors consider her novels and stories, as well as several stories never collected. Their textual analysis shows that her structures, images, motifs, and symbols became vehicles for anagogical meaning as she progressed from early promise to artistic fulfillment. Considering Miss O'Connor's own comments on her writing, the authors illuminate some frequently misunderstood features of her work, such as her "grotesques" and her stress on death and violence. In so doing they make an important contribution to our understanding of how Flannery O'Connor arrived at "the eternal crossroads."

‘His best novel yet ... A Middlemarch-like triumph’ Telegraph

"Betrayal, greed, and sex." --Publishers Weekly New York Times bestselling author Mary B. Morrison's thrilling tale of a love triangle, lives at a crossroads, and the price of secrets. . . After her high school sweetheart joined the military, Mona Lisa Ellington thought she'd never love again. So she settled for a man who cherished her--and made his living hurting others. Yet she prayed her fiancé would one day return. Mona Lisa's classmate, Katherine Clinton, knew she'd marry her high school sweetheart and live happily ever after. But when he left for the military, she had to make new plans for her and their son. Still, Katherine dreamed of the day her fiancé would return. William Lincoln joined the military to make his grandfather proud. He never imagined he would be gone so long. Or that his selfish proposal to two women would be the least of his problems. . .because all three would soon face the consequences of too much deception.. . . "Mix dirty red drama, relationship scandals, suspense, love and you get my girl Mary B. Morrison." --Vickie Stringer