"Asong's sense of the human predicament is astounding...It is above all, the story of guilt in a world ridden with self-interest."- Professor Rudy Wiebe, University of Alberta --

God does not let anything go to waste. This includes any instance of pain, suffering, or persecution in the life of the believer. Through God's Word, we know that "all things work together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8:28). This was demonstrated for us in the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We know Christ's sufferings were the price of our redemption. We know that "he was wounded for our transgressions...bruised for our iniquities...and with his stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5). Now, pastor and author Gerald Davis reveals the powerful healing purpose behind The Crown of Thorns. "When I have declared this message, it has yielded amazing results. In this book, you will read of miraculous mental healings that have directly occurred from this revelation. I know you will be blessed as you read and discover this exceptional and life-changing truth." --Gerald Davis

Nazareth has been cruel to my mother, more cruel than any village ever was. All the village says that my blood father is not the man who married my mother. They have shamed her on the matter all my life. Every woman asks which man of the village is my blood father. Every man scowls and says he was not the one my mother seduced. My mother will not tell who is my blood father. My mother will not speak on the matter. My mother bears her shame in silence. Some righteous man, a prophet, said a word over me when I was a babe in arms. He told how I will redeem Israel when I grow to be a man. Now I have grown to be a man, but I do not know how to redeem Israel. The scriptures do not explain the matter. My people say that the man who redeems Israel must take up the sword and throw off our enemy, Rome, which we call the Great Satan. My family says I must take up the sword. Only I am no man of the sword. I wish with all my heart to redeem Israel, but HaShem, the God of our fathers, must tell me how. Lately, there came a new prophet to Israel, who immerses for repentance at the river Jordan. I went to ask the prophet how I should redeem Israel. He said I am to smite the four Powers. I asked what are the four Powers. He could not say, but he said HaShem will reveal the matter to me. I wish HaShem will reveal the matter, only I am not a prophet. Not yet. But I will be. Here is what I know. Every hour of every day, I feel the Presence of HaShem. I do not know why I should feel the Presence always. My mother does not. My village does not. Even the prophet of HaShem does not. I think the Presence will teach me the way to redeem Israel. But I am afraid to redeem Israel. To redeem Israel is to leave my mother to the scorn of the village. The rage of the village. My mother begs and cries on me to make a justice for her. To make a justice on the village. I do not know how to make a justice on the village. I do not know how to redeem Israel. But HaShem will show me the way. I will learn how to be a prophet of HaShem. I will learn how to redeem Israel. I will learn how to make a justice for my mother. I will smite the first Power. Or I will die in the trying.

A fascinating biography of Bulgaria's tragic monarch, Boris III, based on private correspondence and extensive interviews with members of the Bulgarian royal family. The son of King Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Boris became king after the first World War. Noted for defying Hitler wishes for Bulgaria's Jews, the popular king died mysteriously in 1943 after a stormy meeting with Hitler.

Naveh (American history, Tel Aviv U.) applies a religious concept of martyrdom to the context of American political culture and examines the ways in which Americans have depicted certain individuals as national martyrs. She argues that only Martin Luther King Jr. among modern leaders has the potential to turn into a national martyr legend like John Brown or Abraham Lincoln. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Ian Wright is carjacked by a cartel that has been wreaking havoc for decades on innocent families and is killed. He finds himself reborn as a powerful angel or so he thinks. He is told by another angel there is a holy war brewing between God and God's brother Teloch and pure souls are needed for God's army. Just as evil souls are needed for Teloch's army. However before he can ask any real questions events escalate which leaves him questioning his next steps. Ian decides to test his new found powers out to take down the very cartel that killed him. With the help from his best friend Jaxon Newman they are able to ascertain some of Ian's abilities to bring the fight to the cartel. Through this conflict Ian realizes that there is far more going on behind the scenes then he could have ever of imagined.

In 1239, king Louis IX of France performed the translation of the Crown of Thorns from Constantinople to Paris. The translation celebrations became a splendid religious festivity showing sacral foundations of Saint Louis's authority and the Capetian kingship. However, the translation of the Crown of Thorns to France had already a history under Louis's reign: French hagiographers and chroniclers affirmed that the first relics of the Crown of Thorns from Constantinople were transferred to Aachen by Charlemagne, then to Saint-Denis Abbey by Charles the Bald. The book discusses Saint Louis's translation of the Crown of Thorns as seen on the background of both Carolingian historical memory in Capetian era and Carolingian and Capetian tradition of the royal cult of relics.