Some stare. Emboldened, the curious ones ask, what happened to you? His robotic-like wheelchair morphs, as it "stands" on two wheels, balancing, raising its occupant to eye level. Smiling, confident, yet the molding of his being began long ago. A young tot, battling disease in his body. He braces himself to stand, "Grandma, when my healing is manifested, I will be strong as an Ox and fast as a Fox!" "What do you want to be when you grow up?" He's asked. "Alive; a man whom God smiles upon."

The NIV is the world's best-selling modern translation, with over 150 million copies in print since its first full publication in 1978. This highly accurate and smooth-reading version of the Bible in modern English has the largest library of printed and electronic support material of any modern translation.

Most people think of weakness as purely negative, but true Christianity embraces weakness as a way of life. In this collection of meditations on 2 Corinthians, renowned Bible scholar and theologian J. I. Packer reflects on the central importance of weakness for the Christian life. He exhorts readers to look to Christ for strength, affirmation, and contentment in the midst of their own sin and frailty. Now in his mid-eighties, Packer mediates on the truths of Scripture with pastoral warmth and exegetical care, drawing on lessons learned from the experience of growing older and coming face-to-face with his own mortality. Overflowing with wisdom gleaned from a life of obedience to Christ and dependence on his Word, this encouraging book ultimately directs readers to the God who promises to be ever-present and all-sufficient.

Telling real-life stories of despair, hope and lasting change, Andrew Comiskey lays out the foundations for healing from relational and sexual sin. With chapters focusing on particular areas of vulnerability for men and women, on the battle over homosexuality in church and culture, and on the essential role of the church in ongoing healing, Strength in Weakness makes clear the way to the cross--God's sufficient answer to our deepest needs.

After enduring tragedy through losing his dad and older brother in a plane crash, Colin’s perfect life was crushed. Through his faith in Jesus he had hope to keep pressing on through the pain. During his junior season of baseball at Pepperdine University, God did some amazing things on the baseball field. From hitting a game-winning walk off homerun while his nephew throughout the first pitch to receiving a Gold Glove Award using his older brother’s glove, these things weren’t coincidences, they were miracles. After Colin’s baseball career he endured many challenges not having his dad around to lead him and help teach him how to be a man. These things he faced were emotional lions that came against him trying to defeat him and keep him from being the man that God created him to be. Through his realness and honesty about his wound and the depression, anxiety, and fear that he has experienced as a fatherless man, Colin hopes to encourage others who are facing similar struggles so that they will see that God wants to use their weaknesses and challenges that they are facing to do great things for His glory.

As a girl, Alia Joy came face to face with weakness, poverty, and loss in ways that made her doubt God was good. There were times when it felt as if God had abandoned her. What she didn't realize then was that God was always there, calling her to abandon herself. In this deeply personal exploration of what it means to be "poor in spirit," Joy challenges our cultural proclivity to "pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps." She calls on readers to embrace true vulnerability and authenticity with God and with one another, showing how weakness does not disqualify us from inclusion in the kingdom of God--instead, it is our very invitation to enter in. Anyone who has struggled with feeling inadequate, disillusioned, or just too broken will find hope. This message is an antidote to despair, helping readers reclaim the ways God is good, even when life is anything but.

Neither a commentary on the book of Revelation nor a devotional work -- though it offers aspects of both -- Joy in Our Weakness is instead a theological and practical guide that ushers readers into the very presence of Christ and His Lordship over the powers of evil. Marva Dawn writes compassionately for those who suffer, for this book was born out of her own struggles with physical limitations and chronic illness, and it is intended to help the whole Church learn how to find Joy in every circumstance of life, especially in trials and sufferings. After outlining some important foundational principles in three introductory chapters, Dawn guides readers through the whole book of Revelation, pointing out the errors of those who try to calendarize the end of the world and instead delineating how The Revelation reveals Christ's Lordship, exposes the workings of the powers, and sustains those who suffer until evil is ultimately defeated. Now thoroughly revised for a wider readership, Joy in Our Weakness highlights The Revelation's original purpose -- to comfort afflicted, suffering believers -- and spells out a biblically grounded "theology of weakness," offering a rare gift to the Church today. A wealth of insight and encouragement truly awaits the reader of these pages. Book jacket.