Friendly Fire - now available from Amazon and Tate Publishing.
Also avialable as an e-book in the Amazon Kindle Store at both the US and UK sites.
From the book's back cover:
Promotion, Prosperity, and Pain-free living. Are these accurate representations of the Christian life? If so, what do we do with the Bible’s call to rejoice in trials? In this debut work, Pastor William Shifflett asserts that trials are in fact normal for the Christian and should be embraced. Using personal anecdotes, straightforward Bible teaching, and supporting quotes from an array of Christian leaders and speakers, Friendly Fire leads you on a hope-filled journey through ten dimensions of trials—from God’s sovereign control of and purpose for our pain to our frantic search for explanations.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
THE EMBRACE
WHO’S IN CHARGE HERE?
FRIENDLY FIRE Part 1
FRIENDLY FIRE Part 2
MIRACLES AND TRIALS
THE DILEMMA OF SUFFERING
DUKE’S MIXTURE
ABRAHAM AND THE TRIAL OF WAITING
IN SEARCH OF,..
CONTRADICTIONS
CONCLUSION: THE DRAGON HAS NO TEETH
MORE EXCERPTS:
From Chapter 1: The Embrace
“ Embracing trials is not about denying faith or being complacent in difficulty, It is about allowing trials to do their work. There’s a great lesson here about the balance of faith and trials that will be a recurring theme in the pages ahead. Paul, James, and Peter all portray faith and trials side by side, working together. Faith doesn’t come to give us an escape route from our trials and temptations only, faith allows us to endure the trial’s work to shape Christ in our hearts.”
From Chapter 5: Miracles and Trials
“ It should also be noted in fairness that the so-called heroes of the faith had their own share of trials. The passage speaks about Abel who was hated and killed by his brother. Noah, who endured ridicule while building a boat for a flood, in a world where it may not have ever rained. Abraham, who waited twenty-five long years for the only thing he really wanted. Isaac, who spent years re-digging wells in order to be faithful to God’s command to stay in the land. Moses, who endured forty years of shame for his crime in Egypt, followed by forty years of leading hard-hearted Hebrews. There was Gideon, who needed to trust God for victory over and enormous army with only three hundred men. David spends the years following his anointing to be the next king, running from the maniac who was currently king. Oh yes they had faith, but they also had trials!”
From Chapter 7: Abraham and the Trial of Waiting
“ Now think about Abraham. He’s ready for this child. He’s even trying to help God fulfill the promise by impregnating Hagar and pleading with God to use Ishmael. In his mind, he might have been thinking like we do, ‘Maybe this is how the promise will come to pass.’ But he doesn’t seem to understand this truth; God is calling you to a purpose beyond the child. Notice that God doesn’t just say I will give you descendants; he says ‘I will make you...” God’s promise is bigger than Abraham’s immediate perceived need.”
From Chapter 9: In Search of,...
“ Job’s situation hints that we are not exempt from pain and testing and the discomfort of that possibility drives us to speculation. Explanations for why we are suffering give us a strategy, usually an unbiblical one, for how to fix, end, or prevent the trial. If t was a negative confession, then lets break that habit. Perhaps the problem is the sins of a dead relative, let’s confess it. Perhaps that will fix it. But the truth is that the search for explanations is just one more attempt at escaping or avoiding the intended impact of the trial. If we could find a way to explain Job’s sufferings, we could, we think, find a way out of our own. But the hard truth remains; trials do not come with explanations.”
From Conclusion: The Dragon has no teeth
“ We have discussed a great many things in the preceding pages related to trials. What I hope I have been able to relay to you is that as unpleasant as trials are, they are not strange events that we should use all our time and resources to avoid. In a real sense, they are gifts to us from God as it relates to what they do in our hearts and spirits.
And yet I am sure it has not escaped the reader’s attention that there is one subject that we have barely touched on, and the absence of something that so many might think is extremely important to this topic may have prompted you to ask why? That subject is the role of Satan in our trials.”
MORE INFORMATION:
Contains supporting quotes from notable Christian writers such as, C.S. Lewis, Albert Mohler, Zig Ziglar, J.P. Moreland, D.A. Carson, Larry Crabb, Ravi Zacharias, R.T. Kendall, Philip Yancey, N. T. Wright, Tim Stafford, and others.
For reviews and additional excerpts check out Friendly Fire at Amazon.com.
