Everyday Thoughts: A Collection of Devotional Readings for Thinking Christians

by Phillip Michael Garner

Overview

Everyday Thoughts is a devotional for thinking Christians, for those who seek to hear and know God in the present through contemplation on scripture and reality. Each essay is preceded by a poem or an inspirational piece. In relation to each essay's subject matter, these poems set the mood for the reader as the simplicity of poetry is combined with insights born from the author's years of study. The intent of the author is that the reader might enjoy the impact of each piece for a prolonged period of time after their initial reading. Everyday Thoughts is for people interested in both contemplation and living their faith in the real world of pain and suffering. The poems and essays reflect the personal struggles of the author to come to terms with the Christian faith in a world larger than the small town of his rearing. A theological education is not necessary for reading Everyday Thoughts. What is necessary is an open heart that is prepared to hear scripture's message from a wounded soul who withstands death with all the resources of theology, imagination, and experience available to him. The conviction of an immovable faith is behind each essay.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781498243711
Publisher:	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date:	10/04/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	180
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Phillip Michael Garner is a poet and writer who has served as a pastor, a missionary, and a professor. Mike lives with a nonviolent community of missional development workers in Nashville, Tennessee, known under the corporate name of Global Outreach Developments International. He has earned MDiv, MAR, and DMin degrees from Azusa Pacific University. His passion is thinking theologically about everything and enlightening people to the wonders of scripture beyond the boundaries of common thought.

Phillip Michael Garner is an avid reader and competent interpreter of a vast array of theological efforts. Mike was raised in a small town, in a citrus valley in California. At thirteen he worked alongside Spanish speaking immigrants. His earliest religious experiences were in a small Pentecostal church. He was educated at Azusa Pacific University. His international experiences among the poorest people in the world provide the backdrop for the pathos in his writing.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Reading 1 When God was a Child 1

Reading 2 The Childlike Qualities of Jesus People 5

Reading 3 Not a Book for Children 8

Reading 4 Language Must Always be in Color 12

Reading 5 Myth and Romanticism 15

Reading 6 Absolute Love Demonstrated in Human Beings 20

Reading 7 Christianity the Cure for Human Hubris 25

Reading 8 Called to Renounce Violence 28

Reading 9 Faith and Doubt 32

Reading 10 Reflections on the Disposition of Sorrow and Joy 35

Reading 11 Flesh from the Earth and Glory from Above 39

Reading 12 Promises in Contrast 43

Reading 13 Meaning and Suffering 49

Reading 14 The Apocalypse: A Genre for Human Madness 56

Reading 15 Redemption: The End of History 61

Reading 16 A Psychology of Illness in Psalm 38 64

Reading 17 The Struggles of Reading and Writing Theology 68

Reading 18 Theological Musings 70

Reading 19 Gods Word, Archaic Laws, and Torah as Teaching 75

Reading 20 Spiritual Intelligence 84

Reading 21 Responsible Faith 88

Reading 22 Adams Lament 92

Reading 23 Jesus and the Roman Tax 96

Reading 24 Ending Poverty by Becoming Human 99

Reading 25 The American Oligarchy 101

Reading 26 Tosiah's Failed Reforms and the Book of Jonah 105

Reading 27 A Missional Reading of Luke's Pentecost Narrative 108

Reading 28 Gods Imagination 112

Reading 29 The Crucified God-Man 115

Reading 30 An Intertextual Theology from Genesis and Job on the Human Condition 121

Reading 31 Don't Blame the Serpent 128

Reading 32 Sexuality, Temporality, and Gender 132

Reading 33 Jacobs Dream 136

Reading 34 Land, Peace, and Promises from God 140

Reading 35 A Cognitive Field of Hermeneutics 148

Reading 36 The Teacher and Christian Education 153

Reading 37 God of Freedom not of Control 156

Reading 38 Sensitivity to Evil 161

Reading 39 God in the Court of Human Experience 164

Reading 40 Reading the Lazarus Stories 168

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Though the book is called Everyday Thoughts, these are not the thoughts of your everyday person. This book calls the devotional reader into a deeper meditation on scripture, where alternative readings of the text can lead to fresh and insightful discussions on a variety of topics relevant to this generation.”

—Gregg Daniel Garner, President/CEO and Founder of Global Outreach Developments International

Editorial Reviews

Though the book is called Everyday Thoughts, these are not the thoughts of your everyday person. This book calls the devotional reader into a deeper meditation on scripture, where alternative readings of the text can lead to fresh and insightful discussions on a variety of topics relevant to this generation.”

—Gregg Daniel Garner, President/CEO and Founder of Global Outreach Developments International

From the Publisher