From Birth Until This Appointed Time He Has Kept Me

From Birth Until This Appointed Time He Has Kept Me

Truth Plus Love

Imagine what our world might look like if Christians became known for remarkable love, as well as life-giving truth. The stakes are high and the need is great for Christians to represent Jesus to a watching world. And today, we have more influence than ever before--for better and for worse. We are among the first generations to have access to a global megaphone through social media. But it's not enough to speak truth louder to a noisy culture. To counter the reputation Christians have earned, our love must be just as loud. Ask evangelist Matt Brown, and he will tell you Christians today are facing a crisis of influence. In our rush to speak truth to today's tensions, cultural issues, and trending controversies, it becomes all too easy to focus on proving our points rather than extending God's grace. Conversely, when we seek only to love yet never proclaim a better way, we short-circuit God's plan. Truth Plus Love invites you to rediscover the biblical framework for engaging culture as ambassadors of Christ. Through biblical insight, cultural analysis, and practical principles, Matt Brown outlines how to champion truth without compromise, how to love unconditionally, and ultimately, how to step into this great adventure of representing God to the world. It's hard, it's messy, and it's the unfinished project of a lifetime, yet here we find our great adventure: representing God to a watching world.

Life After Losing A Child

Life After Losing a Child is dedicated to my son, Antonio Smith-Scott (May 23, 1992–March 5, 2013) and in honor of my mother, Flora Scott (August 25, 1949–January 3, 2020), who birthed eight children and lost six before her own death. Life After Losing a Child is based on my own experiences—from a mother’s perspective losing a child, from a sibling’s perspective losing brothers in early childhood, how the death of my brothers affected my parents and our family. I also share how losing my own son affected my family, my four other children, and their father. Millions of parents lose a child every day and are left struggling, trying to not be overtaken with grief for the rest of our lives. We suffer from guilt, shame, hurt, pain, and sorrows until we allow Jesus to heal us. Losing a child from a miscarriage, stillbirth, sickness, deformities, abortions, accidents, or homicides—all these losses of a child carries the same hurts, pains, sorrows, and grief. The loss of these children leaves a void in all our lives as a family. I pray by sharing my loss and grief process, you will seek Jesus for healing for yourself and family. That you will be empowered to live your best life after the loss of a child or sibling. I pray you will live to the fullest capacity God has intended, Jesus died to give you, with the Holy Spirit guiding you—a life of purpose not only for yourself and family, but for the child that is gone but not forgotten.