Bøger af Franklin J Andreen

Volumes have been written about how to be happy. Countless writers from every religion and background have thrown in their own two cents worth on the subject, "How To Live a Happy Life". If there are a thousand different books out there that have "the answer", what's different about this one? Simply this: The book you hold in your hands doesn't express the opinions of man but the Word of God. Frankly, I don't believe a person can be truly joyful without Christ and a solid foundation in the Bible. But knowing that the Bible tells us we have a happy Father who wants happy children makes all the difference in the world. Knowing that Christ gave us His Word so that "My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete" (John 15:11) gives a person reason to hope for a joy-filled life. Knowing that the Bible tells us (actually, commands us) to "rejoice in the Lord always" (Philippians 4:4) takes us from the emotional rollercoaster ride of ups and downs and sets us in heavenly places where in His Presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11). This is the second of two volumes written on the subject, "You Can Rejoice in the Lord Always". IS such a thing truly possible? And if so, how? The condensed answer is summarized in the subtitle: "Because God is Real and the Bible is True". The expanded explanation is found in the pages of this book. Enjoy!

There's one thing that every person living wants: joy. Yet, many live with so little of it. But why? Where is true joy to be found? Is it found in: Medications? ("If I can just get the right combination of meds!")Drugs? ("If I get high enough!")Entertainment? ("If I laugh enough!" "If I divert from reality enough!")Relationships? ("He'll make me happy!" "She'll make me happy!" "They'll make me happy!")Busyness? ("If I just stay busy enough!")Effort? ("If I only try hard enough!")According to the Bible, true joy is a gift from God. It comes from walking with the joyful God, from implementing what He teaches about it in His Word, and from receiving His very joy into our hearts. But is it truly possible to rejoice in the Lord always? Yes, and for this reason: Because God is real and the Bible is true. Once a person gets that settled, they're well on their way to a truly joy-filled life! In this book, we'll explore key scriptures (there are hundreds of them!) on this subject. Our Creator has given us everything we need to know in His Word about joy; our responsibility is to dig it out and apply it to our lives. That's what this book is about and that's why this book is so powerful: because it's not based on the philosophies of man, upon empty fables, or upon unattainable ideals. It's based on the Bible, which is perfect and complete. No one who takes these passages to heart can ever be the same again. If you're looking for joy, look no further - Jesus came not only to give you everlasting life, but ever-laughing life, life in all its fullness, overflowing and abundant life (John 10:10)! His Word was given so that we could be filled with His joy - overflowing, lavish, outlandish joy (John 15:11)! Heaven will be a wonderful joy-filled existence, but He promises us even here and now that we can "greatly rejoice and delight with inexpressible and glorious joy" (I Peter 1:8)! If that's what you're looking for, join me as we sit at His banqueting table and dig in!

For more than thirty years in ministry, I've seen the profound effects of sin in the lives of professing believers. There is something missing in the majority of American churches: an awesome sense of the majesty of God, deep conviction of sin, and the unswerving insistence on holiness in the lives of Christians. Without this vital attribute in the lives of God's people, there can be no lasting, grounded victory. One would think the majority of Christians know this already, and on a mental level I'm sure they do, yet many of their lives tell a different story. Why is the divorce rate so high in Christians? Why do young people so often grow up in the Church, then abandon it as soon as they leave home? Why don't the majority of churches resemble the Book of Acts Church? Where is the power? Where is the impact on our world? The commandment from Genesis to Revelation has never changed: Be ye holy; for I am holy (I Peter 1:16). Many Christians will spend hours in front of the TV or browsing social media each day, but give prayer or Bible study a mere hour on Sunday morning. Again, speaking from ministerial experience, I can tell you that many Christians cuss, drink, smoke, look at porno, have affairs, cheat, lie, and so on, on a regular basis. This book looks at several stories and passages throughout the Bible, verse by verse, looking at this essential subject. In it, we'll see that there is grace for the person struggling, but severity for the Christian who continues to indulge in unrepentant sin. We're made holy the moment we're saved and born-again, but then the Holy Spirit begins to teach us how to live holy.

Samuel the prophet is a fascinating study in the Bible. He was brought into the world through the impassioned intercessions of his mother, Hannah, and given back to God to be raised in the Tabernacle by the priests. As a boy, he began to hear clear, distinct messages from God, and soon all Israel knew the lad was a prophet of the Lord. God used him to promote and demote kings, to call the nation to repentance, and to serve as a circuit judge throughout the land. He was loved by God and loved by the people, but eventually they rejected his leadership over them by demanding for a king to rule over them instead. Such was the life of a prophet: loved and hated because of an undeviating stand with God!This book is a verse-by-verse Bible study, intended to feed the spirit, instruct the mind, and bless the heart of each reader.

Jesus promised His disciples that they would receive power (dunamis) after the Holy Spirit had come upon them. On the day of Pentecost the Spirit came, and ever since, believers have been filled with His power. It's just that many of them don't know it, so they don't utilize it. In this book we look at what the Bible says about dunamis (the Greek word for power, found in the New Testament 120 times!) and the impact it can make upon your life. You'll be surprised to see how many familiar passages use this word. As you see for yourself what God tells you about this mighty power in you, a new faith and vigor will rise up inside. May the readings in this book be anointed to take you to your next level of spiritual victory!

The Book of Ephesians is a powerful revelation of the spiritual riches and blessings we have in Christ. Those things that were hidden in types and shadows throughout the ages were revealed and released when Christ came. Ephesians tells us over and over, from several different angles, how very blessed we are as saints of the living God, and how God is the Author of all these many wonderful blessings to us!As we study these six chapters verse by verse, we'll discover how we are seated with Christ in heavenly places; how we who were once dead in our sins are alive in Christ; how Christ has broken down every barrier and makes us one in Him; and how we can walk in our new life victoriously! In this fun, easy to read, verse-by-verse exposition, we'll take our time to meditate on Paul's words, letting the Word of Christ dwell richly in us and conform us more and more into His image. Are you ready? Let's go!

What exactly is the anointing we hear so much about? Preachers preach about it, and we hear about it often - especially in Pentecostal circles. Most of us could throw out some kind of an answer, but I went to the Bible and studied it out for myself. It's not that I don't trust preachers, but I want to see it in the Bible for myself. And I want to know everything about it I can. This book, then, is the result of my findings.When we talk about the Anointing, we're talking about an aspect of the Holy Spirit. What we see in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is that the Anointing is all about the Holy Spirit, the "Third Person of the Trinity", God the Spirit. When we speak of the Anointing, we're talking about God pouring (or smearing) His Holy Spirit over our heads, our spirits, our souls, our bodies, and our minds. He Anoints our words, our prayers, our laying on of hands, and our ministering. He comes into our meetings and Anoints the atmosphere. The Anointing is God revealing Himself in a tangible way through the Holy Spirit. It is He Himself at work in and through His people. It is the nearest thing to Heaven upon Earth.May the pages of this simple Bible study bring an added blessing, understanding, and Anointing upon your own life as together we meditate upon this grand subject: "But you have been anointed by the Holy One. . ." (1 John 2:20)

Jesus promised us that He would send the Holy Spirit, and then described what He would do: "When he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment" (John 16:8). This conviction cannot be replaced by persuasive arguments, eloquent sermons, cleverly laid out gospel tracts, or any other manmade ministry method. Indeed, there is only one thing that can bring a lost sinner to Christ or can reclaim the backslider in heart: the conviction of the Holy Spirit. No one is good enough or sincere enough to come to God on their own; we all need this work in our hearts: "For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me" (John 6:44). It is the Spirit that draws and convicts, then converts!This short book (74 pages) examines this mighty Holy Ghost conviction in the Bible, and then gives some historical examples seen in revivals of the past.

Our God is a Healer, yet relatively few people in our world are healed. Why? Because they haven't learned the principles of "receiving". As you'll read in the pages of this book, the people in the Bible who received divine healing in their bodies didn't just fall into it. They weren't just lucky. It wasn't merely a matter of being in the right place at the right time. There were keys they used to unlock the treasure house. They learned how to make a withdrawal!That's what this book is about. To look at many of the biblical characters who received their healings and to see why it worked for them. How come some people were healed and others weren't? What did they do right? What did they have in common? What can they teach us today?

Welcome to the life of one of the greatest Biblical characters ever, Joshua. Joshua was hand-picked by God to be successor to Moses, and the shoes he had to fill when Moses was gone were big, yet he did so nearly flawlessly! How? What were the keys to his success?If you are interested in living a victorious Christian life, the study of Joshua is for you! No other character or book study in the Bible more clearly spells out and illustrates what that looks like than this one. As we study this man's life, we get to see what being a triumphant spiritual champion looks like, and even better: we're given the very keys to that success. Joshua was like a prophetic warrior general - he talked to God, did amazing miracles, led armies, and walked in holiness!This is a fun, easy to read verse-by-verse study of Joshua. Well cover it all and glean a ton of life-lessons along the way. You can't read this book and stay the same. Studying the Word of God like this gets it deep down in your mind and heart, transforming a person more and more into the image of Christ. Read it, and be blessed!

People are curious what the Bible says about things like astrology, cremation, cloning, rock music, tattoos, etc. I know, because they ask me. After nearly thirty years of serving in pastoral ministry, I've come to the conclusion that people are hungry to know what God's Word says about stuff they're dealing with in their lives. It's not enough to know what other people think or what they heard a preacher say about it from the pulpit. "What does the Bible say about it?" Surprisingly, it can often be the people one would least suspect who are curious of such things.This book was designed to be a fun and easy read, not a preachy, theological dissertation. Believers and non-believers alike will enjoy discovering what the Bible says about Christmas trees, vampires, yoga, magic tricks, luck, karma, and so much more!

The book of Colossians describes the supreme, all-sufficient Christ. Paul tells us there, in no uncertain terms, that Christ is all, all-in-all, everything. In this letter, we read of His diety: "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him" (1:16). We also read of His glorious triumph over the powers of evil: "And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it" (2:15). Paul tells us, in Colossians, to live fully unto the Lord: "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men" (3:23). The study of Colossians is fun because there is so much "meat" in it. This book is a verse-by-verse commentary. Commentaries are so powerful because they take us from merely reading the Word to studying the Word. As we study and meditate on the Word of God, the Holy Spirit conforms us into the image of Christ. This is a study you'll want to read over and over again!

David's is an amazing life to study. Early on, I'd heard of all the good stuff he did, and that one time he messed up with Bathsheba. But reading his story up close reveals a whole lot more. This guy was a liar, a deceiver, a terrible dad, and he married too many women; he had a temper and pride and fearfulness, besides being an adulterer and a murderer! How does a man like that earn such respect that God would call him "a man after my own heart" (Acts 13:22)? Why would the Lord honor David with being the most notable "type of Christ" in Scripture? How is it that Jesus would allow Himself to be known as "the Son of David"? The fact is, David was a flawed human like the rest of us. For all the strikes against him though, he had this one thing down: David loved the Lord. David didn't do everything right, but like you and I, he wanted to. And when confronted with his sins, David knew how to really repent!In "David: From the Pasture to the Throne", we'll look at David's life verse by verse. This book is over 400 pages because David's life covers so much territory in the Bible. We meet him half way through I Samuel and read about him through the rest of that book, through the entire book of II Samuel, and into the first couple of chapters in I Kings! Join me in this enjoyable study of the life of David. It's guaranteed to will bless your heart, build your faith, and lift you higher in your walk with God!

The Bible has a lot to say about angels, but so does this world we live in. People are fascinated with them and have all sorts of strange ideas about what they are like. I find that most of the images I come across aren't Biblical: they don't look like beautiful women with negligee and wings; they aren't babies in diapers with bow and arrows; they aren't half-clothed boys wrestling with earth's inhabitants. In this short booklet (46 pages) we'll look at what the Bible does say about angels, and sift out some of the nonsense that's out there as well!

The book of I Corinthians was written by the Apostle Paul. Four years earlier he had spent eighteen months in Corinth. Since he planted the church, they knew him and he knew them. They were his "baby" and he was their "father". He thought about them and prayed for them constantly. But the apostle received a disturbing report of some serious issues going on within the church, so he and the Holy Spirit wrote them a letter addressing these specific matters.The reason I Corinthians is so profitable for us today is because churches today haven't changed a whole lot from churches then. They faced many of the same problems we do. Much of what Paul says to them is either directly or indirectly applicable to us today. In essence, we find the mind of God on many important issues that come up among believers in every age. Where else could we find what the Lord thinks about such important topics as church quarrels, sexual immorality, lawsuits, divorce, spiritual gifts, resurrection, or the Lord's Supper? Nowhere else in the Bible are these topics mentioned with such detail to New Testament believers.In this fun, easy to read, verse-by-verse commentary, we'll study I Corinthians explaining what Paul was saying and what it means for us today.

People have battled fear since the beginning of time, and it's ruined many a life! Fear may indeed be man's number one enemy. It certainly seems to be Satan's number one weapon used against us. Fear in all its various forms - including anxiety, worry, depression, and peer pressure - has caused probably everyone, at one point or another, to do things they never would otherwise do. When left unchecked, its results can be disastrous, for "fear hath torment" (I John 4:18).But this was never God's intention. Man was created fearless in the Garden of Eden, and became fearful with the first sin. He hid from God's Presence because he was afraid, and he's been hiding and afraid ever since. God wants to redevelop you into His fearless child. The power to become fearless is in the Word, but it's faith mixed with the Word that produces the results. God will deliver the fearful ones who "own" the promises of God for themselves, who meditate constantly on them, and who will declare them out loud over their lives."Fear Not" looks at the "fear nots" of Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, and expands upon them in easy, single-page readings. Read these devotions over and over, and see the Word of God release fear-liberating faith into your life!

One of the most famous men who ever lived was Samson. What boy ever grew up not wanting what he had: women and muscles? Yet, the account of Samson is not a jolly, happy, feel-good story. A study of his life is filled with incredible lessons and applications to our own lives, but the man was truly a dichotomy, an enigma, an unsolvable puzzle. Appointed and called before birth, Samson was Anointed by the Spirit with super-human strength, and yet, for all obvious appearances, he was a carnal sex-hound with hardly a consideration of God in his life. I've studied him and written this book, but I continue to scratch my head and ask the question: "Will someone please explain this man to me?" How could someone have so much given to him by God, yet treat it all so carelessly? But alas, isn't the same true for many people today? We were all created to love and obey and glorify God, yet how few seem to take that responsibility seriously! In this fun, easy to read, verse-by-verse exposition of Samson we'll read his story and learn many fascinating things along the way. Kick back, grab a cup of coffee, and let's begin!I hope you will find this book to be not only a fun and easy read, but rich, delightful, and powerful in deepening your own personal walk with God.

We want to be like Jesus in His love, His prayer life, His holiness, and His humility. But one of the other ways we want to be like Him is to walk in His boldness. Jesus was the most fearless man to ever walk this earth. To have seen Him facing off with the Pharisees or standing down a storm or casting out devils would reveal to us an unflinching holy boldness, the likes of which would cause our jaws to drop open. Jesus was no sissy; He was bold, extremely bold!This book is a collection of writings inspired straight out of the Word of God. Although the boldness theme is nearly absent from Christian literature and sermons today (at least in the United States) it is prominent throughout Scripture, and a vital necessity to the victorious Christian life. I've entitled it "Extreme Holy Boldness" because it's more than mere boldness; anyone can be bold, at least on the outside. Holy boldness comes from God and is consistent with His character. Extreme is a word that takes something "over the top", like when a fire is extremely hot or a person is extremely smart. Extreme Holy Boldness is the over-the-top level!To anyone hoping to take their own personal faith and confidence to the next and highest level I pray this book will be a blessing. Be Blessed, and Be Extremely Bold!

Abraham is one of the most fascinating people in the Bible to study. He's considered to be "the father of the faith" because he blazes the path of faith and obedience for us all to follow. As the Apostle Paul says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness" (Romans 4:3). He lived such an incredible life of abandoning everything to God. God called him out of Ur, pointed His finger west, and told Abraham, "Go that way", and Abraham did it! God promised him multiple descendants, and for 25 years Abraham believed he was the father of many nations, though he'd had no children! God put Abraham to a test and told him to offer his son Isaac on the altar as a burnt offering, and Abraham obeyed! Now believers are told, "Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham" (Galatians 3:7). So, Abraham is our "father" and our pattern. In this fun, easy to read verse by verse study, we'll walk along with Abraham, learning from his successes and failures. And we'll see for ourselves why Abraham was called "the friend of God"!