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Forged Hope (Book 2)
A couple of brief excerpts from the Foreword of Forged Hope,
“When I was approached to write the foreword for “Forged Hope,” I asked myself the question, “Why would Scott want a simple preacher like me to introduce such an in-depth study on Hope?” So, the simple part in me wants to say, “Read this book; it’s a good one!” But then I realized, that is just too simple, so here goes.”
“After reading Forgotten Hope, the first book in this series – and by the way, if you haven’t read it, you really should – I realized Scott was not just another author wanting to give you his view of the subject. He wants those who read and study the topic of Hope to be well versed in the proclamation of such an important topic for today’s world and in the Church.”
A brief excerpt from the Introduction of Forged Hope,
Throughout Forgotten Hope there is a thread of Truth that cannot be ignored. In chapter 10, we begin the conversation we will have here.
It is clear that none except Christ has ever gotten it exactly right. The rest of us will spend a lifetime “cleaning our cups.” It is not assumed that at the point we accept The Offer we instantly get it right, that we have all the answers. As we point out, what it means is, at that point we “put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24), and that this begins a process defined in Colossians 3:10: “put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”
In the chapters to come, we look at the “players” in this process as well as its impact. We will also look at “knowledge” and the difference between it and “wisdom.” We will study what it takes to move from one to the other and again expose and warn against those who, like the Pharisees, would use the first to give the illusion of the second.
Why will we do all this? “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3
Forgotten Hope (Book 1)
The first of the series, Forgotten Hope, is now available as both an eBook and a print version.
(watch video excerpt readings below)
Description of Forgotten Hope:
Written in the year preceding the coronavirus and published in the midst of the Pandemic when the world needs nothing more than it needs Hope.
Take a walk with the author as he searches through time for those who sought and fought to retain and revive this Hope. On this walk, the author details the “Offer of Hope” for what it is and what it is not. The author states clearly that Forgotten Hope is not written to entertain or even inspire. Forgotten Hope is written in accordance with Proverbs 2:9-10, “…you will discern righteousness and justice and equity and every good course. For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.” And as an aid to 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.” Chapter 8 alone quotes Scripture 300 times, and the remaining chapters nearly 300 more times. You could say Forgotten Hope is a study guide to the Offer of Hope and our embracing of that Offer. Like any study guide, it is not designed to be simply read through, but to be pondered, and to provoke thought… and change.
The author will introduce you to:
Robert Boyle, born Jan. 25, 1627. Known as the father of Modern Chemistry he said, “…the World is the great Book, not so much of Nature, as of the God of Nature, which we should find crowded with instructive Lessons, if we had but the Skill, and would take the Pains, to extract and pick them out” And “I am confirmed in the belief, that by transferring our impressions to the Sacred Text, we often impute to the Scriptures our own faults and deficiencies.”
David M’Clure, Doctor of Divinity, 1748-1820. David said he, “…desired an education to qualify (him) for usefulness,” so, he left home at the age of fifteen to pursue greater learning. He taught, “Let us strive to be holy, that our minds may be Heavenly. And may we be prepared for our departure, should it be this year, or this day…”
Matthew Henry, 1662-1714, wrote. “The more I see of the world and the various affairs of the children of men in it, the more I see of the vanity of it, and the more I would fain have my heart taken off from it, and fixed upon the invisible realities of the other world.” In contrast, of himself, he pledged, “…that the Lord Jesus Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or death, by health or sickness, by plenty or poverty, by liberty or restraint, by preaching or silence, by comfort or sorrow.”
Vance Havner, 1901-1986, was raised “…with a bible in one hand and a bird book in the other.” Illustrative of his efforts to revive “the Church,” “Most of us make the mistake of trying to change our circumstances instead of changing ourselves.”
A.W. Tozer, 1897-1963. There may have been no one with a greater thirst for written knowledge than Tozer. Upon his ordination, Tozer’s prayer included, “…false shepherds abound who deny the danger and laugh at the perils which surround Thy flock… I beseech Thee, give me sharp eyes to detect the presence of the enemy; give me understanding to see and courage to report what I see faithfully. Make my voice be so like Thine own that even the sick sheep will recognize it and follow Thee.”
They not only believed in and embraced The Offer of Hope but also understood that before you can accept The Offer, you must believe in the One who makes it.
The Offer has been made. Hope “knocks” and says, “Here I am…”
The 3rd and final book in The Hope Series, Fidelity to Hope, coming 2024
Preface (Draft)
Writing The Hope Series has brought with it much reading and even more discussion. As I explored history, it was hard to maintain freedom from what we talked about in chapter 5 of Forged Hope, “Bondage.” Before I ever considered writing a book, I had already been reading Tozer. When my family began to listen to Tozer’s audio sermons, we had already had discussions on the disappearance of God’s Character in the world and its increasing loss in the churches. Hence… Pursuit of Character. What Tozer did was make us realize the problem was older than we thought. We would sit and say, “In the last forty years…” or “Since 1960…” Then we listened to Tozer say, back in 1955, “In the last fifty years…” or “Since 1900…” We came to the depressing conclusion that the Christian churches have been leaving Christ behind a lot longer than we had recognized.
The more I studied, the worse it got. In reading about Havner’s life story, we found that he had started down this path only to be turned around by a Steward (R.A. Torrey) giving him the book Christianity and Liberalism. In the piles of resources I was studying, this book got overlooked until I had all but finished Forged Hope. As we read Machen’s words, written exactly one hundred years ago, we were reminded how long-ago God was booted out of the churches and most Modern Christians’ lives.
But lest we think... - READ MORE -
