C.S. Lewis wrote, “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ This is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with a man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to” (Mere Christianity, page 52).

Jesus. Jesus of Nazareth. Son of God. Savior. Lord. Redeemer. Messiah. Who do you say he is? Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

Peter proclaimed, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Peter also testified, “For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Peter 1:16). The Apostle John wrote, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of Life” (1 John 1:1). Peter and John were two of Jesus’s closest disciples, eyewitnesses of his life, his teaching, his miracles, his death, and his resurrection.

You can believe Peter and John. And you can believe Jesus!

Though I am not an eyewitness to Jesus’s life, I am a witness of his redeeming grace. I can testify that he has forgiven my sins and changed my life. He has provided all that I have needed to endure loss, grief, sin and guilt, despair, and rejection. And this is why I seek him every day!

What mankind needs most is forgiveness of sins. Only Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross cancels the debt we owe God for our sins and redeems us to an eternal relationship with our Creator. And what we need most after forgiveness, is encouragement! And I want to encourage you by sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with you.

If you have experienced a loss of a loved one, grief, loss of identity and worth, guilt and shame, failure, despair, addiction, or rejection, or other hardship, I have good news for you. And if you have lived a perfectly peaceful, contented, happy life, I have good news for you, too. God loves you and Jesus Christ will redeem you.

I am writing to glorify God who has loved me through all these experiences; who sustained me by his grace; and who provided all that I needed to endure and recover. I want you to know that he will love you with an unfailing, never-ending love, no matter what your past has been. And no matter what your circumstances are now.

This is the good news that I want to share with you in my books.

Good News!

After forgiveness, man’s greatest need is encouragement. In my times of loss, despair, and disappointment, I could find no greater source of encouragement than in the Bible. God’s Word does not simply provide a temporary retreat from our troubles. The Bible provides living, active, eternal hope to endure trials and hardships; hope that does not end and does not diminish. It is this hope that I want to share with you.

Hopeful Messages Volume 1 includes over 300 encouraging Bible messages. And so does Volume 2! Nothing will encourage us, inspire us, and lift us up like the good news found in God’s Word.

The work of our teachers has often paralleled the history of our nation. Our teachers have helped our country meet its historical challenges and respond to the needs and crises of American society. Our schools have the burden of ensuring the success of every child, and the honor of carrying that burden. This devotional is written to encourage our teachers who continue to carry this legacy, and sacred responsibility, into the future.

During my career as a school principal, I had a wonderful epiphany: every student, wherever they attended school, belonged to me! I had a duty to care, not only for the students in my school, but for students who attended schools everywhere. It is my hope that you will walk with God daily as you go to school. I hope you will be mindful of his presence and love every day, and it is my hope that this devotional reminds you of that!

Young leaders learn that before they can lead their clubs, teams, and organizations well, they must learn to lead their own lives well. *Lead Your Life; Lead Your Team; Lead Your School: Leadership Lessons for Young Adults* encourages our students to do just that, and then, to consider doing even more – leading their team, club, and school well. School leadership is not the sole province of adults; it is also the responsibility of student-leaders. These 60, short, anecdotal lessons will encourage every student.

I am writing about the mistakes I have made on my journey of faith, so that you may avoid them on your journey. Mostly, I hope you will realize that Jesus Christ will forgive you of your mistakes, and in him, you may find peace, joy, awe, and wonder of our Lord and Savior. Our mistakes do not deprive us of God’s love but often reveal his love for us and that is the encouragement I want to share with you in this book.

Committing scripture to memory does not prove you are a good Christian, and not doing so does not prove you are a bad Christian. For me, this was a natural progression of deepening faith. Memorizing scripture was another way to abide with Christ. The Psalmist wrote, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11). Memorizing scripture is another way we can hide his words in our hearts.

I hope you will be encouraged! You are greatly loved!

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Biography

I was born in Grove City, Pennsylvania, and raised in Westlake, Ohio, near Cleveland. I discovered the good news of Jesus Christ, through my high school Fellowship of Christian Athletes. After graduating from Miami University, in 1979, I began teaching in Olmsted Falls, Ohio. I married my high school sweetheart, Halle, in 1980, and we moved to Atlanta, in 1984. There, I began working in school administration. The ensuing years were devoted to building our careers and raising our two children. Sadly, we lost Halle to ovarian cancer in 2013.

At the same time, Lisa Godwin, and her two children were grieving the loss of her husband, and their father, Bo, to multiple myeloma. Our shared grief formed the basis for our friendship.

What we didn’t know, and couldn’t imagine, was that God was writing a beautiful new chapter in our lives. Love bloomed! These years produced exultant highs, including our marriage in 2015, the adventure of moving to a new city, the excitement of building a new home, and my retirement in 2016.

These years also produced some painful lows, including our families’ enduring grief from our losses, despair over sin and pain, and disappointment from rejection by loved ones. These hardships drove us to God and his Word for comfort, reassurance, encouragement, and hope.

Lisa and I are members of Bethlehem Church, where we volunteer and serve on the church Prayer Team. We also lead Bible Studies in our community. Our hobbies include swimming, biking, running, watching college football, taking classes at the University of Georgia, traveling, and babysitting our beautiful grandchildren.

My books are available online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iTunes. Find out more by searching: Richard P. Holland Newswire.com. Thank you for taking time to visit my site. I hope you will be encouraged! You are greatly loved!