Today's book isn't about escaping into a faraway place or to another galaxy. Rather, it offers you the opportunity to self-reflect. During this time at home, it has given me an opportunity to self-reflect and to grow. I have learned a great deal about myself and todays book will help you do the same. I hope you enjoy, "Self The Hidden Idol" by Willie Smith.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Are you stumbling through Life? Have you lost your direction? Do you have a clear path for your life and a way to achieve your goals? Many people struggle when it comes to their life’s journey. They often make bad decisions with the best intentions only to feel hopeless and helpless in their path when things didn’t go as planned. Dolly Parton, a famous award-winning country singer, said, “If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.” You can’t rely on your family, friends, or colleagues to change your direction. The focus of creating your path is your responsibility. Where do you start? How do you pave another path when it’s God’s path you must travel?
With numerous distractions prevalent in our lives, the challenge to create a path without God in control and seek the advancement of self becomes enticing. We are taught as children to focus on becoming the best we can be and at all costs. The saying, “I think I can” becomes, “I know I can,” and as a result, we become entrapped in achieving our success without God’s direction.
What do you do when your path does not lead to success? What happens when you start creating a path that isn’t God-centered and driven? Is there only one path?
Self the Hidden Idol by Willie R. Smith, a full-time missionary, examines how we deceive ourselves into thinking we can do all things possible without God in our lives, and self-idolization erupts deep within. The effect is devastating in our lives resulting in despair, depression, and hopelessness. The desired outcome for readers is to become aware of their hidden idol, they maintain within, and address it head-on with no excuses. Smith discusses the many facets of self-awareness of the idol within and how we became self-centered. A reader will learn to recognize their hidden idol, and how to live a selfless life of victory through Christ Jesus, even when the path chosen seems to lead to nowhere. A directionless path is a destructive path. There is victory ahead in your path when you address the idol within and allow God to lead the way. Start your journey to victory today; form your path in the direction He designed for you. Self the Hidden Idol will guide you on your journey. Be victorious!
Product details
- File Size: 3253 KB
- Print Length: 156 pages
- Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1400330122
- Simultaneous Device Usage: Up to 5 simultaneous devices, per publisher limits
- Publisher: Elm Hill (April 14, 2020)
- Publication Date: April 14, 2020
- Sold by: HarperCollins Publishing
WILLIE SMITH
Tell your readers a little about
yourself, where you grew up, where you live now, where you went to school etc.
Let them get to know the personal you.
I am currently married to my lovely wife
Shengxi Smith, and I am the proud father of two beautiful daughters, Hannah and Halle. I
graduated from DeVry with a degree in Electronics in 1996.
I grew up in a humble home in Shiloh, GA,
with my seven older sisters and our mother. My parents were divorced when I was
young, so, alone, my mother raised my sisters and me ensuring that, above all
else, we knew how much we were loved. This is what we knew we could count on.
We didn’t have much, no running water, no fancy clothes, but one thing we knew
for sure was that our mother loved us. No matter how turbulent our
circumstances were for us, my mother always kept us together. I was fifteen
when I made the decision to give my life to Christ during a revival service at
our local church. I first learned about the message of grace at a Wednesday
night Bible study. It captivated me so
much that I couldn’t bear not to hear and read more. As soon as I got to work
that night, I pulled out my Bible and concordance and looked up every passage
in the Bible that included the word, ‘grace,’ from Revelations to Genesis. When
I got to 1 Corinthians 15:10, it was as if a light went off in me. I finally
came to understand that God ACCEPTED ME, not for what I did but who I was! I
felt as if someone had lifted a weight off of my burdened shoulders! I finally
came to understand that I did not have to perform to be accepted and that I
knew who I was, a redeemed child of God!
What inspired you to author this book?
I never sought out to write a book. I
felt as if there were enough books in the world about being a Christian and
didn’t think that I had anything special to add. Several friends who had been
around me and heard me teach, and tried on serval occasions to encourage me to
write a book from my personal understanding. While visiting over in China with
my wife for the Chinese New Year, I was writing an article for my website,
without knowing it, I noticed that I had written about fifteen pages. Not sure
of what I was going to do about it, I kept praying and kept writing. After
serval pages and more praying, I felt that this was something God was having me
to write, and therefore my debut book, Self: The Hidden Idol was brought
forth.
Where did you get the inspiration for
your book’s cover?
The inspiration from this book came from
personal life and what I had seen in my own life. Over the years, I watched and
learned from others and started to create what I like and didn’t like. Before
knowing it, I had created several idols in my own life without regard to what
God had written in His word, also, a bit of ignorance to what God written in
His Word. After examining myself, I begin to look around a noticed all the
different idols we all had made in life and qualified/justified them as this is
who I am.
Who has been the most significant
influence on you personally and as a writer?
There have been serval writers who have
had significant influence over my life. The first was one by the name of Norman
Grubb, Dr. Charles Solomon, Watchman Nee, and Dr. Tony Evans. Reading their
books were easy to read and spoke volumes of truth about God and His word and
our new identity in Jesus Christ.
What were your struggles or obstacles
you had to overcome to get this book written.
There were not many struggles with
writing because the words indeed were from God. I think the biggest struggle
was the grammar and editing of the words.
Tell your readers about your book.
“Self The Hidden Idol” is a book that
deals with the growing trend of selfishness. As we look at the various means we
glorify the hidden idol of self in our lives; we will uncover numerous ways
that our focus gradually gets pulled away from the eternal promises of Jesus
Christ and towards a reliance on self-help and self-improvement. Throughout this book, we will examine
what God says about how we should view ourselves and learn how we can truly
live a selfless life.
Who is your target audience, and why?
The target audience for this book, I
feel, is those who have professed to be Christians and followers of Jesus
Christ. The age does not matter for it is appropriate for all ages.
What do you consider your greatest
success in life?
Honestly, I cannot say that I have any
because all that I have is all because of Jesus. And for me, I will only boast
in the Cross of Christ.
What one unique thing sets you apart
from other writers in your genre?
I really would hope nothing other than
the Grace of God that has labored through me in putting these words in the
book, Self The Hidden Idol.
