John Ruskin, the famous art critic, didn't believe that ladies could paint before he met Lilias, he changed his mind after he met her, and believed that if she would give her life to painting she could become the greatest painter of the nineteenth century. Ruskin believed that if she would devote herself to art "she would be the greatest living painter and do things that would be immortal. " - he was unhappy that she was spending so much time on the streets of London, helping with the YWCA when he thought she ought to be painting. Lilias, however, decided to give up her career in art in order to serve God. She always remained a good friend of Ruskin's though, and they wrote many letters when she was in Algeria. She also wrote several books - beautifully illustrated by herself, including: Parables of the Cross (1894), Parables of the Christ-Life (1899), and a book for Sufi Muslims The Way of the Sevenfold Secret.

    This is good news for all of us. It frees us up to talk about the most important part of our lives in a way that’s natural, meaningful, and helpful instead of clumsy, awkward, and irrelevant.Anyone who has spent countless uncomfortable hours walking from house to house with a clipboard or flash cards that talk about four spiritual laws understands.Jesus’ conversations were remarkably simple. Contemporary Christian lingo has set up a dichotomy between what we call “discipleship” and “evangelism,” but the Bible doesn’t do that. Jesus had conversations all the time with those who thought they were close to God, as well as with those who deemed themselves lost and without hope. He invited all of them to come and learn from Him.42 Seconds is a simple book that uses the ordinary moments of our lives the way Jesus used the same moments in his own. The premise is straightforward: If we can learn from Jesus how to have great conversations, it will change our lives and the lives of those around us. Its four-part structure, including five short chapters per section, is for churches and small groups to engage with the practical ideas together. 42 Seconds includes discussion questions to help groups and individuals implement Jesus’ natural rhythm of interaction in their own lives.

    The freedom from the burden of our sin, the need to be “good enough”, anger, jealousy, and envy.Even though we are believers we would be ashamed to say that we don’t always experience peace, contentment, and joy in our life. We are looking for the grace that God has so graciously given to us to be real in our life…Breaking Pride is an eBook based on one simple truth:In order to walk in God’s grace we need to tear down the the walls of pride.A lot of believers, even though saved by God’s grace, are still walking in pride rather than walking in His grace. Knowing what pride is and learning to identify pride in your life is the first step to overcoming a life filled with pride.Pride is rooted in fear and leads to anger, jealousy, and envy.Sin isn’t keeping us from having a relationship with the Lord, it’s our pride.So many of us long to have an authentic and REAL relationship with the Lord, and we long to have the fruit of the spirit filled in our heart. Our desire is to achieve these fruits through will power. But we do not even realize that the pride that lives within our heart is what is blocking the fruit of the spirit from living within us.In Breaking Pride you will learn to identify different areas of pride in your life. Filled with encouragement, Breaking Pride will take you through a practical reading of what pride may look like in your life…Let’s stop building walls of pride and start building the foundation of grace within our lives…

    13) “Take my yoke upon you and learn of me . . . and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” (Matt.xi.29) There is nothing so perfect in the world as to be quite above objection and criticism. The verysun which gives us light and warmth is not free from spots, yet notwithstanding these defects itdoes not desist from its regular duty. It behooves us in like manner to carry on to the best of ourability what has been entrusted to us, and strive constantly to make our lives fruitful. When the truths set forth in this book were revealed to me by the Master they deeply affectedmy life, and some of them have been used by me in my sermons and addresses in Europe, America,Africa, Australia, and Asia. At the request of many friends I have now gathered them together inthis little book, and though it is possible that there are defects in setting them forth, I am sure thatthose who read them with prayer and an unprejudiced mind will benefit from them as I have. It would be impossible for me to set forth these truths that have been revealed to me except inparabolic language, but by the use of parables my task has been made comparatively easy. It is my prayer that as God by His grace and mercy has blessed me by these truths, so also theymay be a blessing to every reader. Your humble servant, Sundar Singh

    Dreams are on hold, prayers seem unanswered, and life can feel hard. And just when we think we have it all together, life happens again! During these times it can be difficult to see God in our situations and trust him with the future.With empathy and wit, Debbie Alsdorf uses the book of Philippians to encourage women to lean on God, to live one day at a time, to rejoice and not to worry, and to give thanks to God in all circumstances of life. The confidence and peace readers will gain from the perspective presented in this loving book will help them live fully in the moment, in every season of life.

    Understand the anticipation and waiting the Old Testament world endured, the joy and new life signaled by the coming of Christ, and the way Advent points to the glory of God still to come. (5 sessions)Features: Beautiful, full-color designed pages to ready participants for the Christmas seasonPersonal study segments to complete between 5 weeks of group sessionsWeekly activities for adults, teens, and kidsTips to guide discussion within small groupsBenefits: Fuel your worship of Christ with a deeper understanding of Advent.Grasp God's character and His work on behalf of His people, in the past and present, as a catalyst to a more intimate relationship with Him.Learn how to practically extend joy, hope, peace, and love to others during the holiday season.

    James faced exactly the same problem in the very first generation. So it's not surprising that translating belief into action--making sure faith is the real thing--is near the heart of his message. That kind of faith, he explains, is the faith that matters, the faith that justifies, the faith that saves. We need that kind of faith today. These nine studies on James's passionate letter will help you live out a faith that makes a difference.

    But the further he studied the Bible, the more he found himself confronted by questions that could neither be answered within the rigid framework of his religious instruction or accepted among the conservative evangelical community.Rejecting the increasingly complicated intellectual games used by conservative Christians to “protect” the Bible, Enns was conflicted. Is this what God really requires? How could God’s plan for divine inspiration mean ignoring what is really written in the Bible? These questions eventually cost Enns his job—but they also opened a new spiritual path for him to follow.The Bible Tells Me So chronicles Enns’s spiritual odyssey, how he came to see beyond restrictive doctrine and learned to embrace God’s Word as it is actually written. As he explores questions progressive evangelical readers of Scripture commonly face yet fear voicing, Enns reveals that they are the very questions that God wants us to consider—the essence of our spiritual study.

    You can take dominion over the supernatural environment for the Kingdom of God! Dawna De Silva presents a strategy for spiritual victory. Get ready to discern the enemy's tactics and learn how to use your weapons of warfare to enforce Jesus' victory over forces that war against your mind, your family, and your region!  Don’t be blind to the unseen reality—every Christian is in the midst of a supernatural conflict.  Don’t fall victim to the enemy! Every Christian can release God’s power into places and situations under the influence of evil.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit, you can transform your spiritual environment from darkness to light. Dawna De Silva shows you how. Through her revelatory teaching, you will learn to… Discern the spiritual atmospheres and forces at work around you Draw from the Holy Spirit’s presence within you to release God’s Kingdom power Demonstrate the authority of Jesus over the powers of darkness Join the fight! When God’s Kingdom advances, darkness must flee. *Enhance your learning with the companion e-Course, DVD study and interactive manual.

    This devotional is your definitive guide to… • Unpacking the Daniel Fast • A Closer Connection with God • The Four Keys to Powerful Prayer • How Fasting and Prayer Produces Breakthrough The book you’re holding walks you through Pastor Scott Williams’ own discovery of the Daniel Fast and the amazing life change, breakthrough, and success that followed. Since then, he’s done it on an annual basis for over a decade and has taught others to do the same. The results have been staggering! All 21 days come power packed daily dose of... • Scripture • Devotionals • Journal Ideas • Prayers • Fasting Tips Start a journey toward more intimacy with God as you learn to Fast Like Daniel.

    So began the most important week of the most important person who ever lived.Nearly 2,000 years later, the events that took place during Jesus's last days still reverberate through the ages. Designed as a day-by-day guide to Passion Week, The Final Days of Jesus leads us to re-examine and meditate on the history-making, earth-shaking significance of Jesus's arrest, trial, crucifixion, and empty tomb.Combining a chronological arrangement of the Gospel accounts with insightful commentary, charts, and maps, this book will help you better understand what actually happened all those years ago . . . and why it matters today.

    Yet most of our lives is unwitnessed. We spend our days working, driving, parenting. We sometimes spend whole seasons feeling unnoticed and unappreciated.In Unseen, Sara Hagerty suggests that this is exactly what God intended. He is the only One who truly knows us. He is the only One who understands the value of the unseen in our lives. When this truth seeps into our souls, we realize that only when we hide ourselves in God can we give ourselves to others in true freedom--and know the joy of a deeper relationship with the God who sees us.Our culture applauds what we can produce, what we can show, what we can upload to social media. Only when we give all of ourselves to God--unedited, abandoned, apparently wasteful in its lack of productivity--can we live out who God created us to be. As Hagerty writes, "Maybe my seemingly unproductive, looking-up-at-Him life produces awe among the angels."Through an eloquent exploration of both personal and biblical story, Hagerty calls us to offer every unseen minute of our lives to God. God is in the secret places of our lives that no one else witnesses. But we've not been relegated to these places. We've been invited.We may be "wasting" ourselves in a hidden corner today: The cubicle on the fourth floor. The hospital bedside of an elderly parent. The laundry room. But these are the places God uses to meet us with a radical love. These are the places that produce the kind of unhinged love in us that gives everything at His feet, whether or not anyone else ever proclaims our name, whether or not anyone else ever sees.God's invitation is not just for a season or a day. It is the question of our lives: "When no one else applauds you, when it makes no sense, when you see no results--will you waste your love on Me?"