Book picks similar to
Embraced by the Spirit: The Untold Blessings of Intimacy with God by Charles R. Swindoll
christian
non-fiction
christian-living
nonfiction
The Best Yes: Making Wise Decisions in the Midst of Endless Demands
Lysa TerKeurst - 2014
Lysa demonstrates the incredible power of two words--yes and no--and the way that these simple, daily decisions can shape the story of our lives. Lysa has learned firsthand that there's a big difference between saying yes to everyone and saying yes to God. Drawing from applicable scriptures and her own personal experiences, Lysa teaches us that if we know and believe that God has a plan for each of us, we'll live it out--serving as living proof of His never-ending grace and kindness.Throughout The Best Yes, Lysa will give you the practical tools you need to:Stop people-pleasing by embracing a biblical understanding of loveEscape the guilt of disappointing others by learning the secret of the small noOvercome the agony of hard choices by grounding your decisions in wisdomGrow closer to God as you sharpen your own discernmentLearn to be intentional with your time, your choices, and yourselfIncorporate the Best Yes as a filter for your daily decision makingIf we take time to slow down and rise above the rush of the world's endless demands, we can rest assured that God's wisdom will help us make decisions that will still be good tomorrow. No matter what season of life you find yourself in, you deserve the chance to make decisions that bring out the best you.
The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical
Shane Claiborne - 2006
We can write a check to feed starving children or hold signs in the streets and feel like we’ve made a difference without ever encountering the faces of the suffering masses. In this book, Shane Claiborne describes an authentic faith rooted in belief, action, and love, inviting us into a movement of the Spirit that begins inside each of us and extends into a broken world. Shane’s faith led him to dress the wounds of lepers with Mother Teresa, visit families in Iraq amidst bombings, and dump $10,000 in coins and bills on Wall Street to redistribute wealth. Shane lives out this revolution each day in his local neighborhood, an impoverished community in North Philadelphia, by living among the homeless, helping local kids with homework, and “practicing resurrection” in the forgotten places of our world. Shane’s message will comfort the disturbed, and disturb the comfortable . . . but will also invite us into an irresistible revolution. His is a vision for ordinary radicals ready to change the world with little acts of love.
Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again
Rachel Held Evans - 2018
What she discovered changed her—and it will change you too.Drawing on the best in recent scholarship and using her well-honed literary expertise, Evans examines some of our favorite Bible stories and possible interpretations, retelling them through memoir, original poetry, short stories, soliloquies, and even a short screenplay. Undaunted by the Bible’s most difficult passages, Evans wrestles through the process of doubting, imagining, and debating Scripture’s mysteries. The Bible, she discovers, is not a static work but is a living, breathing, captivating, and confounding book that is able to equip us to join God’s loving and redemptive work in the world.
The Sacred Romance: Drawing Closer to the Heart of God
John Eldredge - 1997
As we draw closer to Him, we must choose to let go of other "less-wild lovers," such as perfectionistic driveness and self-indulgence. Eldredge and Curtis identify the lies offered by "false loves" and instruct us on the journey back to the Lover of our souls.In carefully crafted words and images, the authors entice the reader to his or her own journey of the heart, promising, "It is possible to recover the lost life of our heart and with it the intimacy, beauty, and adventure of life with God."
Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
John Piper - 1986
In this paradigm-shattering classic, newly revised and expanded, John Piper reveals that the debate between duty and delight doesn't truly exist: Delight is our duty. Readers will embark on a dramatically different and joyful experience of their faithThe pursuit of pleasure is not optional. It is essential. Scripture reveals that the great business of life is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever. In this paradigm-shattering work, John Piper reveals that the debate between duty and delight doesn’t truly exist: Delight is our duty. Join him as he unveils stunning, life-impacting truths you saw in the Bible but never dared to believe.
When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box
John Ortberg - 2007
But what happens after that, asks bestselling author John Ortberg. You know the answer: It all goes back in the box. You don t get to keep one token, one chip, one game card. In the end, the spoils of the game add up to nothing. Using popular games as a metaphor for our temporal lives, When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box neatly sorts out what s fleeting and what s permanent in God s kingdom. Being Master of the Board is not the point; being rich toward God is. Winning the game of life on Earth is a temporary victory; loving God and other people with all our hearts is an eternal one. Using humor, terrific stories, and a focus on winning the right trophies, Ortberg paints a vivid picture of the priorities that all Christians will want to embrace."
Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God
Timothy J. Keller - 2014
But few receive instruction or guidance in how to make prayer genuinely meaningful. In Prayer, renowned pastor Timothy Keller delves into the many facets of this everyday act.With his trademark insights and energy, Keller offers biblical guidance as well as specific prayers for certain situations, such as dealing with grief, loss, love, and forgiveness. He discusses ways to make prayers more personal and powerful, and how to establish a practice of prayer that works for each reader.Dr. Keller’s previous books have sold more than one million copies. His Redeemer Presbyterian Church is not only a major presence in his home base of New York, it has also helped to launch more than two hundred fifty other churches in forty-eight cities around the world. His teachings have already helped millions, the majority of whom pray regularly. And with Prayer, he’ll show them how to find a deeper connection with God.
The God Who Smokes: Scandalous Meditations on Faith
Timothy J. Stoner - 2008
Filled with humorous insights and challenging ideas, The God Who Smokes imagines a twenty-first-century church where hope hangs with holiness, passion sits next to purity, and compassion can relate to character.
None Like Him: 10 Ways God Is Different from Us (and Why That's a Good Thing)
Jen Wilkin - 2016
Although we share important attributes with God (love, mercy, compassion, etc.), there are other qualities that only God possesses, such as unlimited power, knowledge, and authority. At the root of all sin is our rebellious desire to be like God in such ways--a desire that first manifested itself in the garden of Eden. In None Like Him, Jen Wilkin leads us on a journey to discover ten ways God is different from us--and why that's a good thing. In the process, she highlights the joy of seeing our limited selves in relation to a limitless God, and how such a realization frees us from striving to be more than we were created to be.
God's Outrageous Claims: Discover What They Mean for You
Lee Strobel - 1998
Take the Bible seriously and you’ll discover that God makes some pretty amazing claims about you—and about what he wants to do in your life. God’s Outrageous Claims examines important assertions that can transform your life into an adventure of faith, growth, and lasting fulfillment.
Anxious for Nothing: God's Cure for the Cares of Your Soul
John F. MacArthur Jr. - 2006
So many things to worry about and so little time to worry! Christians obviously are not immune to the troubles of life, and when troubles do come, we're urged to rise above them and experience "peace that passes understanding." But how, in day-to-day life, does that really happen?While numerous books have been written on overcoming anxiety, "Anxious for Nothing" goes beyond pop psychology's temporary cures by returning us to our only true source of comfort and victory: Scripture.
Into the Deep: Diving into a Life of Courageous Faith
Lauren Gaskill - 2018
In fact, the waters of life are often tumultuous, crashing over us. Sometimes we can feel that we’re drowning in a sea of confusion, division, frustration, complacency, or disillusionment. We need more than a shallow faith to survive these deep waters.Into the Deep is an invitation to dive headfirst into a life of courageous faith. With endearing warmth and authenticity, Lauren Gaskill shares how she and others have learned to swim with Jesus in the deep waters of life—facing challenges such as anxiety, depression, and chronic illness—only to discover a more authentic, enduring faith that cannot be shaken by circumstances. In addition to examining the character of God and the lives of women and men of the Bible who chose to dive deeper with God, she provides practical examples and tools that help us take our faith to the next level by learning to make decisions by faith alone, control our reactions to overwhelming situations, and live a life rooted in love.Get ready to exchange fear and frustration for the boldness, courage, and holy confidence that lead to a life of deep faith and joy!
Learning to Walk in the Dark
Barbara Brown Taylor - 2014
Doesn’t God work in the nighttime as well? In Learning to Walk in the Dark, Taylor asks us to put aside our fears and anxieties and to explore all that God has to teach us “in the dark.” She argues that we need to move away from our “solar spirituality” and ease our way into appreciating “lunar spirituality” (since, like the moon, our experience of the light waxes and wanes). Through darkness we find courage, we understand the world in new ways, and we feel God’s presence around us, guiding us through things seen and unseen. Often, it is while we are in the dark that we grow the most.With her characteristic charm and literary wisdom, Taylor is our guide through a spirituality of the nighttime, teaching us how to find our footing in times of uncertainty and giving us strength and hope to face all of life’s challenging moments.
Unashamed: Drop the Baggage, Pick up Your Freedom, Fulfill Your Destiny
Christine Caine - 2016
It hides in the shadows of the most successful, confident and high-achieving woman who struggles with balancing her work and children, as well as in the heart of the broken, abused and downtrodden woman who has been told that she will never amount to anything. Shame hides in plain sight and can hold us back in ways we do not realize. But Christine Caine wants readers to know something: we can all be free.“I know. I’ve been there,” writes Christine. “I was schooled in shame. It has been my constant companion from my very earliest memories. I see shame everywhere I look in the world, including in the church. It creeps from heart to heart, growing in shadowy places, feeding on itself so that those struggling with it are too shamed to seek help from shame itself.”In Unashamed, Christine reveals the often-hidden consequences of shame—in her own life and the lives of so many Christian women—and invites you to join her in moving from a shame-filled to a shame-free life.In her passionate and candid style, Christine leads you into God’s Word where you will see for yourself how to believe that God is bigger than your mistakes, your inadequacies, your past, and your limitations. He is not only more powerful than anything you’ve done but also stronger than anything ever done to you. You can deal with your yesterday today, so that you can move on to what God has in store for you tomorrow—a powerful purpose and destiny he wants you to fulfill.Join the journey. Lay ahold of the power of Jesus Christ today and step into the future—his future for you—a beautiful, full, life-giving future, where you can even become a shame-lifter to others. Live unashamed!
Enough
Helen Roseveare - 2011
It counters the view that material abundance is the sign of God's blessing and that poverty is a sign of God's curse. It teaches that contentment cannot be found in earthly possession, achievement or position, outside of God but can only be found in the fullness of Christ for every believer. We find in Christ that we have fullness and purpose.