Book picks similar to
Searching for Enough: The High-Wire Walk Between Doubt and Faith by Tyler Staton
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Dangerous Prayers: Because Following Jesus Was Never Meant to Be Safe
Craig Groeschel - 2020
He wants more for us than a tepid faith and half-hearted routines at the dinner table. He's called you to a life of courage, not comfort.This book will show you how to pray the prayers that search your soul, break your habits, and send you to pursue the calling God has for you. But be warned: if you're fine with settling for what's easy, or you're OK with staying on the sidelines, this book isn't for you. You'll be challenged. You'll be tested. You'll be moved to take a long, hard look at your heart.But you'll be inspired, too.You'll be inspired to pray boldly. To pray powerfully. To pray with fire. You'll see how you can trade ineffective prayers and lukewarm faith for raw, daring prayers that will push you to new levels of passion and fulfillment. You'll discover the secret to overcome fears of loss, rejection, failure, and the unknown and welcome the blessings God has for you on the other side.You'll gain the courage it takes to pray dangerous prayers.
Welcome to Adulting: Navigating Faith, Friendship, Finances, and the Future
Jonathan Pokluda - 2018
For many young people, the transition is a bumpy one, fraught with opportunities to make mistakes and bad choices. The clear expectations they had at home or in school are gone, and they may feel unprepared to face what comes next.But sometimes we make it harder than it has to be. Combining entertaining stories from his own experience, insights from the Bible, and compelling evidence from research, "JP" Pokluda lays out a roadmap for how to navigate life as an adult, addressing topics like- friendships and dating- career and money management- interpersonal conflict- controlling anxiety- recovering from addiction- and discovering your purpose on this earthAnyone struggling to find a footing in the world of adult life will welcome this witty, non-patronizing guide.
The Burden Is Light: Liberating Your Life from the Tyranny of Performance and Success
Jon Tyson - 2018
Surprising to many, this life is not measured by success, comparison, or accolades. Rather, free and joyful living stems from a God-centered celebration of our union with Christ and the lives of those around us.
Jon Tyson's exploration of the reverse economy of the kingdom frees his readers from merit-based living...not just in terms of salvation, but daily, earthly value. Life is not meant to be a series of competitions or a survival of the fittest rat race. Yet so many of the messages around us, so many of the voices bombarding our hearts and minds tie up our value and package it with our accolades.This book gives another way forward. It shows readers how to value their individual lives based on what God says about them, rather than how they measure themselves against the world. This is a must read for each and every person trying to find their voice and purpose in a loud and frenetic world.
Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will
Kevin DeYoung - 2009
It's time to try something new: Give up. Pastor and author Kevin DeYoung counsels Christians to settle down, make choices, and do the hard work of seeing those choices through. Too often, he writes, God's people tinker around with churches, jobs, and relationships, worrying that they haven't found God's perfect will for their lives. Or—even worse—they do absolutely nothing, stuck in a frustrated state of paralyzed indecision, waiting . . . waiting . . . waiting for clear, direct, unmistakable direction. But God doesn't need to tell us what to do at each fork in the road. He's already revealed his plan for our lives: to love him with our whole hearts, to obey His Word, and after that, to do what we like. No need for hocus-pocus. No reason to be directionally challenged. Just do something.
The Bait Of Satan: Living Free from the Deadly Trap of Offense
John Bevere - 1994
Most people who are ensnared by the bait of Satan don't even realize it. Don't be fooled! You will encounter offense, and it's up to you how it will affect your relationship with God. Your response will determine your future. If offense is handled correctly, you will become stronger rather than bitter.In this tenth anniversary edition of his best-selling book, John Bevere shows you how to stay free from offense and escape the victim mentality. With more than 400,000 copies in print, this book includes testimonials of transformed people who have read copies in print, this book includes testimonials of transformed people who have read the original book and a devotional supplement, featuring discussion questions, scriptures, and prayers.You will find answers to tough questions like these:Why am I compelled to tell "my side" of the story? How can I fight thoughts of suspicion or distrust? What can I do to stop rehearsing past hurts? How can I regain trust after someone deeply offends me?This book will help you escape the enemy's "offensive trap" as well as empower you to stay free of offense, enabling you to have an unhindered relationship with God.
Humility: True Greatness
C.J. Mahaney - 2005
It’s the clash between our sense of stubborn self-sufficiency and God’s call to recognize that we’re really nothing without Him. It’s pride versus humility. And it’s a fight we can’t win without looking repeatedly to Christ and the cross. C. J. Mahaney raises a battle cry to daily, diligently, and deliberately weaken our greatest enemy (pride) and cultivate our greatest friend (humility). His examination clarifies misconceptions, revealing the truth about why God detests pride and turns His active attention to the humble. Because pride is never passive, defeating it demands an intentional attack. The blessing that follows is God’s abundant favor. “This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit.” —Isaiah 66:2, ESV God clearly states that He is drawn to the humble. He’s also clear that He opposes the proud. These two, humility and pride, cannot coexist. Where one is fostered, the other is defeated. Which will you pursue?
(Un)Qualified: How God Uses Broken People to Do Big Things
Steven Furtick - 2016
We feel unqualified to do God’s work or to live out the calling we imagine. But God has a way of using our weaknesses for good. In fact, God loves unqualified people. In (Un)Qualified, Pastor Steven Furtick helps you peel back the assumptions you’ve made about yourself and see yourself as God sees you. Because true peace and confidence come not from worldly perfection but from acceptance: God’s acceptance of you, your acceptance of yourself, and your acceptance of God’s process of change. This is a book about understanding your identity in light of who God is. It’s a book about coming to terms with the good, the bad, and the unmentionable in your life and learning to let God use you. It’s about charging into the gap between your present and your hopes and meeting God there. After all, God can’t bless who you pretend to be. But he longs to bless who you really are; a flawed and broken person. Good thing for us that God is in the business of using broken people to do big things. Being Unqualified Is God’s Favorite QualificationOur culture tells us that the answer to our failures is to fix them. The solution to our weaknesses is to hide them. The secret to our success is to appear as flawless as possible. But God’s qualifying system is different than the world’s. So is his view of our weaknesses, our purpose, and our true selves. In (Un)Qualified, Steven Furtick explores who God is as the great “I AM,” and then helps us discover our own identity. Delving into the story of Jacob, Furtick invites us to acknowledge our weaknesses and ask God to work through them. The truth is, God has created us to be more, to accomplish more, and to love life more than we ever thought possible. But to become who he has called us to be, we must embrace who we are right now. (Un)Qualified equips us to face obstacles and failures without losing a sense of purpose. We can have a thriving sense of hope that God is working in us and through us, not in spite of our weaknesses but often as a direct result of them.
The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose for an Age of Distraction
Justin Whitmel Earley - 2019
We yearn for the freedom and peace of the gospel, but remain addicted to our technology, shackled by our screens, and exhausted by our routines. But because our habits are the water we swim in, they are almost invisible to us. What can we do about it?The answer to our contemporary chaos is to practice a rule of life that aligns our habits to our beliefs. The Common Rule offers four daily and four weekly habits, designed to help us create new routines and transform frazzled days into lives of love for God and neighbor. Justin Earley provides concrete, doable practices, such as a daily hour of phoneless presence or a weekly conversation with a friend.These habits are “common” not only because they are ordinary, but also because they can be practiced in community. They have been lived out by people across all walks of life—businesspeople, professionals, parents, students, retirees—who have discovered new hope and purpose. As you embark on these life-giving practices, you will find the freedom and rest for your soul that comes from aligning belief in Jesus with the practices of Jesus.
When Heaven Invades Earth: A Practical Guide to a Life of Miracles
Bill Johnson - 2005
It challenges every believer to walk in supernatural signs and wonders as a natural part of everyday life. ---John ArnottAnyone can walk in the miraculous---even you! If you've ever wanted to live and walk in the supernatural power of God, here's your chance! It is truly possible for human people to walk in the divine, and Christ came to show us the way. It is by rediscovering our true identity in Him that we can begin to move into the promises of God regarding the miraculous.Bill Johnson not only teaches the supernatural, he imparts it by changing the way we think. If you are not walking in the miraculous, you're living far below your birthright! By laying a carefully constructed biblical foundation for walking in the supernatural power of God, When Heaven Invades Earth provides all the equipment you need to experience miracles every day.
The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears
Mark Batterson - 2011
Sharing inspiring stories from his own experiences as a prayer circle maker, Batterson will help readers uncover their heart's deepest desires and God-given dreams and unleash them through the kind of audacious prayer that God delights to answer.
You and Me Forever: Marriage in Light of Eternity
Francis Chan - 2014
It's until death do us part. Then come eternal rewards or regrets depending on how we spent our lives. In his latest book, Francis Chan joins together with his wife Lisa to address the question many couples wonder at the altar: How do I have a healthy marriage? Setting aside typical topics on marriage, Francis and Lisa dive into Scripture to understand what it means to have a relationship that satisfies the deepest parts of our souls. In the same way Crazy Love changed the way we saw our personal relationship with God, You and Me Forever: Marriage in Light of Eternity will radically shift the way we see one of the most important relationships in our life. Jesus was right. We have it all backwards. The way to have a great marriage is by not focusing on marriage. Whether you are single, dating or married, You and Me Forever will help you discover the adventure that you were made for and learn how to thrive in it. 100% of the net profits from You and Me Forever: Marriage in Light of Eternity will go towards providing food, shelter and rehabilitation for thousands of orphaned children and exploited women in partnership with global charities.
Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God's Plan for the World
Timothy J. Keller - 2012
Now he puts his insights into a book for readers everywhere, giving biblical perspectives on such pressing questions as:• What is the purpose of work?• How can I find meaning and serve customers in a cutthroat, bottom-line-oriented workplace?• How can I use my skills in a vocation that has meaning and purpose?• Can I stay true to my values and still advance in my field?• How do I make the difficult choices that must be made in the course of a successful career? With deep insight and often surprising advice, Keller shows readers that biblical wisdom is immensely relevant to our questions about our work. In fact, the Christian view of work—that we work to serve others, not ourselves—can provide the foundation of a thriving professional and balanced personal life. Keller shows how excellence, integrity, discipline, creativity, and passion in the workplace can help others and even be considered acts of worship—not just of self-interest.
Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World's Largest Religion
Rebecca McLaughlin - 2019
But even so, the Christian faith includes many controversial beliefs that non-Christians find hard to accept. This book explores 12 issues that might cause someone to dismiss orthodox Christianity--issues such as the existence of suffering, the Bible's teaching on gender and sexuality, the reality of heaven and hell, the authority of the Bible, and more. Showing how the best research from sociology, science, and psychology doesn't disagree with but actually aligns with claims found in the Bible, these chapters help skeptics understand why these issues are signposts, rather than roadblocks, to faith in Christ.
Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life
Tish Harrison Warren - 2016
But God can become present to us in surprising ways through our everyday routines. Framed around one ordinary day, this book explores daily life through the lens of liturgy, small practices and habits that form us. Each chapter looks at something making the bed, brushing her teeth, losing her keys that the author does in the day. Drawing from the diversity of her life as a campus minister, Anglican priest, friend, wife, and mother, Tish Harrison Warren opens up a practical theology of the everyday. Each activity is related to a spiritual practice as well as an aspect of our Sunday worship. Come and discover the holiness of your every day."
Gods at War: Defeating the Idols that Battle for Your Heart
Kyle Idleman - 2013
What keeps us from truly following Jesus is that our hearts are pursuing something or someone else. While these pursuits may not be the “graven images” of old, they are in fact modern day idols. Behind the sin you’re struggling with, the discouragement you’re dealing with, the lack of purpose you’re living with is a false god that is winning the war for your heart. According to Idleman, idolatry isn’t an issue—it is the issue. By asking insightful questions, Idleman reveals which false gods each of us are allowing on the throne of our lives. What do you sacrifice for? What makes you mad? What do you worry about? Whose applause do you long for? We’re all wired for worship, but we often end up valuing and honoring the idols of money, sex, food, romance, success and many others that keep us from the intimate relationship with God that we desire. Using true, powerful and honest testimonies of those who have struggled in each area, gods at war illustrates a clear path away from the heartache of our 21st century idolatry back to the heart of God – enabling us to truly be completely committed followers of Jesus.