Tempted and Tried will not reassure Christians by claiming that temptation is less powerful or less prevalent than it is; instead, it will prepare believers for battle by telling the truth about the cosmic war that is raging. Moore shows that the temptation of every Christian is part of a broader conspiracy against God, a conspiracy that confronts everyone who shares the flesh of Jesus through human birth and especially confronts those who share the Spirit of Christ through the new birth of redemption.Moore walks readers through the Devil's ancient strategies for temptation revealed in Jesus' wilderness testing. Moore considers how those strategies might appear in a contemporary context and points readers to a way of escape. Tempted and Tried will remind Christians that temptation must be understood in terms of warfare, encouraging them with the truth that victory has already been secured through the triumph of Christ.

    But it is not God's Word that has changed. Indeed, its relevancy and its power to transform lives are intact. What has changed is the number of people who consult it. Now more than ever the need to read the Bible, to understand the big picture of its storyline, and to grasp the relevance this has for your life is critical.As with its companion volume, For the Love of God-Volume 1, this devotional contains a systematic 365-day plan, based on the M'Cheyne Bible-reading schedule, that will in the course of a year guide you through the New Testament and Psalms twice and the rest of the Old Testament once. In so doing, D. A. Carson completes the work he began in the first book.In an effort to help preserve biblical thinking and living, D. A. Carson has also written thought-provoking comments and reflections regarding each day's scriptural passages. And, most uniquely, he offers you perspective that places each reading into the larger framework of history and God's eternal plan to deepen your understanding of his sovereignty-and the unity and power of his Word.

    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.

    No small task! Is there someone we can turn to for help? "Wisdom tells us to sit at the feet of our elders rather than the latest ministry fad," notes author Kyle Strobel. And is there a better elder to guide us than Jonathan Edwards? In Edwards, the eighteenth-century Puritan pastor and theologian, we find deep thought balanced with deep passion. Through his writings and practices, Edwards provides us with the tools--the "means of grace"--that make us receptive to God's work in our lives as we learn to abide in Christ. Here we find a well-rounded account of being formed for the glory of God.Download the free discussion guide (pdf) by Kyle Strobel.

    A profound book of spiritual insight that helps believers live a deep life in God beneath the turmoil of our hurried business.

    But the Puritans saw it as warfare, as wrestling, as “holy violence,” to use their term. The Apostle Paul spoke of beating his own body into subjection. And this holy violence is to be brought not only against one’s self, but against Satan, the world, and heaven too. And in this confrontation, we must use the weapons God has given us—reading the Word, hearing the Word, prayer, meditation, self-examination, and the due observance of the Lord’s Day. The writings of Thomas Watson, replete with sound doctrine, practical wisdom, and heart-searching application, need no introduction to readers of the Puritans. His profound spirituality, terse style, gripping remarks, practical illustrations, and beauty of expression make him one of the most irresistible, quotable, and devotional of all the Puritans. Heaven Taken By Storm is a precious little volume of practical Christian living.

    Yet many of us rely solely on others to preach to us and are not benefitting from the kind of preaching that should be most consistent and personal--preaching to ourselves.Note to Self is a practical introduction to this daily discipline. Pastor Joe Thorn delivers fifty brief, devotional chapters that model preaching the gospel to ourselves and its practical implications. Readers will be challenged by the book's direct, personal exhortations to apply the law and the gospel to their own lives.

    We need to recover the practice of honest spiritual struggle that gives us permission to vocalize our pain and wrestle with our sorrow. Lament avoids trite answers and quick solutions, progressively moving us toward deeper worship and trust.Exploring how the Bible--through the psalms of lament and the book of Lamentations--gives voice to our pain, this book invites us to grieve, struggle, and tap into the rich reservoir of grace and mercy God offers in the darkest moments of our lives.

    Drawing from two masterful works by John Owen, Kris Lundgaard offers insight, encouragement, and hope for overcoming the enemy within.

    True prayer comes from the heart, so why do we need a method? The great devotional commentator and pastor shows here that Christians benefit from discipline just as much as talking freely with God. You will discover the methods Jesus taught, look at styles of prayer, and see helpful examples. Duncan has incorporated some of Henry's other work on prayer.

    But let’s face it: the biggest enemy is usually the one staring back at us from the mirror every morning.We lack self-control.Self-control isn’t very popular these days. We tend to think of it as boring, confining, the cop that shows up and shuts down the party. But the truth is that people who cultivate this vital virtue lead freer, happier, and more meaningful lives. After all, our bad habits—from the slight to the serious—bring a host of painful consequences. Ultimately, they keep us from becoming the people God created us to be.Your Future Self Will Thank You is a compassionate and humorous guide to breaking bad habits and growing your willpower. It explores Scripture’s teachings on how to live a disciplined life while offering practical strategies for growth based on the science of self-control. Whether you want to deepen your spiritual life, conquer an addiction, or kick your nail-biting habit, this book will help you get motivated, stay on track, and achieve your goals.Sure, self-control is hard, but it doesn’t have to be that hard. Get the help you need to be freer, happier, and more productive. Your future self will thank you!

    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.

    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."

    Even our vacations have a panicky, task-like edge to them. "If I only had more time," is the mantra of our age. But is this the real problem?Widely acclaimed author Mark Buchanan states that what we've really lost is "the rest of God-the rest God bestows and, with it, that part of himself we can know only through stillness." Stillness as a virtue is a foreign concept in our society, but there is wisdom in God's own rhythm of work and rest. Sabbath is elixir and antidote. It is a gift for our sanity and wholeness--to prolong our lives, to enrich our relationships, to increase our fruitfulness, to make our joy complete. Jesus practiced Sabbath among those who had turned it into a dismal thing, a day for murmuring and finger-wagging, and he reminded them of the day's true purpose: liberation-to heal, to feed, to rescue, to celebrate, to lavish and relish life abundant.The gift of Sabbath is essential to our full humanity and faith, says Buchanan. Far from being some starched and dour day only to be endured, Sabbath is a day wide and bright, brimming with laughter, enough to lend beauty to all our other days. Readers will be changed forever by this pivotal book."It seems very unsabbath-like to describe a book about Sabbath with the adverb 'urgently'--but we urgently need this book. Mark Buchanan shows us that our busyness is killing us--killin us--and that Sabbath is our best cure, our best path for rest and reverence and discipleship."--LAUREN WINNER, Best-selling author of Girl Meets God and Mudhouse Sabbath"With the easiness of long intimacy and a very deft hand, Buchanan here braids together into one gracious and sustaining strand the beauty of Sabbath, the wisdom of its keeping, and the generosity of God in gifting us with it. These pages are not just a blessing, they are a psalm that cries out to be joyfully engaged."--PHYLLIS TICKLE, Religion editor (ret.) Publishers Weekly and compiler of The Divine Hours

    What they couldn't have known was that their minister was terrified of being laid bare in public. Fear of shame and exposure is crippling, even if, as in Mark's case, the sufferer is innocent. And it's one of the most devastating elements of depression, although certainly not the only one. Mark invites us into the darkness of his cave. We relive significant moments from boarding school, Uganda, Berlin and London. We visit the Psalms, Job and The Pilgrim's Progress. If you're after neat conclusions and a fair-weather faith, this is not for you. This book serves up gritty reality and raw honesty, but also the heartfelt hope that the author's brokenness 'can somehow contribute to another person's integration' and 'inspire their clinging while beset by darkness or fog or blizzards'.