Spiritual Growth Love

We all have ideas that we tell ourselves about God and how he works in our lives. Some are true--but many are false. James Bryan Smith believes those thoughts determine not only who we are, but how we live. In fact, Smith declares, the most important thing about a person is what they think about God. The path to spiritual transformation begins here.

This best-selling book has provided the foundation for a whole new way of thinking about relationships among today’s generation. Rather than chasing after temporary relationships, this book challenges listeners to give the “pen” to God and allow him to script their love story in his own perfect time and way.

Everyone wants to be loved - to find someone who will stick with them through all of life's ups and downs, someone who is in it for the long haul. But in a world where dating is increasingly based on split-second decisions and geared toward casual relationships rather than marriage, it's easy for single people to feel discouraged, used, or unworthy of true love. Jonathan "JP" Pokluda wants to dispel the myths, misconceptions, and fairy tales you've believed about dating and replace them with the truth from the One who invented marriage and created you to crave a relationship.

In this book, award-winning author James K. A. Smith shows that who and what we worship fundamentally shape our hearts. And while we desire to shape culture, we are not often aware of how culture shapes us. We might not realize the ways our hearts are being taught to love rival gods instead of the One for whom we were made. Smith helps listeners recognize the formative power of culture and the transformative possibilities of Christian practices.

The movement began with the heart of the poor and humble Hungarian mystic and Third-Order Carmelite, Elizabeth Kindelmann (1913-1985), when she heard the voices of Jesus and Mary through interior locutions between the years 1961 and 1983. The result is this spiritual diary, written at the request of our lord Jesus, which has received the Imprimatur of the Church and gifted the world untold blessings for our critical times.

In this audiobook, Healy takes listeners on a journey of rediscovering the goodness of God. It fills the churches we visit every week. It moves across the sea from nation to nation. All we have to do is learn how to see it and receive it, and then we will watch every corner of the world be completely transformed by the power of his profound good.

Perhaps no book in this generation has had a more profound impact on our intellectual and spiritual lives than The Road Less Traveled. With sales of more than 7 million copies in the United States and Canada, and translation into more than 23 languages, it has made publishing history, with more than 10 years on The New York Times best seller list.

To the Christian's in Rome, the Apostle Paul says "I am eager to preach the gospel to you who are at Rome." (Romans 1:15). Evidently, Christians need to hear the gospel even after conversion: and A Gospel Primer for Christians is designed to help you do just that. By showing how you can preach the gospel to yourself each day, this book will help you savor the glories of God's love and experience the life-transforming power of the gospel in all areas of life.

In A Return to Love, Marianne Williamson shares her reflections on A Course in Miracles and her insights on the application of love in the search for inner peace.

In Love Your God with All Your Mind, J.P. Moreland presents a logical case for the role of the mind in spiritual transformation. He challenges us to develop a Christian mind and to use our intellect to further God's kingdom through evangelism, apologetics, worship, and vocation.This is an invaluable book aiding the concerned Christian in the battle for the Christian intellect.

Puritan John Flavel (1630-1691) in Keeping the Heart (originally titled: A Saint Indeed or The Great Work of a Christian Opened and Pressed) has proven to be a steady and timely friend to many over the years. Using Proverbs 4:23 ("Keep your heart with all vigilance for from it flow the springs of life."), Flavel creates a treatise designed for all professing Christians.

In This Beautiful Truth, Sarah Clarkson shares her own encounters with beauty in the midst of her decade-long struggle with mental illness, depression, and doubt. In a voice both vulnerable and reflective, she paints a compelling picture of the God who reaches out to us in a real and powerful way through the "taste and see" goodness of what he has made and what he continues to create amid our darkness. "To recognize and trust God's gift in pain," she writes, "empowers us to create and love as powerful witnesses to God's healing love in a hopeless world."

The key to spiritual and emotional health is to grasp the truth of God's transforming love for us and then let that reality influence our own hearts and relationships. It seems simple, but we are experts at complicating simple things. Instead of living lives characterized by love we find ourselves trapped in cycles of shame, violence, and addiction that steal our joy and keep us from loving others - so much so that, by all indications, Christians are living no differently than anyone else when it comes to abuse rates, use of pornography, alcohol and drug addiction, and more.

This is a book about discovering what we really need. There are a lot of second-best options, but we weren't made to live a second-best life. Finding what we actually need is different than what we are often offered. There are many books full of opinions, steps and programs. This isn't one of them. This is about craving the things that matter. Things that don't just work, but last.

Having every one of us been in bondage to sin, we readily believe that sinful things are Satanic; but do we believe equally that the things of the world are Satanic? Many of us, I think, are still in two minds about this. Yet how clearly Scripture affirms that "the whole world lieth in the evil one" (1 John 5:19). Satan well knows that, generally speaking, to try to ensnare real Christians through things that are positively sinful is vain and futile.

Flourishing people are strong and weak. Two common temptations lure us away from abundant living: withdrawing into safety and grasping for power. True flourishing, says Andy Crouch, travels down an unexpected path - being both strong and weak. We see this unlikely mixture in the best leaders - people who use their authority for the benefit of others while also showing extraordinary willingness to face and embrace suffering.

Do you worry that you're messing up your kids? Do you get stressed when you think about their futures? New York Times best-selling author Crystal Paine knows how you feel. A mom of four, Crystal has struggled with anxiety over parenting. She wanted to parent with grace, instead of a system of rules where kids are expected to do all the right things. She wanted to be a safe place for her children, and she definitely didn't want to be remembered as the sort of mom who yelled, wounded her kids with words, or worse, cared more about her reputation than her kids' hearts.

Can a simple concept shift your entire world? Bob certainly thinks so. When it comes to loving your neighbors, instead of focusing on having the “right answers” or checking the “right boxes”, what if you decide to simply do love? To shamelessly show love and grace to those around you—what would that look like? Not the kind of love that stops at thoughts and feelings, Bob's love takes action. Bob believes Love Does.

This 40-day devotional based on the classic best-selling novel Redeeming Love leads you on a personal, six-week journey into God's all-consuming embrace.

With biblical insight and practical wisdom, The Power to Bless shows you how to craft a positive, faith-filled blessing. By learning a few simple, biblical skills for imparting life-changing blessings, you'll be more spiritually blessed than you'd ever imagined, and you'll be equipped with the power to bless the people you love.