Spiritual Growth Love

Where can we go when the world refuses to see us in our fullness? When culture reduces us to categories and stereotypes and even our churches make us feel like we don’t fit in? If we’re blessed to have an Auntie—someone who, like Jesus, welcomes us wholly and calls us beloved—then we have glimpsed the liberation and divine affirmation of sacred belonging. Time and again, Aunties have offered a model for undoing, becoming, and embracing our identities and deepest beliefs.

Romance is much more than a date night out or a week away. A passionate, long-lasting love requires two people who are sensually in love with life and each other. In this fascinating book, the authors explore research on seven activities that prompt passion, then describe how Mediterranean cultures practice these secrets in everyday life. Steve and Misty also share how these fun-to-apply secrets have taken their own marriage from confused to confident, from discouraged to delighted - and how you can do it, too.

Our culture is self-obsessed - in our schedules, in our relationships, and especially online. (Can you say selfie?) But in this near-narcissism, people are less content than in decades past. Why? Because we forgot the joy that comes from putting others first. Doing so requires us to live alert, listening for "heart drops", hints from those in our lives who need a helping hand or a generous dose of encouragement. Living alert lifts our own spirits, showing us that blessing others blesses us even more.

The Gospels in the New Testament provide us with more than history - they help us encounter Jesus. This passionate daily devotional will bring you to the feet of your Savior in wonder and worship. Inspired by The Passion Translation, each devotion provides a daily Scripture from the Gospels, an encouraging text, and a meaningful prayer that reveals the character of Jesus and his ever-present love - restoring the broken, befriending the sinner, teaching his followers, healing the sick, and unveiling his fiery heart.

Nowhere was the vitality of Jesus more visible than in His love - compassionate, honest, powerful, humble, and sacrificial. Get to know Jesus, observe His life and His love as they unfold in the gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Combined with author Paul Miller’s own life stories, Love Walked Among Us will encourage you to imitate Jesus’ way of loving people in your relationships and community. Become more like Jesus and grow in your relationship with God.

The world wants to make us into its image. The cares and pleasures of this life demand our hearts' devotion. We are always in the process of being transformed. We become like what we worship—which means we will find true rest only as we worship Christ and become more like him. In his revised devotional work, Kris Lundgaard invites us to forsake unfulfilling idols and set our hearts on adoring Christ instead.

As the world grows more hostile to the love and truth of Jesus, we need hearts that burn hotter than the fury of fear and persecution. And the secret to that kind of passion lies in a heart yielded to the fire of God's perfect love. With warmth and piercing insight, global apostolic ministers Steven and Rene Springer help you embrace God's purifying fire that will captivate your heart, ignite power and purpose, reveal your true identity, bring forth boldness and cast out fear, and fuel you for greater transformation and impact.

Finding Your Way after the Suicide of Someone You Love is a compassionate and practical guide that addresses the intensely personal issues of survivors of suicide (SOS). This gentle and faith-affirming resource helps survivors know what to expect, especially during the first year following a suicide. It includes personal stories of survivors and suggestions on how to move beyond survival to live life again.

Michael W. Smith, multi-platinum artist, celebrated songwriter, producer, best-selling author, and acclaimed actor, himself a father of five adult children and grandfather of sixteen, calls upon his humble experiences of growing up in a small West Virginia town to share his father’s story. Each chapter identifies a quality and characteristic of his dad that came out of an obedient and sacrificial life, committed to serving his Abba Father.

It’s an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It’s a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne - everything - to rescue the one he loves. The best thing about this Story is - it’s true! And at the center of the story, there is a baby. The child upon whom everything would depend. All the stars, mountains, oceans, and galaxies were nothing compared to how much God loved his children. He would move Heaven and Earth to be near them. Always.

Building on the foundation of the New York Times bestseller, Love Does, the Love Does study (guide sold separately) is a case study in love done - a love that's practical, functional, active. Not a "love" that has all the right answers. Not a "love" with ulterior motives. Not a "love" that's all talk or paralyzed by doubt. But a radically alive love that's an intentional participation in God's world.

Eight years have passed since Holly last saw her high school sweetheart, Josh. Now the wedding of Josh's best friend has brought him back to Martinsburg, Texas. His duties as best man and Holly's as the church's volunteer wedding coordinator link them together. As they work behind the scenes to plan a beautiful November wedding for their friends, they're forced to confront painful reminders of what might have been.

A Bible study guide for growth in personal contact with God, this book is filled with teaching, scripture, and amazing historical examples of people that have heard God’s voice....

Here's a heartwarming narrative about three people who tell their stories of tragedy, fear, and disease, and how God showed them his love in a real way.

In this winsome book, best-selling author John S. Dickerson clearly and faithfully explains essential Christian beliefs, using simple stories that have resonated with his congregation of thousands. He guides listeners into these basic beliefs, and most importantly, he illustrates why these beliefs matter.

In the face of animosity, failure, isolation, and betrayal is a love that speaks to our greatest longings and heaviest needs, but have we taken God's love for granted? Now more than ever, and more than anything, people need to find their way into the compassionate embrace of their Father in heaven. The Great Love of God provides an accessible, passionate exploration of how the divine love casts out fear, provides ultimate hope, and never fails.

Seasons of crisis, pain, and loss may impact the people we become, but our circumstances do not define who we are. Your identity is greater than your experiences. The only experience that ought to define your identity, determine your self-worth, and shape your destiny is an encounter with the unconditional love of God. The eternal, unchanging love of a Perfect Father changes everything!

Fervent passion for Jesus is often one of the first things to fade as we struggle through the daily grind of life, especially after grappling with disappointments and pain. Yet inherent in Jesus's call to return to our first love is his promise to help us never to lose it—to have a heart sustained in joy, delight, and passion for him all of our days. Dana Candler shares her own wrestle with weariness and unbelief, and reveals that a heart fully alive in Jesus is not only possible but is the promise and invitation of God's infinite grace.

John Pavlovitz examines the bedrock ideas of our religion: the existence of hell, the utility of prayer, the way we treat LGBTQ people, the value of anger, and other doctrines to help all of us take a good, honest look at how the beliefs we hold can shape our relationships with God and our fellow humans - and to make sure that love has the last, loudest word.

Love is easy to give when you are getting it back. Are we still called to God's plan of how to love when we are getting none in return? Shauna Shanks's brave journey through obedience reveals the outcome of when we dare to follow God's ludicrous outline for love as described in 1 Corinthians 13. Wrecked with news of her husband's affair and his request for a divorce, Shauna finds herself urgently faced with a decision. Does she give up and divorce her husband and move on, or does she try to fight for her marriage?