Spiritual Growth Love

For years, Christians have argued, debated, and fought one another while "speaking the truth in love," yet we are no closer to the grace-filled life Jesus modeled. Biblical scholar and popular podcast host of The Bible for Normal People, Jared Byas casts a new vision for the Christian life that's built not on certainty, but on the risk of love.

Rejection is inevitable. Yet we spend little time considering the significant impact it makes on an individual's whole self. When we do, we swaddle it in quippy statements and shallow encouragement—meaningful for just a moment. But rejection leaves aching wounds that challenge and forge our most intimate thoughts of who we believe God, others, and ourselves to be. Tabitha Panariso blends biblical truth, candid personal stories, and timeless wisdom forged through personal experience and her vocation as a therapist to invite listeners into a new way of living.

If you are longing to experience God more than the shame or hurts of your past, the pressures of your present, or the fear of your future, Brave Surrender offers a soul-healing path forward. As Kim learned in her own life, the first step - and the bravest step - is letting go. Once we let go of anything that gets between us and God, we are freed to take hold of the life that truly matters.

Many Christians misunderstand and trivialize the biblical meaning of love and miss the transformation that God wants for them. We may practice the disciplines without grasping the life that Jesus desires to give within us. Through many years of spiritual formation teaching, coaching, and spiritual direction, I have found that both pastors and lay folk seem to simply blow past the central teaching of Scripture that love forms the heart of the Gospel message.

Joshua Becker weaves together personal stories, biblical teachings, and practical advice to help you let go of consumerism and worldly possessions and to instead embrace the great joy Jesus offers. This positive and compelling book serves as both a personal and collective call to action, urging you to own less, love more, and realize your full potential in God's kingdom. Rooted in the teachings of Jesus, Uncluttered Faith argues that true spiritual fulfillment and abundant life are found not in accumulation but in simplicity and generosity.

With a fresh, uplifting perspective on an often-told story, Amy Boucher Pye unpacks the dynamics of Jesus’s remarkable friendships with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, inviting you to be transformed by the same love that upended their lives. With prayer exercises and reflection questions, Transforming Love is the perfect resource for your personal time with God as well as group discussion.

When a newspaper ad prompts Darla King to travel to Birch Creek in search of a husband, her identical twin, Amanda, promises their parents she’ll convince Darla to come home. After all, Amanda is the responsible and reliable one. She has always protected Darla, who acts on impulse and trusts people too easily. The sisters’ close relationship is strained as Darla asserts her independence, and Amanda grapples with regrets of her past and the longings of her own heart.

In Life Changing Love, John Ortberg reveals the God you've longed to encounter: a Father head over heels in love with you, his child, who is intensely committed to your highest joy. Ortberg takes you to the very core of God's being to discover a burning, passionate love that gives and gives and gives. He explores the life-changing ways this love has expressed itself through Jesus.

Pop culture and psychobabble tell us to make ourselves the center of the universe in order to be happy. Churches have communicated the false idea that God exists to give us all that we selfishly want. In this book, Max Lucado reminds us that it's not about us, it's all about God. It is through this shift in thinking that we can truly live an unburdened, happy life.

These 100 love letters are a royal escort to the real you. They are spoken through the totally human and totally divine being of Jesus, identifying himself as “The Christ in You” to emphasize the true nature of your own being as unique, eternal, immutable, and holy. They were written to help each of us transcend polarity and to usher us into the integrity—the unity—of being.

Do you ever feel like you don't pray enough, read your Bible enough, share your faith enough, love God enough...and ultimately that you're not a very good Christian? Welcome to the club. Messy Spirituality was written for the silent majority of us who are convinced we just don't do Christianity right. Mike Yaconelli dares to suggest that imperfection, unfinishedness, and messiness are, in fact, the earmarks of true Christianity; that real Christianity is messy, erratic, lopsided...and gloriously liberating.

Seeing the world through a lens of love is not easy, but when you commit to this practice, you will begin to see God’s power move in surprising ways. Through the Eyes of Love shows us how operating from a place of love is the most effective way to walk in the Spirit. This book will help you grow in spiritual authority and learn how to speak powerful words.

Over twenty years later, Dee was still in love with her charming Southern gentleman when he passed away suddenly in 2007. Determined to carry on Johnnie’s work, Dee earned her mortuary science degree, only to find herself no longer needed in the family business. So Dee crossed the racial divide in the most segregated industry in America and joined the staff of an African-American funeral home as a single white woman. In The Undertaker’s Wife, Oliver draws from her experience to provide candid advice on dying well and surviving the loss of those who have gone before.

You may say that you love your family, your spouse, your church, or the Lord. You may also express love for temporal things like a good cup of coffee, your home, or a nice dinner at your favorite restaurant. But it is rarer to truly say "I love my life!" It's common to be more frustrated with life than at peace with it, because the daily grind wears you down. Responsibilities and burdens become heavy and rob you of the happiness you're meant to have as a child of God. But you can be hopeful, learn to rise above your challenges, and be filled with wonder at what God might do every day.

In Wounded by God’s People Anne Graham Lotz draws on the biblical story of Hagar to show those who have been hurt by God’s people how to move past their wounds into the joy and fellowship of His presence, claiming the fullness of the blessings God has for them.

You are not alone. Whether you’re a free spirit, an office exec, a writer, musician, college student, or tired parent - your soul, like mine, knows life is meant to go beyond rat races and rare applause. This book speaks to that belief. And if you’re not careful, you may find tears warming your eyes as you read because finally someone is naming your weariness, your striving, your questions of why you just can’t quite make it, or the emptiness that hit because maybe you did.

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.

Becoming fully human is a lifelong journey. It can also be an incredible adventure. Here internationally respected depth psychologist, spiritual guide, and personal transformation coach David Benner explores the mysteries of human being and becoming. Drawing on insights from science, philosophy, and forty years of experience integrating psychology and spirituality, he presents concrete steps for living in ways that move us toward wholeness.

After the War Between the States, a Confederate officer longs to heal the heart of a beautiful woman - but first he'll have to right the wrongs that were done to her. Major Ethan Kelly has never been able to absolve himself of the guilt he feels for raiding a woman's home shortly before he was taken prisoner during the Civil War. He is struggling to get through each day until he once again crosses paths with Lizbeth Barclay - the very woman he is trying to forget.

This Scripture-rich book explores what Pastor Alfred Cherubim, describes as, “five vital truths about love”: God loves unconditionally; He commands us to love; we are unable, in our own strength, to love as God loves; we can receive empowerment from God to enable us to love supernaturally; and we are able to access that love through faith in the Savior Jesus Christ. The author maintains that each person’s greatest need is to love and be loved, and he unwraps for the listener the distinctions in three Greek words translated into the one English word “love.