A while ago, I compiled a list of my favorite books on trusting God. That list had titles that dealt mostly with trusting God through hard times and letting go of anxiety- issues that I have personally dealt with, recently. I have another list of favorite books about trusting God for you today. This new list of ten books is for teens. I have chosen titles that do an excellent job of speaking to where I have seen many Christian teens are in their faith journey.
Read moreWhere does faith come from?
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. Romans 10:17
Where does faith come from? As a kid who grew up in church, faith in God has long been a part of my life. Christianity was the faith of my parents, and as a young child, I would have said it was mine, too. But mostly, I was going through the motions- no personal relationship with Jesus.
Read moreHow to pray: 3 different types of prayer
I first became a Christian when I was five years old. I’ve prayed to God since then (and probably before, though any prior memories are foggy). I never prayed out loud though, not in front of people, not until a couple of years ago. Though I knew God heard and answered my silent prayers, and I often prayed along in my heart to the spoken prayers of others, I was self-conscious of what other people would think, and afraid I was “doing it wrong.” By the grace of God, that has changed. Through my participation in a small weekly meet-up of Christian women in my home, and our practice of praying for each other, out loud, I have learned to let go of any most self-consciousness- and I’ve learned that I’m not alone in these feelings about prayer.
Read moreWhat is true humility?
How often, when I feel offended or hurt, would I be more at peace, if I were simply more humble? That is the question that has been rolling around my head lately. When I put away the thoughts of myself, about how I think I deserve to be treated, what do I have left to be offended about? Not much.
There’s no avoiding this simple fact: to be like Jesus is to practice humility.
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” Philippians 2:5-7
How do I put away thoughts of myself when I don’t like the way I’m treated? I like how C.S. Lewis said it, in Mere Christianity,
Read moreWhat Does It Mean for the Kingdom of Heaven to Draw Near?
What does it even mean for the kingdom of heaven to draw near? Growing up in Christian circles, I’ve heard that phrase often, but I never paused to consider what it might mean, until recently.
Read moreGrace is for all of us
“Grace is for the desperate, the needy, the broken, those who cannot make it on their own. Grace is for all of us.”- Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew
I’m reading a book called, The Jesus I Never Knew, by Philip Yancey, and in it, he tells the stories of two famous Russian novelists, Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky. Yancey explains how these two men helped him better understand what Jesus was saying when he preached the Sermon on the Mount. I highly recommend Yancey’s book, and encourage anyone to read it for themselves, but I will give you a brief synopsis, because I’m excited to share what I’m learning about Grace and who God is. This is good stuff!
Read moreA Review of Emily P. Freeman's, Simply Tuesday
“True smallness is an invitation to live as I was meant to live, to accept my humanity, and to offer my ability and my inability, my sin and my success, my messes and my masterpieces into the hands of God.”- Emily P. Freeman, Simply Tuesday
Simply Tuesday, is a book that invites the reader to embrace the ordinary, to exhale, and to recognize that the kingdom work of God is accomplished in the small moments of everyday life.
Read moreGod Has Found a Place for Us in His Story
The point is not to find a place for God in our story but to receive the good news that God has found a place for us in His- Michael Horton.
It’s a shift in thinking that makes all the difference. Who is the story about? The gospel, which encompasses the stories of creation, the fall, redemption, and renewal, is God’s story, and we are invited into it. As Christians, we must approach our life, the world, God, and others through this lens. When we turn it around, trying to find a place for God in our story, we’re missing the point. When we make God’s story about us, we have religion.
Read moreHow to love- when the feeling isn't there
“But love, in the Christian sense, does not mean an emotion. It is a state not of the feelings but of the will; the state of the will which we have naturally about ourselves, and must learn to have about other people.” – C.S. Lewis
The quote above is from C.S. Lewis’s book, Mere Christianity. (affiliate link) The command from Jesus to love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31) is clear, leaving no room for argument. It’s a basic tenant of Christianity. Even people outside the faith know about this rule…and yes, they’re watching, to see how we do (or do not) follow through on it. It sounds simple, but what does it really mean to love your neighbor as yourself?
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