15 Books for Spiritual Growth

One of the best ways to grow spiritually is to read! Books for spiritual growth offer unique perspectives and encouragement. There are so many choices of books, and it can be very intimidating! To help narrow down the choices, our staff put together a list of some of our favorite books for spiritual growth. Take a look at this list and choose a book to read over the next couple of months. You won't regret it!

1. Growing in Christ by J.I. Packer

2. The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer

3. Unseen by Sara Hagerty

4. Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster

5. Keys to Spiritual Growth by John MacArthur

6. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Don Whitney

7. Attributes of God by Arthur Pink

8. God: As He Longs for You to See Him by Chip Ingram

9. Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala 

10. Spiritual Leadership by Henry Blackaby

11. Root of the Righteous by A.W. Tozer

12. Wide Awake by Erwin McManus

13. Love Works by Joel Manby

14. Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper

15. If You Want to Walk on Water You've Got to Get Out of the Boat by John Ortberg

 

What are some of your favorite books for spiritual growth?

Let us know in the comments!

FAMILY Part 2: Awareness

My 4 year old son started playing basketball for his first team sport experience. In the driveway playing by himself, he has pretty impressive shooting, defending, and dribbling skills for his age. However, get him on the court, and it's another story. He struggles to use his skills and pay attention to where the ball is at the same time. Most of the time, he is unaware of what's going on during the game.

Here's the point: Awareness of your role is just as important as having the skills to carry it out. I wonder how many parents are unaware that they are called to be the lead faith trainers in their children’s lives.  

If we are going to raise up a generation of children who transform the world by living out their faith in schools, neighborhoods, work and communities, we must be aware of our call as parents to be the lead faith trainers. It's our job to take the lead in communicating and living out our faith in Jesus Christ.

To start, our effectiveness in this role depends on our personal relationship with Jesus. This is not a job you can hand to your youth pastor or senior pastor. Being the lead faith trainer takes focus and time. Even though this is a huge calling, God will supply all your needs. You have what it takes to be the lead faith trainer of your family.   

Even the busiest parents can be effective by taking advantage of some key moments in each day. These key moments are found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9. In this passage, Moses is speaking to Hebrew families that are about to enter the Promised Land. He knows the land is full of provision, and it will be easy for families to be tempted to depend on their own effort and forget to depend upon The Lord. Below is what God has to say to families of the past, present and future. 

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a] 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Based on this passage, these are 5 practical ideas you as a parent can implement to make the most out of the time you have with your children.  

1. Be the Model

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."

As parents, we are to model a life of faith in Jesus Christ. We have all heard "more is taught than caught." It is impossible to give what you don’t have. We are to live in such a way that our children see us relying on the Lord, going to God in prayer, and opening up His Word every single day. This is the most powerful tool in your parenting tool kit. 

2. Take Advantage of Meal Times

"when you sit in your house"

Make mealtimes count. There are few times in a day when technology is off, and everyone is together around the table. Use this time wisely to invest in your children. There are a few things we do at each meal we share together. Try these or come up with your own:

1) We pray and give thanks to God.

2) We catch up on sports and/or school.

3) Everyone shares five things that they are grateful for.

Don’t beat yourself up if you miss meals together occasionally, but do try to gather the family together for a meal at least a couple times a week.

3. Make the Most of Travel Time

"when you walk by the way"

Not many of us walk to work, but most of us drive with our families to school, sports, or other events. I think drive time gives us a unique opportunity to build relationships. Challenge yourself to turn off the radio and listen to your children. Sometimes kids are more open in a car than they are at home. When given the opportunity, make sure to speak God’s Word into the situation or circumstance they may be going through.

4. Waking Up in the Morning

"when you rise"

I believe there is no greater time to instill purpose in your family than in the morning as they rise. Remind them that they are children of God, and He has an awesome plan and purpose for their lives. Remind them that God is bigger than anything they will face that day whether at school or other environments.

5. Before Going to Bed at Night

"when you lie down"

Ending the day well will help set up the next day for success. Each night, my wife, Christin, and I open God’s Word and pray with our children. We always try to relate what we read to their lives. 

Don’t get me wrong, Christin and I mess up at this parenting thing at least once a day, and we are still relatively new parents. My heart here is to encourage even the busiest parents. It is important to spend time with our kids. More than that though, we must understand the role we have as the lead faith trainers and use our time wisely to invest in our children.

Check out FAMILY Part 1 HERE

Living a Spirit-Filled Life

Today is a new day! A new year is underway, and it is filled with potential as each new day brings a fresh start….a reset…a time to pause and allow the Creator of all things, God, our heavenly Father, to transform our lives one morning at a time. I’m talking 365 days a year.

A day becomes a week, becomes a month, becomes an entire year of seeking God and experiencing the transforming power of His presence 24/7…365. Can you imagine the possibilities? Every time I begin to imagine the possibilities of what God can do in my life, I am reminded of what it says in Ephesians 3:20.     

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.

Where do you need to see the power of God displayed in your life? What would happen in your broken relationships? Do you need a plan for your finances? Where are you struggling? Are you just going through the motions lost without purpose? Do you want to change, but just don’t know where or how to start? 

The great news is that you aren’t alone! God is able to do immeasurably more than you can ask or imagine. That is an incredible promise straight from God’s word. As a child of God, His power (the Holy Spirit) is at work within you. If that doesn’t fill you with hope, I don’t know what will.  

Too many times we live a defeated life because we simply refuse to unleash the power of the Holy Spirit in our every day lives. We look to God and call on Him for the really BIG things, but when it comes to our everyday lives, we approach it with an "I’ve got this" attitude. I don’t know why we do this, but, before you know it our prideful, self-sufficient attitude gets in the way and keeps us from experiencing immeasurably more that we could ask or imagine. 

It’s time we set our pride aside…no, it’s time we hand our pride over to the Holy Spirit and exchange it for humility. We need to come humbled before God, and ask Him to take not just the big things but our moment-by-moment everyday lives also. Here are some passages of scripture I’ve incorporated into my time with God to help me become less self-sufficient and more God dependent.

• Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you. Psalm 143:8
• Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing. Psalm 143:10
• Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. Proverbs 11:2
• I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13
• Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. Proverbs 3:5-8
• Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. Psalm 139:23-24

Each day is filled with possibilities. Where we end up this year is determined greatly by how we begin each day. Will we set our hearts and minds on God, surrendering to His Holy Spirit, or will we let pride and self-sufficiency continue to reign over our lives? My prayer is that this year will be a year yielded to the Holy Spirit fulfilling the purposes of God in my life. What about you?

Here's to Being Intentional

Did you make New Year goals this year? I didn’t...because it seems like every time I make these goals, I stop thinking about them way before March. So this year, I am going to be INTENTIONAL. Let’s be honest. To set goals, or resolutions, one must be intentional to see them through. Being intentional is the hardest part. So instead of actually writing goals for this year, let's focus on three areas where we can be intentional in order to mature as disciples of Christ.  

To be intentional as described by dictionary.com is to be done on purpose, deliberately. Three key areas to be intentional are spiritual growth, personal health and finances. Growth in each of these areas will allow us to mature as disciples in Christ by becoming better managers of our time, temples, and treasures. I know what you're thinking, "Those are large areas in my life. How will I be able to measure my growth?" You thought right. So how can these areas be measured? With Truth! What does Truth tell us about these areas, and how can we grow?

Spiritual Growth

How can someone experience growth in spirituality? Well, first you have to be INTENTIONAL. Let's use Jesus as our model. First, you need to evaluate how you did last year. Looking at Jesus as the model, you will notice that Jesus got up early and withdrew to a solitary place to be with the Father (Mark 1:35). One way to be intentional in spiritual growth is to spend time with Jesus early in the morning. Personally, I don’t think the specific time of personal time with the Lord matters. However, if Jesus modeled the time to be the first thing of your day, then that is what we should strive for.

One way to be intentional in spiritual growth is rising early each day to spend time with the Father. This will allow a personal connection with Jesus at the start of your day and will truly set the tone for the rest of the day! If you manage your time around Jesus, you're honoring the time He has given you. He will bless the additional time in your day to be productive.

You may be saying, “I already rise early and spend time in the Word.” Great! Continue to model Jesus! I would encourage you to strive for something that maybe you haven’t accomplished like reading through the entire Bible, studying the Bible, going deeper into the Truth. Again, time with the Lord will provide a foundation that won’t fail.  

Related: "Seven Steps - Change Your Life One Step at a Time"

Personal Health

Growing in personal health needs to be, well...you guessed it, INTENTIONAL. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are provided with self-control. Self-control is to have restraint over desires. In the flesh, self-control is challenging...do you know why? Because we are human! Look at Adam and Eve in the Garden. If self-control was easy, Eve wouldn’t have been deceived, and Adam would have had the self-control to resist the temptation.

With the power of the Holy Spirit, we are provided with the Fruit of the Spirit, one of which includes self-control. Self-control is given to help us resist temptation. Truthfully, if you do not make your personal health a priority, you're going against the Lord. We have to remember that our bodies are given to us on loan from Him. We need to be good managers of the Lord’s temple He loaned us.

Some ways for you to grow in your personal health could be eating the right food, drinking plenty of water, getting up and moving (not just walking around the office either). Really being active 4-5 days a week. All of these will require being intentional and leaning on the Holy Spirit to resist the temptation of bad habits. We can lean on the Holy Spirit and pray when we struggle with temptation. Look at Jesus as the model in Matthew 4. Jesus is being tested in the wilderness, but living on every word that comes from God. The Father has to be at the center of our lives to overcome any temptation whether it is food or something else in your life.  

Finances

Before really focusing on your finances, you should ask yourself, "Where is my treasure? Is my treasure in the world, or stored up in Heaven?" Being intentional in your finances will be no walk in the park. It takes work. If we try to do any of this on our own, we will not be successful. Through the power of Jesus you can overcome debt and begin living freely through your finances.

For my family, we have gained power through the Financial Peace University course. This course uses biblical Truth as the foundation. Build your foundation on rock! Need I say more? I would encourage you to pray about taking the FPU course and lay the right foundation for your finances. This course will change your life and your future!

Being intentional in your time, temple, and treasure will set 2018 apart from every other year. Is it going to be easy? Absolutely not! But having the strength of the Spirit of God is having a foundation that will not crumble under pressure. Here's to being intentional this year! 

Related : "Count the Cost" by Patrick Brannon