Rediscover Jesus - I think about this often, and I always come to the same realization. I don’t know Jesus anywhere near as well as I would like to know Him. The desire is there, but life gets in the way. There are times when I seem to be making great progress, and other times when I wonder if I know Him at all. But I always arrive back at the same inspiring and haunting idea: If there is one person that we should each get to know in a deeply personal way, it is Jesus—the carpenter from Nazareth, the itinerant preacher, the Son of God, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, the Lamb of God, the new Adam, the Messiah, the Alpha and the Omega, the Chosen One, the Light of the World, the God-Man who wants goods things for us more than we want them for ourselves, the healer of our souls. The best time to rediscover Jesus is right now. I don’t know what God has in store for you, but I am excited for you. There are some questions that we all ask ourselves in different ways: Who am I? Who is God? What am I here for? What matters most? What matters least? What are my unique talents and abilities? What will my contribution be? We discover the answers to these questions most completely by encountering Jesus. He longs to help us discover deeply personal answers to our deeply personal questions.
When Life Goes Dark - Depression strikes millions, across all demographic groups. Approximately one in eight will have a severe depressive episode at some point in their life. Women experience depression twice as often as men. And over 50 percent of people with serious depression do not get adequate help. What can be done? Richard Winter explores the complex medical, psychological and spiritual issues surrounding depression. He presents recent scientific research on its biochemical and genetic causes and examines social and cultural factors. Dispelling common Christian misunderstandings, Winter explores the dynamics of despair, loss, anger, guilt, shame and spiritual warfare. Even in the shadow of the valley of death, God can bring healing and deliverance. This book is a helpful guide for those who find themselves, their loved ones or those they counsel vulnerable to depression. Find here a framework for understanding depression and rediscovering hope.
Get Out of Your Head - The greatest spiritual battle of our generation is taking place between our ears. Again and again, we allow false thoughts about who we are to influence our thoughts about who God is and how He is at work in our lives. But we have the opportunity to stop our spinning minds and escape toxic thinking patterns. In Get Out of Your Head, Jennie Allen helps you transform your life by renewing your mind as she explores:
How what you believe about God shapes how you think of yourself.
The negative thought patterns that are keeping you stuck
How to hold space for silence and community—and why they matter.
The science behind why your thoughts can change your life.
Your God-given power to confront and overcome your fears.
When you reclaim your thinking patterns from the lies of the enemy, you are set free to set others free. In a very real way, your thoughts can change the world. So join Jennie in the battle and step boldly into freedom. Change is possible. You can live free.
When you think of a war, what usually comes to mind? Well, for me, I think of two sides of a conflict fighting on a battlefield with the weapon of their choice, hoping to prove a point. But today I’m not going to talk about the physical battles that are fought on a mud, grass, or even cement battlefield. Instead I’m going to try and shed some light on the kind of war that this week’s authors commonly explain and I title as: The Innerworkings of a Dispirited Mind. In When Life Goes Dark, author Richard Winter thoroughly explains what depression is and how it has effected a large majority of people throughout the societies of the world. “Constant feelings of inadequacy, failure, worthlessness, shame, and guilt plague the mind, and it seems as though others are watching and are critical of every action, “ according to Winter, this is how most people with depression feel on a daily basis. The devil uses these deep dark moments in a person’s life to his advantage, hoping that he can successfully strip them of any hope, love, or faith. But he tends to forget that our Heavenly Father who loves us, knows that we are not worthless, and will stop at nothing to make sure all of his children know that they are loved by Him. In Get Out of Your Head, Jennie Allen gives her readers a way to step out of that overwhelming cloud of self-doubt and discouragement. “What we believe and what we think about matters, and the enemy knows it. And he is determined to get in your head to distract you from doing good and to sink you so deep that you feel helpless, overwhelmed, shut down, and incapable of rising to make a difference for the kingdom of God.” But you can make a difference for the kingdom of God! You were given a very unique personality that the Heavenly Father placed inside you, so you could go out into the world and proclaim His name and the name of His Son Jesus. And finally, as interesting and helpful as the other books are, Rediscover Jesus truly puts the cherry on top of this impactful stack of books. You’ve experienced life when it had all gone dark, and you’ve managed to get that darkness out of your head for a while. So now the most important and the only thing left to do is to rediscover Jesus and to keep Him in your life for eternity, letting His light chase that deep darkness away forever. So come on down to the Cross Reference Library and check out these serious but important reads for yourselves.
The greatest spiritual battle of our generation is being fought between our ears.
- Jennie Allen, Get Out of Your Head