What sometimes leaves you feeling unable to cope?
Perhaps it's disappointments or doubts. Possibly loneliness or grief or maybe just a lack of motivation.
Many things are capable of getting us down and casting doubt on our faith and our view of God. Where is our passion for the Gospel? How often have you asked (or thought) is God enough?
With honesty and humility, Ray Galea reflects in his book, God is Enough, on ten psalms that have helped him put God back in the centre of his life. Ray reminds us of the many reasons we have to join with the psalmist in saying, "Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you".
Read more and get the book HERE for just £5 using the code gie1114 at the checkout.
This week has been, for many children and families, a half term break from school. The summer seems so long ago already and the struggle to get the children back into a routine took longer than expected, especially if you had a child changing schools as I did. The darkening mornings also provide little help in encouraging everyone in the house to leap out of bed of a morning.
As parents of two senior school boys, the ever decreasing time my wife and I get to spend alone challenges many of the practices and routines we have developed over the years. Later nights and those long school days take their toll on us all in the household. Tiredness sets in for the children before us ...... just! So how can we look after them and their needs without burning out ourselves?
As our children grow, the problems and challenges don’t go away (sorry those who haven’t got there yet!), they just change. Even when our children grow into adults there remains a parental concern about how they are doing and what they are up to. Well so my mother tells me (quite often).
But whatever position or situation we find ourselves in, we know we have the example of the ultimate parent in our loving and gracious God. Whatever we go through, much help can be found in his Word, the Bible. But how can we pull all that Godly advice together?
Ann Benton in, Aren’t they lovely when they’re asleep? does just that, helping us learn six key parenting concepts from a biblical perspective and with a God’s-eye view of ourselves.
Find out more HERE and pick up a copy for just £4.99 until midday on Monday using the code asleep1014 at the checkout.
Once again in recent weeks the world has come under attack.
The barbaric and very public execution of innocent men has already been well documented. Even more disturbing are the stories of the murdering of Christian children in front of their families - barbaric acts aimed at undermining the Christian community.
All people (Christians and non-Christians alike) will no doubt be asking: Where is God in all of this? Is God really in control? How can things like this be allowed to happen?
Best selling author Jerry Bridges helps us wrestle with those questions under the focus of the Bible in his book, Is God Really in Control?
Delve in to God's own word and hear what he has to say about his real power and love for us even through disappointments, tragedies and terrorist outrages. Maybe a read of Exodus chapters 5 to 7 might help too - where God restates his plans and shows Pharaoh that no one is more powerful or above God himself.
Is God Really in Control? is on offer until midday on Monday for just £5.39 (40% off). Just order using code control1014 at the checkout.
In this noisy world with so much busyness engulfing us, sometimes it feels impossible to find quality time with the Lord. Pressures seem to "block our path" to a fulfilling prayer life. Then we give in. We let our prayer times diminish week-on-week. And wonder why there is so much wrong in the world - and in us.
Then there are those moments when our world collapses - something goes horribly wrong - redundancy, bereavement, debilitating illness... People avoid us because they don’t know what to say. We know we need God desperately. But somehow even God Himself seems strangely silent. Want to know why?
A Praying Life is an honest look at the difficulties of prayer, unanswered prayers, and successes in prayer. Readers will appreciate Paul Miller's down-to-earth approach and practical nature. Parents will find his family-life experiences especially helpful.
Get it HERE for just £7.14, that's 35% off! Use the code apl1014 at the checkout.
Offer expires midday 20.10.14.
We live in a world where Christianity is being marginalised more and more and fewer and fewer people have any intention of going to Church. Indeed many people these days only ever use Christ's name as a swear word. A few vocal atheists are keen to sow doubts about the existence of God in the minds of believers. And how many of us have been drawn into that arena of self questioning? I know I've been there.
It can also seem like many other Christians are full of faith and never struggle with doubt - making it hard for those of us who do admit to it. Doubt is not exactly a cheery subject, but reading Martin Ayers' book, Keep the Faith, left me cheered. God is surely ruler of all and his sovereignty is never in question.... continue reading
It's that time of year (post summer) when house groups and cell groups start to meet again, they are great places for Christians both to interact with God's Word and to share their lives with others. They provide relaxed and informal settings which facilitate growth in grace and understanding.
Orlando Saer provides a realistic and practical guide for anyone leading or wanting to lead such a group. This book will give you the tools you need as a leader to see your group thrive.
Read more HERE and get the book for just £5 until midday on Monday. Use code isi0914 at the checkout.
"You must be born again" is either deluded or devastating to the one who would be captain of his soul.
The term born again is very precious and very crucial in the Bible. And our main concern should be to know what God intends when the Bible uses this language, so that by his grace we may experience it and help others do the same. It is of enormous consequence that we know what being born again really means. John Piper has great insight and encouragement in his book Finally Alive for us.
Read more HERE and get the book for just £5 until midday on Monday. Use code fa0914 at the checkout.
In the last couple of weeks many of us with children will have seen the return to school. For many it will be to new classes with new teachers. And in some cases it will have been starting school or moving to an entirely new school. These can be scary times for the children but equally as stressful and challenging to parents.
It is not a surprise that, as Christian parents, we worry about the way we bring up our children. It's increasingly difficult to deal with the influences of a materialistic, secular world. A world where our faith and Christ as our focus is challenged more than ever before. A world of indifference in schools and among our children's peer group.
All this serves to put pressure on a Christian family and household - take it from me, our family is there right now!
In the slightly oddly-named World-Proof Your Kids, Tim Sisemore gives some practical advice and so much biblical backing to help deal with this area of our lives. If you need to break the habits or cycle of disillusionment and distraction that can come with coping with your children in this world, then look no further than this terrific, well thought-through and well researched book.
Read more and get it HERE for just £4.99 until midday on Monday. Use code wpyk914 at the checkout.
The wayward prodigal son, the weak character of Gideon - not likely role-models at first glance! But they were people who came to realise the most important fact any human can ever grasp: they realised they needed God.
Aimed at teens, but accessible to all, Lost and Hero by Jonty Allcock offer easy-to-read glimpses into these fallible characters and help us unpack the ways in which their stories can inspire us in the 21st century.
Get the books today at the great price of just £1 each (that's over 65% off!). Simply use the code lh0914 at the checkout.
Once again, in recent weeks, the world has experienced the horror of terrorist violence. The barbaric and very public execution of ordinary people is just the latest in a long line of atrocities perpetrated against the western world. And this against the background of continued fighting and horrors in places like Eastern Ukraine, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Gaza and Palestine.
In the midst of all this no doubt people (Christians and non-Christians alike) will be asking, "Where is God in all of this? Is God really in control?"
Best selling author, Jerry Bridges has some thoughts and helps us wrestle with those questions under the focus of the Bible in his book, 'Is God Really in Control?'
Delve in to God's own word and hear what he has to say about his real power and love for us even through disappointments and tragedies.
Is God Really in Control? is on offer until midday on Monday at an enhance discount of 35% off. Just order using code control0914 at the checkout.