The cross is the very centre of the Christian faith, but that simple truth can sometimes be easy to forget. So how do we remember to focus every day on this reality with all that surrounds us? Never lay the cross aside, never move on says C J Mahaney. Deepen your passion for Christ and his cross each and every day.
Mahaney in his book, Living the Cross Centered Life implores us not to move on from the foot of the cross and examines the deepest truths of the events of Calvary.
Read more about the book and buy it HERE with 30% off (£6.29) until midday Monday using the code ccl0814 at the checkout.
How often do we see a high profile politician, sporting personality or celebrity let us down? They have done or said something that tarnishes (or worse) their apparent good reputation. Lies, theft, deceit and more can cause people's downfall.
And the same can happen to us as Christians. We aren't above it and not immune to the same stuff everyone else is. But whether we are dealing with failures, trying to cope with financial matters or personal weaknesses, we need to focus on gospel-truths and priorities to work things through.
And help is at hand. In his book Integrity, Jonathan Lamb examines the disciplines and priorities that enable us to live a life of Christian integrity.
Read more HERE and get the book for half price until midday on Monday. Please use code int0814 at the checkout.
What does your summer look like? Holiday trips away from home, in this country or abroad, summer camp, staying with friends, or perhaps just bumping in to different people near where you live?
Whatever your lazy, hazy days of warm weather and sunshine have in store the one thing you can probably be sure of is meeting new people wherever you are.
I'm sure when you meet those people you'll talk about many things and hopefully your faith will be part of that discussion. But what will that person remember about you or what you've said?
It's a good idea to be armed - for the right occasion - making sure you have something to give the people with whom you have been speaking to help them progress their thinking. Why not have a copy of Rico Tice and Barry Cooper's book One Life: What's it all about? to hand to that person so they have something to take away from your conversation?
Read more HERE and get the book for just £2.50 (65% off) until midday on Monday. Use code ol0814 at the checkout.
Some people, both Christian and as well as non-Christian, find it easy to understand God and Jesus, but struggle to understand quite how and where the Holy Spirit fits into the picture. Who exactly is he? And how does he work in our lives?
The Bible tells us that we need to be led by the Holy Spirit (see for example Romans 8:12-14 and Galatians 5:16-25). Therefore, it must be possible for every one of us to hear and discern the promptings and guidance of the Holy Spirit within us! So that should mean that we can hear the voice of God. But if God were to speak out loud to us all the time so that we know it is God speaking to us, then we wouldn't need faith to hear him. On the other hand, if God speaks so softly to us that we need to get into the habit of listening closely to the Holy Spirit and drawing closer to God in order to hear him better, then there is a lot of faith involved, and it requires cultivating a deeper, more personal, more intimate relationship with the Lord and being guided by his Spirit. But where does the Spirit fit in and how can he help us? And how does the Spirit relate to the Bible?... continue reading
We are always worshipping something, aren't we? Through our words, actions and decisions we are allocating worth to one thing or another. With everything going on around us it is sometimes hard to focus on the one true object of our worship, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Even at times in Church I suspect we love the preaching or the music or the style of service rather than focusing on the act of coming together to worship our Lord.
Matt Redman went through a spell when his music took over his life and left the Lord Jesus marginalised on the sidelines. So hard did that fact hit Matt when he realised what was going on that he gave up his music totally for a long period of time. He came to realise just how much he was focused on delivering great music about the Lord Jesus Christ rather than immersing himself in the Lord and worshipping him totally and directly.... continue reading
Every so often we resolve to do things differently. Pray more. Grumble less. Actually take the Bible's command to rest vaguely seriously ...
However in amongst all the declarations and outpourings I suspect that one resolution you won't or haven't heard is this:
I'm going to stop asking Jesus into my heart.
Most Christians would never dream of suggesting such a thing and non-believers probably wouldn't care enough to make that kind of stand.
Asking Jesus into your heart by praying some version of the Sinner's Prayer, in which you acknowledge your sin and need of salvation and then accept Jesus as your Saviour, has become something of an evangelical ritual. It can mark the moment of salvation—"the hour I first believed," as the great hymn says. But like any ritual, we can wonder whether we've done it right—whether we were sincere enough and really meant it. At that point it becomes a kind of good work, something we do to get saved. And like every good work, it's not good enough to assure us of salvation.... continue reading
Do you sometimes feel discouraged by all the seemingly smart, normal people all around you who reject the truth of Christianity? Does it lead you to doubt the claims of Christ yourself? If so, you are not alone.
In this honest and refreshing take on the doubts we all experience, Martin Ayers takes us back to what the Bible itself says about faith and doubt.
Get it HERE for just £3.50 this weekend. Simply use code ktf0614 at the checkout.
And if you're looking for something hot off the press on the theme of doubt, keep watching the blog for news of two great new resources coming your way in July: Can I trust the Bible? by Barry Cooper and How can I be sure? by John Stevens. Both available for preorder now!
What does an Old Testament book have to say to us in the twenty-first century? Discover how to find out, using the tools explained in this great book from Andrew Sach and Richard Aldritt!
Rather than a Hollywood movie, Dig Even Deeper is more like the how-they-made-the-movie footage that you get in the DVD extras. As well as showing you the treasure, it will help you to grow in your ability to unearth such treasure for yourself in the pages of Scripture.
Read more HERE and get the book for just £5 until midday on Monday. Use code ded0614 at the checkout.
The passionate aim of Dig Deeper is that it should help you to 'correctly handle the word of truth' (2 Timothy 2:15) so that you will experience God's clear guidance in your life, come to know him better and grow to love him more. Our prayer is that your Bible reading will never be the same again. The tools here in this book are a means of getting to the bottom of any Bible passage and discovering its true meaning.
On Tuesday we gave you the chance to buy the ebook - this weekend, grab the tree book! Read more HERE and get it for just £5 until midday on Thursday. Use code dd0614 at the checkout.
On Tuesday we asked If you could ask God one question, what would it be? And we gave you some help in our e-book offer. Today it’s more questions! Life’s big questions - whether you are a Christian or not.
Vaughan Robert’s, Life’s Big Questions looks at six key themes that run throughout the Bible.
Read more and get the book for £3.50 (half price) until midday on Monday. Use code lbq0614 at the checkout.