by Henry Cloud & John Townsend
Each person has a fundamental need for love, respect and freedom. God created us to act in responsible ways in order to be in control of ourselves and to give others the same. Boundaries is really about growing healthy relationships. I believe that we all can benefit from reading this book, no matter where we are at in the continuum.
This biblically based book helps to clarify what I am responsible for and what others are responsibly for, leading me to a sense of freedom and peace.
This book is about much more than learning when to say yes and when to say no. It also shows how to relate to other people in relationships through ten laws of boundaries. One of my favourite parts is how the authors describe the four basic boundaries challenges - compliance, avoidance, controlling and non-responsive personalities. This book gives so many practical examples of relational issues and to deal with them starting with your family, your friends, your spouse, your children, work, yourself and even with God. It is a wonderful resource for those who are looking to establish deeper health in their relationships.
The Divine Mentor
by Wayne Cordeiro
In reading this book you can just sense how much Wayne loves Jesus and how deeply he knows the Lord. They are friends, and they have become so through spending time together each day in the Word. Through stories, lessons and anecdotes, Cordeiro shows readers how they too can experience a personal transformation through meeting Jesus in the Word each and every day.
The Knowledge of the Holy
by A.W. Tozer
Tozer tackles many of the attributes of God that most Christians would say that they have known since childhood – His self-existence, self-sufficiency, eternal nature, immutability, omnipotence, faithfulness, goodness, love and so on. Yet this is no text book, through his writings the reader can see that Tozer is not writing intellectually (although you will need to sharpen your thinking skills to comprehend all he has to say) but rather he is writing about a Person that he knows, whom he has intimate knowledge of, whom is his friend and his master. He writes in the language of worship and love for his King. With that style of writing, the reader is urged to deepen their own relationship with God, to take his/her personal relationship with God more seriously. It encourages the reader to seek after God Himself and to begin the practice of reverent meditation after God Himself.
This book is an eloquent witness to God’s majesty, showing the reader new ways to experience and understand the wonder and power of God’s spirit in his/her daily life. Do you feel like you’ve lost the sense of majesty, religious awe and awareness of the divine Presence? Do you sense that the church has lost its spirit of worship and the ability to withdraw inwardly to meet God in adoring silence? Do the words, “be still and know that I am God” scare you a bit? This book will give you a rediscovery of the majesty of God. It has the potential to bring back spiritual power in your life – if you’re truly willing to engage with God and begin to think of God more nearly as He is. It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it!
The Practice of the Presence of God
By Brother Lawrence
As a humble cook, Brother Lawrence learned an important lesson through each daily chore: The time he spent in communion with the Lord should be the same, whether he was bustling around in the kitchen – with several people asking questions at the same time – or on his knees in prayer. He learned to cultivate the deep presence of God so thoroughly in his own heart that he was able to joyfully exclaim, “I am doing now what I will do for all eternity, I am blessing God, praising Him, adoring Him , and loving Him with all my heart.”
For nearly 300 years this unparalleled classic has given both blessing and instruction to those who can be content with nothing less than knowing God in all His majesty and feeling His loving presence throughout each simple day.
(Taken from back cover of the 1982 Whitaker House Edition)
My Utmost for His Highest
By Oswald Chambers
My Utmost for His Highest is a compilation of Oswald Chamber’s sermons and is considered classic devotional literature. This book helps the reader deepen their love and understanding of God. Chambers was a pro at finding gold nuggets of spiritual truth and condensing them down into simple principles for living. The principles he writes of are timeless and just as applicable today as when they were first printed in 1927. The devotional is broken down into 365 days, one for each day of the year, which makes it easy to read. Chambers is easy to relate to as he writes with humility and with understanding of the struggles of walking the Christian path. This is a devotional that you can read over and over again and each time learn more and grow deeper in your walk with God. It is not light reading or fluff but the 15 minutes you spend each day reading it have the potential to change your life. You can find some volumes in the original language and some are updated into modern language. I prefer the older style, although it is harder to read his words are powerful and leave a sense of depth of understanding of God and His ways. If you are looking for wisdom then this devotional is for you. The devotional doesn’t merely scratch the surface but is like surgery, digging deep into the heart of the reader, challenging the reader, stretching the reader and forcing the reader to think things through.
Oswald Chambers was born in 1874 in Aberdeen Scotland and died 1917. He was a minister and teacher and has over 30 books that bear his name, mostly of his teachings thanks to his wife’s dictation records of his lessons. It was his wife Gertrude, who spent her life compiling her records of these lessons into the bulk of his published works.
