Best Christian Devotionals

Licensed in over eighty-five languages, The Purpose Driven Life is far more than just a book; it is a guide to a spiritual journey. Living out the purpose you were created for moves you beyond mere survival and success to a life of significance—the life you were meant to live. Rick Warren is often called "America's most influential spiritual leader."

This year, don't let Christmas sneak up on you again. “It's not uncommon for me to hear friends and members of the church I pastor talk of how ‘Christmas snuck up on them.’ Paul David Tripp has written a fantastic Advent devotional for individuals or families, and it's the perfect solution for preparing our hearts and homes to celebrate what's really going on underneath the tinsel and the trees.”— Matt Chandler, lead pastor, The Village Church, Dallas, Texas; president, Acts 29 Church Planting Network; author, The Mingling of Souls and The Explicit Gospel. This book will enrich my family’s experience of Christmas this year, and I believe it can enrich your Christmas too.”— Ray Ortlund, Lead Pastor, Immanuel Church, Nashville, Tennessee. And breathe.”— Elyse Fitzpatrick, author, Home: How Heaven and the New Earth Satisfy Our Deepest Longings and Because He Loves Me: How Christ Transforms Our Daily Life.

Begins with an interactive family devotional that equips readers to celebrate Advent together Offers five daily reflections that focus on that week's name of Jesus Includes suggestions for fun-filled family activities or service projects. By focusing on the person and character of Jesus throughout the Advent season, readers will prepare their hearts so that when they admire the live nativity, sit in the candlelight service, or wake up on Christian morning, they can join the faithful who sing from the bottom of their hearts, "O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!" As someone who grew up in a Christian home but in a denomination that did not celebrate Advent, I have been looking for a biblical guide to worship in anticipation of Christmas since I first heard of the tradition several years back. Through beautiful reflections and guided prayers in Unwrapping the Names of Jesus , Asheritah facilitates this savoring of Christ. At a time when so many Christians are prone to miss the beauty of the reason we celebrate Christmas, lost in the shuffle of expectations and busyness, Asheritah reminds us with depth and clarity of the One who came to bring the joy of salvation. Combining substantive theological truth, creative ideas, and personal warmth, Asheritah Ciuciu invites her readers to join her in celebrating the Advent season by focusing their minds and their hearts on Jesus. Unwrapping the Names of Jesus is easy to follow and use, but conveys a depth of truth sure to impact every member of your household. Marty Machowski, Pastor and Author of Dragon Seed , The Ology: Ancient Truths, Ever New, and other gospel-centered family resources.

Whether your relationship is flourishing or failing, Dr. Gary Chapman’s proven approach to showing and receiving love will help you experience deeper and richer levels of intimacy with your partner—starting today. Updated to reflect the complexities of relationships today, this new edition reveals intrinsic truths and applies relevant, actionable wisdom in ways that work. While working as a marriage counselor for more than 30 years, he identified five love languages: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch. Gifts are highly important to one spouse, while another sees fixing a leaky faucet, ironing a shirt, or cooking a meal as filling their "love tank." "In this unabridged recording of material the author has been perfecting for years, he says that people experience love most strongly through one of five love languages--quality time, words of encouragement, gifts, acts of service, and physical touch. Without making light of the work a marriage requires, he'll convince most listeners that with just a little planning and effort they can make a good marriage great and a broken partnership truly satisfying again."

In a moving example of unconditional love in dif­ficult times, the Jesuit priest and bestselling author of Tattoos on the Heart , Gregory Boyle, shares what three decades of working with gang members in Los Angeles has taught him about faith, compassion, and the enduring power of kinship. In his first book, Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion , Gregory Boyle introduced us to Homeboy Industries, the largest gang-intervention program in the world . Now, after the suc­cessful expansion of Homeboy Industries, Boyle returns with Barking to the Choir to reveal how com­passion is transforming the lives of gang members. It's written by Gregory Boyle, a Jesuit priest in Los Angeles who has worked with (and loved) gang-members for decades. “If you’re in the market for genuine inspiration, I urge you to read Barking to the Choir by Gregory Boyle, a book that shows what the platitudes of faith look like when they’re put into action.” —Ann Patchett. It is lovely and tough and tender beyond my ability to describe and left me in tears of both sorrow and laughter." "One of the bravest, most humane, heartbreaking, brilliant, and hopeful stories I’ve read in ages. Father Greg, the Gandhi of the Gangs, fills Tattoos with unquenchable soul force and down-to-earth love." Boyle somehow maintains an exuberant voice that celebrates the strength, compassion and humanity of people often demonized. Boyle intersperses his narratives about gang members and his work with them with theological and spiritual reflections from a variety of theologians, poets and other writers. By introducing book-buying, highly educated readers to people we may never otherwise encounter, Boyle aspires to "broaden the parameters of our kinship.'". Boyle approaches each person as a child of God and fully deserving of love and compassion.

When Katie Davis Majors moved to Uganda, accidentally founded a booming organization, and later became the mother of thirteen girls through the miracle of adoption, she determined to weave her life together with the people she desired to serve. But joy often gave way to sorrow as she invested her heart fully in walking alongside people in the grip of poverty, addiction, desperation, and disease. She invites us into her story and pushes us to the edge, challenging us to dare to hope no matter what life throws at us.” —Jefferson Bethke , author of Jesus>Religion and It’s Not What You Think. Her words and heart for Jesus will stay with me forever, and I’m honored to be on the sidelines cheering for all the chapters to come.” —Angie Smith , speaker, blogger, and author of Seamless.

Then they began to pray … God began to move … street-hardened lives by the hundreds were changed by the love of Christ … and today they are more than ten thousand strong.The story of what happened to this broken-down church in one of America’s toughest neighborhoods points the way to new spiritual vitality in the church and in your own life. Although he believes he didn't do it--God did--Cymbala does have a secret: the church is first and foremost a house of prayer, he says, a place where souls can call on God. Accordingly, Cymbala established Tuesday-night prayer meeting as the most important church function (later, church members began a "Prayer Band" to intercede round the clock for all and sundry). With professional Christian writer Merrill's help, Cymbala tells not his church's story as much as the stories of individual souls whose saving illustrates the truth of his testimony that God responds to prayer made in repentance and faith.

Just like you, Ann Voskamp hungers to live her one life well. With lovely word pictures inspired by everyday life in her family and on her farm, she writes about her struggle to live joyfully amid sin and sorrow and suffering. Let Ann's beautiful, heart-aching stories of the everyday give you a way of seeing that opens your eyes to thanksgiving, a way of being present to God that makes you deeply happy, and a way of living so you are not afraid to die.

From pastor and New York Times bestselling author Timothy Keller comes the perfect gift for the Christmas holiday—a profoundly moving and intellectually provocative examination of the nativity story Even people who are not practicing Christians think they are familiar with the story of the nativity. Keller achieves his pastoral goal of teaching Christmas’ most important message—‘God alone has the life, truth, and joy that we lack and cannot generate ourselves’—and in doing so, provides solace for those who seek it.” —Publishers Weekly. Praise for Timothy Keller and his other books: “Tim Keller’s ministry in New York City is leading a generation of seekers and skeptics toward belief in God. “Fifty years from now, if evangelical Christians are widely known for their love of cities, their commitment to mercy and justice, and their love of their neighbors, Tim Keller will be remembered as a pioneer of the new urban Christians.”. — Christianity Today.

In a moving example of unconditional love in dif­ficult times, the Jesuit priest and bestselling author of Tattoos on the Heart , Gregory Boyle, shares what three decades of working with gang members in Los Angeles has taught him about faith, compassion, and the enduring power of kinship. In his first book, Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion , Gregory Boyle introduced us to Homeboy Industries, the largest gang-intervention program in the world . Now, after the suc­cessful expansion of Homeboy Industries, Boyle returns with Barking to the Choir to reveal how com­passion is transforming the lives of gang members. “If you’re in the market for genuine inspiration, I urge you to read Barking to the Choir by Gregory Boyle, a book that shows what the platitudes of faith look like when they’re put into action.” —Ann Patchett. —Anne Lamott, author of Grace (Eventually) "One of the bravest, most humane, heartbreaking, brilliant, and hopeful stories I’ve read in ages. —Marian Wright Edelman, President, Children's Defense Fund "Sometimes we are allowed to see in our own lifetimes what we were supposed to see in the life and ministry of Jesus. Boyle intersperses his narratives about gang members and his work with them with theological and spiritual reflections from a variety of theologians, poets and other writers. —Malcolm Klein, Professor Emeritus, University of Southern California "A spiritual masterpiece touching the innermost sanctum of the human soul. —Anjelica Huston “In this artful, disquieting, yet surprisingly jubilant memoir, Jesuit priest Boyle recounts his two decades of working with homies in Los Angeles County, which contains 1,100 gangs with nearly 86,000 members. From moving vignettes about gangsters breaking into tears or finding themselves worthy of love and affirmation, to moments of spiritual reflection and sidesplittingly funny banter between him and the homies, Boyle creates a convincing and even joyful treatise on the sacredness of every life. Considering that he has buried more than 150 young people from gang-related violence, the joyful tenor of the book remains an astounding literary and spiritual feat.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) “A set of stories that will stir many emotions. Now in its 30th year, Homeboy traces its roots to when Boyle, a Jesuit priest with advanced degrees in English and theology, served as pastor of Dolores Mission Church, then the poorest Catholic parish in Los Angeles, which also had the highest concentration of gang activity in the city. Homeboy has become the largest gang-intervention, rehabilitation, and reentry program in the world, and employs and trains gang members and felons in a range of social enterprises, as well as provides critical services to thousands of men and women each year who walk through its doors seeking a better life. Father Boyle has received the California Peace Prize, the James Beard Foundation Humanitarian of the Year Award, and the University of Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal.

Written after his wife’s tragic death as a way of surviving the “mad midnight moments,” A Grief Observed an unflinchingly truthful account of how loss can lead even a stalwart believer to lose all sense of meaning in the universe, and the inspirational tale of how he can possibly regain his bearings. A Grief Observed contains his epigrammatic reflections on that period: "Your bid--for God or no God, for a good God or the Cosmic Sadist, for eternal life or nonentity--will not be serious if nothing much is staked on it. -- Madeleine L'Engle, author of The Crosswicks Journal and A Wrinkle in Time "[Lewis] faces his tortured life with unswerving honesty, and writes out his conclusions, or lack of them, with a poetic expression which is often agony but never self-pity."

Stories of the most favorite and beloved seasonal hymns of faith. Rob Morgan is the pastor of The Donelson Fellowship in Nashville, Tennessee, where he has served for more than thirty years.

Whether your relationship is flourishing or failing, Dr. Gary Chapman’s proven approach to showing and receiving love will help you experience deeper and richer levels of intimacy with your partner—starting today. Updated to reflect the complexities of relationships today, this new edition reveals intrinsic truths and applies relevant, actionable wisdom in ways that work. While working as a marriage counselor for more than 30 years, he identified five love languages: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch. Gifts are highly important to one spouse, while another sees fixing a leaky faucet, ironing a shirt, or cooking a meal as filling their "love tank." "In this unabridged recording of material the author has been perfecting for years, he says that people experience love most strongly through one of five love languages--quality time, words of encouragement, gifts, acts of service, and physical touch. Without making light of the work a marriage requires, he'll convince most listeners that with just a little planning and effort they can make a good marriage great and a broken partnership truly satisfying again."

Stormie Omartian shares how God can strengthen your marriage as you pray for your husband concerning key areas in his life, including... According to Omartian, a marriage's success depends upon "laying down all claim to power in and of yourself, and relying on God's power to transform you, your husband, your circumstances, and your marriage."

Licensed in over eighty-five languages, The Purpose Driven Life is far more than just a book; it is a guide to a spiritual journey. Living out the purpose you were created for moves you beyond mere survival and success to a life of significance—the life you were meant to live. Rick Warren is often called "America's most influential spiritual leader."

It's easy for American Christians to forget how Jesus said his followers would actually live, what their new lifestyle would actually look like. Finally, he urges you to join in The Radical Experiment -- a one-year journey in authentic discipleship that will transform how you live in a world that desperately needs the Good News Jesus came to bring. Read Radical , be blessed, and be changed.” —Johnny Hunt, president, Southern Baptist Convention, and pastor, First Baptist Church of Woodstock “ Radical will cause you to bounce on a spectrum between two words: ouch and amen. Read Radical if you’re ready to live differently.” —Gregg Matte, senior pastor, First Baptist Church of Houston “David Platt’s book will leave anyone who sincerely engages with his challenge dissatisfied—and faced with a decision: What will authentic faith look like in my life? This book has the potential to revitalize churches today to practice a radical, biblical lifestyle that can transform society and reach a lost world.” —Jerry Rankin, president, International Mission Board, Southern Baptist Convention “The church of the Lord Jesus has been seduced by a skilled seductress: the American dream. In this challenging and thoughtful book, David Platt shows us the way to live for Someone and something bigger.” —Darrin Patrick, founding pastor, The Journey, St. Louis “Sometimes people will commend a book by saying, ‘You won’t want to put it down.’ I can’t say that about this book. But you’ll find here another Way, one you know to be true, because you’ve heard it before in the words of the Lord Jesus, perhaps most forcefully in the simple call ‘Follow me.’” —Russell D. Moore, dean, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary “Through solid examination of the Scriptures and compelling testimonies from believers enduring persecution, my friend David Platt pulls back the curtain on subtle dangers weakening the church in our Western culture.

“Incredibly rich with wisdom and insight that will leave the reader, whether single or married, feeling uplifted.” — The Washington Times Based on the acclaimed sermon series by New York Times bestselling author Timothy Keller, this book shows everyone—Christians, skeptics, singles, longtime married couples, and those about to be engaged—the vision of what marriage should be according to the Bible. His target audience consists mainly of urban professionals, whom he believes exhibit disproportionate influence over the culture and its ideas. The 'Influentials' Issue of New York Magazine featured Dr Keller as 'the most successful Christian evangelist in the city by recognizing that young professionals and artists are "disproportionately influential" in creating the country's culture and that you have to meet this coveted demographic on its own terms.'.

New York Times bestselling author of the forthcoming God's Wisdom for Navigating Life Timothy Keller shows how God calls on each of us to express meaning and purpose through our work and careers. "Tim Keller's ministry in New York City is leading a generation of seekers and skeptics toward belief in God. Drawing on decades of study and ministry, Every Good Endeavor may soon become one of the most important contemporary books on faith and work." Every Good Endeavor deftly explains how we can relish and enjoy our work while honoring God and serving others, all the while avoiding the extremes of negativity on the one hand and idolatry on the other." In 1989 he started Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City with his wife, Kathy, and their three sons. He is the author of The Songs of Jesus , Prayer , Encounters with Jesus , Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering , and The Meaning of Marriage , among others, including the perennial bestsellers The Reason for God and The Prodigal God . After her CEO roles at One Touch Systems and Pensare, Redeemer Presbyterian Church recruited Katherine to lead the church’s efforts in marketplace ministry, now called the Center for Faith & Work, which has grown to serve more than two thousand people a year.

New York Times bestselling author of the forthcoming God's Wisdom for Navigating Life Timothy Keller shows how God calls on each of us to express meaning and purpose through our work and careers. "Tim Keller's ministry in New York City is leading a generation of seekers and skeptics toward belief in God. Drawing on decades of study and ministry, Every Good Endeavor may soon become one of the most important contemporary books on faith and work." Every Good Endeavor deftly explains how we can relish and enjoy our work while honoring God and serving others, all the while avoiding the extremes of negativity on the one hand and idolatry on the other." In 1989 he started Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City with his wife, Kathy, and their three sons. He is the author of The Songs of Jesus , Prayer , Encounters with Jesus , Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering , and The Meaning of Marriage , among others, including the perennial bestsellers The Reason for God and The Prodigal God . After her CEO roles at One Touch Systems and Pensare, Redeemer Presbyterian Church recruited Katherine to lead the church’s efforts in marketplace ministry, now called the Center for Faith & Work, which has grown to serve more than two thousand people a year.

By renovating homes in Waco, Texas, and changing lives in such a winsome and engaging way, Chip and Joanna have become more than just the stars of Fixer Upper , they have become America’s new best friends. Even back then Chip was a serial entrepreneur who, among other things, ran a lawn care company, sold fireworks, and flipped houses. The time Chip ran to the grocery store and forgot to take their new, sleeping baby Joanna’s agonizing decision to close her dream business to focus on raising their children When Chip buys a houseboat, sight-unseen, and it turns out to be a leaky wreck Joanna’s breakthrough moment of discovering the secret to creating a beautiful home Harrowing stories of the financial ups and downs as an entrepreneurial couple Memories and photos from Chip and Jo’s wedding The significance of the word magnolia and why it permeates everything they do The way the couple pays the popularity of Fixer Upper forward, sharing the success with others, and bolstering the city of Waco along the way. CHIP AND JOANNA GAINES are the founders of Magnolia Homes, Magnolia Market, and Magnolia Realty in Waco, Texas.

To Heaven and Back is Mary’s remarkable story of her life’s spiritual journey and what happened as she moved from life to death to eternal life, and back again. Having grown up with a fear of drowning, I was surprised to find my transition from life to death was seamless, peaceful, and beautiful. Although I tried to be a "good" and "moral" person, my faith was not integrated into my daily life and the demands of work and family left little time to think about spirituality. I try not to miss opportunities to uplift or encourage the spiritual life of others, and I live with gratitude and joy, knowing that I never face challenges alone. I was expected to share my experiences and my story with others, helping transform their faith into compete trust that God keeps His promises. In fact, my death and return to life is the greatest gift I have ever received, and I am continually grateful for having had this experience. I do not know the answer, but I am a scientist by training, a skeptic by nature, and a very concrete, rational thinker. It seems that most stories, mine included, contain some consistent elements--that of an overwhelming sense of God's love and forgiveness, intense peace and beauty and no desire to return to Earth. Before we return to Heaven, our real home, we have an incredible opportunity on Earth to face challenges that will help us learn, grow and to become more Christ-like in the fruits of our spirit.

Licensed in over eighty-five languages, The Purpose Driven Life is far more than just a book; it is a guide to a spiritual journey. Living out the purpose you were created for moves you beyond mere survival and success to a life of significance—the life you were meant to live. Rick Warren is often called "America's most influential spiritual leader."

In Uninvited , Lysa shares her own deeply personal experiences with rejection—from the incredibly painful childhood abandonment by her father to the perceived judgment of the perfectly toned woman one elliptical over. Release the desire to fall apart or control the actions of others by embracing God-honoring ways to process their hurt. End the cycle of perceived rejection by refusing to turn a small incident into a full blown issue. "TerKeurst doesn't just share empathetic anecdotes for readers in a rut; she focuses on digging down to the roots of anxiety and providing tools for overcoming self-doubt and handling the pain of rejection." Les and Leslie Parrott, #1 New York Times bestselling authors of Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts "Lysa TerKeurst has an undeniable gift for sharing her heart's struggles in ways that strengthen and equip the lives of others. Lysa speaks beautifully yet prophetically to a culture that uniquely is able to see what our friends are eating, playing, doing, and planning at any moment with the little device in our pocket. My favorite part is that Lysa turns our eyes to what's most important though, and that is the great invitation we have to sit at the table with the Living God who has been for us from the beginning."

When Navy SEAL Adam Brown woke up on March 17, 2010, he didn’t know he would die that night in the Hindu Kush Mountains of Afghanistan—but he was ready: In a letter to his children, not meant to be seen unless the worst happened, he wrote, “I’m not afraid of anything that might happen to me on this earth, because I know no matter what, nothing can take my spirit from me.”. Long before Adam Brown became a member of the elite SEAL Team SIX—the counterterrorism unit that took down Osama bin Laden—he was a fun-loving country boy from Hot Springs, Arkansas, whose greatest goal had been to wear his high school’s football jersey. An absorbing chronicle of heroism and humanity, Fearless presents an indelible portrait of a highly trained warrior who would enter a village with weapons in hand to hunt terrorists, only to come back the next day with an armload of shoes and meals for local children. It succeeds where all the others have failed.” —Anonymous SEAL Team SIX Operator “Adam Brown’s zest for life led him down a few dark alleys and more than one dead end. In his latest book, Fearless , Eric Blehm does a marvelous and moving job uncovering the man—the men—beneath the SEAL mythology of elite, rock-hard warriors, renowned for their courage and skill. The SEALs in Fearless hug their children, seek comfort from their wives, wear Batman briefs, answer to names like Big Bird and Fozzy, mourn lost buddies, and risk their lives to rescue civilians from the field of fire. This book will motivate you to challenge yourself to be…fearless.” —SEAL teammate of Adam Brown, BUD/S Class 226 “There is a quote from the Bible etched onto the memorial that stands in the shadow of World Trade Center steel that resembles a massive trident: ‘Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send? Fearless is a clear and deeply honest portrait of an authentic American man who lived and loved with an intrepid personal velocity. “ Fearless stands unique among works of modern combat literature through author Eric Blehm’s masterful weaving of a fallen Navy SEAL’s professional war-fighting life with his complex personal victories and travails. Eric Blehm is the best-selling author of The Only Thing Worth Dying For, which recounts the harrowing story of the first Special Forces A-team to infiltrate Taliban-held southern Afghanistan weeks after 9/11. The Last Season, winner of the National Outdoor Book Award, was named by Outside magazine as one of the ten “greatest adventure biographies ever written.” Blehm lives in California with his wife and children.

Licensed in over eighty-five languages, The Purpose Driven Life is far more than just a book; it is a guide to a spiritual journey. Living out the purpose you were created for moves you beyond mere survival and success to a life of significance—the life you were meant to live. Rick Warren is often called "America's most influential spiritual leader."

With eloquent clarity, Hitchens frames the argument for a more secular life based on science and reason, in which hell is replaced by the Hubble Telescope's awesome view of the universe, and Moses and the burning bush give way to the beauty and symmetry of the double helix. All the same, this is salutary reading as a means of culling believers' weaker arguments: that faith offers comfort (false comfort is none at all), or has provided a historical hedge against fascism (it mostly hasn't), or that "Eastern" religions are better (nope). Sam Harris' The End of Faith (2005) and Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion (2006) have questioned the existence of any spiritual being and met with enormous success. Replace religious faith with inquiry, open-mindedness, and the pursuit of ideas, he exhorts. Religious faith, he asserts, is both result and cause of dangerous sexual repression. Believers will be disturbed and may even charge him with blasphemy (he questions not only the virgin birth but the very existence of Jesus), and he may not change many minds, but he offers the open-minded plenty to think about.

And she shares the trials, tragedies, and ultimate victories from her own marriage, family, and ministry that led her to wondrous, life-transforming truth--and reveals her thoughts and feelings every step of the way. Meyer writes a valuable and convincing primer on what Buddhists would call "mindfulness" from a dedicated Christian perspective.