Download or read book Romancing God written by Lynn S. Neal and published by Univ of North Carolina Press. This book was released on 2006-12-08 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the world of the evangelical romance novel, sex and desire are mitigated by an omnipresent third party--the divine. Thus romance is not just an encounter between lovers, but a triangle of affection: man, woman, and God. Although this literature is often disparaged by scholars and pastors alike, inspirational fiction plays a unique and important role in the religious lives of many evangelical women. In an engaging study of why women read evangelical romance novels, Lynn S. Neal interviews writers and readers of the genre and finds a complex religious piety among ordinary people. In evangelical love stories, the success of the hero and heroine's romance rests upon their religious choices. These fictional religious choices, readers report, often inspire real spiritual change in their own lives. Amidst the demands of daily life or during a challenge to one's faith, these books offer a respite from problems and a time for fun, but they also provide a means to cultivate piety and to appreciate the unconditional power of God's love. The reading of inspirational fiction emerges from and reinforces an evangelical lifestyle, Neal argues, but women's interpretations of the stories demonstrate the constant negotiations that characterize evangelical living. Neal's study of religion in practice highlights evangelicalism's aesthetic sensibility and helps to alter conventional understandings--both secular and religious--of this prominent subculture.

Download or read book Romancing the King written by Brian Lake and published by Destiny Image Publishers. This book was released on 2010-11-01 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Romancing the King is a description of God’s yearning for relationship and intimacy with you. Like Esther in the Bible, you are permitted to enter the King’s presence because you have been invited—the King desires you. Intimacy with your Lord is a close, personal relationship where you can openly share with each other private information. To gain access to the splendor of His Kingdom, you must establish a relationship with the King. Romancing the King shows you how to enter His presence. You will explore: God’s glory through friendship and fellowship. The nature and character of God. Practical steps about how to spend time with Him. Your purpose and destiny. The intimate details necessary to enter the deepest level of worship. You will be drawn into a divine romance with the King of the universe as you examine the disciplines of fasting, prayer, worship and praise, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit—all working together to deepen the romance between you and your God. Each chapter concludes with several Points to Ponder, giving you the opportunity to experience fully all of God’s peace and love as you Romance the King!

Download or read book Romancing God written by Ramon Llull and published by Paraclete Press (MA). This book was released on 1999 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Romancing God contains two of Ramon Lull's most accessible mystical works, The Art of Contemplation, an accessible guide to devotions through the virtues of God; and The Book of the Lover and the Beloved, 365 short verses of conversation between the soul and God.Romancing God offers a glimpse into the life of a devoted soul conversing with his Creator, a learned man finding the meaning of life through his own search and discovery of God's love. The timeless wisdom and guidance offered in Lull's writing are as relevant today as they were 700 years ago.

Download or read book The Sacred Romance written by Brent Curtis and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2001-04-01 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If you're feeling lost, disconnected, or longing for something more, join bestselling authors John Eldredge and Brent Curtis as they explore the greatest love of our lives: our faith. The Sacred Romance invites us to find the peace and purpose we crave by slowing down, asking questions, and deepening our relationship with God. Eldredge and Curtis believe that modern Christians have lost touch with our hearts. We've left that essential part of ourselves behind in the pursuit of efficiency, success, and the busyness of our lives. The Sacred Romance will guide you through a journey to getting to know yourself and your creator even better, asking you: What is this restlessness and emptiness I feel, sometimes after years into my Christian journey? How will my spiritual life touch the rest of my life? What is it that is set so deeply in my heart, that simply will not leave me alone? When did I stop listening to God’s leading? The Sacred Romance is a journey of the heart. It is a journey full of intimacy, adventure, and beauty, that will guide you to your fondest memories, your greatest loves, your noblest achievements, and even your deepest hurts--but the reward is worth the risk.

Download or read book The Divine Romance written by Gene Edwards and published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. This book was released on 2011-06-14 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A breathtakingly beautiful saga spanning from eternity to eternity, presented from the view of angels. Experience creation, the crucifixion, and the resurrection from this unique viewpoint, and gain a better understanding of the majestic love of God. Gene Edwards’s classic tale is the greatest love story ever told.

Download or read book Loveology written by John Mark Comer and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2014-02-04 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Finally--a theology of love that will help you navigate the confusing waters of modern relationship. In the beginning, God created Adam. Then he made Eve. And ever since we've been picking up the pieces. With an autobiographical thread that turns a book into a story, pastor and speaker John Mark Comer shares about what is right in male/female relationships--what God intended in the Garden. And about what is wrong--the fallout in a post-Eden world. Loveology starts with marriage and works backward. Comer deals with sexuality, romance, singleness, and what it means to be male and female; ending with a raw, uncut, anything goes Q and A dealing with the most asked questions about sexuality and relationships. This is a book for singles, engaged couples, and the newly married--both inside and outside the church--who want to learn what the Scriptures have to say about sexuality and relationships. For those who are tired of Hollywood's propaganda, and the church's silence. And for people who want to ask the why questions and get intelligent, nuanced, grace-and-truth answers, rooted in the Scriptures.

Download or read book True Love Dates written by Debra K. Fileta and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2013-10-08 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is possible to find true love through dating. In True Love Dates, Debra Fileta encourages singles not to "kiss dating goodbye" but instead to experience a season of dating as a way to find real love. Through powerful, real-life stories and Fileta's personal journey, this book offers profound insights from the expertise of a professional counselor. Christians are looking for answers to finding true love. They are disillusioned with the church that has provided little practical application in the area of love and relationships. They're bombarded by Christian books that shun dating, idolize courting, fixate on spirituality, and in the end, offer little real relationship help. True Love Dates provides honest help for dating by providing a guide into vital relationship essentials. Debra is a professional Christian counselor who reaches millions with her popular blog, Truelovedates.com, and her book offers sound advice grounded in Christian spirituality. She delivers insight, direction, and counsel when it comes to entering the world of dating and learning to do it right the first time around. Drawing on the stories and struggles of hundreds of young men and women who have pursued the search for true love, Fileta helps readers bypass unnecessary pain while focusing on the things that really matter in the world of dating.

Download or read book Whiter Than Snow written by Paul David Tripp and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2008-06-26 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What do you do when you've really blown it? Is sin really as dangerous and is grace really as powerful as the Bible says they are? Is there such a thing as a new beginning? Sin and grace-these are the two themes of our lives. We all blow it and we all need to start over again. In Psalm 51, David tells his story of moral failure, personal awareness, grief, confession, repentance, commitment, and hope. And because David's story is every believer's story, Psalm 51 is every believer's psalm. It tells how we, as broken sinners, can be brutally honest with God and yet stand before him without fear. Whiter Than Snow unpacks this powerful little psalm in fifty-two meditations, reminding readers that by God's grace there is mercy for every wrong and grace for every new beginning. Designed for busy believers, these brief and engaging meditations are made practical by the reflection questions that conclude each chapter.

Download or read book Romancing the Divine written by Michael Dunn and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-11-10 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Michael Henry Dunn's spiritual journey began with heartbreak and a call to monastic life. But a deep conviction that one can be in love with the Divine - passionately, romantically in love - and still find sweet and fulfilling human love as well, led him to seek and find intimacy with the ultimate Soul Mate. Romancing the Divine is Dunn's deeply moving, intensely personal account of a love affair with the Source of Life: the Goddess who is also God. With honesty and humor, Dunn reveals the personal crisis that led to his spiritual awakening, his experiences meditating and chanting in the company of saints and illuminated souls, and the paths and techniques you can use to share in his love. What Dunn experienced (and continues to experience) transcends any one religion. He found commonality in his divine love with Indian yogis and Western nuns and discovered inspiration from Christian monastics and the chants of the kirtan yogic tradition. His is an unabashedly romantic love story centered on the Divine Feminine and filled with joy, passion, and a spiritualized and purified erotic energy. To love the Divine is to discover a lover who, according to Dunn, is "seductive beyond thought of competition." It's a love we all deserve.

Download or read book Easter Love Letters from God written by Glenys Nellist and published by Zonderkidz. This book was released on 2018-01-30 with total page 50 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are you looking for a way to teach your child about Holy Week and Easter? What if your child could also receive, open, and read his or her own personal mail from God to make the lessons come alive? Easter Love Letters from God contains seven beautifully illustrated Bible stories, each accompanied by a special Bible verse and an encouraging letter tucked away in its own lift-the-flap envelope that can be personalized to your child. Easter Love Letters from God is part of the Love Letters from God series written by Glenys Nellist. Unique features include: 7 letters from God on a pull-out page enclosed inside an envelope, with space to write your child’s name on each letter Endearing text that applies each Easter story directly to your child’s life and helps grow their faith Gorgeous, bright illustrations by Sophie Allsopp The wonderous stories leading up to Jesus’s resurrection on Easter Sunday This interactive picture book is perfect for ages 4-8 and is great for Easter baskets or as an addition to your child’s home library. Check out other titles from this series: Love Letters from God, Love Letters from God: Bible Stories for a Girl’s Heart, and Christmas Love Letters from God: Bible Stories.

Download or read book Crazy Love written by Francis Chan and published by David C Cook. This book was released on 2013-04-01 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Revised & Updated Edition! God is love. Crazy, relentless, all-powerful love. Have you ever wondered if we're missing it? It's crazy, if you think about it. The God of the universe—the Creator of nitrogen and pine needles, galaxies and E-minor—loves us with a radical, unconditional, self-sacrificing love. And what is our typical response? We go to church, sing songs, and try not to cuss. Whether you've verbalized it yet or not, we all know something's wrong. Does something deep inside your heart long to break free from the status quo? Are you hungry for an authentic faith that addresses the problems of our world with tangible, even radical, solutions? God is calling you to a passionate love relationship with Himself. Because the answer to religious complacency isn't working harder at a list of do's and don'ts—it's falling in love with God. And once you encounter His love, as Francis describes it, you will never be the same. Because when you're wildly in love with someone, it changes everything. Learn more about Crazy Love at www.crazylovebook.com.

Download or read book The Love of God written by Jon D. Levenson and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-03-31 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The love of God is perhaps the most essential element in Judaism--but also one of the most confounding. In biblical and rabbinic literature, the obligation to love God appears as a formal commandment. Yet most people today think of love as a feeling. How can an emotion be commanded? How could one ever fulfill such a requirement? The Love of God places these scholarly and existential questions in a new light. Jon Levenson traces the origins of the concept to the ancient institution of covenant, showing how covenantal love is a matter neither of sentiment nor of dry legalism. The love of God is instead a deeply personal two-way relationship that finds expression in God's mysterious love for the people of Israel, who in turn observe God's laws out of profound gratitude for his acts of deliverance. Levenson explores how this bond has survived episodes in which God's love appears to be painfully absent--as in the brutal persecutions of Talmudic times--and describes the intensely erotic portrayals of the relationship by biblical prophets and rabbinic interpreters of the Song of Songs. He examines the love of God as a spiritual discipline in the Middle Ages as well as efforts by two influential modern Jewish thinkers--Martin Buber and Franz Rosenzweig--to recover this vital but endangered aspect of their tradition. A breathtaking work of scholarship and spirituality alike that is certain to provoke debate, The Love of God develops fascinating insights into the foundations of religious life in the classical Jewish tradition. (Publisher).

Download or read book Why Church Matters written by Joshua Harris and published by Multnomah. This book was released on 2011-08-16 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Christians belong in churches--the only places where we can thrive and grow spiritually. In Why Church Matters, Joshua Harris makes this case with wisdom, clarity, and graciousness." --Charles W. Colson Church isn't where we go. It's who we are. We were never meant to live our faith in isolation. The church is the place God uses to grow us, encourage us, and use our gifts for His glory. In this honest, personal, and practical book, Joshua Harris shows you why it's time to say yes to church and how to find the right one for you--the place where you can fall in love with the family of God. Includes: What you miss when you miss church Ten questions to ask before you join How to get more out of the best day of the week What Readers are Saying: "This book shows the place of great honor that church holds in Christ's heart and encourages us to value what He values. I've bought multiple copies to give away." --Mike Neglia; Cork, Ireland "Josh Harris does an excellent job of addressing our impulse to church hop." --Garrett Watkins; Atlanta, Georgia "When our family was in the midst of a transition, Why Church Matters helped us find the right local church. It will do the same for you." --Andrew Hall; Ilderton, Ontario Previously published as Stop Dating the Church

Download or read book Bound to the Battle God written by Ruby Dixon and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2019-07 with total page 664 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When I went to my neighbor's apartment to investigate strange sounds, I never expected to fall through a portal into another world. Yet here I am, a stranger in an even stranger land...and I'm stranded. In this world, might makes right, men carry swords, and gods walk the earth. Within minutes of arriving, I'm enslaved.Fun place.How do I get home? GREAT question. Wish I had an answer.The one person that might be able to help me is also the one person I want to throttle most. Aron, Lord of Storms, Butcher God of Battle, is my new companion. Or rather, I'm his. As Aron's anchor to the mortal realm, I'm the one that's supposed to be guiding him through his exile in the mortal world.Ha. Joke's on him. I know nothing about this place.But Aron and I have a common goal - get home. And we're bonded - anchor and god - with a bond unlike any other. So we travel together. We bicker. We bathe together. We fight our many, many enemies together. And sure, he's a god, but he's also an arrogant jerk. Brawny, smoking hot, irresistible jerk. I should want nothing to do with him. I certainly shouldn't want to do things to him.Mortals and gods don't mix. We stick to the plan and ignore our attraction. Focused, with one goal in mind. One task. One goal.Focused.I-oh heck, I'm going to end up kissing him again, aren't I?

Download or read book God Reforms Hearts written by Thaddeus Williams and published by Lexham Academic. This book was released on 2021-08-11 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Must we be free to truly love? Evil is a problem for all Christians. When responding to objections that both evil and God can exist, many resort to a "free will defense," where God is not the creator of evil but of human freedom, by which evil is possible. This response is so pervasive that it is just as often assumed as it is defended. But is this answer biblically and philosophically defensible? In God Reforms Hearts, Thaddeus J. Williams offers a friendly challenge to the central claim of the free will defense—that love is possible only with true (or libertarian) free will. Williams argues that much thinking on free will fails to carve out the necessary distinction between an autonomous will and an unforced will. Scripture presents a God who desires relationship and places moral requirements on his often--rebellious creatures, but does absolute free will follow? Moreover, God's work of transforming the human heart is more thorough than libertarian freedom allows. With clarity, precision, and charity, Williams judges the merits and shortcomings of the relational free will defense while offering a philosophically and biblically robust alternative that draws from theologians of the past to point a way forward.

Download or read book God and the Gothic written by Alison Milbank and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alison Milbank provides a complete reimagining of the Gothic literary canon to examine its engagement with theological ideas, tracing its origins to the apocalyptic critique of the Reformation female martyrs, and to the Dissolution of the monasteries, now seen as usurping authorities.

Download or read book Romance God s Way written by Eric Ludy and published by . This book was released on 1997-01-01 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Just when you thought God didn't care about your love life, along come Eric and Leslie Ludy with a book that will bring you the most thrilling news of the century: God loves romance! He not only invented it, but he has a purpose for it in your life! In a fun and humorous way, Eric and Leslie bring to life the simple yet profound principles of building a relationship that will stand the test of time. As you read this life-changing message you will catch a vision for just how exciting your love life can be when you experience romance God's way! - Back cover.