Practice What You Preach: 6 Books to Help You Live the Gospel

Let me set the stage.

I'm at church. One of my favorite people gets up to speak-- a spiritual powerhouse she is-- and her whole talk about how Christ will always save and God gives liberally sends lightning through my veins! 

But then I get home... and I'm not quite sure how living like I believe those things actually work. Some of the commandments seem a little contradictory; I'm not supposed to judge another, but I'm also supposed to hold the line on when a commandment is considered broken?

So, if you are just as confused as I am, here are six books that I found clarified the words of God and made me excited to put them into practice!

1. Choosing Glory by Lili De Hoyos Anderson

One time, in a customer service job, I was dealing with a particularly nasty woman. She was verbally abusive, but one night she escalated to taking a swing at some of us. When I told my boss I’d be calling the police the next time, she told me I couldn’t do that because it “wasn’t Christlike”. 

Boy, did that mess me up.

Choosing Glory is many things, but one of the greatest things it teaches is how God sets healthy boundaries. Love and forgiveness can only be given when you are safe, and staying in an unsafe situation once you know it is bad only creates a victim. 

Lili Anderson is an amazing licensed therapist who advocates for us to all become non-victim Christians by what the Gospel teaches us. It has helped me make and keep boundaries, love more authentically, and feel more empowered in difficult situations.

And if you like audiobooks, Lili is a great narrator. Go you!

2. The Law of Love by Steve Young

Speaking of loving people better, let’s talk about The Law of Love. 

You might know Steve Young as the famous quarterback for the San Fransico 49ers, but I know him better as an author. His words felt like a loving punch to the gut, but they were needed after certain events had made me more than a little bitter. You know the saying, “In love, you give 90% and expect 10% back”? Well, Young argues that we should always give 100% and expect nothing; not that we should let ourselves be treated wrongly, but that we should love how God does—because we want to.

It's a little hard to explain, so you really just have to read it. But can you go wrong with this book? What does the world need if not a little more love from each of us?

3. Creating a Christ-Centered Home by Emily Belle Freeman
 

I just got a letter from my cousin (yes, a letter. I had to relearn how to address one). She’s a young mom with twinies and a toddler, just moved from Utah to Georgia, and while she loves her life, it's been a lot of change. Besides feeling a little lonely without her family and friends around her, she’s also frustrated that she hasn’t been able to study her scriptures as much as she used to. Where do you find the time when potty-training and baby-proofing the world?

Emily Belle Freeman (she also wrote Even This!) takes us back to the basics of the Gospel to exactly what Jesus taught us about staying focused on Him. Creating a Christ-Centered Home has 12 easy traditions or routines that can help you look to Christ, whether in the busy or the slow seasons of life. Freeman loves the scriptures, and the way she talks about Jesus makes Him come alive, but she has always been able to make Him very reachable, no matter the level of understanding.

You don’t have to do all of them, but find the ones that resonate with you and give them a try. Each tradition also comes with a sweet recipe...

4. An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor

Remember Holy Envy? Here’s another good one by Taylor.

Sometimes we get stuck in a box when we think about religion—mainly, we go to worship on Sunday at church and we read our Bible at home. But when those things stop being enough, where do we go?

An Altar in the World is all about learning to live the Gospel with purpose. Are we busy because we have important things to do, or because we think doing “nothing” is morally wrong? Can the sabbath day really help with that? Can I really find God in the wilderness like Jacob? 

Read to find out!

5. Let God Love You by Wendy Ulrich

Remember my epiphany that I was like God, not God like me?

Get ready for a personal attack.

But really, the pain will all be worth it. Ulrich writes about how, after all the things that can happen in a life happen, we can easily start to see God like we do our earthly relationships. Your parents don’t understand you? Your friends ignore your distress? Your boss says you’re overreacting? Somewhere along the line, you might start assuming that God thinks the same. But He doesn’t!

If you are struggling to see God as loving, this book might be able to reach your heart.

Keep holding on, and Happy Reading!

Similar Reads:

Different and Deeper: 5 Books for When You Can't Feel God

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