Are you spiritually stuck right now? You know, going through the motions, but not sensing that closeness with God? Would you like to know how to take your spiritual walk to the next level? Well, today I'm going to give you four creative ways to pull you out of that rut and give you a fresh encounter with God you're going to love today. Thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Living on the Edge is an international teaching and discipleship ministry motivating Christians to live like Christians. And could you relate to those feelings Chip just described?
Do you feel a bit lost spiritually, almost like a car that can't get out of first gear? Well, Chip's going to give us the jumpstart we need as he picks up where he left off last time in our series Good to Great in God's Eyes. So if you have your Bible handy, let's join Chip again in Romans chapter 12 for the remainder of his talk, Read Great Books.
I remember going on campuses early on when I taught and coached and people asking me hard questions and peeling through evidence that demands a verdict by Josh McDowell and trying to figure out an outline for him how to answer hard questions. And I remember mirror Christianity being introduced to C.S. Lewis and that great contemporary of Tolkien. And, you know, in mirror Christianity you get the mind travel of C.S.
Lewis who is this brilliant agnostic who taught English literature at Oxford and his journey at becoming a Christian and the rational basis for why this sense of ought, this sense of should, this sense of morality in all cultures. See, there are books that God has provided for us and for you that can change how you think. Are these easy books to read? No. Are they always fun books to read?
No. Do you realize how many of your contemporaries and fellow workers, we all think we've got to have an expert somewhere to explain things. I believe God wants us to read books that sharpen your mind.
Reasons to Believe by Norm Geisler is another example. But by Lewis, you know, that issue of suffering in the world, right? How could a good God allow suffering? Lewis, the problem of pain.
The issue of, you know, how could a good God allow there to be a hell? The great divorce. You know, we need to soak our minds in the C.S. Lewis's of the world. We need to soak our minds in the J.I.
Packer's of the world. As Christians, what are we to, we're to love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. Do you love God with all your mind? Or have you got, you know, and you know what? Have you got to where, you know, it's entertainment, it's ESPN, it's the food channel.
It's that every time we have some free time, we have believed the McDonald's commercial and we've been conformed to this world. You deserve a break today. It's been a really hard day. You're really tired. What you really need to do is put up your feet, put your mind in zero and you know what?
Here's what I've learned. When there was three channels, nothing was on. When they got up to 15 channels, nothing was on. When there's 75 channels, there's nothing on. But I got the dish, you got 295 channels, there's not much on. Am I saying that we never watch, that we don't stay in touch, that media is bad?
Absolutely not. What I'm saying is, it would be an interesting experiment if you took 10 days and went on a media fast instead of a food fast. I mean the radio doesn't come on in the car, TV doesn't come on in your house for 10 days. Some of you who think your lives are so busy and so full and so pressurized and under so much stress, you would experience this new phenomena. It's called boredom. And you know what happens right after boredom?
Creativity and growth. You get bored enough, you know what happens too? You actually find that after about 9.30, there's not a lot to do, so what the heck might as well go to bed? Well then you wake up with a couple three hours with plenty of sleep to begin to invest your mind and your heart toward becoming the man, the woman, the parent, the grandparent that you've always wanted to be, but have conned yourself into believing, I don't really have time to develop. And you do.
And I do. We read books first that broaden our world, second to sharpen our mind, and third, read great books that inflame your heart, that inflame your heart. I remember the first book ever that inflamed my heart was E.M. Bounds. It's called The Power of Prayer. And don't read that one unless like you're, it's psychologically in sort of a good state of mind. In the early part of his book, I mean this guy has written a zillion books on prayer, and all of them when you get done, you just want to wilt and say, I am so guilty, I am so lacking, I am such a spiritual worm. But it's kind of good for you.
You know, just not too much. But he says in that book what the world needs is not more men, not more money, not more machinery, not even people who think about prayer, not people who talk about prayer, not people who can explain prayer. What God is looking for is men and women who pray, who really pray, who believe that God is real and bring the needs before Him and believe that He will answer. That is what God's looking for. It is the hardest discipline in the world because I believe prayer is the barometer of genuine humility. And my self-sufficiency and my honest evaluation of how much I need God or don't need God can be measured by the quantity and the quality of my prayer life.
I mean, let's do the math. There's an all-knowing being. He knows what's going to happen at the end of the day, the end of history.
He has unlimited power. He calls you His child. He has saved you. He's redeemed you, made you a part of His family, has told you He wants to guide you. He wants to bless you.
He's a good God. He has a great plan for your life. He wants to prosper you. He wants to use you. He has a plan for your life. He supernaturally gifted you. He put His Spirit in you.
He wants to do all these things in your life. And we get up in the morning and say, you know, I don't really have time to talk to you because I basically know what to do with my life and how to do it. And then we say, because I didn't have time. What?
What? And so we think that, you know, riding in the car now and, Lord, thanks. You know, we do the little quickie prayers. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord.
Now, you know what? I want to practice the presence of God. I want to have quickie prayers. I want to pray in the car. I want to pray as I walk. But you have to develop the discipline of times that are blocked off where you meet with God and you open your heart and you get honest and you get real and you intercede.
And Ian Bounds bang. And so as you can tell, on rare occasion, I've had an opportunity to get intense and mildly out of balance. Could anyone imagine a personality type like me going this direction? So I read Ian Bounds and now I'm a Christian four years, five maybe. And I'm coaching, going to grad school and teaching high school.
And I've got a little 35 minute commute. And so I read Ian Bounds and I decide I'm going to pray an hour every day before my quiet time. So I get up at some ungodly hour and I pray for an hour.
It's really hard, but I do it. And I'm pretty legalistic about it, which isn't good. This is not, this is not a really great story about how godly I am. This is kind of like how dumb I was, but something good came out of it. And so I prayed for an hour. Then I read my Bible, had my quiet time, memorize a couple of verses. And then I went and coached and then came back, did ministry on the campus, drove to grad school, did a few little things. And I did that for about six months. At the end of six months, by praying for an hour before I did anything else, you know what happened? I ended up in the hospital. And a doctor looked at me and said, man, what?
Tell me about your schedule. And then he looked at me and said, you may be the dumbest guy I've ever met. I mean, really.
I mean, I had some sort of virus. He said, you couldn't throw off anything. And what I learned was is prayer is about a relationship.
What I learned was God wanted to meet with me at all. It's not about duty. It's not about being a soldier. It's not measured always by how long and what you do and this and that. It's about my heart and that I need to block off time and I need to be disciplined. And I'm glad I went through that because it developed some discipline. And then I had to back away and learn how to pray out of relationship and out of grace. But you know something?
There's something to be said for learning to do our duty for a brief season, to develop some things in your heart and your schedule and your life. But it inflames my heart. I remember Andrew Murray, tiny little book, The Beauty of Holiness, and don't have a lot to say about this one other than, have you ever thought of God being humble? I still remember.
I don't know what it was. Maybe I didn't like to read. So all the books I read were almost really thin paperbacks and had an aqua cover and it had the picture of a shell that was real shiny with the pearl in the middle of it. And it said, The Beauty of Holiness. And the book was simply about the majestic, awesome beauty of the king of all the universe and how beautiful it is that he took on human flesh and what it would be like to need never serve a person but to choose to lower yourself and serve. And the book said, The greatest delight, the most godlikeness you can ever be is when you understand humility is a sacred privilege where you get to follow in the steps of Jesus. And it was like, I mean, you're talking about a highly driven, I want my way.
I'm going to do my thing. By the way, it's nice to have God on my team attitude. And it just, it inflamed my heart. It cut to my soul. Calvary Road is a book that says basically, the Christian life is a journey to the cross.
You must die. Remember the words of Jesus? You don't hear him preached all that much. If any man will come after me, let him what? Deny himself, take up his cross how often?
Daily. Why do you take up a cross? It wasn't a religious symbol even for the first three, 400 years of the church.
It's an instrument of death. Take up your cross, your will, your agenda, your dreams, you're got to have it your way, take up your cross and die daily and come follow me. And that little book is the journey with the great ray of hope at the end that says, unless you die to yourself, you never experience resurrection life. See, there's never a resurrection without a death. But what I found in my Christian life, I spent an ordinate amount of energy trying to control trying to take care of trying to, okay, I'll get financially secure here.
I'll line this up over here. Everything's got to be okay here. Now my days got to go like this. And if it doesn't go like this, then I'm really upset and my emotions go down, then they go up. It's got to be my way. And then I have all kind of verses and sophisticated Christian ease that I say that sort of excuse all that.
And God brings suffering and heartache and inconvenience and problem people and wayward children and struggles in marriage as acts of grace so that you can learn to die. Just die to where you surrender. And you say, I can't do this marriage. I can't live this life. I can't be this dad. I can't be this kid. I can't handle this financial pressure. And you die to yourself and you say, but I will allow you to live your life through me at whatever level you want, God, I'm desperate.
And I bet we can take a microphone around this room. And we could talk about times when you've come to the very end of the end of the end of your rope and how God has met you, right? Haven't those been the times? I mean, it is just, you've exploded and experienced grace. When do you experience it? You experience it when you're dead. You experience when you can't handle it.
You can't make it happen. And that's why God is grace allows some of those things to happen. Well, I've put a couple other titles there that have been helpful to me and maybe the pursuit of God or true spirituality will be ones and be helpful to you. But let me go to the fourth one. We read great books that first broaden our world. Then they sharpen our mind. Third, they inflame our heart and forth to develop your skills.
I was not a Christian and I'm not necessarily recommending this book is probably out of print, but what I want you to get is read books that develop your skills. I didn't know how to be a dad. I mean, I had a really nice mom and dad.
They just weren't Christians. And you know, I hear all of a sudden, you know, I'm a dad. I got two little boys. I mean, I don't know how to have family devotions. I don't know how to pray with them.
I don't know how to discipline them. And there was a little book called the Christian Family by Larry Christiansen. And I just read it.
I did what it said. Must be a good book because I got great kids and a great wife. The communication key to your marriage. My dad and my mom weren't believers. Teresa's parents as she grew up weren't. Her dad was an alcoholic. My dad's an alcoholic. So, you know, people say we got baggage. Well, we got baggage. I think that's why when I speak on marriage and parenting, I think the reason it resonates on the radio is people say, now that guy's really messed up just like me.
Maybe there's hope, you know? You know, but I think that's how God ministers out of our weakness. But I mean, we sat down with Norman Wright's book Communication Key to Your Marriage, and we read it chapter by chapter, did the questions at the back, which I hated.
You know, I don't read directions either. And then we sat down and talked about it. And then and then he came out with another book. It was sickening more communication key to your marriage.
And so we went through that one. You have to develop skills. I didn't know how to communicate. I didn't know how to express anger. I didn't know how to do any of the kind of things you're supposed to as a dad or as a mate.
But you know what? God has produced great resources to help people like us, whether it's your marriage or whether it's parenting or for me, Learning to Lead, the CEO of FedEx, Fred Smith, his dad was a pastor in a tiny little Methodist church. He wrote a little book called Learning to Lead for Pastors.
It's like gold. Another book that I read, The Effective Executive, wasn't a Christian book, but you're a pastor and all of a sudden something starts to grow. I didn't have a clue the difference between being efficient versus being effective. Peter Drucker's little book, I mean, The Father of Modern Management, man, that is just it's just a little gold book about developing skills to lead your life well.
And then Basic Theology by Charles Ryrie is just something that I want to develop my skills where I can think theologically, you know, think through the issues of salvation, think through the issues of Christology. Big word, but you know, we could use a few of those. Everyone's so apologetic.
I don't want to use a big word here and people won't understand that. We figured out how in the last 25 years to dumb down the church so low. We don't have anybody that thinks theologically. We don't have people that recognize air. I mean, you're leaders. You're people of influence. We need to develop our skills, broaden our minds, inflame our hearts.
How do you do it? You read great books. The fifth type of book is read great books that heal your soul. Heal your soul. I was on an airplane and really wrestling with a big decision about whether to marry Teresa. Some of you know our history and our background.
So it was really big. And I have learned to relate to people pretty well. But I learned and looking back, the reason I learned to relate to people pretty well is because I was so fearful of rejection.
I could sort of read groups and figure out. So the tough guys, you're supposed to act tough. And to the parents, you're supposed to be the all-American boy. Ma'am, good to see you.
Cindy Lou will be home right on time, you see. And the basketball guys in the locker room, hey dude, get out of here. Get out of my way. So I could figure out how to act with whoever. And I was just a chameleon. And I was a people pleaser. And now I had the biggest decision of my life and I had one group of people saying, we think you ought to do this.
And another group of people I respected doing this. And then I'm just going. And what I realized was, instead of making a decision based on God's word and what the scripture said, I did all the study.
It was really pretty clear. I was so afraid of disappointing people and being rejected that I didn't have the sheer courage to step up and be a man and make a decision and say, you know, if this is right, good. And if it's wrong, Lord, I want you to know when we get to the judgment seat of Christ, I'm going to step right up to the plate and I'll receive whatever you want to give me, bad or good. You know, there's a time where you can't ask everyone else what you ought to do.
There's a time where it all doesn't line up and gets real easy. There's time where you'd be a man, you'd be a woman, you trust God based on everything you know, and you take a step of faith and you don't care with holy regard about what other people think. And that little book, The Ins and Outs of Rejection by Charles R. Sullivan is what I was reading on the plane on my way to California to a conference when I realized that's the issue in my heart, and God gave me clarity.
But He began to heal my soul. You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, and he'll be back to finish his talk in just a minute. But first, if you'd like to learn what it really means to be genuinely great in the eyes of God, join us after the message. Chip will highlight a resource we've developed from this study that'll help you dive deeper into these habits and put them into practice in your everyday life. Stick around to learn more.
But for now, here again is Chip. Another book, again, probably out of print, is called The Strong and the Weak by Paul Turnier. He's a Swiss psychologist, believer, and I happened to be pastoring, 28 years old, and had this opportunity to go out into a little country church. And in fact, it was that the metropolitan area was no stoplights, 4,500 people total, and then the church was about 15 minutes outside of town, one little white building, and we had some rodents that would run across the back, and we had 35 people in the church. And there was a group of business people that all had businesses in Dallas and were kind of the upper middle to really upwardly mobile, and they wanted to have a good, strong Bible-teaching church about 30 miles outside where they lived. And so we created a little church, and it had its ups and downs. I think I was the eighth pastor in about four years, so they definitely had some ups and downs, and I think when they got me, they thought they might have some more downs, you know? And I didn't have any idea what I was doing, but, you know, it was like a little country church, but then you'd go like into one of their houses, and like Southern Living would be here, and then like it would be like super nice, and like I was overwhelmingly intimidated. And I'd never been around people with money before.
Both my parents were school teachers. And boy, I just thought they were way up here, and I'm a little pygmy down here, and I was nervous. And then I pastored there for a couple years. And when I got to know them, I found out some of these very wealthy, powerful people that owned big businesses and drive down to Dallas and walk into big, shiny buildings, and everyone thinks so wonderful.
Man, they got like really big problems in their marriage, and some of their kids are going through some really bad stuff. And pretty soon I'm realizing they're just like me. And then at the same time I read this book called The Strong and the Weak, and I'll save you a whole read. The thesis of the book is everyone in the world is desperately insecure. Thousands of hours of counseling, godly Christian man, the Swiss, everyone is desperately insecure. Some people demonstrate their insecurity with strong reactions.
They power up. I've got so many zeros. Here's my portfolio. This is what I drive. Look at that watch. You know how many letters are behind my name? Hey, you better get out of the way. And they intimidate people, and they're strong and powerful. You know what they do?
It produces distance. Why? Because now that distance keeps the real them from being exposed, and they're desperately insecure. And I learned when I saw people like that, instead of being intimidated, I thought, oh, wow, that guy's like really insecure, just like me. He probably needs some help.
And the other group masks their insecurity with weak reactions. I could never do that. No, no, no. Well, I just, no, well, you know, I have a hard time looking up. I like to gaze at my navel most of the time. And I'm a victim. And you know what they are? They're just insecure like me. And you know what happens?
I read that book, and I thought, everyone's wearing a mask. So what the heck? I just think I'm going to rip mine off. What you see is what you get. You like it, you like it.
You don't, you don't. I've learned in the last few years who I am in Christ is what matters. What he thinks of me is what matters. And you know, when people power up, you know, I can kind of look beyond that and say, boy, I've sure done a lot of that myself and have compassion. And when people are shrinking back, you can say, you know something, you can put your arm around them and also challenge them to say, you know, I don't want to be critical here because I know you tell this story and it works for a while because you get a lot of affection and attention, but sweetheart or brother, what you need to do is get your eyes off yourself. You really have something to offer and you not believing that is pretty arrogant because God says you do.
So why don't you get your eyes off yourself and you got struggles, I got struggles, even that guy you're intimidated, but he's got struggles too. See, there's books that can heal your soul. In my forties, I think, late thirties and forties, especially, I think you go through a time where you start, you know, when your kids are starting to get older and your parents are starting to get older and you're trying to, you're right in the sort of like the brackish water, you know, sort of the salt water and the fresh water and you're at that stage of life where, you know, your kids are getting older and you're trying to figure out about parenting and all of a sudden your kids are starting to say and feel some things that you felt about your parents and your parents right now are not looking really near as dumb as they did about 10 years ago, you know, in that place you get. And then you're working through some identity issues and then you realize, gosh, my dad wasn't perfect. My mom wasn't perfect. And sometime, depending on your background, you can spend anywhere from a decade or a decade and a half internally, even if you do it not externally, you can whine about all that you didn't get. My dad never told me he loved me. I came from a very difficult family. You know, my mother and I didn't really bond and connect.
You know, my sister did this and we did that and that's happened and this happened. And you can spend a lot of energy focusing on all that you didn't get. And, you know, there is a period of a time and you need to get a window and get some insight, but boy, that's a, that's a, that's a bad way to live.
It's a very unfruitful way to live. And I remember reading Nouwen's book on the prodigal and Abba Father by Brennan Manning. And those two books have one very simple message. God loves me and God loves you at this very moment, as much as you will ever be loved ever, ever, ever. There's not something you could do to get him to love you. There's not something you can do that will stop him from loving you. He doesn't love you if, and he doesn't love you because while you were yet a sinner, he loves you.
You are the object of his affection. And as you read and grow in Christ, what you'll find, especially among those who, who've spoken much about the spiritual life and growth, it all boils down to receiving and accepting the unconditional love of God as your real own identity. And then having the freedom because of that to love and accept other people. And we all wrestle with that. And those are issues. I mean, we, you know, every family, they talk about families and dysfunctional families. My theory is there's really, really dysfunctional families, not quite so dysfunctional families and mildly dysfunctional families. And that has all of us.
So everybody's got issues. So you need to read books that will heal your soul. And finally, what I want to say is first and foremost, I saved it for last.
Some of you are thinking, is he ever going to get to this one? First and foremost, read the Bible. Don't ever let books written by men substitute the book written by God. Set your mind on the things that are above.
Allow your mind to be renewed. This word Moses would say is your very life. Man will not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Father. This isn't read a chapter to keep the devil away. This isn't have a little list so that, you know, you've done my devotionals and check that off. Let's see, I've worked out.
You know, see, I took my juices that are good for me. I've read my Bible. I prayed my 12 to 15 minutes. No, this is about, this is about God saying, I sent my son and you now as my child have my spirit in you. And I will take that spirit that bears witness with your spirit that cries out to me, Abba Father. And I will take the written word and I will allow it to become in your life and experience the living word and the God who spoke and all the world and all the galaxies came into existence invites you and invites me and he will speak to you and he will encourage you and he will share things from his word and they will leap off the page at times that will so convict you that you'll just, there's times I've just thought, Lord, I've been a Christian 30 years now.
That attitude is so ugly. I didn't think I was capable of that bad of an attitude and a thought. I have so far to go. And there's other times where you will open it and you will hear God's voice through his word, love you and affirm you when there's no other person that understands in ways that will be on your wildest dreams and he'll guide you and he'll direct you. But I believe that the greatest decision I made and I praise God for Dawson Trotman because Dawson Trotman led someone to Christ who led something to Christ who led someone to Christ who led someone to Christ who led a bricklayer to Christ who invested seven or eight years in me and he came down to my dorm room every Tuesday morning and I didn't want to meet with him and I didn't want to get up and he taught me how to have a quiet time and for two years, just so you know, for two years man I just could not get out of bed and a long quiet time was like six minutes. You know me and God, you know, read four verses and how you doing God?
I'm doing fine, catch you later. Why? Because I was arrogant. I had no idea what was available and I had no idea the depth of my need. And for a while then I finally took my alarm clock and I put it in the bathroom so I at least had to get up out of bed. Finally I had to get a roommate to help me. I was in college. I knew I wanted to be in God's word. I could not discipline myself. I was so undisciplined and I got my roommate who was a heavyweight wrestler and I said, Bob, I mean I'm trying, I'm trying, I'm trying. I make it like two mornings out of seven.
I know I've got to be in God's word. I want to but when the alarm goes off, my will is gone. Bob said, Chip, do you really want help? I said, Bob, I do.
He said, Chip, now don't mess with me. You really want help? I said, Bob, we've been roommates, man.
I want help. He said, Chip, no matter what, do you want help? I said, Bob, I want help. He said, okay, tomorrow morning you'll get in God's word.
I said, all right. So I go to sleep. Alarm goes off.
I put my head over the covers. Bob goes, hey, Chip, time to get up. Hey, Bob, you know, man, I'll read later this afternoon.
Hey, Chip, remember? Bob kind of leave him. He comes over, takes my covers, throws them off. Leaning over me like this. Bob, what are you doing? Would you just get out of here?
I'm freezing, man. He said, Chip, are you coming? He said, I'm not getting up.
So I take the pillow over my head. He goes out, gets a glass of water, drinking fountain, comes in. Chip, you getting up?
No. Throws a little water, splash, and now I'm ticked. And he's in trouble.
I'm about 150 pounds and he's about 100 plus that. And it never entered my mind to do anything except get out of here. And gospel truth, he goes to the end of the bed and grabs my ankle and lifts me up. And now I'm upside down.
This is for real. And he walks in. You know, remember the dorms where they had the big local showers? We go out our door. He opens that one. He turns it on. He says, Chip, do you want to get up? And now, you know, I'm trying to do, you know, sit ups, you know, and he takes it enters in. He just, he lays me down. He said, Chip, I'll meet you back in the room. And he said, if you want more of this, this is every day. Can I tell you something? I thank God for Bob Myers.
It started as a duty 10, 12, 15, 18 minutes. Got to where, you know, Lord, at least I'm in the word. I can't tell you the ooey gooey feelings and God things punch. You know, a lot of times it's like eating a good breakfast. You know, I'm sure it was good for me. I just can't remember what I ate. And little by little by little, I just made a covenant with God.
No Bible, no breakfast. You will be the first person in my life. You will be the most important person in my life. I will meet with you and I will talk with you and I will ask you to speak to me. And I covet with you.
That's what I'm going to do. Now, have I gone into legalistic times? Of course. Does God love me any less when I miss a morning?
Absolutely not. But I had to focus my heart. I had to set my heart on doing what God wanted me to do. And I want to tell you, after about four or five or six years, God spoke more and more. By another seven, eight, nine or ten, I didn't need an alarm. And now I can't even remember the last time I ever looked at an alarm clock or ever had to set it.
The greatest, delightful, most wonderful hours of my day are in the morning. And I just get to meet with Him and He talks to me. And I have all these struggles and all these problems because I'm insecure and I came from a dysfunctional family. Just like you. But there's a God who loves me and accepts me just like I am. And He knows what's going to happen today. And it's amazing.
I can open anywhere and He can speak to me from anywhere. And He knows the meeting I'm going to have and the conflict I'm going to have and the struggle that I have. And He's going to know the insecurities and the things that I keep wanting Him to do, but He doesn't seem to want to do them when I want them to get done.
And He just keeps speaking and loving. And for about 30 years now, that pattern has been the most transforming event in my life. Read great books.
Why? Because you don't want to be conformed to this world. You want to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. That your life could prove or demonstrate what the will of God is. That which is good. I want a good life. That which is acceptable.
That which is well pleasing. You notice I've put some very practical steps. Because some of you are going to say, you know, there wasn't all that much scripture in this one next session. Because what I wanted to do, what I know is, you're not going to read 30 books next month. You need a plan. You need to get on the right path and the right journey.
So four suggestions. One, begin with a regular time in the Bible in a version you can understand. If nothing else comes out of this, say, I'm going to start in the Bible at a regular time in a version I can understand. Number two, use a resource that will provide some structure, understanding and additional insight. And if this sounds like a commercial, it could be construed that way. But it's a commercial because we love people.
I read the daily walk for the first 10 or 15 years of my Christian life through the Bible in a year, through the Bible in a year, through the Bible in a year. I don't know about you, who are the Hittites anyway? Who are the Hezabezerites and the Jebusites and what was happening with the, I don't know any of that stuff. But here you have a tool that, oh, so that's what was happening in history. And so that's how it's broken up. And here's something specific for me and now a regular ordinary people like me and you and Dawes and Cameron and Hudson can just grow and be who we're supposed to be. And we get some help from some resources.
Third, don't be overwhelmed, but develop a plan to read one book every month or two. Man, I don't want you going away feeling guilty and overwhelmed. Then I turned on the TV, I'm a sinner, I'm a sinner, I remember what Chip said.
Now, if you are, turn it off more, okay? I don't want to interfere with what God's speaking to you. But what I want you to do is say, you know, I'm going to start substituting media for some meat, some intellectual, spiritual, psychological, mind-renewing, God-ordained meat, and I'm going to enjoy it.
And that's the final one. Enjoy the journey. It is not about how many books you read. It is about how deeply the books you read sink into your life. You're listening to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram, and the message you just heard, Great Great Books, is from our series, Good to Great in God's Eyes.
Chip will join us in studio to share some insights from today's talk in just a minute. Are you tired of living the status quo Christian life? Do you want a renewed sense of purpose, joy, and intimacy with God? Well, join Chip in this series as he highlights some simple practices every great Christian has in common, and how these routines can lead to a more fulfilling abundant life. Don't settle for a lukewarm faith. Unlock your spiritual potential through this series.
For more information about the resources for Good to Great in God's Eyes, visit LivingOnTheEdge.org, the Chip Ingram map, or call 888-333-6003. Chip's here in studio with me now, and Chip, talk to those who feel spiritually stuck. They've listened to what you've been sharing in this series and want to change but just can't find consistency in their relationship with God. Would you give them some encouragement?
Well, Dave, I'd be glad to. And the fact of the matter is, you're not a bad Christian because you get stuck. I mean, I read the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians, and he sure sounded like he got stuck. And David, when he was kind of pondering, you know, I can't go on with life, he got stuck. So, we all get stuck, but what you need is a game plan.
You need a way out. You need to know, so what specific things can I do? And so, in the book Good to Great in God's Eyes, what we do is we give people a pathway. We help them learn to think great thoughts and pray great prayers and enjoy great moments and pursue great people. And don't hurry. There's a lot to put into practice.
You know, I think there was a little poem that, you know, talks about, you know, so a thought reap an action, so an action, you know, reap a habit, so a habit reap a destiny. And that's what I would encourage people. If you're stuck, Good to Great in God's Eyes, and if there's any way you can get your roommate or your husband or your wife or another guy or another gal to go through it with you, the benefit will more than double. Thanks, Chip. To order your set of Good to Great in God's Eyes, go to LivingOnTheEdge.org or call us at 888-333-6003. This is the perfect tool to jumpstart your faith and live a more authentic, purpose-filled life. During this series, all of the resources for Good to Great in God's Eyes, including Chip's book, are discounted.
So order yours today by going to LivingOnTheEdge.org or call us at 888-333-6003. App listeners, tap Special Offers. Well, Chip, for the past couple of programs, you've been encouraging us to read great books. But I'm sure there are some listening who'd say, Yeah, well, I'm not really a reader.
And just the thought of opening a book is overwhelming. What would you say to them? Well, Dave, that's a really, really good question.
And let me sort of address this in two different ways. There are some people that reading is a real, real struggle. And they're actually embarrassed about how little they read or they don't read very well. And I would say, Let's just get on the table. Let's not guilt anybody into, I can never be a great Christian unless I can read lots of books.
And some people are dyslexic or, I mean, it's just a challenge. The second thing is that if you don't know where to begin, let's not overthink this. How about where do you have a need? Where are you struggling? It's like, Oh, our marriage is in trouble. Have you ever thought of reading a good marriage book? Or, I'm really depressed. Wow, maybe a good book on spiritual and mental health. Or, you know what, I'm struggling with one of my kids. Or, I really have this passion to be a great dad.
If you'll read around your needs and your passions, what you'll find is you'll be very motivated. And I don't know about you, but left to myself, unless I was sharing books with other people, I would probably not read very many books. And so, can you imagine sitting around with some other people and say, Hey, well, what are the best books you've ever read? Or, you know, what are some great thoughts you're thinking?
And, you know, when we get into this together, I will tell you, that's when the motivation really rises and great things happen. This is a great reminder chip. As we close, I want to thank each of you who makes this program possible through your generous giving. One hundred percent of your gifts go directly to the ministry to help Christians live like Christians. Now, if you found this teaching helpful but aren't yet on the team, consider doing that today.
Sending a gift is easy. Go to livingontheedge.org, or call us at 888-333-6003. That's 888-333-6003. Or visit livingontheedge.org. App listeners, tap donate. And let me thank you in advance for doing whatever the Lord leads you to do. Well, thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. I'm Dave Druey, and I hope you'll join us again next time.
