The Life You've Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People
The Christian life is about more than being forgiven, more even than making it to heaven. The heart of Christianity is about transformation about a God who isn't just concerned with our "spiritual lives," but who wants to impact every aspect of living. It's realizing that God meets us not in a monastery but on Main Street, and that all of ordinary, daily life has the potential to be lived as if Jesus himself were the one living it.John Ortberg calls us back to the dynamic heartbeat of Christianity God's power to bring change and growth and shows us how we can attain it . . . and why we should attain it. Salvation without change was unheard-of to Christians of other days, he says so why has the church today reduced faith to mere spiritual "fire insurance" that omits the best part of being a Christian?The Life You've Always Wanted offers modern perspectives on the ancient path of the spiritual disciplines. But it's more than just a book about things we should do if we want to be good Christians. It's a road map toward true transformation, compelling because it starts not with ourselves but with the object of our journey Jesus Christ. Ortberg shows us that Christianity isn't a matter of externals, of outer form that gets the church stamp of approval, but of Christ's character becoming etched with ever-increasing depth into our own character.As with a marathon runner, the secret lies not in trying harder, but in training consistently. Hence the spiritual disciplines. They're neither taskmasters nor an end in themselves. They're exercises that strengthen our endurance race down the road of growth. As we continue down that road, we'll see the signposts joy, peace, kindness, and all the hallmarks of a faith that's vital, real, and growing.Paved with humor and sparkling anecdotes, The Life You've Always Wanted is an encouraging and challenging approach to a Christian life that's worth living. Life on the edge, that fills our ordinary world with new meaning, hope, change, and a joyous, growing closeness to Christ.