Spiritual growth is an ongoing process. It is not an immediate occurrence or something that can be achieved at once.
It takes a consistent, determined, and diligent person to continually grow spiritually.
The interesting thing about growing spiritually as a Christian is that it must be worked on everyday, every hour, every moment.
Spiritual growth is knowing God’s word, speaking with God, talking to people about Christ, and continually living for him.
A lot of people say spiritual growth is achieved by doing diverse things but let’s see what the bible says about growing spiritually.
as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
1 Peter 2:2 KJV
The bible is clear about spiritual growth; which is desiring the word of God (reading, studying, meditating, listening, and doing the word of God).
This is why I will be sharing with you 10 books in the nonfiction and fiction category that you should read to grow spiritually.
They are books that promote the virtue and power of God’s word. They also reiterate what it means to be a Christian and how to live as a Christian.
You will learn the realities of Christianity from these books, how to study the word of God, and also see interesting and relatable Christian stories from the fiction category.
10 Books Every Christian Should Read for Spiritual Growth
Non Fiction Edition
1.
The Bible Jesus Read: Why the Old Testament Matters by Philip Yancey
Philip Yancey has a way of confronting our most cherished–but misguided–notions about the Christian life.
In The Bible Jesus Read, Yancey challenges the perception that the New Testament is more important than the Old, that the Hebrew Scriptures aren’t worth the time they take to read and understand them.
Writing as always with keen insight into the human condition and God’s provision for it, Yancey debunks this theory once and for all.
Yes, he agrees, the Old Testament can be baffling, boring, and even offensive to the modern reader.
But as he personally discovered, the Old Testament is full of rewards for the one who embraces its riches.
With his candid, signature style, Yancey unfolds his interactions with the Old Testament from the perspective of his own deeply personal journey.
From Moses, the amazing prince of Egypt, to the psalmists’ turbulent emotions and the prophets’ oddball rantings, Yancey paints a picture of Israel’s God–and ours–that fills in the blanks of a solely New Testament vision of the Almighty.
As he reconnects for us the strong, sinuous chords that bind the Old and New Testaments, Yancey reclaims the Reformers’ deep sense of unity between the two.
Most important, he says, reading the Scriptures that Jesus so revered gives believers a profound new understanding of Christ, the Cornerstone of the new covenant. “The more we comprehend the Old Testament,” Yancey writes, “the more we comprehend Jesus.”
2.
Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health by Donald S Whitney
Christians today are busier than ever before, doing the “spiritual” work they feel called to out of devotion for God.
But are these earnest followers of Christ actually living their faith in a manner that is pleasing to Christ? Whitney (Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life; How Can I Be Sure I’m a Christian?) effectively challenges this “busy hands, empty heart” epidemic.
Whitney poses intensely introspective questions to aid Christians as they gauge their own level of spiritual health. Do they have a driving thirst for God, as well as behavior dictated by God’s holy standards?
How loving to others and sensitive to the Holy Spirit are they? Do they experience genuine grief over personal sin and a willingness to forgive repeat offenders?
Whitney also discusses the spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, meditating upon Scripture, taking communion and fellowship with others of like faith, showing readers how to transform these often automatic enterprises into faith-building activities.
He advises Christians to spend more energy enjoying God and developing a Christlike nature, rather than accomplishing ever-accelerating goals.
He notes that seekers must be acutely aware that following Christ is a lifetime commitment and that they should resist the temptation to seek “spiritual” shortcuts to intimacy with God.
This timely text is full of gentle admonitions to unearth deeply entrenched habits and dig for the treasure found only in a carefully honed relationship with God.
3.
Two Kinds of Righteousness: Investigating the Power of God by Chris Segun Onayinka
A book that solves many puzzles in scriptures…
What is the gospel in Genesis?What defines righteousness? Who can be called righteous?
Did all men become sinners via Adam?
Why was the Ten Commandments given? Did the rules change with the new covenant?
What are the works of the law? Did Jesus fulfill the Ten Commandments? How was sin imputed and when?
Was Adam made never to err?
All these and much more.
It’s the gospel explained, unchained, no addition.
This 328 page book will change your life and ministry.
4.
UNDERSTANDEST THOU WHAT THOU READEST? – A Book on Bible Interpretation by Chris Segun Onayinka
A 468 page study material which will guide many into correct bible interpretation.
It contains explanations like. How to study a text, Rules governing bible interpretation.
Explaining the Parables of Jesus. And several exegesis on several seeming difficult texts of scriptures. And lots more.
If there is a book a young and even an old minister needs.
5.
UNDERSTANDEST THOU WHAT THOU READEST? (Volume 2): A Book on Bible Interpretation by Chris Segun Onayinka
This is an almost 1000 page bible study and interpretation material.
As a sequel to volume one, it surveys much of explaining how scriptures are to be read and understood.
How are words properly used in scriptures! A TEXT CAN NEVER MEAN WHAT IT NEVER MEANT.
What is the role of context? Several Bible texts on salvation, prayer, sovereignty, etc are duly and thoroughly explained.
This book (volume one) has Been tagged by many “a text book for pastors”, Others call it “a written bible school”
We call it, our little contribution to the training of sound ministers especially amongst Charismatic Pentecostal ministries.
Fiction Edition
6.
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
Read My Book Review of Redeeming Love
A story of love that won’t let go—no matter what!
California’s gold country, 1850. A time when men sold their souls for a bag of gold and women sold their bodies for a place to sleep.
Angel expects nothing from men but betrayal. Sold into prostitution as a child, she survives by keeping her hatred alive. And what she hates most are the men who use her, leaving her empty and dead inside.
Then she meets Michael Hosea, a man who seeks his Father’s heart in everything. Michael obeys God’s call to marry Angel and to love her unconditionally. Slowly, day by day, he defies Angel’s every bitter expectation, until despite her resistance, her frozen heart begins to thaw.
But with her unexpected softening comes overwhelming feelings of unworthiness and fear. And so Angel runs. Back to the darkness, away from her husband’s pursuing love, terrified of the truth she no longer can deny: her final healing must come from the One who loves her even more than Michael does . . . the One who will never let her go.
A powerful retelling of the story of Gomer and Hosea, Redeeming Love is a life-changing story of God’s unconditional, redemptive, all-consuming love.
7.
The Good Stuff by Michelle Stimpson
Read My Book Review of The Good Stuff
Will the Picture Perfect Life…
Sonia and Kennard have the “perfect” life: they both have successful careers, beautiful twins, and a charming house. But despite the fact that Kennard is a faithful breadwinner, his emotional distance from the family makes Sonia believe that a good marriage must be more than in name only. Sonia is a grown woman with responsibilities; she’s too old for make-believe…
Adrian couldn’t love her husband, Darryl, more if she tried. He’s the one person who’s shown her what real love means. But when it seems that Darryl’s more interested in making money than making babies, Adrian wonders what marriage is for? And when a devastating secret from Darryl’s past emerges, it seems that their vows may truly break.
Make the Perfect Marriage?
The two women are heartbroken and on the verge of divorce when a com-mon friend, Miss Erma, invites them to a prayer group. Between theprayers come stories of marriage—the good and the bad, the happy andthe sad. Sonia and Adrian discover that marriage is more than weddingdresses and happily ever after. It is compromise, sacrifice, and patience— The Good Stuff
8.
Bridge to Haven: A Novel (A Riveting Historical Christian Fiction Romance Set in 1950s Hollywood) by Francine Rivers
One book I have read twice. It tells the story of God’s never-give-up love and the life of a guilt ridden young girl.
In this riveting saga of temptation, grace, and unconditional love, the New York Times bestselling author of Redeeming Love and The Masterpiece delivers big-canvas storytelling at its very best.
To those who matter in 1950s Hollywood, Lena Scott is the hottest rising star to hit the silver screen since Marilyn Monroe. Few know her real name is Abra. Even fewer know the price she’s paid to finally feel like she’s somebody.
To Pastor Ezekiel Freeman, Abra will always be the little girl who stole his heart the night he found her, a wailing newborn abandoned under a bridge on the outskirts of Haven. Zeke and his son, Joshua―Abra’s closest friend―watch her grow into an exotic beauty. But Zeke knows the circumstances surrounding her birth have etched scars deep in her heart, scars that leave her vulnerable to a fast-talking charmer who lures her to Tinseltown.
Hollywood feels like a million miles from Haven, and naive Abra quickly learns what’s expected of an ambitious girl with stars in her eyes. But fame comes at a devastating price. She has burned every bridge to get exactly what she thought she wanted. Now all she wants is a way back home.
9.
Betsy’s Return (Brides of Lehigh Canal) by Wanda E. Brunstetter
Read My Book Review of Betsy’s Return
Relive the glory of a Pennsylvania canal town through the eyes of those who ministered to the needs of the workers. Betsy Nelson reluctantly returns to her childhood home to care for her failing father, a faithful minister who served the town for years. William Covington, a confirmed bachelor, comes to town to become the new pastor and set aside the luxuries of this birth for service to God. Can Betsy and William find common ground on which to work together for the better of the townspeople?
From benevolence to message, retired pastor’s daughter Betsy and new pastor William butt heads about how things have always been done at the Walnutport, Pennsylvania, church. Can they find a way to work together?
10.
Once Upon a Prince (Royal Wedding Series) by Rachel Hauck
Read My Book Review of Once Upon a Prince
The story that inspired the Hallmark Original movie! He’s a royal prince. She’s an ordinary girl. But this holiday could change everything.
Susanna Truitt never dreamed of a great romance or being treated like a princess—just to marry the man she has loved for twelve years. But life isn’t going according to plan. When her high-school-sweetheart-turned-Marine-officer breaks up with her instead of proposing, Susanna scrambles to rebuild her life.
The last thing Prince Nathaniel expects to find on his American holiday to St. Simons Island is the queen of his heart. The prince has duties, and his family’s tense political situation means he won’t be able to marry for love or even choose his own bride. When Prince Nathaniel stops to help Susanna, who is stranded with a flat tire under the fabled Lover’s Oak, he is immediately enchanted by her. And even though he’s a total stranger, Susanna finds herself pouring her heart out to him.
Their lives are worlds apart, and soon Nathaniel must face the ultimate choice: his kingdom or her heart?
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As Christians who desire spiritual growth, we must constantly be aware and conscious of what we ingest into our souls.
When we continually read the word of God and fill our minds with content (books, movies) that ignites God’s word in us, we will continually grow.
I hope you check out these books and continue to grow spiritually.
