Living The Message

The distinguished translator of the acclaimed The Message: The New Testament, Psalms, and Provebs offers a daily spiritual companion that brings God's message to vivid life each and every day. In the engaging format of a year-long reader, Living the Message meets the needs for daily guidance and grounding with 365 selections from Peterson's lifetime of reflection on prayer.

For more than 35 years, beloved author, professor, and pastor Eugene Peterson has used his expertise in the original language of the Bible and his passion for God's word to re–create the informal, earthy immediacy of Scripture in expressive, contemporary English. Just as the writers of the New Testament used everyday language to convey God's message to their readers and listeners, Peterson's conversational translations and graceful insights into Christian life speak powerfully to the concerns of today's men and women and offer timeless wisdom for every day of the year.

For more than 35 years, beloved author, professor, and pastor Eugene Peterson has used his expertise in the original language of the Bible and his passion for God's word to re–create the informal, earthy immediacy of Scripture in expressive, contemporary English. Just as the writers of the New Testament used everyday language to convey God's message to their readers and listeners, Peterson's conversational translations and graceful insights into Christian life speak powerfully to the concerns of today's men and women and offer timeless wisdom for every day of the year.

The Message's unique verse-numbering system makes it an ideal Bible study companion.

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). The Holy Spirit empowers us, guides us, and enables us to grow and endure in our relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ. Often the most misunderstood member of the Trinity, the person of the Spirit continues to attract attention today amidst church revivals and renewals. In this new edition of his classic Keep in Step with the Spirit, J. I. Packer seeks to help Christians reaffirm the biblical call to holiness and the Spirit s role in keeping our covenant with God. Packer guides us through the riches and depth of the Spirit s work, assesses versions of holiness and the charismatic life, and shows how Christ must always be at the centre of true Spirit-led ministry. A new chapter explores Christian assurance. With abiding relevance and significance, Keep in Step with the Spirit sets forth vital knowledge for healthy and joyous Christian living, through understanding and experience of God the Holy Spirit. Here is a book for every serious believer to read and re-read.

HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED YOUR OWN MORTALITY? … Have you ever wondered what it will feel like to die? For who is exempt from this? Will there be something beyond this experience? Where do we go? Will we go anywhere? Is there an Afterlife? Or a place long referred to as 'Heaven?' If so, what might this place be like? Why do the things that happen to us in Life occur in the way that they do … and to what valid reason or purpose? Following a fatal car accident on a quiet country road, Bubs (the only name by which this Spirit communicator refers to himself throughout), finds himself unexpectedly returned to ‘Spirit Side Living’; with his current human lifespan complete! Through a series of mediumistic contacts spanning five months, Bubs begins to share his journey through the death experience and beyond, into … Living in the Light. This is a unique and endearing personal account from beyond the grave! A truly thought-provoking read!

As Eugene Peterson was writing "The Message, his magnificent and popular translation of the Bible, he wanted readers to understand that forty years of living the message preceded the writing of it. The result is "Living the Message, a unique daily reader that combines scriptural verses with Peterson's classic writings on the spiritual life. Here readers are offered a daily spiritual companion that brings God's message vividly to life. With a new foreword by the author, this classic devotional presents readers with the tools and insights they need to go beyond an ordinary faith. Peterson draws on his profound reflections on the Bible, prayer, and community to usher the reader on a path of discovering the relevancy of God's word to our everyday lives. From the author of nearly thirty books, Peterson's "Living the Message weaves together insightful selections from some of his best works to produce a volume full of wisdom and hope. Reading this collection will endow your spiritual life with a new urgency and desire to live out your faith more fully.

‘For the LORD gives wisdom…he stores up sound wisdom for the upright… The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom’ (Proverbs 2:6, 7; 9:10). The Old Testament books of Proverbs, Job and Ecclesiastes are often referred to as the wisdom books of the Bible. The theme of wisdom, however, is not limited to these books: it actually pervades much of the Bible. Dan Estes explores wisdom in key passages in Scripture. In Part 1, he investigates the concept of wisdom in the book of Proverbs: what wisdom is and how it calls out to humans to follow its path. In Part 2, he considers how wisdom is presented in various contexts in the Old Testament, in passages from the law (Deuteronomy 30), history (1 Kings 3-4), prophecy (Jeremiah 8-9) and Psalm 112. Part 3 focuses on Proverbs to learn how wisdom affects our conduct in our work, our speech, our decisions and our righteous living. There is complexity in the biblical message of wisdom. Part 4 shows how the prominent theme of retribution in Proverbs is balanced and qualified in the books of Job and Ecclesiastes. In Part 5, Estes examines the culmination of wisdom in the New Testament, as we see that Jesus is the master teacher of wisdom and the source of all wisdom, and that we are challenged to live by God’s wisdom rather than falling into folly. Throughout the Bible, we are constantly challenged to learn God’s wisdom, to live God’s wisdom, and to love God’s wisdom.