"Be uncommon Christians . . . that is, eminently holy, self-denying, cross-bearing, Bible, everyday Christians." So James Brainerd Taylor (1801 1829) encouraged others to be, and so he strived to be himself. Of Intense Brightness reveals aspects of Taylor's uncommon Christianity by allowing the Princeton and Yale-educated evangelist to speak for himself. By means of forty-five selected and edited letters and journal entries of Taylor's (written from ages fourteen to twenty-seven), readers will obtain a unique glimpse into the inner workings of an evangelical Protestant spirituality that was, according to nineteenth-century Princeton Seminary professor Samuel Miller, "so uniform, that we had only, as it were, one face, and that of intense brightness to behold."

In the wake of recent revival movements, Christians need Jonathan Edwards' classic Religious Affections more than ever. Edwards, the central figure in New England's first Great Awakening, offers here his most detailed description of the signs-false and true-of revival, while highlighting the role truly balanced emotions play within the Christian life. An engaging introductory essay by Charles Colson details the impact of Religious Affections on his own life and its implications for today's church.

The Psalms as Christian Lament, a companion volume to The Psalms as Christian Worship, uniquely blends verse-by-verse commentary with a history of Psalms interpretation in the church from the time of the apostles to the present. Bruce Waltke, James Houston, and Erika Moore examine ten lament psalms, including six of the seven traditional penitential psalms, covering Psalms 5, 6, 7, 32, 38, 39, 44, 102, 130, and 143. The authors -- experts in the subject area -- skillfully establish the meaning of the Hebrew text through careful exegesis and trace the church's historical interpretation and use of these psalms, highlighting their deep spiritual significance to Christians through the ages. Though C. S. Lewis called the -imprecatory- psalms -contemptible, - Waltke, Houston, and Moore show that they too are profitable for sound doctrine and so for spiritual health, demonstrating that lament is an important aspect of the Christian life.

In these pages James M. Houston, one of the greatest spiritual mentors of our time, offers a thoughtful and surprising examination of what it means to be a true disciple of Christ. "The Mentored Life" is a stirring call to the church to become a community of friends and mentors, following the ultimate Mentor, Jesus Christ, who alone can mentor us into full personhood.
"This challenging essay on being led to maturity in Christ is emphatically a book for chewing. Your readings, I promise you, will be time well spent, quite probably your most fruitful study time in years."- J. I. Packer
""The Mentored Life" is a penetrating analysis of the psychological and moral failure of contemporary individualism, and a cogent demonstration that personhood demands Christian discipleship. If Christian people are to bring God into their own lives and the lives of others, it is along the lines presented in this book." - Dallas Willard

This commentary uniquely combines a verse-by-verse exposition of the Hebrew text of selected Psalms with a history of their interpretation in the Church from the time of the apostles to the present. / Bruce K. Waltke begins the collaboration by first skillfully establishing the meaning of the chosen psalms through careful exegesis in which each text is interpreted in light of its historical backgrounds, its literary form, and the poet's rhetoric. James M. Houston then exposits each text's relevance in conjunction with the Church's interpretation of it throughout her history. To further the accuracy of this interpretation, he commissioned fresh translations of numerous Latin and Middle English texts. / The authors' purpose in creating this volume was not merely to produce a masterful commentary. Rather, they wished to aid in enriching the daily life of the contemporary Christian and to deepen the church's community. Waltke and Houston here bring together the two voices of the Holy Spirit -- heard infallibly in Scripture and edifyingly in the Church's response -- in a rare and illuminating combination.

Almost unknown by evangelical Christians today, Juan de Vald's and Don Benedetto were Italian Reformers who penned what are probably the two most significant works of the Italian Reformation: One Hundred and Ten Considerations and On the Benefit of Jesus Christ, Crucified. Both writers protested not merely against the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church, as Martin Luther did, but went further to challenge the Italian humanism of the Renaissance. While John Calvin's Institutes richly teach the doctrine of the atonement by faith, the thought of Juan de Vald's reflects more of a struggle and debate among a group of friends about how the experience of justification by faith is actually lived out. The writings of Don Benedetto develop similar ideas about the centrality of Christ's death, and the role that assurance and joy play in the Christian life.

Blaise Pascal, the remarkable seventeenth-century mathematician, physicist, and religious thinker, rigorously refutes the belief that to become a Christian you must first commit intellectual suicide. He wrote to communicate the Christian faith to the skeptical, to the indifferent, to the hostile. Many regard him as the greatest of French prose writers. After his conversion at the age of thirty-one, Pascal records how his mind blazed with the burning conviction of being overwhelmed with light. For many years he had examined God merely as a series of concepts. Now he stood before God's presence and the reality of God Himself, the same God who had appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It was this that now gave him "joy, joy, joy, tears of joy." The Mind on Fire contains Pascals' Pensees, a systematic and uncompromising defense of Christian belief, along with selections from his Letters to a Provincial, his own description of his conversion, and a prayer for the proper use of pain in his life. Dr. James M. Houston, editor of the Classics of Faith and Devotion series, is a highly acclaimed scholar and pioneer in the field of evangelical spirituality. He came to North America from England in 1968 to lead Regent College in Vancouver, Canada, a worldwide center of spiritual formation.

As a young politician, William Wilberforce (1759-1833) set out to do two things: rouse professing Christians to understand the nature of true faith, and bring about the end of slavery in England's colonies. Real Christianity challenged the ruling classes of early nineteenth-century England more than any other work. Even today Real Christianity is a tool to soundly teach the tenets of evangelical faith and stir the conscience of all Christians.

Sin and Temptation helps us recover the concepts of sin and individual responsibility our world has all but destroyed. John Owen, an English theologian of vast learning, has dealt with the nature of sinful humanity as no writer has done as keenly or thoroughly, arguing that sin is always a self-deceiving, blinding folly. Owen embodied the best of Puritan devotion: the awe of God, humility, wisdom, and an awareness of God's grace. J.I. Packer's introductory essay describes how Owen's writings shaped his own spiritual formation. Dr. James Houston, editor of the Classics of Faith and Devotion series, is a highly acclaimed scholar and pioneer int he field of evangelical spirituality. He came to North America from England in 1968 to lead Regent College in Vancouver, Canada, a worldwide center of spiritual formation.

The first National Forum on Christian Higher Education took place at the King's University College in Edmonton in May 2012. The theme for the forum was "For Christ and His Kingdom: Inspiring a New Generation." The opening and closing plenary addresses by Bruce Hindmarsh and Dr. James Houston, both from Regent College, served as bookends that provided the context for the forum and the other plenary sessions. In this publication of their addresses, Dr. Hindmarsh presents the need for intellectual and spiritual integrity as essential to paradosis, the transmission of a living faith to the next generation, while Dr. Houston provides a compelling case for a fulsome theological understanding of the person in Christ as intrinsic to an authentic Christian education that avoids the reductionism of secular viewpoints.

In these pages James M. Houston, one of the greatest spiritual mentors of our time, offers a thoughtful and surprising examination of what it means to be a true disciple of Christ. "The Mentored Life" is a stirring call to the church to become a community of friends and mentors, following the ultimate Mentor, Jesus Christ, who alone can mentor us into full personhood.
"This challenging essay on being led to maturity in Christ is emphatically a book for chewing. Your readings, I promise you, will be time well spent, quite probably your most fruitful study time in years."- J. I. Packer
""The Mentored Life" is a penetrating analysis of the psychological and moral failure of contemporary individualism, and a cogent demonstration that personhood demands Christian discipleship. If Christian people are to bring God into their own lives and the lives of others, it is along the lines presented in this book." - Dallas Willard

Too often, prayer seems only to be a dreary exercise that must be endured or a difficult skill that must be mastered. When we misunderstand its purpose and practice, we easily fall out of the habit of praying regularly. As a result, we miss one of the greatest opportunities to deepen our friendship with God. In " Prayer: The Transforming Friendship, " James Houston explores the transforming power of prayer, illustrating how prayer begins to change our lives and then how the way we live changes how we pray. Through clear and compelling examinations of the Scriptures, Dr. Houston shows the often-misunderstood spiritual realities of prayer. And through candid accounts of his own struggles to pray effectively, he will encourage you to engage boldly in the life-changing practice of intimate conversation with God.
Dr. James M. Houston, a prolific author, editor, and Christian scholar, is the founding principal, former chancellor and emeritus professor of spiritual theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. A native of Scotland whose parents were missionaries to Spain, he is recognized around the world as a leader in educating laypeople for effective ministry and in helping to restore spirituality to evangelicalism. His other book include The Mentored Life, The Heart's Desire, and Joyful Exiles.