Friday Favorites: The Grace of God and Books Reviewed by You

As I was thinking through my list of favorite books in preparation of this post I decided I wanted to do something different. I want to hear from you. Is there a book you've read that has powerfully impacted your understanding of God? One that left your mind reshaped when you were done reading or gave you the feeling you were looking on a familiar view through a different vantage point? If so I would love to hear about it. Post the title, author and a few sentences on how it impacted you in the comments bellow. I look forward to reading your responses!

Recently I read just such a book, The Grace of God by Andy Stanley. He started in the beginning and headed through the pages of the Bible, strait for the cross, picking up gems of grace along the way. Truly one of the most beautiful books I've ever read, I devoured it. In the end I had fallen in love all over again but I felt like I understood more clearly Who it was I had fallen in love with.

Here is just a taste from it's grace soaked pages. "You, like Rahab, are invited as you are, label and all. You, like Israel, have been invited to join God in a relationship initiated by faith, not adherence to a set of rules. This is the way of grace. And this is the way it has been from the beginning. Grace doesn't require people with embarrassing labels to shed those labels as a prerequisite. Grace is what empowers us to do so. Grace doesn't demand. Grace assists... When it comes to your labels, current or past, God is slow to judge and more than willing to deliver. Not after you've freed yourself or distanced yourself from your embarrassing labels, but as a part of the process. In fact, grace provides you with labels of its own: Forgiven. Accepted. Loved."

If you want to see a sweeping panorama of God's heart for mankind through the ages this book is a good place to start. Now it's your turn tell me what books have shaped and grown your view of God.