I was blessed to read some books that changed my life this
year. Some of them were decades old and
musty. Some were published just a few
months ago. The following list is partial
and in no particular order, but I think each of them would be worth reading:
Counter-Culture by David Platt (© 2015 Tyndale). This book started with a breathtaking
synopsis of the Gospel:
“The good news that the just
and gracious Creator of the universe has looked upon hopelessly sinful men and
women and has sent His Son, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, to bear His wrath
against sin on the cross and to show His power over sin in the resurrection, so
that everyone who turns from their sin and themselves and trusts in Jesus as
Savior and Lord will be reconciled to God forever.” [1]
In his latest
book, David Platt, president of the IMB, makes a “compassionate call to
counter-culture in a world of poverty, same-sex marriage, racism, sex slavery,
immigration, persecution, abortion, orphans and pornography” based on the fact
that a Gospel powerful enough to save us for eternity, is mighty enough to
transform everything about us for the duration of our lives. “What we conclude about countering culture
may prove costly for me and you,” he writes.
“But…I don’t think this will matter much. For our eyes will no longer be focused on
what is most comfortable to us; instead, our lives will be fixed on what is
most glorifying to God, and in Him we will find far greater reward than
anything our culture could ever offer us.” [2] Packed with truth, prayer points, action
plans and Scripture, Platt urges the church to be salt and light and to engage
a culture that lacks both.
In the Presence of my Enemies by Gracia Burnham (© 2003
Tyndale). The cover says that this autobiography
is the “gripping account of the kidnapping of American missionaries and their
year of terror in the Philippine jungle.”
It is also a reminder that God is sovereign over the callings He places
upon men, over the deep waters through which He brings them, and the ways
through which He brings glory to His Name.
It’s an inside look at a Filipino terrorist group in camaraderie with
the jihadists who brought terror to America on September 1, 2001. The book is a story of a real husband and
wife who together surrendered their real lives to a real God who never forgot
His promises and proved Himself faithful.
After a year of captivity, Gracia Burnham’s husband, a missionary pilot,
was killed during their rescue. Gracia
writes:
“I honor the legacy of a wise
and godly man who kept me going, trail after trail, gun battle after gun
battle. i value the efforts of all who
worked so hard to get me out alive. And
I resolve to keep living in the embrace of God’s gladness and love for as long
as He gives me breath.” [3]
I was also
blessed to read her second book “To Fly
Again: Surviving the Tailspins of Life”.
In the jungle, her husband told her that it wasn’t often that God
was given glory in dark places and that He had given them an opportunity to do
something special until He gave them a different mission.
Don’t Follow Your Heart: God’s Ways are
Not Your Ways by Jon
Bloom (© 2015 Desiring God). This was an
awesome little book. Mr. Bloom kicks it
off by stating: “The Bible is clear: we must follow God’s heart, not ours. Today, following God’s heart means to follow
Jesus, which means dying to our fallen hearts’ desires and losing our lives in
order to find them.” [4] It’s a book about suffering, trusting,
sacrificing and finding everything in Christ.
The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown (© 2014 Penguin
Books). This book is about the group of
Oregon boys who emerged from the Great Depression, struggled through college,
and via hard work and determination joined the rowing team that went forward and
snatched gold from under Hitler’s nose at the 1936 Olympics – just a few short
years before World War II began. Later,
some of the same boys and some of their friends and a million other fellow-Americans
would snatch a lot more from Hitler – giving their everything to preserve the
good ol’ American values that made the boys in the boat so awesome.
PHTLS by NAEMT (© 2014 Jones and Bartlett Learning, 7th
Ed.). I don’t know how many other people
like “pre-hospital trauma life support”, but: this is a fantastic book, and is
by far the best textbook I have ever read on any subject. Ever.
The Soulwinner by Charles Spurgeon (© 1995 Whitaker
House). Based on Proverbs 11:30, “He
that winneth souls is wise”, the Prince of Preachers, Charles Spurgeon, issues
a passionate call to militant evangelism in this collection of lessons and
sermons. “The one thing you have to do
is bear witness to the truth,” he writes. [5] And, elsewhere, “You must go into the
fire if you are to pull others out of it, and you will have to dive into the
flood of you are to draw others out of the water…Come and lay your all on the
alter! Give yourselves up, you workers,
into the Lord’s hand!” [6] There
is no joking in this book. Be a soulwinner:
the command is clear and the call is urgent.
Beyond Call by Baker J. Cauthen (© 1973 Broadman
Press). Cauthen served as the IMB president
from 1954 to 1979. His little book is a
collection of his messages to the new missionaries who were being sent out
yearly to preach the Gospel around the world.
He said:
“Your value on the mission
field will be in direct proportion to your coming to the throne of grace and
receiving from Him who pours His grace into your heart in order that He may
communicate it through you to a world that needs to know...[and] whatever
simple thing it is that you undertake, if it spreads a little of the love that
came into your heart at Calvary, it will be the most valuable contribution of
your life to the world.” [7]
It’s a book of
wisdom and truth with a simple message: All you have is Christ.
The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson (© 1968
Pyramid). A young pastor in New Jersey
decided to turn his TV off and spend whatever time had been used in staring at
the silver screen to pray to God. He saw
a picture of some boy gangsters in New York City as he prayed one night, and God
burdened the pastor’s heart for them. He
took all the money he had, and went to New York City – only to get arrested
briefly, barred from his original mission, and catapulted into a ministry that
flourished into the global outreach called Teen Challenge. David Wilkerson witnessed the power of God
unto salvation time and time again as he faithfully proclaimed the Word on the
street corners and watched the street kids come to know Jesus, abandon their
old ways, and be transformed. Some of
the kids went to rehabilitation centers.
Some returned to their families.
One of them went back to share Christ with his old gang and got stabbed
- only to try again after being released from the hospital. “Perhaps because
of this incident he became one of our most effective workers,” Wilkerson wrote.
[8] Jumping over some unbiblical pneumatology, I
am especially grateful for this story because God used it to bring the Gospel
to my own family. My Dad watched the
movie “The Cross and the Switchblade” the night he became a Christian.
Mom Enough by various authors (© 2014 Desiring
God) is a book about motherhood, sacrifice, the Gospel, and a mathematical equation:
Mom (never enough) + God (infinitely enough) = Mom Enough.
In the Land of Blue Burqas by Kate McCord (© 2012 Moody
Publishers). This book is written by a
lady who spent five years in the heart of Afghanistan as a Christian missionary
and humanitarian aid worker. In a
country that doesn’t tolerate Christians, she risked her life to not only speak
the Gospel, but to demonstrate it through her life. It gave me a much broader, more realistic
view of Islam and Muslim evangelism and the cost of following Christ to the
Middle East.
[1] Platt,
David. Counter-Culture. The
Gospel.
[2] Platt,
David. Counter-Culture. Xv.
[3] Burnham,
Gracia. In the Presence of My
Enemies. Pg. 307
[4] Bloom,
Jon. Don’t Follow Your Heart. Pg. 2
[5] Spurgeon,
Charles. The Soulwinner. Pg. 160
[6] Spurgeon,
Charles. The Soulwinner. Pg. 178-179
[7] Cauthen,
B.J. Beyond Call. Pg. 28-29; pg. 72
[8] Wilkerson,
David. The Cross and the Switchblade.
Pg. 119
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