I listened to this audio book on the way to work this week. I quite enjoyed the look at the book of Ephesians and three key words that come from it.
Here is the description from audible.com.au…
An inspiring look at Ephesians, opening our eyes to the process of Christian living and maturity in three words: Sit our position in Christ; Walk our life in the world; Stand our attitude toward the Enemy. New! Study guide included. An invaluable tool for the growing disciple.
You can download a PDF version I found online here.
Today’s question is what book are you reading now? One I have just read and will read through again is Bruce Downes book Radical Forgiveness. Bruce is known as The Catholic Guy.
I read this book on Thursday in a couple of sittings and I think I will read it again before I have to return it. My sister sent it to me in the mail this week. It is one that she enjoyed and found very helpful.
One key for me that came through over and over is the saying “time heals all wounds”. Downes says this is not true.
We know in the natural, our physical wounds may heal in time, but wounds to our heart or soul need to be worked through. And part of the working through includes forgiving and letting go.
Downes says this forgiveness and letting go is often very hard, but it is essential for our relationships and our own future. Not only might it improve a fractured relationship, but it can actually allow us to live freer going forwards. It is like a weight lifted off us.
I have often heard that if we carry grudges against people for hurting us, it is like giving them free rent space in our heads. It is also like our computers RAM being taken up by programs running in the background. You just do not have the processing space to think clearly.
Downes’ book was a nice easy read. It was in simple language, had good examples and it used lots of Bibles passages that fit in nicely to illustrate his points. At 70 odd pages it is well worth a read.
If you are interested you can find it here on his website. Just to let you know I do not receive anything for this recommendation.
The second book that had a real impact on me was John Stott’s “The Radical Disciple”. I read this about 10 years ago.
Rev Dr. John Stott is known worldwide as a Bible teacher, writer, pastor and mission-leader. He was awarded the CBE in the Queens 2006 New Year Honours. Stott was honored by Time magazine in 2005 as one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World.”
I read the book at the recommendation of my wife who read it and really loved it. Often she would read a paragraph at a time and pause to reflect on the depth of his teaching. This got me really interested!
In his book Rev Stott touches on a number of areas including Non-conformity, Christlikeness, Maturity, Creation-care, Simplicity, Balance, Dependence and finally Death. Each chapter has powerful lessons.
Here is the blurb from the publisher…
“What is a life of radical discipleship? At root, it means we let Jesus set the agenda of our lives. We aren’t selective. We don’t pick and choose what is cosy and stay away from what is costly. He is Lord of all of life. In the last book by a Christian leader who was himself a radical disciple, John Stott opens up what it means at root to be a follower of Jesus. He explores eight aspects of Christian discipleship that we need to pay much closer attention to. The message is simple, classic and personal: Jesus is Lord. He calls. We follow.”
The first book that really impacted me I read back in the 1990s (it was revised in 2008). It was titled “Intimate friendship with God” and was by Joy Dawson.
This book spoke to my heart and helped shape my faith and relationship with God. It brought me to a point of revival and closeness with God like I had never experienced before.
For me it was the right book at the right time. I have often gone back to it hoping to rekindle that same fire and passion for God it gave me. It has to some degree, but nothing like that first time. First time around the impact for me was powerful.
Here is the blurb from the publisher…
It can sound like a contradiction: fear God, but consider him a close friend. How does a Christian find the balance between reverence and communion? For decades Joy Dawson has been helping readers reconcile diverse approaches to the throne of God. She shows them how to have God’s attitude toward sin, overcome the fear of what people think, attain godly wisdom, and fulfill their destinies. With personal examples and biblical truths, Dawson invites readers on a fascinating adventure into a place of intimate friendship with almighty God. This 20th anniversary edition includes fresh illustrations and a new foreword from Jack Hayford.
Today’s WordPress question of the day is “What book could I read over and over again?” Hands down it is the Bible for me.
In saying that though, the Bible is a collection of 66 books. So if I had to drill down further it would be the Book of Luke from the Bible.
Why Luke? Luke covers all of Jesus’ life, miracles, interactions with all types of people, His death and resurrection.
Here is a snippet from my study Bible about Luke…
“Luke is the most comprehensive of the Gospels. Its general vocabulary and diction show that the author was educated. He makes frequent references to illnesses and diagnoses. Luke stresses Jesus’ relationships with people; emphasizes prayer, miracles, and angels; records inspired hymns of praise; and gives a prominent place to women. Most of 9:51–18:35 is not found in any other Gospel.”
I guess as a relational person, who loves to prayer and hearing about the miracles of Jesus, it makes sense.
The other reason I love Luke so much it has a sequel by the same author – the Book of Acts. You can read Luke and Acts together and get a good understanding of Jesus’ life and what the early church was like.
So what book could I read over and over. The Bible, but more precisely the Book of Luke.
Over Summer I am doing a unit at Tabor titled the, “Story of the Church”. As the name suggests it looks at church history in a broad overview of the last 2000 years.
One of our Text books is Devotional Classics. It has 52 sections that look at some of the great Christians from church history. The 52 sections are divided in to six streams to help us have a more balanced faith. The streams are: the prayer filled life, the virtuous life, the Spirit empowered life, the compassionate life, the Word centred life and the Sacramental life.
For part of our assessments we are required to read a chapter a week, summarise the persons writings and then reflect on how that impacts us. It is meant to be 100 words summary and 100 words reflection. Only 200 words is harder than you think, it forces you to be very concise!
I have really enjoyed the book and the assessments so far. It has allowed me to look at some of the inspirational people through church history. So far I have looked at Athanasius, Gregory of Nyssa, Augustine of Hippo, Bernard of Clairvaux, Francis of Assisi, Martin Luther and Teresa Avila. I have five to go!
Once I have finished the unit and the 12 people we have to look at, I am actually considering doing the 200 word reflections on all the people in the book. It has been such a useful exercise. It has added so much to my faith and life.
If you are interested you can check out the book at Koorong.com. It costs about $45 but it is well worth it.
