3 Favorite Books from 2020 – Have You Read Any of These?
Right in the thick of in it, I’m preparing for full-time missions work in Japan. 🇯🇵 Life’s been fast paced, white-knuckle even in my transition from teaching. It’s definitely a unique mix of exhilaration and a ton of prayer!
One thing that God is using to anchor me through this season of transition is a solid book. The Bible of course. But two, or three others as well. Wise teachers still whisper through the ages in those pages.
If you’re in a season of transition, looking to deepen your walk, or just want a good read, consider checking these out. There are a mountain of great titles out there, but these have been really meaningful to me lately.
Book 1: Till we Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
This book is born of Lewis’ fascination with the myth of Cupid and Psyche. I actually just learned its relation to that myth now. I couldn’t tell by reading it that’s for sure. It is an incredibly modern and thoughtful treatment of the myth.
Lewis doesn’t waste a single sentence in the entire work. After all, it was his last novel. Lewis’s vast expertise, his deep love of old and even ancient books is on picturesque display. It’s an examination of envy, betrayal, loss, blame, grief, guilt, and conversion. Don’t miss it.
I could, but I won’t spoil the single best climactic and paradigm shifting quote from the book. This one was great too:
“No man can be an exile if he remembers that all the world is one city.” -C.S. Lewis
If you’d like to get it on Amazon, here’s the link.
Book 2: Rewire Your Heart: Replace Your Desire for Sin with Desire for God by David Bowden
Occasionally Christians believe the only way to fight sin is to rise above temptation with some heroic effort. Fighting sin is not like Nike, just do it.
We have a far more potent weapon in our struggle with sin than self-help mantras. Our solution handily trumps do-it-yourself or self-motivation based cures. The weapon is not telling sin no but rather saying and giving our consistent yes to God and adoring what Jesus has done for us. Don’t miss how he unpacks that theme practically and artistically throughout the book. One of my favorite quotes from this book was:
“The reason why your fight against sin has been ineffective is because you haven’t been fighting sin; you’ve been fighting its fruit.” -David Bowden
If you’d like to get it on Amazon, here’s the link.
Book 3: Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God by Timothy Keller
Actually, I’m still reading this one, but it’s an excellent read. At 336 pages, not the lightest read, but entirely worth it.
As always, you can trust Dr. Keller to bring a vast history of Christian thought to remembrance while analyzing the prevailing secular thought mixed into modern practices. Sifting these patterns of thought then applying them with laser focus to issues in our present age is certainly Tim Keller’s spiritual gift. Early in the book he states his search for deeper prayer pushed him to consult the prayer warriors of Church history, in order to sort out truth in the various strains of popular prayer found among Christian literature today.
One of my favorite quotes from this book was:
"Prayer is so great that wherever you look in the Bible, it is there. Why? Everywhere God is, prayer is.” -Timothy Keller
If you’d like to get it on Amazon, here’s the link.
What are some of your favorite books?