I have a lot of books. I have read a lot of books. I have forgotten a lot of books.
But some books I have read over and over, because they have made a difference
in my life.
I have started listing some of them here, because maybe you would find them
as valuable as I do. They are in no particular order. Some I have written a
description, others are just links buried within one of the descriptions.
The links usually point to somewhere you can acquire a copy of the book.
When I found this book (in 2005?) in our local Barnes & Noble book store (at Firewheel Town Center in north Garland), I had no idea that I would even read it, let alone put it on my
list of favorite books. I went home without it. But what I had seen leafing through it kept gnawing on me. I looked up the book on-line, and read reviews and a
sample chapter.
Then I went back to the store and bought the book, and read it cover to cover. I recommend doing the same! After finishing this one, I went back and bought another by Nancy
Pearcey, co-authored with Charles Colson, which preceded this one: How Now Shall We Live?. I recommend this one too!
In 2015 I acquired and read another great book the same author:
Finding Truth: 5 Principles for Unmasking Atheism, Secularism, and Other God Substitutes.
She derives strategies from chapter 1 of Romans to dissect and overcome the
various isms or our day.
As part of the launch team for Love Thy Body, by Nancy Pearcey, I have been reading this new book for the last four weeks or so.
I learned a lot. It is challenging to read, stretching my mind. I feel like I have come upon the scene of a horrible catastrophe (earthquake, hurricane, plane crash, ...) and I want to dive in to rescue and restore as many as possible.
What do abortion, euthanasia, and transgenderism have in common? They all share a common worldview which declares the body to be relatively meaningless, exalting the mind, and separating being a person from being human.
This book goes deep into the mire of modern immorality to find the underlying assumptions, misconceptions, and outright lies that mute the consciences of many. The post-modern worldview demeans the body, declaring it meaningless, and in the names of "freedom" and "choice" drifts away into whatever the mind presently conceives.
Buy this book and study it to learn what is happening in our present world, and taught in our schools, from kindergarten to post-graduate; to begin to understand the danger and the challenge or it all; and to arm yourself with tools to help those who are suffering. Two quotations:
"Christians need to help people see that the secular view of human nature does not fit who people are. It does not match the real world. As a result, it is inevitably destructive, both personally and socially."
"Christians must also show compassion to those who are pressured by a pomosexual [post-modern sexual] society to despise their own bodies and reject their biological identity. Loving God means loving those who bear his image in the world, helping to liberate people who are trapped by destructive and dehumanizing ideas."
(Victory in Christ), by Charles G. Trumbull
Subtitled “Messages on the Victorious Life”. There are seven chapters,
only 112 pages in the edition I own. But this small book is packed with wisdom
for life. Quoting from the publisher's blurb, “In this down-to-earth, practical
essay, Mr. Trumbull reveals tremendous insight into the full reality of the victory
we have in Crhist. He uplifts the Lord Jesus Christ, pointing to Him as the Victor
who has achieved by the power of His divine life and His finished work of the Cross
a wonderful place of liberty and power for the believer.”
When I bought the book in 1976 it only cost $1.25, and was published by Christian
Literature Crusade. The original copyright was 1959 by The Sunday School Times
Co., and was already in its 14th printing in 1975. Unfortunately, it appears
from time to time to be out of print. It is currently listed on amazon
for $3.99 plus shipping.
Two chapters are available on this
site for your pleasure and inspiration:
Charles G. Trumbull lived from 1872 to 1941. He became editor of The Sunday
School Times in 1903. The Times was a respected Christian journal
whose weekly circulation was over 100,000 in the United States and abroad during
its prime. It ceased publication in 1967. Trumbull also contributed columns
to various newspapers, and wrote a number of books, including one about his
father's soul-winning methods: Taking Men Alive.
His father, Henry Clay Trumbull,
lived from 1830 to 1903. He was a home-missionary in Sunday-school work, an
Army chaplain (and prisoner-of-war) during the Civil War, an interpreter of
the Bible, a traveler, explorer, preacher, speaker, editor of the Times
from 1875 to 1903, and also wrote many books. One written in 1890 was recently
republished, Hints
on Child Training. H. Clay Trumbull wrote it at age 60 after raising eight
children. Some of his books, including A Lie Never Justifiable, are available free as
eBooks at gutenberg.net.
By the way, H. Clay Trumbull is the great-grandfather of Elisabeth Elliott,
the famous missionary and author
(Through Gates of Splendor,
The Savage My Kinsman,
No Graven Image,
Shadow of the Almighty,
and many more).
(Principles of Spiritual Growth), by Miles J. Stanford
Originally published in 1964 as The Green Letters, and since republished
in various forms, with a total of over 1,000,000 copies printed, and in 20 foreign
languages. I bought my copy in early 1974 (when the price was 50 cents!), and
read it at that time and several times since. Zondervan collected this book
with four others and publised it as The Complete Green Letters.
You can buy
The Complete Green Letters from Works of Miles J. Stanford.
(This site also sells copies of a number of other books by Miles
Stanford.)
Both The Green Letters and The Complete Green Letters
are listed on the Zondervan website.
Zondervan says this:
The Green Letters
emphasizes both the doctrinal and experiential aspects of maturing in Christian
living. The book is grounded in Scripture and enlivened by quotations from noted
authors. “Not I, but Christ” is its theme. The author makes this arresting
statement regarding the dynamics of the Christian life: “God . . . doesn't
intend to help us live the Christian life. Immaturity considers the Lord Jesus
a Helper. Maturity knows Him to be life itself.”.
You can read some excellent reader reviews at
amazon.
(The Normal Christian Life), by Watchman Nee
Watchman Nee is one of the martyrs of the 20th century, and The Normal
Christian Life is one of his most famous books. First published in 1957
in Bombay, India, this book is a collection of “addresses originally given
by Mr. Nee during and shortly after a visit to Europe in 1938=39.” This book
has been so popular that it is almost always in print, available at most Christian
book stores.
The full text of the 1961 edition is available online here.
You can purchase your own copy at amazon.
From the jacket: Watchman Nee’s great Christian classic tracing in
practical terms the steps along the pathway of faith and presenting the eternal
purpose of God in simple terms. Its central therem is “Christ Our Life.”
The great Chinese writer and preacher Watchman Nee was for many in the West
a symbol of Christian steadfastness under the pressure of totalitarian government.
(The Christian Secret of a Happy Life), by Hannah Whitall Smith
Another Christian classic, written in the 19th century but still in print
by more than one publisher. Millions of copies have been sold. The full text
is available online here.
You might by it from amazon
or alibris.
“One of the most inspiring and influential books we have ever read.”
-- Dale Evans and Roy Rogers “IS YOUR LIFE ALL YOU WANT IT TO BE? Hannah
Whitall Smith — Quaker, rebel, realist — faced life as she found it, and she
found it good. She took her Bible promises literally, tested them, and found
them true as tested steel. She stepped out of conjecture into certainty, and
the shadows disappeared. Here she reveals the secret — how to make unhappiness
and uncertainty give way to serenity and ocnfidence in every day of your life.”
— from the Spire edition.
The edition I have was published in 1985 with an Introduction (12 pages)
and Study Notes by Elizabeth Elliott. She says, “The book rang true as
a silver coin for me. Her emphasis on the sovereignty of God, on His determination
to fulfill His promises and to give His children joy, and her down-to-earth
insistence on the necessity of action and will as opposed to experience and
feeling have heartened and strengthened me. She has been another of those
faithful witnesses by whom I find myself surrounded, and has by her testimony
encouraged me to run the race that is set before me, my eyes fixed
on Jesus, the ‘Pioneer and Perfecter’ of her faith and mine.”
