Published by God on Mute
By Pete Greig
“Tenderly honest”. “Compassionately honest”. Two phrases described to this book.
Recommended to me during a difficult time in my life I found this a very encouraging and realistic read. Pete Greig is very open about the struggles him and his wife faced as she fell seriously ill. Pete Greig’s honesty is refreshing in a book that asks questions about human suffering.
It also looks at our attitudes towards suffering and how difficult it can be for Christians to face it. The book also delves into the reactions of others and how people ever hurt or encouraged his family during a difficult and confusing time. At the end of the book there are some helpful study notes included for small groups .
Hilarious in some moments and sad in others, for anyone going through hardships or feeling that God isn’t talking to them this is a great help.
Taming the Tiger
By Tony Anthony & Angela Little
An exhilarating tile this has been amongst the most exciting books I’ve ever read, even more so because it’s a true story. Tony Anthony’s story is the testimony of God’s saving Grace in his life. It is also an exciting sometimes tense tale as it details how he was a Kung Fu champion and high level personnel body guard.
A wonderfully open story of God can transform someones life. This is a good title to recommend to anyone feeling like God couldn’t possibly love them because of what they’ve done.
What’s so Amazing about Grace
By Phillip Yancey
Image source www.amazon.co.uk
Philip Yancey has a beautiful style of writing and gives a great account of God’s grace. How distanced are we from God? How much does God love us? How much has he done for us? Are some of the questions he looks at.
This helped me to discover more of how awesome God is and how much he cares for me.
Heavenly Man
Image source www.eden.co.uk
This is an incredible story of a man passionate for God under extreme persecution. Brother Yun tells of his humble origins and how God lead him and protected him to become one of the head church leaders in Communist China.
Filled with stories of God’s miracles and love the book also has a very challenging side. Brother Yun also faced torture and abuse, yet kept praising God and drawing closer to him.
This is a great read for those wanting to devote to God’s calling or struggling in a difficult environments . It shows God’s power and loyalty to us in whatever situations we face.
The Bible
www.jesustheradicalpastor.com
Great throughout! Even the strange parts of the old testament ,if you take your time and ask for revelation about it. For anyone reading it for the first time start with one of the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. You don’t have to start at the beginning and they are the centre of what the whole Bible story is about.
Thanks for posting this! I’ve always enjoyed Yancey’s works. I also agree with your thoughts on the Bible … for anyone starting to read it, I’d start with one of the four gospels (my favorite is John).
Thanks Nathan. I hadn’t heard of the 1st two but have read the others and would agree with your summaries. Thanks for sharing these.
great advice – and a really good idea for an article
thanks – revivor
Great recommendations Nathan. ‘The Heavenly Man’ is a particularly fantastic book – it really changed my outlook on a lot of issues.
Great recommendations Nathan!
Nice list of books there. I’ve only read the Bible, but I’ll have to check out the others. Thanks.
I believe Chistian is only thirsty about theology but a Muslim is never thirsty.
Enough Al Qur’an and Al Hadist ++ a couple of books to explain them (Islamic Books) can feed our curiousness about Allah.
Thanks for comments. in answer to above comment i sugest reading this from gospel of John.
7When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8(His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
9The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.[a])
10Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
11″Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”
John 4: 7-14
13Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Jesus is the one who leads us into fullness of life.
These are books I would like to read. I read the bible fairly regularly. Thanks for sharing
Religion breeds disagreements and war. Better to proceed with an objective system of ethics based on fairness and Justice.Religion has mixed in with it mysticism, peculiar hatreds,and superstition none of which is appropriate for a mature human mind. The God created by the mind of some caveman centuries ago loves you so much that he’ll place you in a hell if you dare to disagree (even though he has the power to change you into whatever he wants you to be)….a contradiction only a caveman’s mind can create. And when thought(adam) merged with imagination(Eve) then the mind could no longer see life as it actually is, but mysticism obscured the whole of reality.
Thanks for the comment Leonardo.
In answer to it firstly war is the result of greed and hate for fellw humans. Its often said to be down to religion but this is often a justification rather than a reall cause. Most wars have nothing to do with religion at all if you look at history.
Secondly there is no contradiction with God, he created us to be self thinking which is why he doesn’t force us to change. He wants too be in relationship with us, if he controled our thinking then that would be like us having a realationship wit our computer. No fun at all.
Unfortunatley this as led to people rejecting him which is why not everyone goes to heaven it is their choice. But God is always there for people if they want to acknowledge him.