Good Books, pt2

Continuing my book list from lat week, these lists are books on apologetics (reasoning for the faith), and emotional health.  Again, these are not exhaustive lists, as I don't have the time or patience to read "everything" written on a subject.  But this is a start.  I hope this is helpful for you (especially the emotional health section for those who need help in this area).

Apologetics

-Francis Schaeffer's "How Should We Then Live?"--a classic from the Presbyterian minister who founded the L'abri Institute.  Schaeffer here follows the train of philosophical reasoning from ancient times to the somewhat-present (written several decades ago, as he's now deceased).  Schaeffer masterfully shows how the Gospel meets the needs world history shows we all have.
-Schaeffer's "Escape from Reason"--this is a somewhat abridged "version" of the title above, where he follows art, politics, and philosophy from ancient times to show how it's shaped our thinking today, and how knowing Jesus corrects the error.  I read this in one night, as it's 125 short pages.
-CS Lewis' "Mere Christianity"--arguably the best apologetic of the last several hundred years.  Lewis, a former atheist, aims to communicate the Gospel to a skeptical world starting with the moral law embedded on everyone's hearts, ending with unity to the one true God through Christ.  The middle section of the book, dealing with the Christian virtues, includes some of the best reasoning for such in print.  It's worth the price of the book.
-Tim Keller's "The Reason for God"--Keller, a pastor in Manhattan, has an exceptional gift of understanding the cultural questions (calling them 'Defeater Beliefs'--ie, "why does God allow suffering?", "why are many Christians hypocrites?", "isn't Christianity a strait-jacket?"), and answering them by dealing with the question underneath the question.  For example, the question about suffering really contains an assumption that suffering is bad and shouldn't be happening--but where did this assumption come from, if not from a God who created us for joy and peace?  Buy this book.  He's an intellectual, but being a preacher, this NYT Bestseller is accessible, and I try to give a copy to most of my friends with questions.
-Lee Strobel's "The Case for Christ", "The Case for a Creator", and "The Case for the Real Jesus" --Strobel is a former atheist who, having been converted through seeing the deception in much of the post-modern skeptical viewpoint,  has given his life to bringing the deception to light.  His books are full of interviews with leading apologists such as Edwin Yamauchi and William Lane Craig, and, being a journalist, he commits these conversations to writing in an accessible way.  This is why many of his books are bestsellers.  Being convinced that the Jesus conversation (his existence, the reliability of the Biblical account of Him, His bodily resurrection, etc.) is the most important conversation of all, I found "The Case for the Real Jesus" especially helpful (especially his conversation with Messianic Jew Michael Brown).

Emotional Health

--Paul Trip and Tim Lane's "How People Change"--this is an exceptional book by former pastors-turned-counselors on what happens emotionally and psychologically when a person with baggage entrusts it to Christ.  Change takes time and grace, but it happens when Jesus is Lord, and His work is received in faith.  I give this to people who are struggling emotionally.
-Ed Welch's "Depression: a Stubborn Darkness"--I read this book in my "dark night" of depression in college.  It seemed to be the only beam of light I saw during that time, as its pages were saturated with the Word of God and the hope of the Gospel.  God lifted me through it, and while I'm still a jar of clay (and will be until Christ returns or I go to sleep), Welch helped me see that Jesus' resurrection can bring me back to life.  He grew up in a home with a dad who struggled with depression and anxiety, so he has a personal sensitivity to it.
-Peter Scazzero's "Emotionally Healthy Spirituality"--I've not read all the way through this, but a student in my church has read it and found it helpful, and from the little I have read of it, I agree.  I read Scazzero' "Emotionally Healthy Church" years ago, and "Spirituality" seems to get right to the source of the emotional health just like "Church" does in the congregational context.
-Tim Keller's "Counterfeit Gods"--this book was incredibly important in my dealing with emotional problems, as Keller aims to show that much of our emotional problems have to do with idols of the heart.  The idols are the source, and we don't kill the emotional baggage until we begin killing the source.  I can't recommend this book enough.
-Psalms, 1 Peter, John's Gospel, and Romans 8--of course, the Bible is the primary Book from which to glean wisdom from God and salvation.  But these four specific books have proven to be most helpful in my times of darkness.  That's because they all hinge on defining basic reality (which is what's threatened in anxiety and worry) and communicating the promises of God (which tell us that there is something even in this that God is doing, for our good).  It's through His promises that we "put on the divine nature" (2Peter1:4) meaning that the promises, received and believed by God's grace and the Spirit's power, connect us directly to God, and, drawing on Christ's power (John15:5), we can change. Many of our emotional problems result from lies being told us and believed on, so the solution is bringing truth into the fold, and letting it speak louder than the lies.  In this, God gets the glory and we get the joy and peace.

Next week, Ministry and Marriage.

Good Books For the Christian

I've been asked several times over the last couple of months what are some of my favorite books.  I don't think it's because people respect my opinions as much as it's because people hear me preach and teach a lot and they want to know where in the world I got the kool-aid I'm drinking.  And that's cool, too.

Jesus wants us to read His Word and listen to His voice through it.  He is a Shepherd who calls us to come follow Him and learn from Him (John 10:27, Matthew 11:28).  He is alive today just like He was in Palestine 2000 years ago.  The differences are that a final sacrifice for sin has been made, He's fulfilled the Scriptural promises made about Him, and now He's risen, ruling, and reigning, seated in Heaven at God's right hand advocating for His people (Hebrews 1:4, 1 John 2:1-2), sure to return one day like He came the first time.  So the call is still the same as back then: "Follow me".  This is why Paul many times spoke of "the obedience of faith" (Romans 1:6, 6:17, 16:26): to believe in the Gospel (as Jesus commanded) is to obey Christ.  And obedience to Christ brings about new and eternal life (see John 3:36, Hebrews 5:9).
To bring this about, He has sent men and women with the message of "good news".  Just like God serves us in His creation from behind the veil of His creation, He calls us to himself through His Gospel preached by those who know and love Him. "For this I was made a preacher and apostle" Paul said (1 Timothy 2:7), and so "how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" (Isaiah 52:7).  In this vein, Jesus has given "apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip the saints for ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ" (Ephesians 4:11-12).  It's His will that people write books and articles, preach sermons, and speak about Jesus in conversation. 

Every book's truth claims should always be tested against the Scripture's truth claims.  If someone's writing something contrary to what the Holy Spirit wrote, don't buy it.  But a real Christian book is one that takes truth from Scripture and unpacks it in an accessible way, pointing the reader to the real good Book. There is no substitute for learning the Word of God directly from the source.  And with that in mind, it is good to get help, because God's blessed us with much of it.

I grew up hating to read.  I'd pick the books to read for school that had movies so I could watch the movies and avoid the book.  I'm a natural cheat.  But in Christ I'm being made new, and books have been a major part of that.  I didn't like to read in college either (yeah, in Bible college).  But as I've been in ministry, it's forced me to read more.  Often we come across books that help shape us when we're least expecting it, because we don't really think we need shaped.  Then we read something that forces us to think, and we're never the same.  This is by no means an exhaustive list, but one that hopefully helps you as it's helped me too. I'm going to have two categories below, and then later this week I'll post two more, and then after that two more.  Most of these can be found at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any other book distributor (and many for cheaper than retail).

Understanding the Bible and the God of the Bible

-JI Packers "Knowing God"--this book is a biblical study on God's nature and character.  It changed my life, and is considered to be a modern classic.  Roughly 300 pages, it's well written, and accessible, regardless of your reading level or theological foundation.
-AW Tozers "The Knowledge of the Holy"--Tozer was a pastor in Chicago in the early-mid 20th century.  He wrote short books (roughly 100-150 pages), and they are incredibly deep.  This book unpacks God's attributes and character in a way I've hardly read anywhere.  Clear, Biblical, and deep.
-Arthur Pinks "The Attributes of God"--Pink is polarizing: a Calvinist largely hated by non-Calvinists (which is ironic), but largely treasured by Calvinists.  His book is similar to Tozer's in length, but is written more from a theologian's perspective.  Some will have a hard time agreeing with him on every attribute, but one can't argue that he lifts his conclusions straight from the pages of the Bible in a way that makes sense.
-JI Packers "Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God"--this little book is a classic and must-read for anyone serious about understanding the Bible and doing ministry.  If one reads the Bible, they see two undeniable truths that appear contradictory: God loves us and wants us to know Him, and God is the One who saves the lost sinner by sovereign grace.  Instead of "picking a side" with this conundrum (as most do), Packer masterfully shows how these two truths are not contradictory but rather complimentary.
-Wayne Grudems "Systematic Theology"--Systematic theologies are typically extremely long treatises written to deal with one particular subject at a time, building on itself  to create one massive system of thought about the Bible.  These books are often 600-1000 pages long.  Grudem is a Reformed (Calvinistic) Charismatic who (while you won't agree with all his conclusions) masterfully unpacks the Scriptures in an easy-to-read, accessible way.  I think it's the best systematic theology there is.
-RC Sprouls "the Holiness of God"--this book changed my life as well.  Sproul is a master communicator, and this book shows the holy and righteous character of the God of the Bible.  An incredible read (and rather short, too).
-John Macarthurs "The Gospel According to Jesus"--Macarthur shoots straight.  He is polarizing.  But I've found his teaching on the Bible and Jesus' Gospel to be invaluable.  He has an entire New Testament commentary set that is unparalleled in recent church history, and this book will help you make sense of the differences in Jesus' tone between the four Gospels (ie, why do the parables sound so different than Jesus' teaching in John's Gospel?). 
-Jonathan Edwards' "The End For Which God Created the World"--Edwards lived in the 1700s and this is a difficult read.  But a good friend gave it to me once, and the second half of it (of two) was worth reading through what is a difficult first part.  In the first part Edwards masterfully answers philosophically what is possible the most important question we could ask, "Why?", and in the second, he masterfully answers the same question from Scripture, using thousands of citations.
-Jameison, Fauset, and Brown Commentary Critical, Experimental, and Practical--this is an old commentary from the 1800s written by (I think) 3 men with different ministry credentials.  It is out of print and hard to come by, but if you ever do, it's worth whatever you have to spend to get it for its historical analysis and exegetical notes alone.
-Mark Driscolls "A Book You'll Actually Read On the Old Testament" and "...On the New Testament"--these less-than-100-page booklets are excellent for the person with questions regarding whether or not we can trust the Bible.  Driscoll speaks clearly and helpfully on why we can.

Discipleship

-Dietrich Bonhoeffers "The Cost of Discipleship"--Bonhoeffer needs no introduction, but this book does. His concept of "cheap grace vs. costly grace" has indebted many a reader.  I honestly don't think I ever understood what it meant to follow Jesus as a disciple in a non-Christian world until I read this book.  If read carefully, this is a paradigm-shattering read, and you'll find yourself with a cross on your back at the end.
-Richard Fosters "Celebration of Discipline"--a modern classic on the discipline it takes to walk with Jesus, faithful to the Scripture.  While the yoke is easy walking with Jesus (because He bears it with you), the road is hard (because it's difficult in this world).  One must understand the call from the outset, and be ready to change.
-AW Tozers "The Pursuit of God"--considered by many to be one of the top 10 Christian books of the 20th century, this book calls Christians to follow Jesus with reckless abandon.  Tozer is forthright, honest, and clear about the call to discipleship.  It's short, too (only about 120 small pages).
-Shane Claibornes "Irresistible Revolution"--I read this little book in college, and it forced me to think about how fake my discipleship was.  I wasn't really trying to follow Jesus, and I wasn't really trying to serve and love others.  Claiborne challenged me when I needed it.  While I don't agree with him on many theological fronts, I did appreciate this books radical call to obedience.
-Donald Millers "Blue Like Jazz"--this is another book I read a long time ago.  Miller isn't necessarily orthodox in his theological views (from what I can tell), but he's an incredible writer, loves Jesus, and is honest about his feelings and thoughts.  While today I would recommend something from the first list before I would this title, this is still one that I'd endorse as being accessible, clear, and inviting to a non-believer.

Coming next week, Apologetics (reasoning for the faith) and Emotional Health.

When Old You Becomes New You's

"You have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God...and this word is the good news that was preached to you"  
1 Peter 1:23,25

Peter knew something about revival and rebirth--he certainly didn't know the mechanics of how God makes a person new by the hearing of Jesus' Gospel (it is sovereign and mysterious).  But he had witnessed the fruit of it countless times by the time he wrote this letter which would eventually be accepted as divinely-inspired revelation from God.

It was him preaching the first Christian sermon where 3000 people made decisions for Jesus.  Of course, we don't know if all 3000 of those who received his sermon and were baptized really did continue on in the faith, but we know that Jesus began a revival from that point forward.  Jesus' Name became famous, and Peter was the main speaker for it.  It was he who repeatedly defended his miraculous healing of the lame beggar saying it was Jesus' Name and Jesus' power that did it.  It was he who spoke truth to the liars Ananias and Sapphira, after which they dropped dead for lying to the life-giving and life-sustaining God the Holy Spirit.  It was he who took the Gospel message to non-Jews, telling them that Jesus will judge them all, but that He died for them so that faith in Him would assure their forgiveness--and many more people came to faith.  And it was he who stood over the council of Jerusalem and said that God cleanses mens' hearts by faith, and that that faith is faith in being saved "through the grace of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 15:9,11).  Surely Peter knows a little something about the power of God's Word to make a person into a new person.  But what does it look like practically?

Searching Leads to Finding

If you've ever been bored with your usual music playlist, you know how refreshing it is to come upon a new artist or band that meets the need and fills the void.  Any fan of music knows what I mean.  You've been missing something, you've felt the miss, and some new sound has met you where you are to give you a jolt of energy. 
While this is a poor illustration, it certainly has parallels to what happens when one is born again.  They've been either empty, broken, or at the very least missing.  Perhaps they've been questioning God, or man, or both.  They've struggled with the important questions (ie, why are we here?, where does right and wrong come from?, did the cosmos just happen or was it created?, why is the Gospel so good but the people who believe it such hypocrites?), and they've not found sufficient answers.

At this very point, which seems dark and fearful, Jesus' words from 2000 years ago--"Come all you are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28)--comes to them in a personal and powerful way.  To their joy, they realize that while they were slipping out of darkness's grip, it was because Jesus was pulling them into His.  The Father was teaching them and drawing them to Him so that they could have new life in His Name (John 6:44-45, 63), and just like all along He had been serving them rain, sunshine, and food from behind the veil of His creation (Matthew 5:45; Acts 14:17, 17:25), He has now served them through the life-giving truth of His Word.

The Map

Sometimes it happens through solid preaching from a pastor, sometimes through reading authors such as CS Lewis or John Piper, and sometimes through simple Bible reading.  But it always coincides with Jesus' Words being on a collision course with the hard questions, and it always leads to a radical change in perspective whereby one who was skeptical of "God said" is now saying, "yes he did, and I can't help but believe it".

This is what Peter means when he says you were born "not of imperishable seed..." (ie, human cunning, wisdom, decision, etc.), but of "imperishable" (the grace and kindness of a loving God, who has a Father's heart and wills that all would be saved through His powerful Word).  God can't die and God can't lie, and so He continues on eternally, giving a never-ending salvation to those who draw near to Him through His Son (Hebrews 5:9, 7:24-25). 

Home

In a culture marked by opinions flying through the air like bullets in a militia battle (most missing their intended targets), everyone is looking for truth.  And truth exists.  And truth doesn't change.  But most would rather run from the God who created them, even after He pursued them. 
This is why the Word has to be powerful enough to overcome their rebellion.  And while there is certainly never a "forcing", there is certainly a transformation that can't be explained in human terms.  One awakes and sees that the One they ran from in hopes of finding truth had the truth all along, and they ran because they were unsatisfied by it.  Now they are satisfied.  And it's sweet, and it's joyful, and it answers the big questions while leaving the little ones "to be continued...".  But it's also line-drawing, and so "freedom" has new boundaries.  But these boundaries are even good, because the "freedom" the person had before wasn't really freedom after all--it was rebellion.  And one can rebel and rebel and rebel, but eventually one must land and call it "home".  And having landed in Jesus' truth, out of darkness and into light, one finds that they have turned from "one" into "two"--their self, and the life of Jesus in them.

And this is why Paul writes, "it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).  Paul believed that Jesus really did die for him, and really did put His life inside of him.  Paul certainly isn't Jesus (nor is anyone but Jesus), but Paul is "in Jesus" (3:28), and this unity has made him new, as it has for anyone who has "put on the imperishable" (1 Corinthians 15:54).

This new home is temporary, but it contains in it the reminder that an eternal one is coming.  One where truth will be fully unveiled to every eye, where justice will be fully carried out by He who alone can carry it out, and where there will be no more longing because all that can be had will be.  This is why Peter said earlier in His letter that the Father has "caused us to be born again to a living hope, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1:3).  This is a hope that becomes the center of one's gravity.  Whereby one assumed before that hope exists to orbit around them, they now find themselves orbiting around it.  And this is the way it should have been all along.