What 6 Of My Favorite Writers Read This Year

At the close of each year, the internet is filled with book lists and recommendations. Everyone with a keyboard and an internet connection wants to share the best books they’ve read. I recently did the same by sharing 6 of my favorites with you here.

Today, I’d like to point you towards what six of my favorite writers read this year. This is a great place to start planning your reading list for next year, and if you still have Christmas shopping to do, there is undoubtedly more than enough ideas for the book lover in your life.

• Russell Moore: My Top 10 Books of 2016

• Scott Kedersha: My Favorite Books I Read in 2016

• Tim Challies: My Top Books of 2016

• Desiring God: Top 16 Books of 2016

• Jared Wilson: My Top 10 Books of 2016

• Aaron Armstrong: My Favorite Books of 2016

My 6 Favorite Books From 2016

We find ourselves nearing the end of yet another year. One in which I failed at two of my most ambitious goals, reading & writing. As the calendar turned from 2015 to 2016, I wanted to increase my intake and output of words. If you’ve been a reader of this blog for long, you’ll have noticed a definite drop in output. What you may not have noticed, unless you’re my wife, is that I have also failed to reach my reading goal for 2016. Perhaps I was a tad ambitious in putting together this year’s list by taking on several large volumes. Whatever the reason, I completed roughly half of my intention. 

Within the 25-30 books I did complete however, were several gems I’d like to share with you. If you’re still looking for that perfect gift to place under the tree for the avid reader you know, perhaps this list will help you find it. 

Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan - Classic works of literature can be boring, meandering messes. As I’ve sought to read all the books the collective “they” says I should, I’ve been bogged down by author’s use of language or pace. Not so with Bunyan’s masterpiece. Intermingled in this beautiful story of Christian’s journey are biblical truths that instruct the mind and comfort the soul. As Christian makes his journey from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City his trials and temptations show us a familiar picture and point us to the Way. Wonderful in it’s use of language, and stunning in it’s simplicity this classic is one I plan to revisit often. 

On Writing Well by William Zinsser - This book now sits within arms reach of my desk. I often pull it down, flip through its pages and in so doing find exactly the help I need to finish my task. It serves as both an inspiration and a resource regardless of the project. If you have an interest in writing on any level, this book will guide you through rough seas and stormy gales until you’re safely home having created the best form of writing you can.      

On Writing by Stephen King - This is the only Stephen King book I’ll probably ever read, but I’m beyond glad I did. King is both immensely practical and wildly entertaining as he brings you along for the ride of how he became the writer we all know. His memoir style approach to the subject of writing is as insightful as any other book on the craft and is a joy to read, even if you have no interest in writing at all. 

Tactics by Greg Koukl - How often have you been in situations or conversations in which you felt the need to say something but weren’t sure what? In Tactics, Koukl gives you a game plan for discussing your Christian convictions with that often difficult cocktail of grace and truth. In this book you’ll learn how to frame a discussion gracefully and confidently. One of my favorite aspects of Koukl’s approach is that you can employ it from day one. There is no need to wait until you’ve finished the book to get in the game. He helps you turn any conversation into a discussion of significance, without being weird or strange.   

Do More Better by Tim Challies - There are so many resources and books out there on the topic of productivity. In a culture obsessed with getting things done, we are always on the hunt for the next nugget or hack that is going to fix everything. In this crowded space, a work has to be especially great to stand out. It was a breath of fresh air then, to download a copy of Tim Challies’ Do More Better. In this short, but powerful book Challies helps us step back and see productivity rightly and build a system to steward your gifts, talents, time, energy and enthusiasm for the good of others and the glory of God. 

Church History In Plain Language by Bruce Shelley - It’s easy to fall into the trap of focusing so much on the present and future that we forget to look at the past. What a mistake we make when we fail to consider our story and how we got here. While I haven’t quite finished reading this one, it has proven itself to be a great help already. Like most stories, this one starts with the beginning—the early church. After a very brief retelling of the life and ministry of Christ, Shelley picks up the trail of the rag tag group entrusted with carrying forth the good news of the gospel to the whole world.

Please note: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Should you complete a purchase using a link from this post, at no extra cost to you, I would receive a small commission on the sale.

4 Great 2016 Advent Guides

We are two weeks removed from Thanksgiving. I’m sure each of us has undertaken the hunt for the perfect Christmas tree, and come home victorious. Whether you braved the ice and the snow, galavanting all over a tree farm or climbed the heights of the attic stairs to retrieve a box tree, your mission to decorate and prepare your home for the most cheerful of seasons is complete. But, what about your heart? We spend so much time, money and energy on every aspect of the Christmas season, but how often do we pause to reflect on exactly why this time of year is different from the other eleven months?

One of the most popular and oft sung songs this time of year is Joy To The World. Written by Isaac Watts in 1719 few hymns fill our hearts with such exuberance as this one.

Joy to the world! The Lord is come.
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart
Prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing

Closing our eyes, we can picture Christ’s coming. What a wondrous sight to behold! We sing of joy entering the world in Christ, and indeed it has. But that’s not entirely what Watts had in view when he pinned this classic. Watts had not just the first advent of Christ in mind, but His second as well. Reflect on Christ’s first coming is imperative before we can ever be ready for His second. Watt’s hymn serves as an admonition to do just that.

“Let every heart,” Watts says, “Prepare Him room.” Below I’ve collected four advent guides to help you do just that. You’ll find a guide for men, one for women, one for families and one for everyone. It doesn’t matter much which of the guides below you grab, but it does matter a great deal if you’ve prepared room in your heart for Christ. Throw open the doors and welcome Him in. In Christ God made provision for you and for me. That is after all what Christmas is all about.

Advent 2016: Christ Was Born For This via He Reads Truth

Advent 2016: Christ Was Born For This via She Reads Truth

Seeds of Christmas: A 2016 Family Advent Guide via Watermark Community Church

The Dawning of Indestructible Joy via Desiring God

Thanksgiving 2016

The Pilgrims and Indians held their now famous feast almost 400 years ago. As settlers in a world wholly different from their own, they faced hardship at every turn. If not for the providence of God their grand adventure would have ended in tragedy. Of the 100 or so who disembarked the Mayflower a year previous only 50 survived the harsh New England winter. One can only imagine the tears they shed and the despair they felt. These Christian Pilgrims had to be questioning the decisions they’d made and the God who had led them this far. 

Fleeing religious persecution, these brave souls sailed to the New World with the idea of building a settlement on Christian principles. Their biggest dream was to live all of their lives to the glory of God and for every aspect of it to be ruled and directed by the principles they found in God’s word. Talk about a lofty aspiration. The Pilgrims no doubt believed the Lord would honor and bless their plans. One year in and it certainly didn’t look like it. 

Then one day an Indian named Squanto walked into their camp, speaking perfect English. The story of how Squanto changed the fortunes of the Plymouth settlement is fascinating. It is a tale and testament to God’s sovereign care and provision for His people.

The temptation when we read stories like these is to view the plot and characters as wholly different from ourselves. We aggrandize the players and put them on a pedestal, when they and their story aren’t that markedly different. Time and space may separate us, but we find ourselves within the same unfolding story of God’s grace and in the same position of dependence upon Him. The Pilgrims recognized this and hit pause for a few days to stop and thank the Lord for His provision and care.  As we eat turkey, watch football and gather with family and friends today, let us do likewise. 

We have so much to be thankful for. Let us look to the Giver with a grateful heart and genuinely say, “Thank you.” Thank you not only for the daily provision of bread but for the ultimate provision of His Son that we may have life eternal.      

Rome Persecuted Early Christians & We Have To Learn From Them

Listening to Tommy Nelson teach Church History in the last two weeks, caused a minor crisis of faith in me. It brought all manner of questions and emotions bubbling to the surface. Like so many of the things we see, a quick look at the history of Christianity will make you throw up your hands and ask the Lord what's He's up to.

To begin working through some of these questions, I've started reading Bruce Shelly's Church History In Plain Language. Five chapters in, and helpful nuggets about the history of Christ's church are jumping off the page. Like most stories, this one starts with the beginning—the early church. After a very brief retelling of the life and ministry of Christ, Shelley picks up the trail of the rag tag group entrusted with carrying forth the good news of the gospel to the whole world. "They knew," Shelley said, "man had been redeemed and they could not keep to themselves the tidings of salvation."

This young movement of God upon the earth exploded on to the scene. It spread like nothing ever seen before or since. The burning conviction of early Christians and their remarkable love were not the only means the Lord used to spread the story of Calvary however. He also used the persecution of the church to publicize the Christian faith. "The blood of the martyrs," Tertullian said, "is the seed of the church."

Why did Rome persecute Christians in the first place? And what can we learn from these early Christians that might aide us in our time?

The distinctive lifestyle of early Christians not only set them apart from the crowds, but quickly made them a target.

"The Christians," Bruce Shelly said, "on the other hand, were always talking about their Jesus. They were out to make Christians of the entire population of the empire, and the rapidity of their spread showed that this was no idle dream. Not only did they, like the Jews, refuse to worship the emperor as a living god, but they were doing their utmost to convince every subject of the emperor to join them in their refusal." I love the simple and clear picture of the first thing that marked early Christians, they, "were always talking about their Jesus." It conjures to the mind an image of believers striking up spiritual conversations and sharing the good news of the gospel with such regularity that it appeared to be all they ever talked about. They were filled with such zeal for Christ that they were on a mission to see everyone converted to faith in Christ.

"Simply by living according to the teachings of Jesus," Shelley said, "the Christian was a constant unspoken condemnation of the pagan way of life. It was not that the Christian went about criticizing and condemning and disapproving, nor was he consciously self-righteous and superior. It was simply that the Christian ethic in itself was a criticism of pagan life." When you do the right thing, not everyone is going to like it. It's true today, and it most certainly was true for the early church. By refusing to do things contrary to the teachings of Christ, the early church was hated, ridiculed and despised by many. "Conformity," Shelley points out, "not distinctiveness, is the way to a trouble-free life." Early Christians were unwilling to go along to get along. They knew that faithfulness to Christ was greater and more valuable than avoiding difficulties.

"The early Christian," Shelley said, "was almost bound to divorce himself from the social and economic life of his time if he wanted to be true to his Lord. This meant that everywhere the Christian turned, his life and faith were on display because the gospel introduced a revolutionary new attitude toward human life." Christian views on a host of issues marked them as different from everyone else because they didn't just talk about their views, they lived by them. No matter what it cost these early Christians, they held to their values, principles and the truth. Their faith influenced their day to day lives and put it on display for the world to see.

To recap, the early church was persecuted and maligned by society for always talking about Christ and living distinct lives driven by conviction and faith. Does this sound like church you know? Does it sound like you and I? How are we doing if compare ourselves against the example of the early church?

I've got a lot of work to do personally. My speech isn't seasoned with the good news of the gospel near enough and my life by and large looks similar to everyone else's. But I'm working on it. I'm taking these things in to the presence of the Lord in prayer and asking Him to create this in me by the power of the Holy Spirit. And I'm praying the same for you as well.