Looking for a good book to read this summer? Over the past few months I have read a variety of great works and now pass them on to you for your pleasure and profit.
George Müller: Delighted in God, by Roger Steer
I recently wrote a post about this book, but wanted to add it on here again, because it is that much worth reading. Müller lived a life of continual and courageous faith that God would fulfill His promises to provide, even on days when he did not know what the children at his orphan home were going to eat. God honored His faith and provided abundantly, often at the very last second. He was faithful to the Lord and to his ministry until the very end, leaving a legacy that spread around the world. He is the kind of man I desire to be like at the end of my days.
Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, by Eric Metaxas
Another biography well worth your time and attention. This one is significantly longer than Steer’s bio of Müller, but don’t let mere size deter you from experiencing this excellently written story. Bonhoeffer reminds me a lot of Esther – someone who was born “for such a time as this”. When much of the world around him was caving to the power and threat of Hitler and his Nazi regime before and during WWII, Bonhoeffer refused, standing firm on a foundation of right theology and faithfulness to God. Metaxas was thorough in his research, painting for us a well-rounded picture of Bonhoeffer from his birth in 1906 until his death in 1945 at the young age of 39. Just as I desire to emulate Müller’s faith, I hope also to develop the same depth of conviction and unwavering stand that Bonhoeffer had, no matter what our future years bring.
The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life, by Os Guinness
With short chapters and deep content, this book is great to read one chapter per day. Guinness spends 24 chapters working out with us what it means to be “called” by Christ, and how to live out the purpose He created you for. There is very little in this book about “full time ministry”, and applies to people in any and every field of work. Each chapter opens with a story of a man or woman in history who either failed or fulfilled one aspect of calling (and yes, there are many different aspects to calling). Whether you are firmly ensconced in a career, or looking for something new, or wondering what in the world you are on earth for, I encourage you to read this book!
Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
“Jo’s eyes sparkled, for it is always pleasant to be believed in, and a friend’s praise is always sweeter than a dozen newspaper puffs.” I have long loved the move Little Women, but until now have never undertaken the task to read the entire book. Written with sincerity and wit, Alcott weaves a story with characters so delightful you feel as if they are your dear friends. One thing that surprised me about the book though, was the frequency of times in the novel Alcott also weaves in thoughts on theology, marriage, society and culture, most of which we would do well to heed today. This is definitely one I want to read again, for, as Jo says “some books are so familiar, that reading them again is like coming home.”
Till We Reach Home, by Lynn Austin
Another novel, this is a sweet story about three sisters who immigrate from Sweden to America in the late 1800’s after a tragedy strikes that threatens to ruin them forever. They learn to rely on the Lord and on one another as their hopes and plans are continually changing, and begin to see that God has a plan in everything, even when we don’t understand.
A Mosaic 