Some of my Readings

One of my favorite little secret reads:

The Action Bible! Edited by Doug Mauss and illustrated by Sergio Cariello, 2010:

My boy has read this about 7 times.

~~~

The Log from the Sea of Cortez by John Steinbeck, 1995

God gave me this gift yesterday in the ‘Mexico’ section of the local library.  I plucked it off the shelf eagerly and read straight through the book aloud last night, stopping at 1:30 am, having ingested about two fifth’s worth.  Obviously, I was delighted with his writing and philosophizing enough to plant my body motionless for three to four hours.  His sarcastic wittiness while waxing anthropomorphic on certain items that command his interest-or frustration-is only surpassed by his cyclical philosophizing on any subject that makes its way around, which it inevitably does.

Overall, Steinbeck’s genius is illustrated most aptly by his endless use of words that struggle with each other to break through, preferably before the period comes.  Like the oscillation of the tides which he sees as underlying every truth, his words come in on burgeoning  waves faster and faster, climbing over and under each other to fight for position, finally breaking upon the beach in a foment of bubbles that burst forth and disappear leaving  some brief mark upon the territory; and before you’ve barely had time to catch your breath, the next predictably rolls in ..

I prefer calmer waters, but I appreciate his intelligence, even if it would have been better spent glorifying God and loving all his neighbors, instead of mere words and man-made ideologies.

Heidi by Johanna Spyri, 1945

This book was so wonderfully refreshing because it was not only set in the Swiss Alps but it has a delightful sprinkling of God and Bible stories interlaced into its plot.  Heidi’s old cranky and reclusive grandfather becomes her caretaker when her parents pass away at a young age and she lives with him on the “Alm”.  When he refuses to move to town in Winter and send Heidi to school, citizens raise concern about his ability to take proper care of her and her aunt steps fortuitously in and finds her a home in Frankfurt where she can live and provide companionship for a young invalid named Klara.

After many antics whereby Heidi learns the hard way to fit in to refined city life, it becomes obvious that Heidi is homesick to the point of wasting away, and an old doctor friend of her benefactor advises she be sent back to her mountain home at once.  When she returns home her grandfather is so pleased to see her that he allows her to teach him about God through the Bible story of the prodigal son, which she has learned to read while she has been away.  His heart softens and they begin to attend church services and make arrangements to spend the next Winter in town where Heidi might attend school.

Further lovely tales unfold when her Frankfurt family take turns visiting her, and her shepherd friend, Peter, become jealous.  Generosity abounds, and finally her dear friend Klara learns how to walk in the nourishing mountain air and sunshine!

A good, wholesome read through and through.  A book to inspire us, and glorify God.

2013

This book was given to me by a friend.  I first came to know and love God, and His law; then Jesus as the Messiah, but I was struggling with the Apostle Paul and his seeming contradiction to Torah (the law).  This book helped me to see Pauls’ intended teachings in a new and accurate light, and cured my unbelief in Paul’s divine inspiration and I now can embrace his words and teachings wholeheartedly.  Because of this book, I believe in the canonicity of all 66 books of the Bible and that all the words in the Bible are God-breathed.  Without Paul’s epistles and books we would be much further away from the true meaning and hope of the Gospel.

I do not agree with his analysis of some things, like how he has adopted the secular way of writing time in BCE and CE terms.  Nor of how he refuses to use the terms ‘New’ and ‘Old’ testament.  Nor how he only calls Jesus Christ’s name Yeshua HaMessianic in the Hebrew.  And some interpretation of the scriptures he has taken poetic license with, but overall it is a nice anthology of Paul.

One thing that really stuck with me from this book is this:

Christ’s Redemption is accomplished through His:

  1. Death
  2. Resurrection
  3. Ascension
  4. Session
  5. Intercession

This little gem is on the reading list for new students at Liberty Seminary.  It is quite small and an easy read, chock full of Bible references and other beneficial quotes like this one:

It is through living, indeed through dying and being damned that one becomes a theologian, not through understanding, reading, or speculation.  ~Martin Luther

It discusses life within the context of theology, which is simply the discussion of God.  If God is in your life, you are likely a theologian.  I think this book will be an invaluable and handy resource for adding some verve to my papers.

picturesque palestne

I purchased this for my own studies and it has been fairly interesting in that it shows wood and steel engravings of an 1870’s Palestine, along with prose and descriptions from an English Colonel named Sir Charles Wilson.  Compared to our modern photography, it is severely lacking and one cannot make out much from the black and white pictures.  But the words and chronicles from that era are unique and therefore sacred in their own right.

From our 2015 perspective, this book gives us a view of a Holy Land that no longer exists, and which, without it, we could otherwise never see.  It is also a good historical reference for the events that have shaped and affected the Holy Land over time.  This is probably my favorite quote from the entire book, from the Introduction:

Next to Greece, Palestine stands supreme.  The extraordinary rift of the Jordan valley, deeper than any similar fissure on the surface of the earth, the innumerable questions, historical or scientific, which that valley suggests in the overthrow of the five cities in the passage of the Jordan, would of itself render Palestine peculiar amongst the countries of the globe.  The caves with which its limestone rocks are perforated are features which cannot be destroyed or altered by time, and represent a series of adventures and hiding-places from the time of Abraham and David down to the heroic insurgents of the age of Josephus.  The wells and springs, which are so remarkable an element in all Eastern lands, and which ally themselves alike with the early history of the Patriarchs and with the recorded discourses of Him who by the well of Sychar [Jacob’s well] proclaimed the great truth of the spirituality and universality of His religion, still remain as living witnesses to the history of which they are the expression, and justify with singular force the striking words of a well-known traveller, “There is no event so permanent as that which is writ in water.”  The fragments of buildings which overspread the whole country, and which date from almost every age, recall the prehistoric times of those old aboriginal tribes whose names appear only to be blotted out by the successive tides of invasion which have swept over the country…a land of ruins..and the mountains have given form and substance to the peculiar diction of Prophet and Psalmist, and have also lent themselves to that long succession of celebrated views with which no other history can compare.  ~Sir Charles Wilson, engineer to the Palestine Exploration Society

1964

This book shares black and white photos as we journey through the Bible narrative.  Since the Hebrews did not do artwork or make reliefs (except in their temple which is now non-existent), Werner Keller draws on the adjacent cultures of the Egyptians and Babylonians for examples.  There are also many photos of the Holy Land.  There are some interesting tidbits that you might not find in recent sources, such as a photograph of a man atop a clay cliff where it is proposed proof that great flood happened.  Also, it is good to see the Holy Land more authentically than now with the population changes and growth that have occurred since 1963 (when it was first published).

Overall, a very thorough pictorial of not only the Holy Land but the peoples and the cultures having lived in and around it.

Mere Christianity By C. S. Lewis
Walking in God's Will By Costi W. Hinn

Hearts of Fire By The Voice of the Martyrs

Piercing the Cosmic Veil By Joseph Jordan
Martyrs And Missionaries By Martyrs and Missionaries
  • Martyrs And Missionaries
  • By: Martyrs and Missionaries
  • Ever wanted to know more about the Christians who came before us? The ones who answered the call and went to the far reaches of the globe, many paying…

Hunt for the Skinwalker By Colm A. Kelleher Ph.D

Host the Holy Ghost By Vladimir Savchuk
  • Host the Holy Ghost
  • By: Vladimir Savchuk
  • Narrated by: Gordon Greenhill
  • interactive rating stars      Write a review
  • All believers in Christ have a relationship with the Holy Spirit, but not all believers have intimacy with him. Holy Spirit was sent to lead you deeper in the knowledge of truth and give you the strength to overcome trials and the power to reach this world….

Prophet, Arise By John Eckhardt

The Prophet's Manual By John Eckhardt
The Poisonwood Bible By Barbara Kingsolver

Download

Blindfold By Theo Padnos

Download

Of Mice and Men By John Steinbeck
  • Of Mice and Men
  • By: John Steinbeck
  • Narrated by: Gary Sinise
  • interactive rating stars      Write a review
  • Celebrating its 75th anniversary, John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men remains one of America’s most widely read and beloved novels. Here is Steinbeck’s dramatic adaptation of his novel-as-play, which received the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play in 1937-1938….

Angels By Billy Graham
  • Angels: God’s Secret Agents
  • By: Billy Graham
  • Narrated by: Maurice England
  • interactive rating stars      Write a review
  • Dr. Graham lifts the veil between the visible and the invisible world. This best-selling classic records the experiences of Dr. Graham and others who are convinced that at moments of special need they have been attended by angels….

Origen By Joseph Trigg
  • Origen
  • By: Joseph Trigg
  • Narrated by: John Telfer
  • interactive rating stars      Write a review
  • This volume presents a comprehensive and accessible insight into Origen’s life and writings, written and compiled by Joseph W. Trigg, a leading Origen authority….

The History of the Church By Eusebius
  • The History of the Church
  • By: Eusebius
  • Narrated by: David Powell
  • interactive rating stars      Write a review
  • Written by Eusebius, the bishop of Caesarea, this pioneering fourth-century work of Christian history stands apart from other contemporary histories as the first full-length record of early Christianity from a Christian point of view….

Blind Descent By James Tabor

Journey into Divine Oneness By Theodore Nottingham

Bluebeard By Jim Clemente

Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage in the Bible By Jay E. Adams

The Christian Counselor's Manual By Jay E. Adams
Competent to Counsel By Jay E. Adams

Love and Respect By Dr. Emerson Eggerichs

Practicing the Way By John Mark Comer

Spiritual Authority By Dr. Rob Reimer

A Life in the Spirit By Solape Osoba

50 Pentecostal and Charismatic Leaders Every Christian Should Know By Dean Merrill

God's Smuggler By Brother Andrew

The Autobiography of Hudson Taylor By Hudson Taylor

George Müller: The Guardian of Bristol's Orphans By Geoff Benge

Women Who Risk By Tom Doyle

The Watchmaker's Daughter By Larry Loftis

Paul and Jesus By James D. Tabor

The Jesus Discovery By Simcha Jacobovici

The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot By Bart D. Ehrman

Bonhoeffer By Eric Metaxas

The Lady and the Mountain Man By Misty M. Beller

Oxford Case Histories in Infectious Diseases and Microbiology By Hilary Humphreys

Plagues, Pandemics and Viruses By Heather E. Quinlan

The Ghost Map By Steven Johnson
  • The Ghost Map
  • By: Steven Johnson
  • Narrated by: Alan Sklar
  • interactive rating stars      Write a review
  • This is a thrilling historical account of the worst cholera outbreak in Victorian London and a brilliant exploration of how Dr. John Snow’s solution revolutionized the way we think about disease….

Epidemic By Reid Wilson
Jane Eyre By Charlotte Brontë
Of Plymouth Plantation By William Bradford
  • Of Plymouth Plantation
  • By: William Bradford
  • Narrated by: John Roy Potter
  • interactive rating stars      Write a review
  • Of Plymouth Plantation is a journal written by William Bradford, leader of the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, between 1630 and 1651. Bradford’s journal is regarded as the most authoritative account of the Pilgrims and the early years of the colony which they founded….

The Jesus Dynasty By James D. Tabor

Mary Magdalene: The Life and Legacy of the Woman Who Witnessed the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus By Gustavo Vázquez Lozano

The Thirty-Year Genocide By Benny Morris
Turtles All the Way Down By John Green
  • Turtles All the Way Down
  • By: John Green
  • Narrated by: Kate Rudd
  • interactive rating stars      Write a review
  • John Green, the acclaimed author of Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars, returns with a story of shattering, unflinching clarity in this brilliant novel of love, resilience, and the power of lifelong friendship….

Gentle and Lowly By Dane Ortlund

Taliban, Third Edition By Ahmed Rashid

Deadly Outbreaks By Alexandra Levitt
Defenders of the West By Raymond Ibrahim

The Lost City of the Monkey God By Douglas Preston

Viruses, Plagues, and History By Michael B. A. Oldstone
The Mind of a Missionary By David Joannes

Virus Hunters 1: A Medical Thriller By Bobby Akart

The Family Across the Street By Nicole Trope

The Plague By Albert Camus

Lolita By Vladimir Nabokov

Mexico By James A. Michener

Crucial Conversations By Kerry Patterson
  • Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, Second Edition
  • By: Kerry Patterson
  • Narrated by: Joseph Grenny
  • interactive rating stars      Write a review
  • Perhaps once a decade, a book comes along that transforms people’s lives in a very real, measurable way. This is one of them….

Leave a comment