Devotional

Tim Keller on the Christian Life by Matt Smethurst

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This book will make a lot of people happy. People who love Tim Keller are going to see this summary of his salient teachings as an addendum to his biography, especially if they read those copious endnotes, and be happy. Those looking for some rich devotional writing with the best theological precision will be happy. You’re probably catching on, but this book makes me happy.

I admire Keller, but for some weird reason I’ve listened to many of his sermons online while not getting around to reading his works. After reading this book, that process was certainly a mistake. What was I thinking? This work convinced me that I will read him going forward. Each chapter, as best as I can tell, synthesizes his most beloved books. These chapters leave you clamoring for more. I guess this book makes the publishers of Keller’s books happy too.

This book is well written. It doesn’t only propel you to Keller’s books, but says much itself. These chapters stirred me. I prayed some prayers of repentance for the challenge and conviction I encountered (sans the guilt that you know this moralism-hater was incapable of throwing) after several chapters.

I can’t tell you which chapters were the weakest as I found none I didn’t love. I can’t tell you which chapter I love most as I loved so many of them immensely. I can tell, though, that most of them found this reviewer wanting. If I were forced to list its worst feature I guess I’d say endnotes are annoying to keep flipping to when they are so many and too delicious to miss.

Rarely does a book so gallantly reach its aims, but here’s one that did.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

In the Power of the Spirit by Calvin

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Here’s the third volume of Calvin’s sermons that survived on the Gospels. These sermons are truly captivating. Credit both Calvin for his sermon prowess and White for his exquisite translating skills. While reading you can so easily forget how old they are. If it wasn’t for a near obsession against “papists”, you’d forget these sermons weren’t new. I guess we’d better credit the timelessness of God’s Word as well.

Most people know John Calvin the theologian, maybe some John Calvin the commentator, but few John Calvin the preacher. Don’t expect a treatise on the theological system that bears his name here, but some sterling exposition. These sermons are dandies.

Preachers may love the sermons as they prepare their own, but I see another wonderful use of this book. I can’t imagine a better devotional read. The sermon “One Mightier Than I” was so piercing. I was thinking of doing one thing in my life professionally that wasn’t a sin or anything like that, but this sermon turned me around in my tracks. That is now off the table. Now that’s the kind of devotional reading I like—not those that just give you the warm fuzzies, but those that humble you.

I could go on and on as all of them are high quality . The ones that covered Jesus’ temptation were especially enlightening. Without a doubt, this is a volume that I will be returning to again in the future.

Of course it’s got the beauty and durability we have come to expect from Banner. I hope they keep translating and giving us these volumes. I’ll never stop asking for them to do Jonah, but maybe I’m the only one who wants that one.

This is a book that I feel blessed to own. I suspect you will feel the same way. 

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

The 30 Days Series Bundle by Trevin Wax

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This gorgeous set is a boon to one’s devotional life. It’s actually three popular titles to use for one month each with a morning, mid-day, and evening reading. The first one covers all 150 psalms in a month. That’s a cool undertaking for sure. The next volume covers the life of Jesus by a collection of key passages in the Gospels. The final one comes from the letters of Paul.

Every entry has a short call to prayer followed by a “Confession of Faith” for morning entries. The evening portion substitutes a “Confession of Sin”. Next, there’s a canticle followed by the Biblical reading. After the Gloria, you get the Lord’s Prayer in every entry. The selection ends with a short famous prayer and a blessing. It’s a nice design.

The set itself makes you think of an heirloom set. The volumes look so sharp in the slipcase. These books will easily last for many years.

It would be impossible to not benefit from these books and I recommend them. Mr. Wax envisioned these volumes masterfully and you will be blessed.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Thomas Charles’s Spiritual Counsels

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Banner of Truth has a knack to introducing us to choice servants of Christ that we’ve never heard of before. After we meet them, we are so glad that we did. Thomas Charles falls especially in that category. Actually, BOT had a joint release of this volume and a new biography of Charles. At first, I was conflicted over which one to read first. I finally decided to meet him through his writing so I’d feel more bought in when I read the biography. It worked. I’m on board for sure.

Fortunately for me, this volume opens with a biographical sketch penned by Iain Murray. If you’ve read Murray before, you know what to expect. Biography on any scale is Murray’s gift. Charles didn’t seem, then, like a stranger when I got to his writings.

The first chapter on spiritual pride blew me away. It’s like it peeled several layers and at the deepest level I’d ever been in that regard I saw the hideous grotesque mess that is the spiritual pride in me. The next chapter on humility stayed in the same vein. Let’s just say that it was nothing like the pablum found in the usual run of Christian books today. No, it was much more penetrating.

Reading on, the subjects changed but the depth did not. At one point, I stopped and asked myself why is this writing so good when he really didn’t come across as a wordsmith, and at times would use the most common expressions to explain himself. I finally figured it out. There was something tangible of the Spirit in it. It is clear that he knew God, he knew people, and he knew the task that God had given him to minister to people. It was like we were seeing a master physician of the soul with both the knife and the balm of the Word of God in hand.

I personally liked the writings on the Bible subjects better than the letters, but all were good. The printing quality and the beauty of the volume that we have come to expect from a hardback volume from Banner of Truth was on full display too.

When I read a book like this, it strikes me that there must be so many of the most wonderful servants of Jesus Christ that we know absolutely nothing about. It reminds me too that the goal is not fame, but God‘s will. We will not all be famous, but we can be in the center of God‘s will and serve Him.

This book is a jewel, and now I’m ready to tackle that biography.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

It’s Not Supposed To Be That Way by Lysa Terkeurst

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It came as an anonymous gift. I’d heard people speak of this book by Lysa Terkeurst but always assumed it was a book written specifically for women. To be sure, the author is extremely popular among Christian women, and while the book might be written in a style that would appeal to that market, it has something to say to any of us.

The value of the book might be commensurate to your own level of current tragedy. As it turns out, I’m in some of the darker days of my own life and could relate to the author on so many levels. She shares her story, but her message is not pigeonholed to her exact circumstances. All it takes to find value in what she says is to be at a place where life seems completely turned upside down and the view forward is unclear.

Had I read this book, say, a year ago I might have thought it was a little over the top. Perhaps she was a little too raw and let us into her turbulent, almost ugly emotions as they zigged and zagged and rose and crashed even lower repeatedly. Then, I walked that treacherous road myself and wondered if she had been spying on me. Being a guy I held it a little more together in front of everyone else than her, but my emotions on the inside were as messy and even shocking to me as hers were to her.

I will take her at her word that she was completely the victim of what had happened to her, though if she even had any blame somewhere I don’t think it would have changed the message of the book any. I could still relate to her book though my story was different. I was at once a perpetrator and a victim. I had the additional wrestling of trying to figure out before the Lord where the line between the two was. The book still spoke clearly to my heart.

Still, I could feel inside my own heart some of the same feelings she so vividly exposed in her own. The shock. The shame. The exasperation. The uncertainty. The unclear trek ahead. She had had a writing and public speaking ministry that was probably most popular to married Christian ladies and now her own marriage had fallen apart. I was a pastor who loved the ministry beyond description and the walls came tumbling down. Then there are all the other ripples and currents that go to so many other areas of life.

Sometimes I got the feeling she was writing to herself and we were just eavesdropping. Maybe that’s why the book works so well. It’s more about principles that a Christian must wrestle with when life gets completely topsy-turvy. It’s like things you know, but you need the strongest reminder. It’s like things you would have told people in the past, and now you have to tell yourself every moment. I appreciate that she never presented herself as this perfectly packaged Christian who had it all together and was just facing each blow with perfect faith and fortitude. No, it was almost touch-and-go, but a constant bottom-line Christianity that knew there was nowhere to go but to the Lord. She got past worrying about how to understand Him or what He was doing, but just to continue going to Him. And, yes, a faith that realized that the Lord loved her and though she was going a road she despised traveling, somehow, though maybe not in this life, Christ would only take her closer to Himself. There comes a time in life when platitudes won’t do. Those words that could roll so easily off the tongue in a sermon or a discussion without a moment of thought are exposed for all the uncaring that is behind them.

Instead of that tripe that fills the thousands of pages of regurgitated Christian self-help books, she reminded us that the Christian life is a battle, that we are dust, that we are broken, and that a bunch of horrible things really could work together for good in the Lord’s hands.

She made no promises she couldn’t keep. Neither to herself, nor to we who read her book. She still didn’t know how things would turn out and neither do we. There simply is no help until we can figure that out. There are things we can’t control and there are outcomes we can’t produce.

She also refuted the lie that if we can just survive this round of trouble all will be well. On the heel of her family tragedy came the dark blow of cancer. Weakened by the first onslaught she had nothing left to face the second one. Our problems may not go away. The next problem, itself large and scary, may come before we’ve had a chance to heal and strengthen from the first one. Perhaps we’ve overlooked that aspect of Job’s story in Scripture.

So what was the good thing that she had to say besides the spiritual nuggets mentioned above that may be more dreadful to realize than to never have thought about them? Well, it certainly wasn’t a three-, five-, or ten-step program to cancel our tragedy. That would have been too simple anyway, wouldn’t it have been? You may not like the answer. She may not like how I will summarize it. But it is the only answer there is. Trust. Live closely nestled up to Jesus. Expect more possibly. And when it comes, trust. Live closely nestled up to Jesus. It may be as hard to do tomorrow as it was today. Still, trust. Live closely nestled up to Jesus. This is all there is. This is all we need. Trust because we will someday see how He worked it all out. Live closely nestled up to Jesus because that’s the only way to survive the journey until then. It is what we were always meant for anyway.

THANK YOU to whoever sent me this book! I’m sincerely grateful.

The Covenanters–A Beautiful New 2-Volume Release!

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If you are familiar with Church history, then you are likely aware of the spectacular period of Scottish church history beginning at the Reformation and extending throughout the 1600s. Besides some incredible believers and servants of Christ that we can be challenged by, there are all the thrills that any historical reader craves. Religion, palace intrigue, bloodshed, and rousing courage combined to make those costly days to follow Christ.

Banner of Truth dominates the market for this kind of history. They do it right as well. These two volumes by J.K. Hewison would catch your eye on any shelf among other books. The artwork on each volume is the best of any book I’ve seen this year. The binding is durable to last for years to come too. The word “heirloom” comes to mind. (Would make an exceptionally nice gift).

What is between the covers is captivating as well. It would be hard to fail as a writer with that kind of material to work with, but Hewison totally succeeded. He struck the right balance between a truly scholarly work and an enjoyable read. He was fair and didn’t sugarcoat the lives of believers either. Occasionally pictures are even provided.

This book can be used either as a reference to study persons or events or as a fine read with equal parts history and devotion. You will likely have your own favorite episodes as you read. For some reason, Mary, Queen of Scots, grabbed my attention.

If I were forced to only have one title on those magnificent Scottish Christians, this two-volume set would be my choice hands down!

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

The Lord’s Prayer by Wesley Hill

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This short volume on the Lord’s Prayer by Wesley Hill is designed to shake off the dust and routine that many on us have covering that model prayer Christ shared. The subtitle “a guide to praying to our Father” is wisely kept prominent throughout. Hill leads us on a thoughtful journey through every phrase of that prayer.

To be sure, there were times I didn’t line up theologically with Hill, nor would I agree with every capitulation to modern times I felt he made, but this book led me deeper into the Lord’s Prayer. It replaced staleness with vibrancy on several occasions. He gives clear evidence of unrushed thinking and the results often gratify.

Lexham Press has started a series of “Christian Essentials” which includes this title. If this is what we can expect, I predict the series might be quite popular.

This book draws you back to the Lord’s Prayer as if it were a neglected friend. What better measure of success could this little book have?

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Ecclesiastes: Life in a Fallen World by Benjamin Shaw

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Benjamin Shaw finds a helpful message in Ecclesiastes that he delivers in this book. Since most modern works on Ecclesiastes tell us that we can find nothing more than a dark, depressing diatribe on its pages, this book is a breath of fresh air! In my view, though I readily admit both a need and use of modern exegetical commentaries, I’m convinced that works of this sort are equally needed. Whether you fully agree with Mr. Shaw or not, you will have to love how he opens up the positive possibilities of Ecclesiastes.

In the brief forward, Mr. Shaw makes us feel that we are trusty hands. He has no doubt about Ecclesiastes place in the canon of Scripture, he has no trouble seeing a clear message on its pages, and he has no disdain to say that Solomon is its author. If you survey works on Ecclesiastes, you will soon discover how difficult it is to find works that abide by these three simple, conservative viewpoints. By default, this book’s going to give you some helpful things that some books many times larger have no hope of delivering.

As the subtitle suggests, he sees Ecclesiastes as a book that will help the believer live in a fallen world. I might quibble with a few of his observations, but feel he provides insights in all 22 of his chapters of the most helpful nature. Whether it be pastors preparing messages, Sunday School teachers working out lessons, or any Bible student just attempting to dig out the Word of God, you can’t go wrong with this book.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

The Pastor of Kilsyth by Islay Burns–A Nice Biography

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So you’re never heard of W. H. Burns? Neither had I. Before I began reading this lovely biography, I noticed that the publishers put out an advertising blurb about this being a great biography for our celebrity-driven age. It’s clear what they meant. I can be challenged by a biography of a Christian celebrity to some degree, but not in the sense that I can ever do what they have done or will be what they have been. This biography is of a simple believer who was a pastor whose faithful life though unknown to the world gave off a glory that redounds unto the Lord Jesus Christ. That you and I can do. And that is why this biography is of the stripe that is especially needed today.

W. H. Burns was a pastor from the heralded Scottish orbit of outstanding preachers. That Iain Murray called this one of the best Scottish ministerial biographies we have carries much weight as his own biographies that are so often unassuming still have more impact than so many modern biographies.

Not only will you trace faithful ministry, but this volume can also be placed in your revival literature. God blessed Kilsyth with revival. I don’t know about you, but I always am blessed by that type of reading. Later chapters even give insight on what is needed for revival, though the perspective that revivals come from God is never denied. There are descriptions of how the revivals were carried out as well that can be insightful. The book even ends with four sermons that are imbibed with a revival atmosphere.

Banner of Truth is one of the modern Christian publishers that most takes publishing books seriously. Their hardbacks are of a quality that has surpassed most others and their dust jackets are always attractive. They still produce books that your grandchildren can own. I’m glad not everyone has caved to the idea that digital will own the future. I believe there still is a market and a future for books like this one. This book is a great biography for pastors and Christian families!

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Maturity by Sinclair Ferguson

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book maturity

Over the past few years, I’ve made it a point to read new works by Sinclair Ferguson that come along. I’ve been blessed immensely and have greatly expanded my doctrinal understanding of many points. I don’t always agree with him, but he can’t be dismissed carelessly as he thinks deeply before pen ever touches paper. As it turns out, this work on maturity or growing up and going on in the Christian life is a revised volume of the work he wrote in his earlier days. It’s not as overtly doctrinal as other works of his that I’ve read, but the doctrinal underpinnings are obvious throughout. As the title suggests, it has a devotional flavor and is really geared to propel us forward in our Christian lives.

The book is simply set up. There are five subjects of growing up, standing firm, facing difficulties, pressing on, and maturity that gets anywhere from 1 to 4 chapters each. Some sections were more valuable to me than others, but that probably has more to do with needs in my life rather than a wavering quality of writing.

His first chapter throws down the gauntlet for why maturity is so critically important to Christians. A few paragraphs in and Ferguson refuses to allow us to think that there’s some magic formula to rush the process of maturity. As he says, it takes time and patient progress. There are several hindrances, which he outlines carefully, but the Bible also presents a process that will lead to maturity – a process that we should cooperate with. Later, he’ll talk about the key of abiding in Christ and what he calls full assurance. He tackles what guidance is as well.

In the next section, just as you would expect if you’re familiar with Ferguson’s writings, he outlines the problem of sin. From there he’s going to talk about handling temptation and fighting the enemy. In one of the best sections of the book, he talks about coping with suffering. In the section called “pressing on”, he explained serving faithfully and running patiently. He concludes with one chapter on maturity itself.

The book is well written. He marshals much Scripture, disperses much doctrine, and gives practical, balanced help. There’s none of the cheesiness of so many current titles on the market today. If you want realistic help, a help that understands that sanctification is a lifelong affair as is the maturity that springs from it, then this is the book for you.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.