You may remember that a while ago I posted Righteously Relevant Reading Previews, wherein I gave a quick thought on the books that I was currently reading at the time. I have finished two of those three books, and the third I have given up on, so here are some concluding thoughts on each of those books.
Surprised by Grace by Tullian Tchividjian
I whole-heartedly recommend this book. It is a fantastic book focused on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is my conviction that the whole Bible is about Jesus, and Tullian shares this conviction. This book connects the story of Jonah to the Gospel in a profound and God-glorifying way. God pursues sinners. He pursued Jonah with a whale, and he pursued me by sending Jesus to die for my sins.
Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana Jr.
Apparently at sea nothing happens. The first half of this book was incredibly exciting. It was a page turner story that also explain in detail how sailors lived during the time period in which it was written. The second half tells of the return voyage in real time. Almost every detail of every single monotonous event is spelled out for the reader. I am not saying this to discourage reading, I sometimes think that I have the attention span of a fruit fly, but this book just stopped being interesting. Life is to short to read books like that since so many interesting and good books are out there.
90 Days of God's Goodness by Randy Alcorn
We read this book for dinner time devotions, and we found it really focused us on the goodness of God. We all need constant reminders that despite our situation and despite the bad things that happen to us, God is still good. Randy Alcorn time and time again in this book reminds us of the primary reason that we know God is good: He sent His Son to die for us. That is love, and that is goodness. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a devotional to use individually or as a family.
Showing posts with label reading reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reading reviews. Show all posts
Monday, March 11, 2013
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Righteously Relevant Reading Previews
If you did not notice, there is a section on the side of this page that says "reading" and has a list of books beneath it. This lists the books that I am currently reading. As I start a new book I will put up a post describing why I was attracted to that book and, if I have read any of it, what I think so far. When I am finished with a book I will also post my thoughts on the book.
I am currently reading three books:
Surprised by Grace by Tullian Tchividjian
This is a book both about the story of Jonah and the cross of Christ. It could be subtitled "Jesus in the book of Jonah" I have read about a quarter of the book and so far it is phenomenal. I was attracted to this book because I received Jesus + Nothing = Everything by the same author as a gift and found it to be a tremendous book on how Jesus, and His gospel, is all we need, and that if we add anything to that formula we actually lose the "everything" that the gospel supplies.
Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana Jr.
This is a autobiographical work about a young man's journey aboard a sailing vessel traveling from the east cost of the United States around Cape Horn and up the coast of California before it was a possession of the United States. I picked up this book because I found it on a list of suggested free e-books, and I am very glad that I picked it up. This book is a riveting story of his travels, and gives an interesting picture of life at sea and life in California at the time. This book can be downloaded for free! If you decide to read this book it may be helpful to have a resource at hand that can define some of the nautical terms that the author uses. (Reader beware: The author has some racist tendencies, but that does not mean that this book is without value.)
90 Days of God's Goodness by Randy Alcorn
I was given this book by my in-laws and we have been using it for family devotions. We are about 20 days into the book and we have found the book to be very encouraging. Each devotion is rather short and contains a passage of scripture and a page or two of commentary by Randy Alcorn. Each day's reading only takes a few minutes which is helpful due to the attention span of young children. This book is not targeted towards young children, so we are using it primarily for our own spiritual growth and to allow our children to get into the habit of listening quietly during the time set aside for family devotions. If you are looking for a new devotional book I would whole heartedly recommend this one.
What are you currently reading?
I am currently reading three books:
Surprised by Grace by Tullian Tchividjian
This is a book both about the story of Jonah and the cross of Christ. It could be subtitled "Jesus in the book of Jonah" I have read about a quarter of the book and so far it is phenomenal. I was attracted to this book because I received Jesus + Nothing = Everything by the same author as a gift and found it to be a tremendous book on how Jesus, and His gospel, is all we need, and that if we add anything to that formula we actually lose the "everything" that the gospel supplies.
Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana Jr.
This is a autobiographical work about a young man's journey aboard a sailing vessel traveling from the east cost of the United States around Cape Horn and up the coast of California before it was a possession of the United States. I picked up this book because I found it on a list of suggested free e-books, and I am very glad that I picked it up. This book is a riveting story of his travels, and gives an interesting picture of life at sea and life in California at the time. This book can be downloaded for free! If you decide to read this book it may be helpful to have a resource at hand that can define some of the nautical terms that the author uses. (Reader beware: The author has some racist tendencies, but that does not mean that this book is without value.)
90 Days of God's Goodness by Randy Alcorn
I was given this book by my in-laws and we have been using it for family devotions. We are about 20 days into the book and we have found the book to be very encouraging. Each devotion is rather short and contains a passage of scripture and a page or two of commentary by Randy Alcorn. Each day's reading only takes a few minutes which is helpful due to the attention span of young children. This book is not targeted towards young children, so we are using it primarily for our own spiritual growth and to allow our children to get into the habit of listening quietly during the time set aside for family devotions. If you are looking for a new devotional book I would whole heartedly recommend this one.
What are you currently reading?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)