Recommendations of Good Books

There is benefit to reading, and the reading of spiritual books is especially beneficial to our knowledge and spirituality. This writer will be recommending certain spiritual books to the brothers and sisters on two occasions this year so that your interest in reading will be kindled and your spiritual lives may grow. I consider the following ten books to be well worthy of your perusal.

The following six relate to spiritual nurturing –

The Root of the Righteous by A.W. Tozer

God tells the Man who Cares by A.W. Tozer

The Disciplines of Life by Raymond Edman

Men from God’s School by J. Oswald Sanders

The Beatitudes by Peter Liu

The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges

Dr. A.W. Tozer was a servant of God in the modern era who was greatly used by the Lord, and has been reputed to be “A Prophet of the 20^th Century”. He possessed a keen sense of spiritual awareness, so that he had perceptive insights into the Church and the trends of the age, and was proficient in teaching Biblical truths. “The Root of the Righteousness” and “God tells the Man who Cares” are the essence of his many years of literary work. Each chapter is a distinct topic, suitable for reading at a slow pace and careful meditation. The church library has both the English versions and the Chinese translations.

The life of a Christian must pass through many trials before its heavenly being can mature and grow and be used by God. “The Disciplines of Life” by Raymond Edman expands our spiritual realm, and further challenges those Christians who are lazy and unproductive.

Pastor J. Oswald Sanders was once a missionary with the China Inland Mission, dedicated to promoting evangelical works. He had abundant experience in nurturing and training church leaders and missionaries. In “Men from God’s School”, he picked 18 great personages from the Bible and described the causes and reasons for their successes and failures, ebbs and flows.

Brother Peter Liu has some unique and penetrating insights into the “Eight Beatitudes” expounded by Christ on the mount. His sharing is worthy of everyone’s review.

The author of “The Pursuit of Holiness” shares with us 17 aspects of the attainment of holiness by Christians. It is a classic tome regarding the pursuit of spiritual life that is well worth a careful reading.

If you are interest in biographies, “Sacrificial Love – Portraits of CIM Missionaries” by Sik Pui Wong will not disappoint. The author collected and edited the evangelical testimonies of 30 past missionaries from the China Inland Mission. Because of their love of God and missionary zeal for the Gospel, they willingly gave up their comfortable lives in their own countries to move to poverty-stricken provinces in inland China and preached the Gospel to the Chinese. Many of them in fact sacrificed their family members’ as well as their own lives.

Besides being well-versed in the Bible, Christians should also be familiar with Church history. “The Pilgrim Church” by E.H. Broadbent is not a history of development of what most would call the traditional church. The author chose instead to chronicle the testimonies of some brothers who followed Christ single-mindedly and were consecrated for the Lord, from the Early Church on through the generations to the year 1930.

“The Oracle of God 1: Authority of the Bible” by Li Cheng is the most exhaustive study of the authority of the Bible written by a Chinese person. The author spent many years collecting, analyzing and sorting data before he completed this book. This writer encourages everyone not just to read it, but to obtain a copy for ease of future reference.

“The Biblical Basis for Modern Science” by Henry M. Morris adopts the viewpoints of reason and science to establish the truth of the Bible. It is a great apologetic treatise for the Church.

You will find the foregoing 10 recommended books in our church library. If you are interested in borrowing them, please do not take out more than one at a time, and be sure to return each within 2 weeks so that other members may have an opportunity to read them as well. You may also acquire copies for your own private enjoyment.

By: Daniel To