Reading is for our good. We all know that it is true, but many of us think of it the same way we do vegetables. We know we must have some, so we eat the bare minimum, but we certainly do not enjoy it. When someone recommends a book to us we know that it probably would be quite beneficial if we read it, but still it seems like too much effort. It's easier to just sit on the couch and watch some TV and it is easy to think it's not that big of a deal if we don't read. What we are forgetting is that there is much that we don't know and there is much that we still need to know. This is especially true when it comes to the things of God. None of us know enough about God! None of us know enough about prayer, about trusting Him, about how we are to live holy lives. The truth is we all have a long way to go, but we have not been left in the dark. God has revealed himself to us. He makes himself known through a book, the Good Book.

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"You can be so heavenly minded that you're no earthly good." is one of those clichés that I've heard repeatedly echoed throughout my life. Is it accurate? Can we be too heavenly minded? In Colossians chapter 3 the apostle Paul commands us to set our minds on things that are above and not on things that are on the earth. He instructs us to seek after heavenly things. We are told to intentionally refocus our attention on the things of God. We have to think about that which is heavenly. This is specifically set in contrast to the things that are earthly. Is this promoting a disregard of physical concerns like feeding the hungry, caring for the environment or mowing your lawn? I think not! I've been rereading a good book titled The Hope of Glory: 100 Daily Meditations on Colossians and today I came across this passage that strongly speaks to this issue.

I want to recommend Crazy Busy: A (Mercifully) Short Book about a (Really) Big Problem by Kevin DeYoung. My time was certainly well spent reading the 128 pages of this book. The Spirit used these words to quickly convict me on how I am not as careful with my time as I need to be. It's filled with practical changes to make us better stewards of the time God has given us. I especially enjoyed the last chapter on Mary and Martha from Luke 10. Below are some of my favorite quotes from the book. In this first quote the author confesses that he too has the problem of being too busy.

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You and I have an enemy within us. Our flesh fights against us and leads us into sin. We must kill it! This book can help. The Christian life is about becoming more like Jesus Christ everyday. Jesus was perfect, righteous and holy. He never sinned. We on the other hand sin often. The Christian life is a an ongoing battle against sin. We put off the old and put on the new. Christian maturity is about the process of putting sin to death and striving for holiness. The war will last the rest of our earthly days, but we are not fighting it alone. We have been given the Spirit of God Himself. He is at work within us. He is also given us a weapon for the fight which is the Word of God. Sadly many Christians neglect the power and weapon that is available to them. Probably the most helpful writing on the topic was penned about 300 years ago by John Owen. His works Indwelling Sin, The Mortification of Sin and Treatise on Temptation have become Christian classics. They are a very challenging read and have been recently combined and updated into more modern English under the title Overcoming Sin and Temptation. Owen's writings are a boot camp that will prepare you to fight sin. To make this treasure of wisdom even more accessible an author has done a modern rewriting and abbreviation of Owen's books. The Enemy Within: Straight Talk About the Power and Defeat of Sin by Kris Lundgaard is a little book that I believe every Christian should read. It is filled with practical ways to gain victory over the sin that so easily entangles us. I have read this short book many times and keep coming back to it because I have found it extremely helpful in my own fight against sin and is a practical guide to introduce others to the raging battle. It is an easy read, but it is about a difficult fight. I want to strongly encourage you to prayerfully read through this book. Better yet, find someone to read it with. Look up every scripture referenced and think deeply on the implications of each text. It will do you good. The following are some of my favorite quotes from the book.

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The Hope of Glory: 100 Daily Meditations on Colossians by Sam Storms is an interesting hybrid of a daily devotional and a commentary. He walks through every verse of the book of Colossians, but he does it and bite size meditations perfect for someone to start their day thinking deeply about the truth of the Word of God. The title Hope of Glory is drawn from the text of Colossians itself as is most of the book. Storms is not trying to be exceptionally creative but rather simply helping the reader to understand the Scripture. He provides an excellent help to a careful reading of Colossians. It is stylisticly simple yet theologicaly substantial. I regularly read commentaries and enjoy having studied theologians walking me through the text, but often they can get rather technical and sometimes chase rabbit trails, or use unnecessarily large words. This book does get technical at some points and even makes reference to the Greek a couple times, but always in a well explained little chunk and only to make the text even more clear. The 100 daily meditations on the other hand are a breath of fresh air. They can each be read in ten minutes or less so that even the busiest person can take time to read them. The result is a reliable guide to walk you through the entire book of Colossians slowly as you read each of the manageable meditations that encourage and instruct. This is a great resource for anyone wanting to dig into the Word of God.

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I loved reading Sam Crabtree's Practicing Affirmation and found it to be one of the most practical books I have read in the long time. It's one of those books I'm sure to reread again and again. He convincingly argues for the necessity of praising others in a way that glorifies God while being careful not to flatter or build up pride. His convincing arguments are clearly from the Scripture. I came across this book while trying to understand the fine line between speaking words that build up and flattering others. I see value in giving compliments, but I've certainly seen how complements can go to people's heads. I remember listening to a highly acclaimed speaker at a photography conference. He was giving detailed instructions on how to flatter people, so that they look better in pictures, but I could not help but see how this pride producing speech was sinful. Sure I want people to look their best in my pictures of them but I'm not willing to flatter in order to make that happen. In Ephesians 4:29 Paul writes, "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." I want to speak words that build up and encourage, yet I must be very careful because I certainly don't want to build up pride.

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I've read several books by Paul David Tripp and every time I both love it and hate it simultaneously. I hate it because it is so convicting and shows me my sin and I love it because when I see my sin for what it is I can start to kill it. Tripp thinks deeply about the practical matters of life and how the Bible affects ordinary mundane moments. I recently read Relationships: A Mess Worth Making by Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp an unsurprisingly I have to give it a high recommendation. Below are some of my favorite quotes from the book. I believe they will give you a taste of why this book is worth reading.

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The Gospel According to Jesus: What Is Authentic Faith? by John F. MacArthur is a thorough and refreshing look at how the Bible teaches that truly trusting in Jesus means following him as Lord and Savior. We don't really trust Him if we don't trust Him enough to obey His commands. MacArthur goes through passage after passage to demonstrate the overwhelming fact that Christianity is not just a ticket to heaven, but rather a radical life change in which we submit to Lord Jesus each day. We cannot have Jesus as our Savior if will not repent and have Him as our Lord.

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Delighting in the Law of the Lord: God's Alternative to Legalism and Moralism by Jerram Barrs made me think. Here are just a few quotes from the book.

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Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions by Gregory Koukl is a very helpful book for engaging with those who disagree with you. It's focused on speaking with unbelievers who have an entirely different worldview, but the tactics described here are helpful in any disagreement or debate in which you want to stay cool tempered and speak with love and grace. This is one I will certainly reread. Kindle ebook Price: $1.99 (Feb 23-Mar 2)

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