'25 SUMMER READING LIST, #23 - "WHEN FAITH IS FORBIDDEN" BY TODD NETTLETON

First, a little housekeeping. I have been recommending these books in alphabetic order by title. However, I realized that what would have been today's book was fitting for the Independence Day, so I'm moving up the ones scheduled for July 2nd and 3rd one day.

"When Faith is Forbidden: 40 Days on the Frontlines with Persecuted Christians" by Todd Nettleton of Voice of the Martyrs is an inspiring devotional book, telling stories of our brothers and sisters who are enduring persecution. Some of these have two or more parts (one story has five parts), and these are an encouragement I have gone through this twice, and yes, this is one that is on my list to use again.

 

LOOKING BACK AT '22 - FAVORITE NON-FICTION BOOKS (PART 4 OF 6)

 

You ever notice how they save the biggest (or assumed biggest) for last? In tennis, the final match is the men's finals, in ice skating it's the women's. Well, as I mentioned yesterday, the question is which is the highlight of the year? My favorite fiction? Or my favorite non-fiction? If you asked me, it's the non-fiction books, especially Christian books.

This year, I will be giving my top dozen (for a change, the same number as my top fiction). I read 20 non-fiction books, which includes three I've previously read. As last year, I questioned whether I should count them in among the others I read for the first time, and as last year, I decided to mention them separately. These are:

1. Isaac Watts: His Thought and Life by Graham Benyon. Are you aware that Watts, besides being a great hymn writer, was a pastor, an apologist, and author of a book on logic and of catechisms? If this isn't my all time favorite biography, it's in the top three.
2. Superheroes Can't Save You: Epic Examples of Historic Heresies by Tod Miles. The most creative and entertaining apologetics book I've read. Miles looks at seven false teachings (Miles calls them bad ideas) about Jesus, and compares them with seven superheroes.  
3. When Faith Is Forbidden: 40 Days on the Frontlines with Persecuted Christians by Todd Nettleton. I first read this 40 day devotional book last year, and did so again this year. Todd Nettleton had the privilege of interviewing persecuted Christains with Voice of the Martyrs, and shares some challenging stories.

Did you notice that I made the titles links? Well, since I had reviewed all the books I'm mentioning this year (except for one or two that I'll be sharing the reviews of the first week of 2003), I thought I'd give the link to those reviews if you want more info on any of those books.

Now to the list, which again is in alphabetic order.

1. Caesar and the Church: A Biblical Study of Government and Church by Anthony Forsythe. Short and excellent book dealing with Church, State, and Delegated Authority.
2. Christ's Call to Reform the Church: Timeless Demands From the Lord to His people by John MacArthur. We think that we Christians have God's blessing, but have we earned His rebuke? MacArthur deals with Jesus' messages to the 7 churches where the common theme is to "Repent", as well as reminding about the importance of the five Solas of the Reformation. (Title without link; look for the review on this very web-page on Tuesday, January 3, 2023).
   
3. Church Membership: How the World Knows Who Represents Jesus (9 Marks: Building Healthy Churches) by Jonathan Leeman.  One common question is whether a Christian needs to regularly attend church. This book does a great job on the importance of not just attending church but committing to a local congregation for mutual ministry.
4. Deacons: How They Serve and Strengthen the Church (9 Marks: Building Healthy Churches) by Matt Smethurst. I read this book to learn more about leadership. This definitely was an inspiration to me.
5. Embracing the Race: 40 Devotionals for the Runner's Soul by Lisa Harris. This was a very encouraging devotional. Even though I'm not a runner, it was an inspiration. Don't be surprised if you see this book (and When Faith is Forbidden, mentioned above) included as a re-read next year.
   
6. The Grand Canyon: A Different Perspective by Tom Vail. Great pictures in this book, and good arguments by the main author and other contributors on why the millions-of-years-of-erosion theory of the forming of this Arizona wonder is definitely not the only and maybe not even the best explanation. 
7. Lennon, Dylan, Alice, & Jesus: The Spiritual Biography of Rock and Roll by Greg Laurie and Marshall Terrill. This is a very interesting book dealing with the Spiritual Development of people in rock and roll from the '50's to present. Some are short segments, some artists have a chapter devoted to them.
8. Letter to the American Church by Eric Metaxas. The framework of this book is that the American Church is in the same place the German Church was in the early 1930's when Hitler rose to power. Metaxas encourages us to stand up against the evil we face as Dietrich Bonhoeffer did in Germany, like William Wilberforce did against international slavery, and like Reagan boldly saying, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" (Title without link: I would like to encourage you to read the view which will be posted Thursday, January 5, 2023. More often than not, the blog review is identical to the one on Amazon/Good Reads/Indianapolis Public Library, but sometimes I'll go more in detail on my blog, and that's my plan with this review.)
   
9. Missions: How the Local Church Goes Global (9 Marks: Building Healthy Churches) by Andy Johnson. How do we get involved with the Great Commission? This book gives some excellent ideas on reaching the lost through the local church.
   
10. Prayer: How Praying Together Shapes the Church (9 Marks: Building Healthy Churches) by John Onwuchekwa. There are a lot of good books on prayer, but this volume focuses on corporate prayer within the church, a much needed topic. By the way, this is the fourth of four 9 Marks books I read this year to make this list.
    
11. Thanksgiving: An Investigation of a Pauline Theme (New Studies in Biblical Theology) by David W. Pao. This was one of four books of the series I read this year. Each of them were great in intellectual development, but this was the most uplifting. 
12. When God Calls A Writer: Moving Past Insecurity to Write With Confidence by Deanne Welsh. Definitely an encouraging book for a writer who needs a push.

Have you read any of these books this year? Any catch your interest? 

Don't forget - next week I'll be giving the full reviews of the two books I don't have links for their review. I consider both books important, and they'll be posted Tuesday and Thursday.

  .   

FAVORITE NON-FICTION OF 2021

 

Courtesy of Enclave Publishing

Yesterday, I shared my favorite fiction books of this year. Today, I'm dealing with non-fiction. I mentioned I had a goal of reading 12 such books, and came just short of doubling that target.

Since a lot of the fiction authors I read are friends on Facebook, and I don't want any to think I like another author better than them, I put the lists in alphabetic order by author. I usually don't have that situation with non-fiction writers, I am quicker to put them in order from my favorite and down. This year, I did some debating. Partly because I do know one of the authors on my list personally and that my wife has met another. And while there might be books I want to promote and have everybody read it, this year I'm hoping you will consider getting (or at least checking out and reading) all ten of these.

I mentioned earlier this week that I reread three non-fiction books. I debated considering them in my top ten list, and if i did, all three would be in the top ten. All three of them, by the way, made my list the first time I read them.  So I decided to leave them off the list. But which books are they? I'll gladly tell you. They're, in alphabetic order by title:

1. Getting to Know The Church Fathers: An Evangelical Introduction (2nd edition) by Bryan Litfin. (My previous listing may have been from the 1st edition.)
2. Living The Cross Centered Life: Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing by C.J. Mahaney.
   
3. The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer. 

So here is my list of non-fiction for this year:

1. Another Gospel?: A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity by Alisa Childers. 
   
2. Beyond Poverty: Multiplying Sustainable Community Development by Terry Dalrymple.
3. Calling on the Name of the Lord: A Biblical Theology of Prayer by J. Gary Millar (New Studies in Biblical Theology, No. 38).
   
4. Confronting Injustice Without Compromising Truth: 12 Questions Christians Should Ask About Social Justice by Thaddeus J. Williams.
5. Corporate Worship: How the Church Gathers as God's People by Matt Merker (9Marks: Building Healthy Churches).
   
6. The Cross Examination of Jesus Christ by Randy Singer.
7. Facing Snarls and Scowls: Preaching through Hostility, Apathy, and Adversity in Church Revitalization by Brian Croft and James B. Carroll.
8. Faith Seeking Freedom: Christian Libertarian Answers to Tough Questions by Dr. Norman Horn, Doug Stuart, Kerry Baldwin, and Dick Clark.
9. Voice of a Prophet: Who Speaks For God? by A.W. Tozer.
10. When Faith is Forbidden: 40 Days on the Frontlines with Persecuted Christians by Todd Nettleton. 

You'll notice that unlike my fiction list, all I gave on this list is the title, author, and if applicable the series it's in. That's because in the case of nine of them, you can tell what the book is about with just the title and subtitle. The exception is #6, The Cross Examination of Jesus Christ, which has no subtitle. The book is written by attorney and pastor Randy Singer, and looks at key confrontations between Jesus and the Pharisees.

If you want to know the order I placed them, yell, and I'll let you know. And if you've been a faithful follower of this blog and have been reading all the entries for at least the past four days, you'll know which one was number one.

Which books have you read and been blessed by? Which of these have you read? Which ones will be on the top of your reading list? And which one of these is written by an author that has shown up frequently on my favorite fiction lists?

BOOK REVIEW - WHEN FAITH IS FORBIDDEN BY TODD NETTLETON

 

This is a MUST read book for Christians. Todd Nettleton leads you on a forty day journey interviewing Christians who live in countries where their government and/or community are not happy with them being Christians.

In the West, we view religious persecution as something that happens over there in other parts of the world, but will not happen here, and if it does, we have no one to blame but ourselves for those negative, unwanted circumstances. The believers we meet in this book, on the other hand, see persecution as a natural consequence for faith and view suffering for Jesus Christ as an honor. One lady in the book referred to her time in prison, for example, as "A wonderful time." What causes people to have this mindset?

Todd's stories are nice and short, and this book is great for a devotional. After the story, he challenges the reader to examine where their faith is on certain topics.

I've read over 20 non-fiction books and more than two dozen novels this year (2021), and if you asked me to recommend one book, this would be the one.