Books to Deepen Faith

Forgiveness: Following Jesus into Radical Loving

By Paula Huston

Forgiveness is a profound book on the difficult issue of coming clean and forgiving all those in our past who have hurt us. It is a book teaching us how to follow Christ in every day life. This involves radical loving as the subtitle suggests. It also involves a great deal of soul searching. Paula Husted reveals her own struggles in forgiving others and in forgiving herself. Her journey in forgiveness led her to become an oblate – a lay member of a monastic community. This is a book that must be read over and over. Gems of wisdom jump from every page. Here are a few examples:

“No other religion came into being through an act of forgiveness.” xvi

 “The vengeance cycle can only be broken by humility.” 38

“When self-esteem is our primary goal, we learn to see ourselves and our own concerns as ultimate; we lose our sense of awe in the face of the divine.” 42

“Purity of heart means that every desire is for the same thing: God….Purity of heart refers to that joyful sense of being in which we can freely love the good things of life without losing sight of our North Star.” 71-72

Desiring God

by John Piper

Desiring God fanned the flame of my love for Christ and taught me much. Piper, who calls himself a Christian Hedonist, beautifully details the doctrine of the supremacy of Christ. He says that “the deepest and most enduring happiness is found in God. Not from God but in God.” His passionate descriptions of God and worship attest to this and raise the level of the readers’ desire for God and experience of worship. The supremacy of Christ is beautifully defined and worshipfully experienced.

Piper’s thoughts about false teaching, indifference and accountability in the church are also helpful and well said. It also delighted me to read Piper’s views on worship and missions.

 “Mission is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Mission exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over and the countless millions of redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It’s a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever.”

This book is a classic and one to be read over and over.

“The true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him.” John 4:23

Blessings, Dottie

Books to Deepen Faith

Here are two of the best books I know of to deepen our faith in God and to grow in knowing him. Enjoy!

One Thousand Gifts

by Ann Voskamp

One Thousand Gifts is beautifully, exquisitely written - even poetic. Ann Voskamp transparently reveals her own struggles, traumas and failures but teaches us to look for a gift in all things. She learns to look for blessings even in the mundane events of her life. She teaches us to let go of control and trust God. This is a book to read over and over again. Some reviewers found it difficult to read. I did, too, at first. Until I slowed down and took my time. It's not a book to speed read. It is a book to slow down and enjoy every word, each so well chosen.

Lessons I Learned in the Dark: Steps to Walking by Faith, Not by Sight 

By Jennifer Rothschild

Lessons I Learned in the Dark is a profound book about living by faith. The author is afflicted with an eye disease in her teens which leads to blindness. She realizes she will never be able to drive. She wonders, will I be able to finish high school? What about college? Will I have a boyfriend? Will I ever marry?

Rothschild learns how to navigate with a white cane so she can be self-sufficient away at college. Two weeks before going to college she is gripped by fear. Her parents insist she go for two weeks. She goes and stays. In the book she gives twelve lessons she learned through high school, college, marriage and having a child. Her lessons are practical as well as faith filled, profound as well as simple.

For example in the chapter titled Remember What Matters she gives a method that taught her to memorize. This method has helped her on a daily basis to remember where things are. She learned that memory is more reliable than sight! She winsomely shows that we all need to memorize the truths of scripture for our dark times and the daily grind.

Walking in the Dark is full of wisdom and light for walking in a dark world. Jennifer Rothschild has overcome a tragic life-long affliction to become a beacon for others. She is a nationally known speaker and author both because of and in spite of the loss of her sight. Most of us have easier hurdles in life – but we all have some. Applying the lessons in the book will help you run the race and jump over or accept life’s hurdles.

She says “Sometimes it’s only in the adversity we dread that we begin to discover the kind of life we’ve only dreamed of.” Pg 16

“We live by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7

Blessings, Dottie