Several years ago, I asked God to send someone to teach me about Him, like a mentor.
He answered my prayer by relocating a young woman all the way from Dubai, UAE to my town, and because God is the Inventor of funny, her husband happened to be born in Bethlehem.
But while God was busy moving my mentor across the world, He spoon-fed me through testimonies and teachings found in books.
I’d like to share some of my favorites with you. All but two are nonfiction, because when it comes to God, I need real. I want to absorb all the wisdom and discipleship that echoes from within the proverbial lion’s den.
I hope you find a book here that gives you a new and more beautiful perspective of our Father-God’s heart and His unconditional, pursuing love for us.
Here they are, in random order…
Except this one…This first one is hands-down the one I most hope you read.
Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore
I believe the moment Americans are born, they should be handed a copy of this book. I like how the website describes it: A dangerous, homeless drifter who grew up picking cotton in virtual slavery. An upscale art dealer accustomed to the world of Armani and Chanel. A gutsy woman with a stubborn dream. A story so incredible, no novelist would dare dream it.
This astonishing book will open your eyes to what it means to be human, it will change the way you pray, and remind you why we hope in all things. Also, each chapter is only 2 or 3 pages long…
http://samekindofdifferentasme.com/
All is Grace by Brennan Manning
I didn’t truly believe or understand that it’s possible to feel loved by God until I discovered the writings of Brennan Manning. His story is a doozy, and the way he talks about God’s affection for him through the darkest and brightest seasons of his life will cause the Father’s face to come into clearer focus than ever before. I’ve read All is Grace multiple times, but I also loved two of his other books: Abba’s Child, and Ragamuffin Gospel. They’ve been described as pure scandal, because grace always is.
Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge
This book has been described as 2 years’ worth of therapy for $12. There are so many things it taught me about God’s heart for women, including His very intriguing description of the Holy Spirit (but I’ll leave that surprise for when you read it…). Stasi does most of the writing and does a stunning job of reaching deep into a woman’s heart to pull out hidden things that need to be held up to the light of God’s love. I tried to pick a favorite quote to share, but there are just too many. This is one I turned into a coloring book with my hi-lighter.
https://www.amazon.com/Captivating-Unveiling-Mystery-Womans-Soul/dp/0785289097
The Search for Significance by Robert S. McGee
In my blog post When You Don’t Know What’s Wrong, I describe physically deteriorating with symptoms of every kind of autoimmune disease you can think of, and visiting a godly family physician who wrote me a prescription that simply had the name of a book on it. This is that book. The encouragement found in these pages is invaluable. You can rise above other people’s opinion of you and bask in God’s opinion of you. This book helps the reader believe in Christ’s love, acceptance, and forgiveness, and value it above anyone else’s. It also sheds light on how other people affect us, using charted personality types and interesting insight into the deeper causes of tensions.
https://www.amazon.com/Search-Significance-Seeing-Worth-Through/dp/0849944244
The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom
Surely you’ve heard of her, but if you’ve never read her words, please do. She and her Dutch family were imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp for hiding and rescuing Jews. She and her sister, in spite of their hideous suffering, spread Christ’s light to other female prisoners. This book first planted the seed in me of what it means to be grateful in all things and how that is the secret weapon to survival. Miraculously, Corrie was freed by a clerical error, only to escape the pits of hell and proclaim to the world her famous words, There is no pit so deep, God’s love is not deeper still.
Sacred Romance by Brent Curtis and John Eldredge
Beautiful and deep, this book gives words to so many things Christians who long for “more” experience. It describes the whisper, the voice we’ve heard all our lives and longed to get to know, revealing that in our sincerest longing to know God, He reveals how intimately He knows us. You’ll find yourself nodding with fascination and eureka moments as the author describes things like the haunting, and arrows that stay lodged lifelong, and the religious fog that distorts everything, including God. Just like his wife Staci, John writes truths that will stay on your mind for years to come.
Beautiful Outlaw by John Eldredge
I’d never even considered what Jesus’ personality is like until I read this book, and it forever changed the way I read the Gospels. It taught me to hear Scripture through Jesus’ voice, and not my pastor’s or my own voice. Amazon describes it best: In BEAUTIFUL OUTLAW, John Eldredge removes the religious varnish to help readers discover stunning new insights into the humanity of Jesus. He was accused of breaking the law, keeping bad company, heavy drinking. Of being the devil himself. He was so compelling and dangerous they had to kill him. But others loved him passionately. He had a sense of humor. His generosity was scandalous. His anger made enemies tremble. He’d say the most outrageous things. He was definitely not the Jesus of the stained glass.
One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
If you ask my friends who my favorite author is, they’ll all say Ann Voskamp. I quote her and imitate her every chance I get. Even before you get around to reading this book, google some of her quotes and you’ll be instantly blessed by her wisdom and powerful ability to encourage from her own experiences with real, raw life. Through this book, she taught me how to breathe when life knocks the breath out, by counting gifts. It sounds very simple, and it is, but it’s also much, much more than that.
Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis
Katie Davis was just a teenager a few years ago when she left her privileged life in Nashville, Tennessee to start an orphanage in Uganda, Africa, and soon found herself the mother of 13 homeless girls she could not resist loving. Then came another, and another… Now she is the founder of Amazima Ministries and feeds over 1200 children lunch every weekday, among many other things. Katie feels like kin with her approachable writing style and infectious smile, but she is far from common.
https://www.amazon.com/Kisses-Katie-Story-Relentless-Redemption/dp/1451612095
Fasting by Jentezen Franklin
This book encourages Christians to seek deeper prayer and intimacy with God by emptying ourselves like the Disciples did. I stumbled on it during a time when I was stumped spiritually, thirsty to know God in whatever way He wanted to reveal Himself. This book is easily tailored to your personal journey and depth of longings, without being legalistic. Fasting is not a way to twist God’s arm or prove anything to Him, but rather is what Franklin describes as a hunger strike against hell. I like that. Hell needs to go.
https://www.amazon.com/Fasting-Jentezen-Franklin/dp/1599793318
The Three Battlegrounds by Francis Frangipane
I love all his books, including This Day We Fight. His writing is easy to devour and leaves me eager to know what’s on the next page, to learn more about how to live as Christ intended. His books are thin and straight forward. To get a taste of his profound and readily-digestible writing, I highly recommend following him online.
The Insanity of God by Nik Ripkin
The stories contained in this book are so dangerous to those telling them, the author had to use a pseudonym to publish it. After being missionaries in Somalia for 6 years and feeling like their mission had failed, Ripkin and his family returned to America with huge, troubling questions about whether the Gospel “worked” under every kind of circumstance, in every kind of place. Disillusioned and bone-weary, he set out to find Christians who had lived out their faith, with their faith still intact. You’ll find yourself reading these pages out loud to your family. This book will make you weep for the world, but cause such hope to rise up in your spirit that you applaud with all of heaven as you realize, yet again, God’s love wins.
Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes by Kenneth E. Bailey
Using factual social context, Bailey walks us through the Gospels, unveiling the parables by filling in blanks for us who aren’t familiar with Jesus’ culture. The Bible comes alive as the author reveals how Western tradition has left us with more questions than answers by Americanizing God’s story through our own cultural filters. Among the more fascinating chapters is one that details Jesus’ birth and how He in fact was not born in a barn, but in a home where He was quite welcome. We imagine the ancient Middle Eastern homes to be like our own, and that alone causes the familiar story of Jesus’ birth to take a dramatic wrong turn. This book was fun to read, and even though it’s not at all a funny book, it had me laughing out loud at my own previous misconceptions about so many stories in the New Testament.
Compelled by Love by Heidi Baker
Her love for Jesus is like none other I’ve seen. She is Heidi, unashamed lover of Jesus who gladly takes on the ridicule of the woman wiping Jesus’ feet with her hair. Her life is her message to the world and her gift to God, as she is thoroughly compelled by the love of Jesus. I knew I wanted to learn from her when I heard her say, Don’t go out and share Jesus unless you are in love with Him. When you are in love with Jesus, then all you do will radiate Him.
Every Day with Jesus by Selwyn Hughes
I picked it up for $5 at LifeWay looking for a read-the-Bible-in-a-year plan. As I began reading this Bible and the devotions included, I was consistently amazed by the writings of the author who, turns out, is quite famous for this book because nearly everyone who reads it is left awed and uplifted with greater love for God. It’s by far my favorite devotional.
Last but not least, here are two fiction books I love to recommend.
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
The author weaves a story of historical fiction based on the unfathomable love of God as described in The Bible’s book of Hosea. You’ll recognize many elements of God’s version throughout this gut-wrenching story. The heavy subject matter is very hard to read at times, but it’s a brave story about God’s unconditional, redemptive, all-consuming love that finds us and heals us, wherever we are.
Dinner with a Perfect Stranger by David Gregory (fiction)
In this short, clever book, the main character, Nick, receives a mysterious invitation to have dinner with Jesus. He thinks it’s a joke, of course, but just for kicks decides to go check it out. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like if Jesus suddenly showed up in your life in Person, you’ll find this book intriguing and delightful. I’ve lost count of how many copies I’ve bought as gifts.
So…that’s my “abbreviated” list of favorites. Maybe I’ll do another blog sometime of books that have drawn me closer to Jesus but would get me kicked out of church. (Just kidding…)
I’ll be traveling soon and would be so grateful if you’d recommend some good reading for my trip!
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I ordered the first 3! Same Kind if Different As Me, All is Grace, & Captivating.. I got them on Thriftbooks.com. All for $11 & free shipping 🙂
Thanks for sharing your list!
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Excellent choices! I’m so excited for you to read these books!
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Try reading some of Max Lucado: The first book I read, “He Still Moves Stones” hooked me to his writings, and he has many! Six Hours One Friday, And the Angels were Silent, No Wonder They Call Him the Savior, When God Whispers your Name, Come Thirsty, Applause of Heaven, When Christ Comes,A Gentle Thunder, Fearless, and many more! That’s just some of what I have.!
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Heath adores Lucado’s books, especially Six Hours One Friday! Our favorite children’s book is by ML too. Your grandson would love it. It’s called “You Are Special.”
https://www.amazon.com/Special-Board-Book-Lucados-Wemmicks/dp/1581342195