Books Read in 2013*

Happy New Year!

Listed in no particular order here is a list of the best books I read in 2013.


The Hour That Changes The World

This book was first published in 1978 but I was not familiar with the book. The title caught my eye on a vendor's table at the Georgia Home Education Conference in 2013. I downloaded it to my tablet and immediately wondered why I had never heard of the excellent book on prayer.


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And When You Pray: The Deeper Meaning of the Lord's Prayer

A closer look at the prayer Jesus gives in the first 5 verses of Matthew 6 written by Ray Pritchard of Keep Believing Ministries 



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Through The Eyes of C.H. Spurgeon

This book is a collection of powerful quotes from C.H. Spurgeon.



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Ten Indictments Against the Modern Church

This message was preached on October 22, 2008 by Paul Washer who served as a missionary in Peru for ten years. Powerful word for the Church.


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Stop Asking Jesus into Your Heart: How to Know For Sure You Are Saved

Don't let the title fool you, this is an excellent book on the assurance of salvation based on the finished work of Christ not on praying a one time prayer. Easy-believism is a blight on the modern church. This book can help a lot of people: saved and lost.



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Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions Volume 1 & 2

Edited by Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis, has provided Christians with an excellent resource to help equip them be able to "always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you"



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The Insanity of God

Powerful! See how God is working through His Church around the world. Persecution and suffering is a very real and normal part for many around the world. God is faithful. Their faith is strong and vibrant. Would our "faith" here in America stand or would it be exposed as a shallow fake?



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Total Truth

Addresses how Christians have developed a wrong way of looking at life.  In the culture war your worldview does matter.



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The Masculine Mandate

A book that calls men back to biblical manhood - masculinity.  Not very popular in 21st century America but very much needed in a the confused culture of our day.



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Discover the Mystery of Faith

How worship shapes believing.



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Walking East to West: God in the Shadows

Ravi Zacharias, distinguished Christian apologist, tells his story.



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50 People Every Christian Should Know: Learning From Spiritual Giants of the Faith

Warren Wiersbe provides brief biographies from church history.



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*  I am not including the Bible in this list. I strive to read through the Bible every year.  I agree with Tony Reinke (author of Lit!), there are two genres of books:  genre A - The Bible and  genre B - All other books.  The books included in this list are from genre B.

Best Books I Read in 2012*

I was able to read some good books in 2012. In reviewing the books that I read in 2012, I am listing my 10 favorites in this post.  This is the first year that I have read more books in e-format.  Of the 10 books I have listed below I only have paper editions for 3 of them.  The other 7 are nook books. I am not ranking them other than saying these are my top 10. They are listed in the chronological order that I read them.  The topics covered include theology, marriage, parenting, education, leadership,  and government.

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With Mama joining Daddy in Heaven in November of 2011, I started 2012 finding my thoughts more and more on Heaven.  I read Randy Alcorn's book on Heaven and followed it with We Shall See God to start 2012.

Heaven by Randy Alcorn




We Shall See God: Charles Spurgeon's Classic Devotional Thoughts on Heaven by Charles Spurgeon & Randy Alcorn



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As a parent I need this reminder: Give Them Grace.  My kids need grace, I need grace!  God gives grace, I must give grace.

Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids With The Love of Jesus by Elyse Fitzpatrick & Jessica Thompson




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Don't assume the Gospel. We have to get away from the moralistic, therapeutic deism that is so common today. The Gospel: "Don't forget it! You were saved by it, will be sustained by it, and are currently standing in it."

The Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler & Jared Wilson




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This past summer my church did a Biographies Summer Teaching Series on Wednesday nights.  Jim Elliott was the biography covered one week.  A few days later I was in the local library returning some books the kids had checked out and on the used book cart for less than a $1 was Through Gates of Splendor.  I took this as the of Providence of God. I bought the book and read this classic. I had been hearing the story  of Jim Elliott since high school but had never actually read the book.  "He is no fool who gives what he can not keep to gain what he cannot loose."

Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot


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I think this book should be required reading for all parents, church staff members and educators. This is where we have lost the culture war. To quote Voddie Baucham, "If you send your kids to Caesar for their education don't be surprised when they come back as Romans." It has taken over 150 years of secular education for our culture to get in its current condition.   "Parents must take full responsibility for the education of their children." "Christians must understand the significant influence that education has on a person's life."

Kingdom Education: God's Plan for Educating Future Generations by Glen Schultz



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Written by a real American hero who was a POW for five and  a half years in Vietnam.  Leadership is so important and is so missing in this day and age.

Leading With Honor: Leadership Lessons From the Hanoi Hilton by Lee Ellis



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We lost a giant when God called Charles Colson home on April 21, 2012.  This book was originally published as Kingdoms in Conflict, this revised edition was published in 2007.   I like his original title. As Christians we must remember this world is not our home and while we are here we will have conflict. Although we are only passing through, while we are here we must be "salt and light".

God & Government: An Insider's View on the Boundaries between Faith and Politics by Charles Colson




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Marriage is under attack in today's society. What God has said about marriage has not changed. The Kellers have written a book on marriage that is solidly grounded in Scripture.

The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God by Tim & Kathy Keller



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In this book Andy Stanley lays out his philosophy of ministry for North Point Church. "Churches should be theologically sound and culturally relevant."

Deep & Wide: Creating Churches Unchurched People Love to Attend by Andy Stanley



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If you are looking for books to read in 2013 I can recommend each of these books to you. Reading them will be a good investment of your time.

Soli Deo Gloria
ah


*  I am not including the Bible in this list. I strive to read through the Bible every year.  I agree with Tony Reinke (author of Lit!), there are two genres of books:  genre A - The Bible and  genre B - All other books.  The books included in this list are from genre B.

Salvation

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
John 3:16-18 (ESV)

The Baptist Faith & Message 2000


IV. Salvation

Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.

A. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace.
Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Saviour.

B. Justification is God's gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer unto a relationship of peace and favor with God.

C. Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God's purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person's life.

D. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.

Genesis 3:15; Exodus 3:14-17; 6:2-8; Matthew 1:21; 4:17; 16:21-26; 27:22-28:6; Luke 1:68-69; 2:28-32; John 1:11-14,29; 3:3-21,36; 5:24; 10:9,28-29; 15:1-16; 17:17; Acts 2:21; 4:12; 15:11; 16:30-31; 17:30-31; 20:32; Romans 1:16-18; 2:4; 3:23-25; 4:3ff.; 5:8-10; 6:1-23; 8:1-18,29-39; 10:9-10,13; 13:11-14; 1 Corinthians 1:18,30; 6:19-20; 15:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20; Galatians 2:20; 3:13; 5:22-25; 6:15; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-22; 4:11-16; Philippians 2:12-13; Colossians 1:9-22; 3:1ff.; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 2 Timothy 1:12; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 2:1-3; 5:8-9; 9:24-28; 11:1-12:8,14; James 2:14-26; 1 Peter 1:2-23; 1 John 1:6-2:11; Revelation 3:20; 21:1-22:5.

For More Information on Salvation Click Here

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Soli Deo Gloria
ah