Once again I am embarking on the Tim Challies reading challenge. However, since the 2023 list has been produced by Visual Theology and you have to pay it, I am returning to the 2016 list. The link can be found here.
My method is just to work as far down the lists as I can by the end of the year. I hope to achieve the 'light' category by the end of June and 'avid' by the end of the year.
One of the things I enjoy about these yearly challenges is that they encourage me to read more widely than I would otherwise. The most enjoyable book so far has been 'The Innocent' by David Baldacci; the book which has had the most impact on my thinking would have to be 'Pride' by Matthew Roberts in helping me to understand the current fixation with gender and sexuality.
Below is a summary of the books read so far, I apologise for the length, I'll try to do updates more frequently.
1. ‘Maturity’ by Sinclair Fergusson (a book about Christian living)
This is a really helpful book on what it is to be a mature Christian believer. It covers 5 stages:
Growing up – why it is important to be mature, some of the warning signs for spiritual decay and how one grows into maturity by abiding in Christ.
Standing firm – through assurance and guidance, knowing God’s will;will.
Facing difficulties – the largest part of the book was devoted to this stage. It covered the problem of sin as put by the Psalmist in 119:9 and the solution is to seek God while he may be found and with the whole of my heart. Then there is the nature of temptation, the stages of its development as experienced by David in 2 Sam 11-12. Considering this, how is the enemy fought, the believer needs the armour of God. A further difficulty is that of suffering and how God uses that to show us our spiritual needs, teaches us God’s ways and his own faithfulness through it.
(4) Pressing on – the mature Christian’s life is to be marked by service and endurance. To run the race and throw off obstacles and to find continual encouragement by fixing their eyes on Jesus who went before us.
(5) Living Maturely – Psalm 131 describes someone who is mature. They are content, having learned it. They guard their ambitions and control their preoccupations. The mature believer trusts in God.
2. ‘J. Hudson Taylor: A man in Christ’ by Roger Steer (a biography)
This is a very readable biography about a remarkable individual. His parents prayed before he was born that he would be a missionary for China. Hudson Taylor, a Methodist from Barnsley, devoted his life to that end by training to be a doctor and enrolling in the Chinese Evangelical Society (CES). Eventually, there were problems with the CES which led to Hudson founding the China Inland Mission (which later became the Overseas Mission Fellowship that still exists today). Hudson’s approach to mission was away from the Chinese ports and settle inland, adopting the dress of the natives. He refused to appeal for funds and instead relied on unsolicited contributions through faith and prayer. He married twice, having lost his first wife to illness in China.
3. ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ by John Steinbeck (A classic novel)
This was not an easy book to read, and in fact I gave up ‘reading’ it and instead listened to a narration on audible by Richard Armitage. He brought the book to life by speaking in a slow American accent and using different voices for the various characters. The story takes place amid the Great Depression of the 1930s. The Joad family are forced to join thousands of others as they migrate west to California in search of work. The story highlights their struggles along the way and the problems they faced when they arrived. Having idealized finding work picking grapes and eventually being able to have a nice little house, the reality when they reached California was totally different, marked by fierce competition, oppression, and squalid living conditions. The author stresses the importance of family and community and indeed Ma Joad’s strength of character was the force that kept them all-together.
4. ‘Escape from Reason’ by Francis Shaeffer (a book someone tells you ‘changed my life’)
While this book did not change his life, my boss, who recommended it, did say he found it a formative book on his thinking. To tell the truth, I found it very difficult to read and understand. It traced history and philosophy from the time of Aquinas to present day (1960s) as a means of understanding the times we live in today.
5. ‘Incomparable: Reflections in the Character of God’ by Andrew Wilson (a book about theology)
I read this book during my 15-minute devotional time in the mornings. Short chapters that explore names and descriptions of our God. At intervals are breaks titled ‘Selah’ which are timeouts to stop and pray, pause, and worship or suggest further readings.
6. ‘The Inner Sanctuary: An Exposition of John, chapters 13-17’ by Charles Ross (a book more than 100yrs old).
Charles Ross was a Scottish minister of the Free Church of Scotland. His book The Inner Sanctuary was published in 1888 and is made up of series of devotional expositions of the Upper Room and Jesus’ prayer that were probably originally delivered as sermons.
The language is a little archaic at time but beautifully written and deep. Some of the challenges that I took away from this were the actions and responses of his disciples. For instance, when Jesus washed his disciple’s feet, none of the others had any inkling that Judas would betray Jesus. In fact, they asked of themselves ‘is it I?’. This illustrates both that sin and hardness of heart is a gradual process, and also, the necessity for self-examination. John had the right of it. He, kept close to Jesus, resting on his master’s bosom. Philip, forgetting all Jesus had said asks for a sign. ‘Have I been so long a time with you and yet hast thou not known me? This is the problem of nominal Christians today. They make a profession but don’t know Jesus at all and therefore they do not know the Father. Peter, as always is a mixture, at one time understands his own unworthiness and the next boasting he is ready to die for Jesus.
The book finally looks at the great intercessory prayer which Jesus prays, for himself, the apostles and then the entire body of believers. What a privilege it must have been to hear God the Son, pray to God the Father aloud for them in their presence.
7. ‘God Stories: Explorations in the Gospel of God’ by Andrew Wilson (a book with the word ‘gospel’ in the title’
This is very similar format to ‘Incomparable’ but instead of the character of God it explores the stories of scripture. As with his other book, it is also interspaced by suggestions for reflection. I do particularly like the last chapter where he summarises the whole bible, book by book with the key idea of the character of God. Here is a small extract:
“He is the commander of the army of Yahweh, producing the courage of Joshua, the refuge of Rahab, the parting of the Jordan, and the collapse of Jericho. He is the song of Deborah, the sword of Gideon, and the strength of Samons. He opens Hannah’s womb and Samuel’s ears, and his ark alone – the box in which he lives – is enough to smash the Philistines, break their gods in pieces, win battles, and conquer cities. He is David’s rock, his shield, his fortress, his hiding place; yet he is the forgiver of his sins and the restorer of his joy. To Solomon, he gives wisdom and wealth. To Elijah, he is the widow’s oil, the Carmel fire, and the still, small voice. To Elisha, he makes the dead live, the leper clean, and the axe head float. He is Johshaphat’s ambush, Hezekiah’s deliverer, Sennacherib’s conqueror, Josiah’s lawgiver, Ezra’s teacher, Nehemiah’s confidence, and Esther’s rescue. In other words, he is the hero of every story in the entire Old Testament.”
8. ‘Jemima Puddleduck’ by Beatrix Potter (a book for children)
A short little book about a very silly duck who is persuaded to lay eggs in a fox’s den.
9. ‘The Fix’ by David Baldacci (a mystery or detective novel)
This is the third book in the Amos Decker series. Decker, following a severe head injury has the ability to remember everything. He must use his incredible gift to help solve the murder of a school teacher outside an FBI building. What seems a random killing is anything but and the investigation soon escalates into matter of national security. Baldacci writes a gripping thriller which is impossible to put down.
10. ‘Pride: Identity and the Worship of Self’ by Matthew Roberts (a book about a current issue)
The issue of identity is everywhere at the moment, and the LGBT movement is particularly elevating sexual identity, defining people by their orientation. Roberts argues that this is a false identity and at its root it is a matter of idolatry. People have always defined themselves by their idols. Looking first at who we are created to be, made in the image of male and female, Roberts then traces how the West has come to elevate the ‘Free Self’ as the idol of the day. The challenge for Christians is struggling to believe that the gospel really is Good News and so Roberts outlines the harms that worshipping our desires brings, to show there is a better way, returning to the true God, and therein finding our true selves.
This has been a really helpful book for both understanding where this obsession with identity came from, what it truly is, and what the Christian response should be.
11. ‘The Divide’ by Nicholas Evans (a book recommended by a Family member)
My Dad recommended this book. I can’t say that I massively enjoyed it. I found the pace slow and none of the character especially likeable.
A body of a young woman is found buried under ice on a mountain side. We soon learn that it is Abbie Cooper, wanted for murder and eco-terrorism. The novel charts through a series of flashbacks pivotal moments in the family breakdown and the influences in Abbie’s young life that led her to the mountainside.
12. ‘Give me this mountain’ by Helen Roseveare (a book written by or about a missionary)
Helen Roseveare was a missionary doctor working in the Belgian Congo in the 1950s. This book highlights some of the personal challenges of faith and the physical dangers, including a period of imprisonment by rebels that she faced during this time.
13. ‘The Innocent’ by David Baldacci (a book with at least 400 pages)
Another David Baldacci novel, 1st in a series featuring Will Robbie, an assassin whose latest assignment goes wrong, and he ends up on the run, crossing paths with a teenager who also is fleeing from the murder of her parents. Robbie ends up helping the teenager and it soon becomes clear that there is a connection between her parent’s murder and the assignment Robbie refused to carry out.
I really enjoyed this book; it was a fast-paced page turner. However, I did struggle a bit at the beginning to like the character. It wasn’t helped with Baldacci’s style of writing which can be abrupt. He likes very short sentences.
14. ‘The Horse and His Boy’ by C.S. Lewis (a book by C. S. Lewis or J. R. R. Tolkien)
I chose this book as it is short, and it is one of my favourites in the Chronicles of Narnia series. It takes place in Calormen and Archenland. Shasta runs away from his homeland with a talking horse called Bree. Both are heading to Narnia. Along the way they meet a girl upon another talking horse. They discover a plot by the Calormen’s to invade and conquer Narnia and now their run from home turns into a race to beat the Calormen’s to Narnia and warn the inhabitants. They encounter lions and cats who both help and frighten them. It becomes clear that these are all one and the same when they meet Aslan, the Great Lion, the true king of Narnia. One of my favourite parts is when Hwin, the girl’s horse meets Aslan for the first time:
Then Hwin, though shaking all over, gave a strange little neigh, and trotted across to the Lion.
“Please,” she said, “you’re so beautiful. You may eat me if you like. I’d sooner be eaten by you than fed by anyone else.”
“Dearest daughter,” said Aslan, planting a lion’s kiss on her twitching, velvet nose, “I knew you would not be long in coming to me. Joy shall be yours.”
Currently reading
‘Judges’ by Dale Ralph Davis (a commentary on a book of the bible)
‘The Netanyahus’ by Josha Cohen (a novel that won the Pulizter Prize)
‘Of Temptation: The Nature and Power of it’ by John Owen (a book written by a Puritan)
‘The Glories of God’s Love’ by Milton Vincent (a book that has a fruit of the Spirit in the Title)
‘King Lear’ by Shakespear (a play by Shakespear)
* Copyright for the image above - Viking Press/Penguin Group; Between the Covers Rare Books, Inc., Merchantville, NJ
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