WATCHWORD:
1 Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. 2 I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, 3 for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? 4 When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world? 5 After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. 1 Corinthians 3:1-5
Meditation:
Really Good Reads
Want a good read? I mean a really good read, one that stretches you, that opens your faith. I know you read all different kids of books for entertainment, for knowledge, to gain information for a project you are working on. I know because I’m in one of those people.
However, I’m talking about really good reads, I would define as ‘faith-blessed’. Really good books that might be recommended by your pastor, when you asked “What are the great classics of Christian literature? A number of years ago I asked my then, pastor, Paul Borg, that very question and he answered with his “Top 10”. He challenged me to read each of those classics. I did, and it was a true scholarly pursuit, not exactly an education, in that sense, but a real adjustment in my spiritual thinking, a faith correction, if you will, and one that has stayed with me ever since.
Over the years, we have all gotten various suggestions to the question good faith-based reads, in one form or another. Recommended titles, pointed to on spiritual growth retreats, Way of Christ weekends, workshops, Bible studies, friends, etc. All worthy, all important. All good.
Digging into ‘Christian classics’ is a departure from daily devotionals. It is a different discipline. Classics offer other faith perspectives through the minds of those authors, a unique journey of faith, an applied kind of spiritual food.
I came across a list of faith reads that was compiled in 1989 by a group of us attending a weekend retreat. We decided we would compile a list of what we considered “Christian classics”, not what other thought, just books we had read and found of great value in our faith-walk. In the end, we had 48 titles, the good reads of our group. Llimited by space, in no particular order, here are 20 of those suggested titles:
Cloud of Unknowing. Author unknown.
Confessions of St. Augustine. (Blaiklock translation)
Hinds Feet on High Places. Hannah Hurnard
Francis, the Journey and the Dream. Murray Bodo
If God is in Charge. Stephen Brown
Mere Christianity. C.S. Lewis
New Seeds of Contemplation. Thomas Merton
Taste of New Wine. Keith Miller
Testament of Devotion. Thomas Kelly
The Cost of Discipleship. Detrick Bonhoeffer
The Christian’s Secret to a Happy Life. Hannah Whitehall Smith
The Imitation of Christ. Thomas a’Kempis (Blaiklock translation)
The Pursuit of God. A. W. Tozer
St. Paul versus St. Peter. Michael Goulder
Gentle Thunder. Max Lucado
The Hiding Place. Corrie Ten boom
The Holiness of God. R. C. Sproul
Knowing God. J.I. Packer
The Way of the Pilgrim. Author unknown.
My Utmost for His Highest. Oswald Chambers
I know, there are others you would nominate, that are omitted here; add them to the list. What title would your pastor have added? Three of my most favorite good reads are on this list. What about you?
Observations on Morning Prayers:
The mood with which we begin the day tends to color the entire day. What Francis de Sales understood is that starting the day with God in mind leads to keeping God in mind throughout the day.
The moment we awaken, we can choose the tone of our day. We can decide to be tired and negative about the day ahead or we can choose to be the strong, positive man or women God made us to be. As our feet touch the floor, it’s the perfect time to “think positive.”
Place yourself in the Lord’s presence in the first moments of each day. You will discover the whole day improves with that small offering. Talk to Him. He waits for you in the stillness, in the silence of your heart. Speak, Lord, your servant listens.
Closing Prayer:
Good morning, Lord! I offer to you my day, All of my joys and my sufferings, my cares and my concerns, My accomplishments and my failures. All that I have, all that I do, is yours. Keep me in your care. Guard me in my actions. Teach me to love, and help me to turn to you throughout the day. The world is filled with temptations. As I move through my day, keep me close. May those I encounter feel your loving presence. Lord, be the work of my hands and my heart. Amen.
