Recommended Reading

66 Love Letters by Larry Crabb
Outrageous Love, Transforming Power by Terry Wardle
The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith

66 Love Letters by Larry Crabb
Review by Joe Enneking, Adult Education Committee

Larry Crabb is one of my favorite authors. I have used two of his books, "The Safest Place on Earth" and "The Pressure's Off" for small group studies. He has recently published a new book titled 66 Love Letters. Each of the books of the bible is characterized as a love letter from God to us. It is presented as a dialogue between one man and God. The Bible itself is actually a story of God's work in the world. What we often fail to realize is that our own story is an important and vital part of His continuing story.

God's statement in the book about Genesis is typical of the way God's love is expressed throughout the book, "When you finish reading My first love letter to you, I want you to realize that I never underestimated how thoroughly you'd mess up your life or how painfully you would struggle and suffer, and I don't want you to underestimate your failures and struggles either. They're all a part of the story I'm telling. But neither have I underestimated my determination or ability to enter the mess you've made and the pain you feel and turn everything around. I can, and I will, make everything good again. Never underestimate Me."

The conversations remind me a bit of those contained in the book, "The Shack," but since this book covers so much more ground, there are many more issues that are dealt with. The central theme is our self centeredness and God's patience with us. He paid the ultimate price to redeem us, He desires that we become more like His son Jesus, and He will accomplish that goal. This is a book to be read, underlined, meditated on, and made a part of our lives.

Outrageous Love, Transforming Power by Terry Wardle
Review by Joe Enneking, Adult Education Committee

While our desire is to become more like Jesus, it is difficult to find a practical way to do so, let alone know what Jesus was really like. Terry Wardle, a professor of spiritual formation at Ashland Seminary, has written a book that gives us both an understanding of the character traits of Jesus and practical ways to make them a reality in our lives. The full title is Outrageous Love, Transforming Power, How the Holy Spirit shapes you into the likeness of Christ.

When we look honestly at our progress toward becoming like Jesus, we realize that we are spiritual infants. The problem is that we do not know what it really means to be "Christlike." And we struggle in spiritual immaturity because we simply don't know the answer to that question. This book identifies eight characteristics of Jesus that are to be nourished and nurtured by the Holy Spirit in the believer's life.

Terry teaches that every believer is made for intimacy with the Father, can be secure in their identity as a child of God, can walk in spiritual power, can exercise spiritual authority in ministry and can be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Two of the most powerful chapters in the book deal with our identity as children of God and His desire for intimacy with us. He ends the book with a chapter on setting priorities which includes the statement "Becoming like Jesus demands serious commitment." If we desire spiritual maturity and are willing to abandon ourselves to the process, this book will be an effective guide to becoming more like Jesus.

The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith
Review by Joe Enneking, Adult Education Committee

Hannah Whitall Smith was a Quaker but also a rebel and a realist. She faced life as she found it, and she found it good. She took her Bible promises literally, tested them, and found them true as tested steel. She stepped out of conjecture into certainty, and the shadows disappeared. Here she reveals the secret – how to make unhappiness and uncertainty give way to serenity and confidence in every day of your life.

Dale Evans and Roy Rogers called it "one of the most inspiring and influential books we have ever read." It is a book that is often given as a gift to people who want to know more about the Christian life. It begins with a chapter explaining God's Side and Man's Side. It introduces Scripture as a guide for living a peaceful and happy life, and deals with many of the difficulties of leading a life pleasing to God including guidance, failures, temptations, and doubts.

While this book can be purchased, it is also available online in its entirety at http://www.ccel.org/s/smith_hw/secret/secret02.htm. The preface is a wonderful statement of the faith and character of its author.

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