Reading: Exercise for the Mind

"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body"

Joseph Addison

For the last four months I have been working a job that has given me plenty of free time. God taught me through this job that I should learn to use the time I have to be as productive as possible so I began to use this time at my job in prayer and also in reading. As a result I have read seven books and started three more in the last four months. Most of these books have been instrumental in returning my focus to Him and building my faith in who I am in Christ.

Recently I have received a promotion that will cause me to not have quite as much time on my hands but I am thankful for what God has taught me through the books that I have read in the last four months and would like to share some of those books with you:

1) The Triumphant Church - Dr. Kenneth Hagin

This was actually a reread for me. I read this back when I was in high school but I felt I needed a reminder on the authority that I have in Christ. This is a great description of who the enemy is and how we, as the church, are triumphant with Christ. If you have felt beaten down by the enemy and need a reminder of the victory that you have in Christ then I strongly suggest this book. One post of mine that was inspired by this book was Knowing Your Enemy.

2) Bruchko - Bruce Olson

An amazing story of the missionary life that Bruce Olson has had with the Motilone Indians in South America. God sent him as a 19 year old to South America with no supports or contacts and directed him to completely revolutionize tribal missions all over the world. It is amazing to read the stories of how God worked through Bruce and through the Motilone, at times using gifts of the Spirit to help spread the Gospel when they didn't even know those before hand. I wrote about one quote from the book in my post I gave in to God.

3) How Faith Works - Dr. Fred Price

I'll admit, I had to push through a little bit to get into this one. In my opinion Dr. Price is a little overly repetitive and harps on issues that are not all that important at times. However if you do push through and read for the meat you will find a book that encourages you to walk in faith and realize that with God nothing is impossible! I also appreciate how Dr. Price addresses some practical issues with faith. For example, he has an entire chapter discussing the foolishness of believing for your healing when you are not taking care of your body.

4) The Purpose Driven Life - Rick Warren

I know, I'm several years late in reading this one. However if you have not read this book, or you read it back when it first came out and became the craze of the nation, then you need to read it. This is the best description of the purposes for which we are made that I have ever heard and Rick Warren doesn't pull any punches. If you would like a quick summary of the book in my own words you can read The Five Purposes of Life.

5) The Pursuit of God - AW Tozer

This is a short book but one of the best descriptions of how to seek after God I have ever read. AW Tozer describes the need for Christians who are truly hungry after the presence of God and then shows how to be that way. If you want your hunger for God to increase then I strongly suggest reading this book. If you have a kindle app then you can own it for free through their classics library.

6) John G. Lake: His life, his sermons, his boldness of faith - Compiled by Copeland Ministries

I am not even halfway through this one and it has already changed my entire view of the Christian life. John G. Lake had an astounding revelation of the fact that God Himself lives in us as believers and this revelation caused him to walk in mighty, miraculous power. If you want to be encouraged and strengthened in faith in order to see miracles worked through your life then read this book.

7) The Normal Christian Life - Watchman Nee

This is another one that I have only begun so far but I can already tell that it is a good one. So far Watchman Nee has described in great detail what the blood and the cross means to our everyday life and to our sinful nature. He brings the revelation that our sinful nature already died on the cross with Jesus and that we already have new life through his resurrection. There is no work that we have to do in order to crucify our own flesh because our flesh was already crucified with Christ. We just need to receive the revelation that it was already done.