Reading List! (September 30, 2014)

Finished this month:

The Path of Loneliness by Elisabeth Elliot

I would put this in the top 10 books that have most influenced my life. While I just read it now for the first time, there are several quotes in it than alone have greatly impacted my life over the years! Loneliness is something everyone at some point experiences, some to a much greater degree than others. This has indeed been an area of suffering for me and the Lord greatly used this to remind me of His greatness and love and encourage me to trust Him. This is a gem of a book!

“If with courage and joy we pour ourselves out for Him and for others for His sake, it is not possible to lose, in any final sense, anything worth keeping. We will lose ourselves and our selfishness. We will gain everything worth having.” (p. 123-124)

Some other notable quotes from this book:

“Our hearts are lonely till they rest in Him who made us for Himself.” (p. 90)

“God may have to hurt us, but He will never harm us. His object is wholeness.” (p. 62)

“God never denies our heart’s desire except to give us something better.” (p. 32)

“God has promised to supply our needs. What we don’t have now we don’t need now.” (p. 128)

Perhaps some future day Lord,

Thy strong hand will lead me to a place where I must stand

Utterly alone.

Alone, O gracious Love

But for Thee;

I shall be satisfied if I can see – Jesus only.

I do not know Thy plans for years to come

My spirit finds its perfect home sufficiency.

Lord, all my desire is before Thee now

Lead on, no matter where, no matter what – I trust in Thee.

(p. 39)

Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges

My family and I read this together on our road trip to Ohio this month. It’s my second time through this one and it’s excellent! I really like Jerry Bridges, I like his writing style and his humility is evident. It is really convicting though! There is so much in our lives that we overlook or think isn’t a big deal – but sin is sin and it all matters to God. We need the Gospel and we need to grow and change, continually putting off the deeds of the flesh and putting on true righteousness and holiness.

“…it is easy for us to feel good about ourselves and to assume that God feels that way also. We fail to reckon with the reality of sin still dwelling within us.” (p. 24)

“…as God is holy, all holy, only holy, altogether holy, and always holy, so sin is sinful, all sinful, only sinful, altogether sinful, and always sinful.” (p. 29)

Currently Reading:

I’m still working on Spurgeon on Prayer and Spiritual Warfare by C.H. Spurgeon – I’m halfway and the goal is to finish this big book this next month! I’m also reading What Is A Healthy Church Member? by Thabiti Anyabwile.