Books to Recommend

Someone asked me Sunday if I had any good books to recommend.  As a matter of fact, I have read three books recently that made a significant impact on me:

Who is This Man, by John Ortberg is excellent.  It was a tough one to put down.  Ortberg looks at the remarkable impact that Jesus made on our world.  Reading this book, I was struck by how, even if I didn't believe Jesus was the Son of God, I would not be able to deny the fact that He is the single most influential person in human history; pretty amazing for a homeless Jewish teacher from 2000 years ago.  This is the best book on Jesus I've read since The Jesus I Never Knew, by Philip Yancey (more on him below).

The Searchers, by Joseph Loconte.  No, this isn't the John Wayne movie, although that's one of my personal favorites.  It's the story of the two men who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus.  Loconte takes that story of two men searching for spiritual truth and brings it into the present day.  This is a very well-written book that is a pleasure to read.   It's also a great book to give to a non-Christian who is asking spiritual questions.

Every Good Endeavor, by Tim Keller.  Keller's book is written for non-ministers who wonder how to do their job in a way that is honoring to God.  As always, Keller makes some great, thought-provoking points. 

One more that I HAVEN'T read:

The Question That Never Goes Away, by Philip Yancey. This book was written after the Newtown shootings and the Boston Marathon bombing, and explores the old question of why God allows such things to happen.  I haven't read the book yet but I list it here for three reasons: 1) Yancey is my favorite author, and all of his books are worth your time.  2) This is the question that he has explored time and again in his writing.  He never fails to shed life on this difficult topic.  3) For a limited time, you can get the book (which hasn't even been released by the publisher yet) for $7.99 on electronic devices only.