Today’s Christian Young Men (I don’t consider myself too far removed) are fascinated with podcasts. We love sitting and listening to Matt Chandler or John Piper as the fruits of these men’s disciplines come alive. And all the awhile we are neglecting our own spiritual discipline.  The truth is, most of us don’t even know what it looks like to cultivate a godly disciplined life. This no longer has to be true.

Following the popular Disciplines of A Godly Man, Kent and Carey Hughes have teamed up to write Disciplines of A Godly Young Man. The book is written to young men around the ages of 13-18 and has provided them with a tool to cultivate spiritual discipline.

Discipline is a sweaty exercise. It comes from work, hard grueling and testing work. Paul says in 1 Timothy 4:7, “train yourself for godliness”. The Hughes start their book discussing the importance of discipline, a Holy Sweat. This introduction provides a great framework for the rest of the book. Many of us are talented in an area of life and thus have natural advantages. Because of this, we expect it to translate to our spiritual life as well. On this, Hughes writes, “None of us can claim a natural spiritual advantage. In reality, we are all equally disadvantaged. None of us naturally seeks after God”  (pg. 18). Thus, discipline in the Christian life is extremely important.

After the Introduction, the book is then broken up into five different areas of life. These consist of Relationships, Soul, Character, Ministry, and Grace. Under each of these headings consist further subheadings that dive deeper into the area of life. (for a full list of areas discussed, consult below)

The Hughes are clear and concise. The chapters are fast paced yet pack punch all the while remaining practical.  At the close of each chapter there is a “food for thought” and “an application/response” time. The Hughes aren’t concerned with just teaching  a theologically sound disciplined life. No, they want to see students living a theologically sound disciplined life. It is one thing to know what that life looks like and another thing to live that life. This perhaps was my greatest encouragement concerning the book.

Overall, I believe this book is extremely relevant to today’s young men. The Hughes are calling out young men and challenging them to become the man of discipline that God calls them to be. Young Men, be encouraged and challenged by this book.

My Rating 5/5 Stars

 Book Outline

1. Introduction – Discipline is Everything, Discipline for Godliness
2. Relationships – Purity, Friendship
3. Soul – Mind: Refusal, Mind: Filling, Devotion, Prayer
4. Character – Tongue, Work, Perseverance
5. Ministry – Church, Giving, Witness, Ministry
6. Discipline – Grace

I received this book free from Crossway Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

What started as a collection of well-made videos telling stories of transformation has now reached its way into book format as well. Written by Doug Bender and Dave Sterrett, I Am Second tells the stories of both famous and unfamiliar people. Inside the book you are introduced to twenty different people who have all met Jesus and put him first in their life (hence, the title I Am Second).

The stories in the book are raw and honest. The reader is taken into the darkest and deepest moments in the individuals’ lives. No matter how thick the darkness, light bursts through and captures the hearts of each individual in the book.

There are a couple of things about the book that I enjoyed.

1. First and foremost, there is a clear gospel message at the end of the book. I was thankful for this.
2. Stories of transformation encourage me. The Gospel is the power to life change. The Cross of Christ is eternally effective. This is beautiful. Thus, I love stories of people being transferred from the “kingdom of darkness” to the “kingdom of his beloved Son”.
3. I really enjoyed the brevity of each story. Bender and Sterrett did a good job of story-telling without lingering or being too short. The testimonies are fast paced and capture your attention.
4. I also enjoyed the QR codes at the end of each story. These codes are placed beside other people whose testimonies are similar. This allows the reader to scan the code and go to the website to watch that person’s testimony online. I thought this was an excellent feature to the book.

I do have some personal concerns with the book.

1. I was disappointed with the lack of calling sin sin in the book. This is not to diminish the dark and painful stuff that people went through. However, I think our culture struggles to call sin sin. This concerns me out of preference more so than error.
2. I am also a little concerned with Jesus is first, I Am Second, everything is perfect now presentation in most of the stories (some stories speak of continual struggles). Even though Jesus is first in these people’s lives, they are not perfect, not yet anyway. God, through the Holy Spirit is sanctifying them. He is making them more holy. However, they have not arrived. Putting Jesus first does not always mean having your best life now, at least not in the American sense. Putting Jesus first does however mean having your best life forever. I don’t believe Bender and Sterrett are attempting to communicate this. However, the omission of sanctification in many stories does weigh on me a bit.

Overall, I was encouraged by this book. I value the testimonies of brothers and sisters in Christ who are justified, being sanctified, and one day will be glorified. If you enjoy stories of transformation, you will enjoy this book.

My Rating 4/5 Stars

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

The Gospel Prayer

“In Christ, there is nothing I can do that would make You love me more, and nothing I have done that makes You love me less.”

“Your presence and approval are all I need for everlasting joy.”

“As You have been to me, so I will be to others.”

“As I pray, I’ll measure Your compassion by the cross and Your power by the resurrection.”

–JD Greear, Gospel (Pg. 118)

When I am asked about my favorite books I often mention Knowing God by J.I. Packer. I remember reading Packer’s book in college for the first time. I can remember truth after truth blowing my mind, leading me deeper into worship and truth. Today, I frequently revisit it. I have learned and continue to learn much from Packer.

This month, Christian Audio is giving away Packer’s Knowing God for free on their website.

I would certainly recommend picking up this book and spending time in it.

Go to Christian Audio’s website and download the book here.

At the beginning of each new year, I reflect back on my favorite books of the previous year. Sitting at the top of my list this year is Gospel Wakefulness by Jared C. Wilson (despite Wilson being a huge Patriot fan…haha).

Gospel Wakefulness is a gospel feast. In the foreword of the book, Ray Ortlund writes concerning Gospel Wakefulness, “It is the smelling salts of the gospel waved under our noses, startling us with realities in Christ more awakening in power than we have realized” (pg 9). This is a perfect description of the book.

We often wonder what makes our senses dull towards the Gospel. We fall into a spiritual laziness where we seem more asleep than awake. We run through systems and plans hoping to awaken to the realities of the Gospel. The truth is that it seems so far from us. Wilson writes to awaken us to the gospel.

On every page, Wilson is waving the gospel under our noses. With each pass, we are awakened to the deeps of the gospel. Let me be clear here. Wilson is not presenting an implied gospel with a set of rules to awaken us to the realities of Christ. After all, Wilson writes “An implied Gospel is a gospel FAIL.” (pg. 18). No, Wilson presents an explicit Gospel, page after page, which leaves us falling deeper in love Christ. This is what Gospel Wakefulness is. It is “treasuring Christ more greatly and savoring his power more sweetly” (pg 24). 

Wilson lays out the book in thirteen chapters including an introduction and conclusion. He begins the book with a helpful explanation of what exactly he means by the term Gospel Wakefulness. I appreciated this chapter because I didn’t have a clear understanding of the meaning going into the book. The remaining chapters of the book are written for us to behold Christ. It is the gospel that wakens us. Therefore, Wilson reminds us that it is only the gospel that can change us. He can’t change us, nor is he seeking to change us. However, he can teach us and present us with beautiful streams of gospel truth and that is exactly what he does.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. No other book (besides the Bible) this past year has shaped and ignited my passion and wonder for the Gospel. I do not say that lightly. One of the biggest encouragements from the book is seeing Wilson’s passion for the Gospel along with stories of people changed by the Gospel. It is hard to read this book without seeing that the Gospel really has captivated and consumed the life of Jared Wilson and others. The Gospel really does captivate us. It really is power and it really is beautiful! Gospel Wakefulness is a testament to that truth.

A Caution for the Reader

I do, however, have a caution concerning a portion of the book. As a reader, it could be easy to get the idea or left feeling that there are tiers of believers. What I mean is that believers who are not Gospel waken are second class Christians. However, I want to caution you because I believe that Wilson writes enough clarification in the book to dispel this idea. I also truly believe that this is not Wilson’s intention at all. He even writes “This is not to set up tiers of Christian sanctification, as if there is a first-class discipleship and a second-class, and so on. Every believer is united with Christ on the same foundation, with the full access and authority granted by being made joint heirs with Christ. And in the final day, no matter where we are in our Christian walks, we will all reach the same destination on the same basis” (pg. 31).

So really, I mention this to be fair to the book and to the reader of the book.

Overall, I highly recommend this book. I would encourage you to sit under Wilson’s passion and learn from a humble man who dwells in the Gospel. It will stir your affections and drive you to worship our King Jesus. I plan on reading it again in 2012.

My Rating 5/5 Stars

I received this book free from Crossway Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.