Before we get started, I have to confess something: I am a complete nerd. I love to learn, study, and read. This surprises most people because of my athletic background. Usually, the terms nerd and athlete are not synonymous, but I love that I’m different and think it’s a unique combination that God continues to use for His glory.
Now that we’ve addressed my nerdiness, I am almost entirely too excited to share my top four books with you. With that being said, know that I could break down my list of favorite reads into categories and subcategories and give you an extensive synopsis of them all…but I’ll refrain for your sake. I chose each of these four books because of their scriptural foundation, bringing a new perspective to God’s Word that strengthened my relationship with Christ. (I’ll also throw in a few extra reads as we go along!)
We all seek fulfillment and joy but many of us seek them in the wrong ways. In Sandcastle Kings, Wilkerson points to Jesus as the only One who can satisfy our ultimate desires. My favorite part about this book is that he draws on four stories in the book of Luke to drive home his point that our deepest longings will never be met in the places we so often look—ourselves, other people, material things, and religion—and can only be fulfilled in Jesus and Him alone.
We have all felt rejected, alone, forgotten, and less than. In Uninvited, TerKeurst shares how the enemy uses these deeply human emotions to draw us away from God and His truth about us. She focuses on believing the solid truth of scripture instead of the unstable feelings we tend to lean on in the midst of pain and rejection. Ultimately, this book points back to the fact that we are all handpicked by God and shows a better way to work through the heartache we all experience in this life.
Mark Batterson is one of my favorite authors. He always brings hope and wonder into my heart and mind as I read his books. In fact, God used his book In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day to captivate my heart and encourage me to chase after an opportunity to move to another country and do ministry after college. (If you haven’t read In a Pit, I highly recommend it!)
Similarly, God used The Grave Robber to increase my faith and belief in Jesus’ ability to do the impossible. Batterson focuses on seven miracles of Jesus found in the book of John. He gives fresh perspective to miraculous signs that many of us may have grown numb to if we have heard them over and over growing up. He reminds and encourages us that Jesus wants to do miraculous things in our lives today as we learn to trust Him and see the miracles He blesses us with day in and day out.
I love this book because it is not a self-help book but a book firmly stating the truth that we cannot experience true change apart from Christ. Instead of focusing on the outside issues we want to improve in ourselves and our relationships, Chandler and Snetzer focus on the fact “that the heart of all our problems is truly the problem of our hearts” and how God alone can change our hearts and restore what has been lost. The best part about this book is that it is gospel-focused and brings insight into how the gospel is something we need in our lives daily, not just at our original point of conversion.
Bonus: Chandler also wrote a book (with Jared Wilson) entitled The Explicit Gospel that does a tremendous job of explaining how and why the gospel must be the center of all we do. I highly recommend it as well!
“An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” Proverbs 18:15
I hope that you will consider reading these books, and I pray that each of them will allow you to acquire more love and knowledge of Jesus and His plans for you!
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