Bring the Books
"Bring...the books, especially the parchments." 2 Timothy 4:13 (NIV)
My young moms' weekly Bible study is coming to the end of our ten week study of 2 Timothy, a book that I often fondly refer to as "Paul's Last Lecture." 2 Timothy is the most personal of the 13 New Testament letters written by the Apostle Paul. Imprisoned and facing a certain martyr's death, Paul writes an urgent letter to Timothy, his beloved son in the faith, and asks him to come quickly and bring Paul's cloak and books. At the end of his life and ministry, Paul is lonely, cold, and bored. I'm not surprised that he asked for Timothy's companionship. Nor am I surprised that he wanted his cloak to keep him warm. But I am surprised- and encouraged- that the great Apostle Paul still had a passion for reading and learning even as he faced death.
We just returned from five wonderful days at the beach and I took Paul's advice and brought the books! Here are some of the latest nonfiction books on my nightstand:
Suffering is Never for Nothing, Elisabeth Elliot (a never before published new release by Elisabeth Elliot, one of my favorite authors)
Favorite quotes from this read: "Why doesn't God do something about suffering? He has, He did, He is, and He will." and "Suffering is having what you don't want or wanting what you don't have."
Why I Love the Apostle Paul: 30 Reasons, John Piper
"Besides Jesus, no one has kept me from despair, or taken me deeper into the mysteries of the gospel, than the Apostle Paul."
"Canceled sins must be killed, not coddled."
The Kingdom of God and the Glory of the Cross, Patrick Schreiner
"What is the kingdom of God? The kingdom is the King's power over the King's people in the King's place." and "The Bible is most fundamentally a narrative, and the kingdom of God is the thematic framework for that narrative."
The Story of Reality, How the World Began, How it ends, and everything important that happens in between, Gregory Koukl
"Christianity is a picture of reality. It is an account or a description or a depiction of the way things actually are...Christianity is a worldview. Every worldview has four elements. They help us understand how the parts of a person's worldview story fit together. These four parts are called creation, fall, redemption and restoration."
In All Things, Melissa Kruger ( a nine week devotional Bible study on Philippians and unshakeable joy)
"The book of Philippians is an invitation to joy, written by an imprisoned apostle Paul to believers in the early church. His refrain throughout the letter was "Rejoice!" His joy was unshakeable. His peace was secure. His hope was abounding."
5 Things to pray for your kids, prayers that change the next generation, Melissa Kruger
My favorite part of this book was actually the foreword written by the Kruger's teenage daughter Emma. She writes, "My mom once said that learning to pray was like learning another language. If you grew up with parents who prayed regularly in the home, it would feel natural- like a native language you'd spoken since birth. But if you waited, it became harder to learn. It wasn't that you couldn't learn to pray, but it might take more time for it to feel natural. That's why I'm so grateful to have grown up with prayerful parents. From a young age I was taught what prayer was and how to do it....I realize what an impact my parents praying for me and with me have had."
I enjoyed and can recommend each book as a wise investment of your time. Read wisely and read widely! Paul was right when he wrote, "Bring the books!"