Karl's Reading List

Published by Tyndall Momentum/Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.: Carol Stream, Illinois, 2017. Devotionals, to paraphrase Forrest Gump, are like a box of chocolates. Sometimes you get one that is super sweet and a bit sickly. Sometimes you get one that takes a bit of chewing to get through. And depending on your taste, you can sometimes find one that ticks all the right boxes , really satisfying your palate. Often, a single devotional will have days in it that get the flavour combination better than others, days that really speak to your soul (as only the best chocolate can), while others ever-so-slightly miss the mark.  Yet, a good quality box of chocolates will still be strong even when you find those slightly 'lesser' flavours. You can still appreciate the quality, flavour and craftsmanship that went into that coconut rough, and you eat it happily, knowing that tomorrow you'll get that salted caramel you were secretly hoping for. On the other hand, sometimes you get an expe...

Published by Hodder & Stoughton Ltd.: London, 1956 (1947). Some books are quick reads. Some are not. Some only take me a day or two. Some take a lot longer... I can estimate almost to the day how long this book took me to read, because I started it a day or two after I put up my post about finishing my previous 'devotional' book, The One Year Worship the King Devotional , posting on September 25th last year. So, about 214 days (including February 29th). This might imply that I didn't enjoy The Way, but that is definitely not the case. E Stanley Jones is a very interesting writer, but is just not a quick read. He was widely travelled, and spent a large amount of time in India, where he set up Christian 'ashrams.' This is important to note, because at times Jones sees things in a very non-Western way, pulling out gems of truth from scripture I had never considered before, or life-lessons that are very a pplicable while being quite 'foreign.' Two examples f...

Published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.: Carol Stream, Illinois, 2008. For my birthday last year I was given this devotional, by an author I had never heard of, and started reading it sometime later in September. I have quite a hit-and-miss record with devotionals; they are often a bit glib or cliche for me and I struggle to stick with them. This devotional, however, quickly appealed to me and although I'm not sure exactly what day I started reading it last year, I know I have now read every entry in it. What I like about this devotional is that it is quite ready to dig into deeper theology, occasionally even into commentary! An example of a good challenge (from only the second day of the year!): "Many believers get caught up in getting the most out of their salvation. Few move on to giving the most out of their salvation. But those who do will realize one of the many paradoxes of the Kingdom: Giving it all results in getting it all. A heart poured out in praise results in...