3 Books Every Christian Should Read

First of all, let’s make sure the obvious is indeed obvious to everyone: The Bible remains THE Book of utmost importance to every individual, but especially to Christians. It goes without saying that we need God’s Word in our daily lives in the same way we need food and water. No other book is essential to life, and no other book can take its place. Having said that, some authors have been blessed with the gift of teaching and exhorting fellow believers through the written word. By their lives and their testimonies, they help us to better understand the truth of God’s Word, and draw us into a deeper relationship with Him. A well-written Christian book always leads us directly to God and His Word and His truth. My requirements when selecting these recommendations for you were that each book remain true to Scripture in philosophy and theology, in addition to being well-written and easy to read. Beyond all that, it had to be used of God in my own life as a catalyst for change; in other words, life-changing. These are the books God has used most profoundly in my life to teach me more about Him, His ways, and His word:

1. Grace for the Good Girl

The Christian life is really a journey of grace: it begins with grace, it is driven and led by grace, it is followed and surrounded by grace, and it is ultimately finished and fulfilled by grace. If each of us breathed in and breathed out the grace of God each day, all day, what a different place this world would be! I didn’t really contemplate the role of grace in my Christian walk (sad, I know!) until I read this book. God used the truth in this book to make me aware of His grace already at work in me, and to show me how much deeper in His grace He wanted me to go. Eyes opened, blinders dropped! It was a huge turning point for me on my journey of grace, and I’m so thankful I read Grace for the Good Girl (which, incidentally, is written by fellow blogger Emily Freeman). If you, like me, were raised in a good Christian family with devoted Christian parents, and you know everything that you are SUPPOSED to be, but you feel like you never quite measure up (or, let’s be honest, you just feel like a complete and total failure) to those expectations… you need to read this book. It is a must.

2. With Christ in the School of Prayer

This is by far the most informative and practical book I have read about the discipline of prayer. A classic from the early 1900′s, the format of With Christ in the School of Prayer by Andrew Murray appeals to my teacher heart with its clear outline and systematic approach. In it, Murray walks us through all of Christ’s teaching on the topic of prayer, meditating and expounding on each verse individually until a full and complete picture of the true prayer life emerges. He closes each chapter with a sample prayer, illustrating the teaching contained in that chapter.

Although it was written more than a hundred years ago, the language flows smoothly, and its very readable for today’s audience. Truly a timeless classic every Christian should read!

3. Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God

For this third and final recommendation, I was almost forced to flip a coin! In truth, the books I vacillated between were really two sides of a coin: one discussed the difficulties and merits of a sacrificial life devoted to Christ, and the other portrayed the life of a person who chose that path of sacrificial living. In the end, I went with the latter, because even though I read it probably 20 years ago, it made such an impression on me that I still recall the lessons I learned when reading it. (For the curious among you, the other book I debated selecting was Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman.)

Oswald Chambers:Abandoned to God was one of my few high school reading assignments that I actually enjoyed (which is not to say that my reading assignments were that bad… only that my rebellious heart automatically resented reading anything I was forced to!). “Enjoyed” is really the wrong term - I was quite enthralled by this book and it impacted me for life. Oswald Chambers is, of course, the author of the famous devotional book, “My Utmost for His Highest“, as well as several other lesser-known devotionals. He lived out the principles that he laid out in his famous devotional, which was actually taken from his sermons as a YMCA chaplain in Egypt during WWI. Chambers’ devotion to His Lord inspired me as a teenager to live my own life accordingly: even if you’re not a big fan of biographies (I’m not to be honest), I highly recommend this one!

And other suggested reading…

It occurred to me as I wrote this post that it was difficult for me to narrow my choices down to 3 specific books mostly because I have quite a few favorite Christian authors who all have multiple books I can recommend. I’ve been challenged and inspired by every book I’ve read from these authors:

• Liz Curtis Higgs
• Nancy Leigh DeMoss
• Lysa TerKeurst
• Kay Arthur

Additionally, I highly recommend the following authors for theologically sound and well-written books on Christian subjects:

• Warren Wiersbe
• E.M. Bounds
• Elisabeth Elliot
• Paul David Tripp

There are a lot more worthy authors, to be sure, but those are my personal recommendations.

Want to see what I’m reading? I’d love to see what YOU’RE reading! Join me at Goodreads, where I keep track of books I enjoy (and even books I don’t)! I’d love a sneak peek onto your bookshelf, too.

Join Our Summer Book Club!

Some blogging friends and I are going to spend the next six weeks talking all about reading… and sharing our favorite books with you! Follow our blogs to join in the discussion and find some new favorite books to love. We’ll also be chatting about our blog posts - and the books we love - in our Facebook community for women, Christian Homemaking Community.