Wise Guys

As you might imagine, I read a lot of books for Mid-Morning. Most weeks, at least two, sometimes more. I'd attempt to figure out how many I've blown through in 2014, but I don't do math. Or, I should say, I don't do math well. And I'm okay with that.

The two books featured on this week's shows are among the best I've read this year: Yawning at Tigers by Drew Dyck and The Gospel of Yes by Mike Glenn.

So much soul food! Spiritually hearty, richly nourishing soul food.

These aren't books to check out from the library. Or purchase as a download on your Nook or Kindle. These are books to include in your book family because you'll revisit them. You'll interact with them as you read, highlighting and scribbling responses to their Spirit-breathed insights. The library has a zero-tolerance policy for this kind of behavior. Enough said.

Here's a sampling, beginning with Yawning at Tigers:

"People are starving for the awe of God. Most don't know it, of course They think they're starving for success or money or excitement or acceptance--you name it. But here's the problem. Even those fortunate enough to satisfy these cravings find they are still hungry. Hungrier, even. Why? Because they've left untouched the most ancient and aching need, the one stitched into the fabric of their souls: to know and love a transcendent God." (This is the driving theme of the book.)

"Just when God's holiness seems overwhelming, when the gulf between us seems hopelessly wide, that's where the gospel comes in. The good news is that this dangerous God turns out be to be a lover. And He's not content to love us from a distance."

"If we ever hope to trade the shallows for the deep, we must rediscover the holiness of God."

"We lack a practice of personal holiness because we've lost a theology of divine holiness."

"We're trying to live holy lives because we know should, but it's burdensome, joyless. What can change this? Seeing God."

"The One Who knows us best loves us most."

From The Gospel of Yes:

"The Good News could rightly be called "The Gospel of Yes."

"The biblical directive for all Christians is to follow Christ, not just oppose the world. You can't live a life of substance by living against."

"When you accept the "yes" of Christ's redemptive grace and respond with the "yes" of faith, everything finds its rightful place. Finally you can relax in who God created you to be."

"If you live for the "yes" of Christ, the "no" of sin will gradually cease to be a major issue."

"Because we don't know the stories of God, we don't know God, which leads to our  misunderstanding His intentions. Because we don't know the heart of God, we lack the context to understand His words to us."

"God said "no" to sin because it violates His holiness, but wanting us not to break His laws is not His number-one reason for opposing sin. He hates sin because it destroys the people He loves."

"As the Living Christ infuses every crevice and hidden place of believers' lives with His life, everything dark and broken is pushed out"

We need each other in a myriad of ways, especially sharing what God has poured into us with our sacred siblings. Thank you, Drew and Mike, for being so generous with us!