Marc Drake, Sr. Pastor, First Baptist Church of Sun Lakes
Summer is a great time to relax and feed your soul with a good book. But what kind of summer reader are you? Since there are different reading styles, I recently took a little vacation reading test out of curiosity. The results said that I am a 1,000-words-per-minute reader (which I doubt) and that, whether on vacation or not, I consume books at lightning speed (doubt that, too). Of course, the validity of this test might be a little questionable since it misspelled the word “lightning”!
But reading is a love of mine and there are several books I have been making my way through this summer. Consider the following five facts I came across about the importance of reading: 1) reading can make you a better conversationalist; 2) neighbors will never complain that your book is too loud; 3) knowledge by osmosis has not yet been perfected. You’d better read; 4) books have stopped bullets – reading might save your life; and 5) dinosaurs didn’t read. Look what happened to them.
It would be hard to dispute any of those facts! Yes, it is important to read. But it’s also important to read material that shapes your thinking in a positive and biblical way and provides practical guidance for the living of life. What have I been reading this summer? Things Not Seen by John Bloom, Loving Jesus More by Phil Ryken (President of Wheaton College), and a biography of Winston Churchill, entitled God and Churchill by his great grandson, Jonathan Sandys.
I’ve also been reading Think It Not Strange (Navigating Trials in the New America) by John Piper and David Mathis. This book is very timely in light of changes and developments in our nation – a nation not as hospitable to our faith and convictions as it was a few decades ago. As panic is obviously not the answer, how do we live and function in this new America? This insightful little book helps prepare Christians for the days ahead.