Altar Call – Opelika-Auburn News

Walter Albritton

May 21, 2017

Read any good books lately?

Reading books has been a lifelong habit. In recent years I bought a Kindle on which I have read several dozen novels and other books that hopefully have abetted my preaching.  

I read recently that many Kindle readers are turning back to printed books rather than the electronic versions. That’s my crowd. I remain addicted to buying books I can write notes in and store on my bookshelves.

Here are a few of the books I have been reading lately along with a quote that may arouse your appetite for the book:

The Red Sea Rules by Robert J. Morgan. “Whenever we choose character over convenience, faithfulness over ease, or honesty over deceit, we bring honor to the Lord Himself. When we serve Him with watertight obedience even in small things, God is glorified just as at the Red Sea.” A small book filled with big ideas.

Survival Lessons by Alice Hoffman. The author says she wrote this book to remind herself of the beauty of life that is easy to overlook during the crisis of illness or loss. Writing about how close friends may disappear during our most difficult times, she says, “I still mourn the loss of certain people friends who didn’t call after my diagnosis, who were too afraid to come to the hospital or visit me on my worst days. I was hurt. I was abandoned. Looking back on it, I wish I had let them go more easily. If people aren’t there for you now, when you really need them, they never will be, and it’s time to move on.”

God is with you every day by Max Lucado. What a way with words Max has! His way of saying “God loves you” – “God has a photo of you on his refrigerator”! Writing about how children love a swing, Max asks how Jesus could sleep during a storm. His answer: “He knew who was pushing the swing.”

Reliable Truth by Richard E. Simmons III. A good book for anyone who wonders if the Bible is a reliable source of truth. Commenting about the idea that agnostics and atheists are guilty of “irresponsible disbelief,” Simmons invites his readers to follow the dictum of Socrates: “Follow the truth wherever it leads.” The author writes: “So often, human beings let their preconceived theories and beliefs shape the way they see evidence. However, if we are people with intellectual integrity, we must allow the evidence to shape our theories and beliefs.”

Is This the End? by David Jeremiah. Lamenting the radical decline of morality in America, Jeremiah invites us to find hope in God despite the fact that marriage is now obsolete, morality has hit bottom, and the church is no longer relevant to society. Raising the question, “Is there hope for America?”, Jeremiah invites us to look beyond the gathering storm to the “one solid and certain source of hope” – God Himself. “Enough Christians exhibiting faith in God just might be the salt that saves America.”

The next time you wear your finger out clicking your television remote trying to find something worth watching, you might just turn it off and read a good book. + + +