Generous Justice

Timothy Keller

Dutton Adult (Penguin Group USA)

hardcover, 172 pages, $19.95

978-0-525-95190-2

How does the gospel affect our attitude toward the poor? In an intensely biblical, immensely practical eight chapters, pastor and best-selling author Keller provides the what, why and how of living justly in response to God’s grace. Generous Justice: How God’s Grace Makes Us Just argues that “our heart attitude toward the poor reveals our heart attitude toward Christ.”

And yet, Keller’s book is not a guilt-laden, moralistic journey through the Bible. On the contrary, he points out that guilt is not adequate motivation for doing justice—it may goad us into volunteering occasionally, but it will not lead us to “ponder long and hard about how to improve [the] entire situation” of the powerless.

Only the One who considered humanity’s miserable situation, entered it and sacrificed everything to free us from it can lead us into such a rigorous approach to justice. This is why Keller repeatedly draws his readers to consider the cross.

Readers will be strengthened in joy and inspired to seek genuine justice in practical ways, and their walk with the Lord will be renewed by Keller’s intimacy with the gospel.

Adventures in Daily Prayer

Bert Ghezzi

Brazos Press (Baker Publishing Group)

hardcover, 160 pages, $17.99

978-1-587-43267-5

In the well-named Adventures in Daily Prayer: Experiencing the Power of God’s Love, Ghezzi shares his experience in daily communication with God and encourages the reader to begin his or her own adventure of meaningful prayer.

Along with relating his personal experience, Ghezzi, a Catholic charismatic Christian, also offers the testimonies of Catholic saints and evangelical Christians as they developed their prayer life. At the end of each chapter, he encourages readers to think, pray and act, as they practice a more disciplined prayer time.

Adventures in Daily Prayer is a book to be experienced, not simply read. With topics such as praying in the Spirit and relying on God, it has the potential to lead to a richer, more rewarding prayer time for anyone seeking to draw near to God. It could also serve well as a study guide for prayer groups.

Between a Rock and a Grace Place

Carol Kent

Zondervan

hardcover, 224 pages, $22.99

978-0-310-33098-1

Best-selling author and speaker Kent continues the story of her son Jason’s life imprisonment and the emotional consequences to his family, in Between a Rock and a Grace Place: Divine Surprises in the Tight Spots of Life.

Kent reveals the hard truths she had to re-learn more than 10 years after Jason murdered his stepchildren’s father in order to protect the children after all other avenues seemed lost. She introduces people she has met along life’s road—from one woman who suffered with postpartum depression to another whose choir-director husband was arrested for homosexual activity. Kent reminds the reader that the cross is for everyone and that no matter how devastating their experience, the grace, mercy and love of God is always greater.

Mixing her heartbreaking tale with the redemptive qualities of the cross, Between a Rock and a Grace Place is for people in any stage of the grief process and for those who support them. 

The Next Christians

Gabe Lyons

Doubleday Religion

hardcover, 240 pages, $19.99

978-0-385-52984-6

In 2007’s UnChristian, Lyons and David Kinnaman shared research indicating what Christians had long been uneasily surmising: that younger generations were disenchanted with “church as usual.” In The Next Christians: The Good News About the End of Christian America, he builds on this work by describing the type of Christian practice that is drawing in new generations.

This is not a book of “relevant” techniques or successful programs. Rather, the Christianity that Lyons describes is rooted in historical orthodoxy and centered in a full-fleshed gospel. He portrays Christians who are viewing the world not as it is, but as it ought to be, and who fight for these “oughts.” The bulk of the book describes “restorers” who are creators of culture (rather than critics), who are living in community (rather than in isolation) and who are called (rather than merely employed).

With Lyons’ gift for observation, The Next Christians offers a glimpse at the Holy Spirit’s overall work in America today.

The God Hater

Bill Myers

Howard Books

softcover, 320 pages, $14.99

978-1-439-15326-0

Myers blends philosophy, science fiction and modern-day action in The God Hater, a tale that keeps the reader thinking while flipping pages.

Professor Nicholas Mackenzie loves to flay Christians with his razor-sharp thinking and atheistic philosophy, yet he’s loveless and friendless except for Annie Brooks, a molecular biologist who is also a Christian. Enter Travis Mackenzie, Nicholas’ errant brother who kidnaps him and starts him on a journey of self-discovery, thanks to Travis’ highly advanced cyberworld.

Nicholas tests all his pet philosophies—Darwinism, existentialism, relativism, Buddhism—yet none can save the cyberworld. He’s left with only one option—offering his cyber self as a sacrifice to save the people there. As Nicholas becomes enmeshed in the cyberworld, Annie and Travis must contend with enemies from all sides eager to steal or destroy the technology Travis created.

In The God Hater, Myers offers a well-thought novel that challenges ancient and modern philosophy, while offering a logical metaphor for creationism.

The Twelfth Imam

Joel C. Rosenberg

Tyndale House Publishers

hardcover, 384 pages, $26.99

978-1-414-31163-0

Author Rosenberg combines fears of a nuclear-armed Iran with speculation, in the espionage thriller The Twelfth Imam,the first of a new series. The title alludes to an event in Muslim eschatology tantamount to Christ’s Second Coming.

Iranian by blood, but born American after his parents fled Khomeni’s 1979 revolution, David Shirazi excels as an undercover CIA operative in the Middle East hoping to gain intelligence on Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

While Israel prepares for a pre-emptive strike on Iran, a miraculous healer reveals himself to Iran’s leadership as the long-awaited Twelfth Imam, calling for an apocalyptic attack on Israel and America to usher in the end of the age. Shirazi’s best hope for averting the crisis may be a high-ranking Iranian nuclear scientist who has begun to question the Muslim faith and converts after an encounter with Jesus.

Rosenberg’s narrative is fast-moving and engaging, despite a shifting point of view. Some readers may find the resolution overly dependent on the supernatural, but others will appreciate the reference to visions that many believe still lead Muslims to Christ today.

The Coming Economic Armageddon

David Jeremiah

FaithWords

hardcover, 272 pages, $23.99

978-0-446-56594-3

A pastor and author whose recent works have centered on the End Times, such as the New York Times best-seller What On Earth Is Going On? (Thomas Nelson), Jeremiah continues that trend with his debut FaithWords title, The Coming Economic Armageddon: What Bible Prophecy Warns About the New Global Economy.

Looking through the lens of biblical prophecy, Jeremiah presents the signs leading to a new global economy under the control of the Antichrist, including the recent economic recession, American debt and unemployment figures. He compares current news with historical milestones that brought the world to this point. At the same time, the book includes personal warnings to readers, such as resisting materialism and debt.

The Coming Economic Armageddon is sobering for casual readers, although the author still delivers encouragement for Christians in the Last Days.

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