Every month we show what is on our reading table.

Comments on current reads, text in green is books already completed:

1. “In A Pit, With A Lion, On A Snowy Day” by Mark Batterson. This book was recommended by my daughter Katie. I have finished reading the book and it is outstanding. He makes one or two key points about thinking big in prayer. The title “In A Pit, With A Lion, On A Snowy Day” is from one sentence in the Old Testament, specifically 2 Samuel 23-20 “Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, performed great exploits. He struck down Moab’s two mightiest warriors. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion.”. Benaiah goes on to become King David’s bodyguard, the commander of the King’s armies and to avenge (kill) David’s enemies acting on King Solomon’s orders. The book is about taking on the biggest risks (challenges) in the service of God. Pastor Mark Batterson uses examples from his life and scripture to demonstrate his thesis. Note that this could also be read a business book. As a humorous aside, Pastor Batterson is listed as number 8 in this list of ‘false teachers’. Apparently this is based on his follow-up, bestselling book from 2016, “The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears”. They claim, “Based on an old Jewish Legend from the Talmud, Batterson teaches his readers to draw a circle on the ground, step inside the circle, and pray, and that by doing so, you will be able to access untold blessings from God. In his book, he also twists the Scriptures to teach a form of the prosperity gospel, he writes,” They might be accusing him of believing in sea bears:

You can see Mark talking about “circle” here:

More in our book review next week.

2. Last month we had “The Patriot’s Fate” by Alaric Bond on the table. We read that, loved it, review to follow. Now we are reading the next episode, “The Torrid Zone”. I read and reviewed the first five books in this British Naval Fiction, “His Majesty’s Ship”, “The Jackass Frigate” True Colors”, “Cut and Run” and “The Patriot’s Fate”. I give them high marks. Now that I read the first five episodes in the series, I like it even more. I’m trying to ration myself to one per month.

3. “Fourfold Kingdom of God” by Gerald Paul Kooye: I bought this book after reading “The Holy Longing” based on a recommendation from the Stanford Magazine:

The book looks at God’s kingdom from a mathematical (hence fourfold) and physics perspective. I include it because Pastor Mark Batterson in his book above includes some interesting comments about physics.

4. “Drunk” by Edward Slingerland. Subtitled “How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization”. Slingerland hypothesizes why ‘intoxication’ has continued in human societies even though the obvious negative effects of drugs and especially alcohol are well known. I have finished the book and it is informative and entertaining. Being an academic, he backs up his claims with lot of studies.

5. “Dominus” by Steven Saylor: I found this book on a research about the rise of Christianity during my review of Pastor Jeff’s recommendation, “The Rise of Christianity”. Saylor writes historical fiction. I have read and greatly enjoyed his “Sub Rosa” series of books about a ‘detective’ in Ancient Rome during the transition from Republic to Empire. Again, here he fictionalizes history while remaining true to the known, historical sources. He recounts the history of Rome (mostly the emperors) from Marcus Aurelius in about 160 AD culminating the about 300 AD with Constantine and his “making” Christianity the state religion. I have completed the book and will do a video review shortly.

6. “The Power and the Glory” by Graham Greene: I am a big Graham Greene fan and am re-reading this book because it came up in a conversation about charging late fees at our medical practice, Ahwatukee Health and Recovery. We just started charging late fees and no-show fees since everyone was taking advantage of our mercy. In the book, the ‘whisky’ priest is advised that he should always charge for giving Mass and baptisms or the peasants will not appreciate the sacraments. Here (Part 3, Chapter 1, p169) he is bargaining on the price of baptisms:

7. “The Patriot’s Fate” by Alaric Bond. I read and reviewed the first four books in this British Naval Fiction, “His Majesty’s Ship”, “The Jackass Frigate”, “True Colors”, and “Cut and Run”. I give them high marks. Now that I read the first four installment in the series, I like it even more. I learned that the author does not center the series and each book around the captain. All the other series are about the captain rising from humble or noble beginnings to the end of an illustrious career. In Bond’s world, he follows a cross section of the crew, from the lowest to the captain. You are never sure who will survive and who won’t. In the first book, the captain, who I liked, died at the very beginning of the climactic battle. In this second, the captain, again who I like as a character, he survives. I hope to see him again. I’m trying to ration myself to one per month. Since I have already finished the book, here is a spoiler: the cover art depicts the shocking climax in which Lt King unknowingly kills his best friend.

8. “The Encyclopedia of Commercial Real Estate Advice” by Terry Painter: Still in work. The few times I dipped into it; I was impressed. This is dragging on and it shouldn’t be. The content is interesting. We just closed one commercial loan refinance ($750K) and are working on another ($6M) so I should have some motivation.
Not pictured:

9. “Intercessory Prayer” by Dutch Sheets: I just started reading this. I have read the first two chapters. If the rest is as good, and as documented, this is an OUTSTANDING book on what is intercessory prayer and how to do it. I like his explanation of theology and how he backs each claim with scripture.

10. “The Drama of Scripture” by Craig G. Bartholomew and Michael W. Goheen: Recommended by Pastor Jeff. I skimmed the first two chapters and really like this approach. Let’s see how it ends.

11. “The One Year Bible” with help from the “Lutheran Study Bible“.