2020 came with a lot of hardships, but it was an incredible year reading-wise. I read 77 books and doubled the number of books I read last year. Identifying my ten favorites books was a daunting task because I read many excellent books (see the full list here). But I managed to narrow it down, and here are my all-star-five-star-will-read-again books of 2020. I listed them in the order that I read them with links to my review if available.
1. Knowing God – J. I. Packer
Knowing God is about the nature and wonders of the living God. The book beautifully explores the character of God and His attributes, as revealed in the Bible. Packer originally wrote this book as a series of articles on God for the evangelical Magazine for “honest, no-nonsense readers who were fed up with facile Christian verbiage.” The pieces somehow developed into a book. And with it, Packer hoped to solve a common problem in the church: ignorance of who God is. He said in the preface, “the conviction behind the book is that ignorance of God -ignorance both of his ways and of the practice of communion with Him- lies at the root of much of the church’s weakness today.” Reading this book made me realize the importance of knowing God and motivated me to increase my experiential knowledge of Him—Not just my intellectual understanding.
2. The Holiness of God – R.C Sproul
Many people like to think of God’s love and esteem it above His other attributes. But love isn’t all God is; it isn’t even the attribute the Bible mentions the most. That would be His holiness, the only attribute mentioned three times in a row. So in this classic, R. C. Sproul explains what the holiness of God is, why it is fascinating yet terrifying, how it changes our view of God, and, ultimately, our view of self. He does it by exploring various encounters of ordinary men (including himself) with a holy God and the effects of such a terrific experience. This book provided me with a deeper appreciation of God’s holiness and motivated me to treat Him with all the seriousness and respect He deserves. It also made me realize the gravity of sin and how it offends our holy God.
3. Knowledge of the Holy – A.W. Tozer
In Tozer’s day (and ours too), Christians had a low view of God. He says in the preface, “the Church has surrendered her once lofty concept of God and has substituted for it one so low, so ignoble, as to be utterly unworthy of thinking, worshipping men.” Therefore, he wrote this book to help Christians regain a higher view of God and rediscover His majesty and grandeur. The book examines God’s various attributes, from his incommunicable ones like God’s self -existence, or his self-sufficiency, to his communicable ones like His goodness, love, holiness, etc. The way Tozer painted God’s attributes drastically improved my perspective of God and gave me a much higher view of Him. His awesomeness and greatness blew away my finite mind, and it changed the way I pray and the way I worship. Plus, I love Tozer’s writing style.
4. Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life – Donald S. Whitney
Of all the books on my 2020 reading list, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life was the one I wanted to read most. It’s about various spiritual practices, their necessity in the Christian life, and how to apply them. The book’s premise comes from 1 Timothy 4:7 NASB, which says, “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.” This book’s purpose is twofold: to encourage Christians to discipline themselves in spiritual practices and to do them with an end goal in mind. Whitney says, “The Lord Jesus not only expects these disciplines of us; He modeled them for us, He applied His heart to discipline; He disciplined Himself for the purpose of godliness. And if we are going to be Christlike, we must live as Christ lived.” This is the most practical Christian book I have read, and I loved that I could implement what I learned right away.
5. Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
Jane Eyre is a novel that follows the life and development of young woman Jane Eyre from childhood to adulthood, and her love relationship with her employer, Mr. Rochester. The book has many Christian themes and also intrigues and marvelous prose and descriptive writing. I didn’t expect to like this book much because I am not a fan of romance novels, but reader, Jane Eyre is probably my favorite read of the year! I loved the book, and I am still not over it at the time of this writing. If you have never read Jane Eyre, read it! I can’t recommend this book enough!
6. Gentle and Lowly – Dane Ortlund
Gentle and Lowly is about the heart of Jesus; it invites us into Christ’s core, and it illuminates what lies therein. The title comes from Jesus’ own description of His heart in Matthew 11:28-30. Ortlund wrote this book for ordinary Christians like you and me, who struggle with sin and suffer from its effects. He wrote it so we may “know what the Bible says about the heart of Christ and consider the glory of His heart for our own up-and-down lives.” Ortlund did outstanding work with this book. He thoroughly explained what Jesus meant when He said He was gentle and lowly and faithfully used God’s Word to expound the nature of Christ and His heart. The book left me in awe of Jesus and provided me with a much better understanding of Him.
7. Delighting in the Trinity – Michael Reeves
The trinity is a complex term to explain that unbelievers and believers have a hard time understanding. But a proper understanding of the Christian faith begins with a proper understanding of the triune God. In this book, Reeves introduces us to Christianity, explains how it is anchored in the triune God, and invites us into a deeper knowledge of each person on the Godhead and their work. It’s a delightful book about the character of the triune God, and you cannot come away from it without being moved by the awesomeness of our God.
8. The Hiding Place – Corrie Ten Boom
The Hiding place is a biography of Corrie Ten Boom, the Dutch woman who, along with her family, risked her life to help Jews during World War II and was sent to a German concentration camp. It’s one of the most inspirational books I have ever read, and I have a whole post coming soon about the lessons I learned from it. Suffice to say it’s a must-read book! The Ten Booms’ courageous faith in Christ in times of extreme hardship will inspire and challenge you.
9. Blogging for God’s Glory in a Clickbait World – Benjamin Vrbicek & John Beeson
Christian bloggers’ primary motive for blogging is the Glory of God. Therefore, we cannot follow industry practices that focus solely on amassing subscribers and shares to the detriment of content. In this book, Vrbicek and Beeson remind us of our high calling and help us steward our blogs in a God-honoring way. They start by explaining what it means to blog for God’s glory, which is, “first to have our motivations aligned with God’s and second to pursue excellence in the craft, including theological precision, beautiful prose, visual appeal, and the edification of readers, all drawing from the best industry practices.” Blogging for God’s Glory in a Clickbait World is the book I wished I had when I started blogging. It encouraged me to plod on, align my motives with God’s, and do my best to excel for His glory and praise.
10. Cold-Case Christianity – J. Warner Wallace
In Cold-Case Christianity, former atheist J. Warner Wallace, a homicide detective, investigates Christianity with the same techniques used to solve cold cases. Wallace examines all the evidence available in Christianity, such as eyewitnesses, chain custody, and shows how they validate Christianity’s claims. As a lover of detective stories and apologetics, Cold-Case Christianity was an enormous treat. I couldn’t contain my excitement when I discovered it. Warner provides a robust defense for the faith from a unique perspective and provides tools to conduct our own study. It’s a fantastic book!
