8 Great Books I Read on Our Recent Vacation

Plus a Wonderful Bonus Book

Carolyn and I recently went on a vacation that afforded me time to do some extra

reading. I was able to finish reading 8 books during the vacation, and one more right

afterwards. And in case you’re wondering, yes, we had a fantastic time on the

vacation—you can ask Carolyn.

Discipleship is not only about face-to-face interactions. We can be discipled by books

and the Bible is an excellent example! If you would like to grow in your relationship with

Christ, I highly recommend reading books, reading blogs (like this one) and listening to

Christian radio, television, podcasts and videos.

Photo credit: Adrienne Andersen

Of course, there are benefits to each of these delivery systems. I like books because I can

read them at my own pace, I can mark them up, I can easily refer back to them, I can use

quotes from them, and more.

Furthermore, and I know people have strong opinions on this, I love to read books on

Kindle Reader (usually on my computer). Some of the advantages I find:

• The books take up no extra space in my suitcase, briefcase or office. (I have some 250 books in my Kindle Reader!)

• I can make the font as large as I want.

• I can easily hold the electronic device and flip pages quickly.

• I don’t have to retype what I want to copy and save elsewhere.

• The books download instantly, anywhere I have internet.

• Often they are very inexpensive. I highly recommend subscribing to BookBub and getting their daily deals emails on inexpensive eBooks chosen to fit your reading preferences.

Here are the 8 books I finished on our vacation:

1. Atomic Habits by James Clear

2. Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi

3. Life without Lack by Dallas Willard

4. God’s Answers to Life’s Difficult Questions by Rick Warren

5. Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

6. Hearing God by Mark & Patti Virkler

7. Everybody Always by Bob Goff

8. Not Forgotten by Kenneth Bae

Here are some notes about what I found helpful in these books:

1. Atomic Habits by James Clear

If you want to break some bad habits or establish some good habits, this is a wonderful

resource. This particular book is not written from a Christian or devotional perspective. It

is more a research-based book with great stories to illustrate the points.

Buy this book here: https://amzn.to/2xgkATZ

2. Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi

This was the biggest “wow” book I read on this trip. It is the autobiography of a Pakistani

whose family moved to the USA and after trying to convert Christians who challenged

his statements about Islam and Christianity, the author became a follower of Jesus. This

happened despite tremendous social consequences of leaving Islam. While it is his

conversion story, the book contains a lot of explanation of Islam, how it sees Christianity

and the Bible, and how he was converted through studying the facts.

Carolyn also read this book and found it fascinating.

Buy this book here: https://amzn.to/2XeeFyc

3. Life without Lack by Dallas Willard

This is another wonderful book by Dallas Willard, who wrote deeply and thoughtfully

about the Christian life. I found the book encouraging and spiritually stimulating.

Buy this book here: https://amzn.to/2Xat7lR

4. God’s Answers to Life’s Difficult Questions by Rick Warren

Pastor Rick Warren, also author of The Purpose Driven Life, has a great gift for making

Biblical living easy to understand and practice. He covers topics like:

• How Can I Cope With Stress?

• How Can I Rebound From Failure?

• How Can I Defeat Depression?

• How Can I Live Above Average?

• How Can I Have Peace Of Mind?

Each chapter is based on a passage of Scripture and can bring real hope in difficult

situations.

Buy this book here: https://amzn.to/2IVw99M

5. Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

This is a book on sharing your message in a way that others will pay attention to and

listen to. This father and son writing team shares that messages which stick are:

• Simple

• Unexpected

• Concrete

• Credible

• Emotional

• Stories

You might think this would be a boring read, however the stories which illustrate the

points are fascinating. If you have a story to tell or a ministry or business to promote, I

would strongly recommend this book.

Buy this book here: https://amzn.to/2X8WCo9

6. Hearing God by Mark & Patti Virkler

This book is more a workbook on hearing God. If you’re interested in that topic, I would

recommend this one. It even has a section on dream interpretation, which was of

particular interest to me after reading how a key component in Nabeel Qureshi’s

conversion (and many other Muslims) is dreams about Jesus.

Buy this book here: https://amzn.to/2LtK3Bu

7. Everybody Always by Bob Goff

Bob Goff is one fascinating guy. I really enjoyed reading his first book Love Does. Both

books contain a lot of remarkable stories from his life and experiences. He then seeks to

apply the stories to Christian living. I found the stories a lot more meaningful than the

applications. However, many people are loving both of these books and they are certainly

inspiring.

Buy this book here: https://amzn.to/2FDmHFJ

8. Not Forgotten by Kenneth Bae

Kenneth Bae has the distinction of being the longest held prisoner of the North Korean

regime since the Korean War. While trying to reach into North Korea with the Gospel,

Kenneth got himself arrested due to a big mistake, and was eventually sentenced to 15

years of hard labor. After about two years he was released, due to much political

negotiation by the Obama administration.

Reading this book will give people a better understanding of the Korean dictatorship,

where their God is their Supreme Leader, Kim Jong-un. Reading about how Kenneth was

able to endure the extreme mental pressure and very difficult physical challenges through

his faith in Jesus was truly inspiring.

Buy this book here: https://amzn.to/2XdXY0K

That’s the eight books. However, here’s a bonus read which I finished just after our vacation:

9. Do More Better by Tim Challies

The subtitle of this book is “A Practical Guide to Productivity.” Indeed, it is an awesome

book on productivity with a modern slant that covers the wonderful electronic tools

available in our day. If followed, it will definitely help people to stay organized and

productive.

Tim Challies is a very effective and popular Christian blogger and pastor. He is super

productive based on the tools he shares in this book. Over the years I’ve read several

books on time management and productivity. This one is probably the best.

Buy this book here: https://amzn.to/2xifwhP

A FINAL NOTE:

I can’t remember a vacation in which I read more. However, please understand that for 6

of these 8 books, I had started them before the trip and finished them because I had some

additional time for reading. I’m really grateful for the extra reading time and all the help

and discipling from these books.

If you are not sure that you have received God’s gift of salvation through Jesus, learn

about how to be positive HERE.

Help Spread the Word!

If you found this article helpful, we’d love for you to share it with others on social media

or otherwise. This will help get the Word in front of more people who need biblical guidance. Thanks for your help!

Additional resources about related subjects on this site:

• Podcast: Why should we read Christian biographies?

• 4 Reasons To Vacation Now or Be Sorry Later

• 7 Steps To A Productive Vision Retreat

• Podcast: How Can I Hear God's Voice?

• Podcast: Does God Still Speak Today?

• 4 Reasons You Can Love and Trust the Bible Today

• DOO IT: Four Steps To Accomplishing Your Dreams

• Quote Card: You are never too old to set another goal...

• Podcast: What's the value of 1 to 1 discipleship?

• The Power of Mentoring

• Video: The Great Commission is for all Christians

• 3 Reasons You Need A Strategy For Spiritual Growth

• Five Simple Steps to Conquer Complaining and Find Happiness

• What Does God Owe Me?

• Quote card: All our fret and worry is caused by…

• Quote card: When you’re level of complaining is at an all time high…

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miss any of my articles, podcasts or videos. You'll also get my eBook: 10 Prayers to

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100 Million Disciples, Why and How?

The vision of Discipleship Journeys with Jesus

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Not long ago I shared on this website an article about the vision of Discipleship Journeys

with Jesus (DJJ) to disciple 100 million people using our journey studies. If you missed

that article, please check it out here: A God-Sized Vision of 100 Million Disciples.

What I’d like to do in this article is to explain why the specific number 100 million, and a

little bit about how we hope to accomplish that daring number.

These precious Christians are studying Discipleship Journeys with Jesus in Kenya.

Why that particular number, 100 million?

First, there was a lot of prayer and after the confirmation vote by our DJJ Board of

Directors, a sense that God was definitely leading us to a vision of 100 million.

The rest of the answer is a little complex, but here goes:

We considered the percentage of the world’s Christians who are in the:

Global South (developing countries primarily in Africa, Asia, Latin America):

61%

Global North (N America, Europe, Australia, Japan, New Zealand): 39%

By Tradition Christians around the world are:

Catholic: 50.1%

Protestant: 36.7%

Orthodox: 11.9%

Other Christian: 1.3%

Our primary target is the 36.7% of the world’s Christians who are Protestant, totaling

801,528,000 Christians, and of these mainly the 61% who are in the Global South which

is 488,932,080 (almost 500 million).

Why mainly target the Global South? Because that is where the greatest needs exist. Those in

that region need:

• Discipleship materials. (While we in the Global North have a wealth of Christian materials, they often have access to very few.)

• Materials in their own languages.

Furthermore, the Global South is usually where the greatest growth of Christianity is

occurring and where passion for Christ is the highest.

Please note: Mainly targeting the Global South does not mean that we are neglecting or are uninterested in the Global North. Our ministry is worldwide and originates from the North. There is a tremendous need for the Gospel in both the Global North and the Global South.

Next, while in 2010 the percentage of the world’s population who claimed to be any kind

of Christian was 32%, only about 12% (about 1/3 of the total number of Christians) were

considered practicing Christians.

Finally, in the Global South, perhaps 40% of the Protestant Christians are already

discipled (or are being discipled) and perhaps 40% don’t want discipleship (nominal

Christians). Our primary target is the remaining 20% of the Protestant Christians in the

Global South who need and want discipleship.

Thus, the number of our vision (100 million) reflects 20% of the current total primary

target: the 500 million Protestant Christians in the Global South who need and want

discipleship.

NOTE: The main resource for the above statistics is Pew Research:

http://www.pewforum.org/2011/12/19/global-christianity-exec/ (2010 numbers).

See also: https://joshuaproject.net/assets/media/articles/finishing-the-task.pdf

So how will we achieve this audacious number of 100 million?

This next question is the “how” question mentioned briefly in my previous article. You’ll

perhaps remember that the what comes before the how. So, we don’t know all the

answers, however we know some things and here they are.

How can we reach 100 million?

1. Via Multiplication

Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works

that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.”

(John 14:12 ESV)

He didn’t mean greater works in quality, but in quantity. “Greater works” is how

there are today billions of Christians around the world. It’s through multiplication of

disciples.

As we inspire and resource churches and leaders to multiply disciples, it can look like

this, many times over:

1. 12 becomes 24

2. 24 becomes 48

3. 48 becomes 96

4. 96 becomes 192

5. 192 becomes 384

6. 384 becomes 768

7. 768 becomes 1,536

8. 1,536 becomes 3,072

9. 3,072 becomes 6,144

10. 6,144 becomes 12,288

11. 12,288 becomes 24,576

12. 24,576 becomes 49,152

…and so on.

Imagine this kind of multiplication going on all over the world in multitudes of

locations, with multitudes of leaders and you can see how the vision of 100 million is

viable.

2. Via the internet

We live in a unique time. We can communicate instantaneously around the world

through the worldwide web. Materials can be distributed immediately via the internet.

These opportunities have never before been available in the two thousand years since

Christ.

And worldwide access to the internet is increasing exponentially, even to the remotest

parts of the earth.

In addition, our DJJ materials are:

• Free of charge

• Simple, yet profound

• Interdenominational and intercultural

• Being translated into many languages

The barriers are removed.

3. Through the power of God

Jesus said, "With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

(Matthew 19:26 NLT)

We’re under no delusions. This must be a work of God. With God, it is possible.

4. With the partnership of many.

This vision will be accomplished by the many like you who:

a) Multiply disciples.

You can use the 52 FREE discipleship journeys to grow as a Christ-follower

and make disciples.

We’ve made it easy to access the materials online. Just go to

www.djjministry.org and click where it says, “START YOUR JOURNEYS

HERE.”

b) Volunteer their labors.

You can join our staff as a volunteer, part-time or full-time leader.

There’s a partial list of roles that need to be fulfilled on our website—just

click HERE.

c) Financially support this ministry.

In order to provide the discipleship lessons, it does indeed take financial

resources. Perhaps you’re part of the means by which God will supply us with

the resources to provide DJJ for others?

To donate to DJJ please click HERE.

Thank you.

A FINAL NOTE:

If you are not sure that you have received God’s gift of salvation through Jesus, learn

about how to be positive HERE.

Help Spread the Word!

If you found this article helpful, we’d love for you to share it with others on social media

or otherwise. This will help get the Word in front of more people who need biblical

guidance. Thanks for your help!

Additional resources about related subjects on this site:

• Podcast: What's the value of 1 to 1 discipleship?

• The power of mentoring

• Video: The Great Commission is for ALL Christians

• 3 Reasons You Need a Strategy for Spiritual Growth

• How to Know If You Are Truly Saved

• 5 Reasons God's Definition of Success Is Wonderful

• Submit to Get What You Want

• 4 Kinds of People, Which One Are You?

• How to Attain Christian Nobility

• Vlog: Build Stuff That Will Last

• Quote card: He is no fool who gives what he cannot lose...

• Quote card: Spurgeon on being a missionary

• 3 P's of Evangelism

• One of the Worst Christian Quotes Ever

• 4 Great Questions to Ignite Evangelism In a Lost World

NOTE: Social media is random. Email is reliable. Subscribe via email and you won't

miss any of my articles, podcasts or videos. You'll also get my eBook: 10 Prayers to

Unlock Heaven on Earth.

7 Reminders That Help Me Conquer Overwhelm

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In this era of so many opportunities, learning to conquer overwhelm seems to be a growing need for many, including myself. For me, having embarked on the major undertaking of founding a new ministry (Discipleship Journeys with Jesus), my days are filled with competing priorities. The opportunities are huge, but which do I work on first? Recruiting, promoting, creating, writing, fund raising, systematizing, partnering. Each priority seems important and urgent and if I’m not careful I quickly feel overwhelmed.

Recently however I wrote down some reminders that help me conquer overwhelm. I refer to this list frequently for help. They’re rooted in my faith in Jesus Christ and His Word, the Bible. If you’re not yet a follower of Christ, I highly recommend you click HERE and get the extra power that comes from connecting to the Almighty!

Here are 7 reminders that help me conquer overwhelm:

1. In each moment, I only have one thing to do

Often it seems my sense of overwhelm comes from simultaneously thinking of the many different things I have to do and flitting from one to the other, anxious and distracted. But the truth is that in each moment, I only have one thing to do.

Richard Sloma has said, “Never try to solve all the problems all at once—make them line up for you one-by-one.”

That quote reminds me that I only need to handle one thing at a time and when I try to do several things, I’m usually ineffective at any of them.

Some might argue that they’re good at multi-tasking. However, unless it is a rote task, our minds can only focus on one item at a time, and multi-tasking doesn’t work.

Besides, it is liberating to conquer overwhelm by figuring out what the next important task is and focusing on it.

2. God has provided enough time to do all He is asking me to do.

If I’m overwhelmed, it’s not because God expects me to do more than I can do. Jesus said, “My burden is light.”

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Overwhelm results from my own expectations, or what I think others expect of me (and perhaps they do). But God is much more reasonable! Thus, to conquer overwhelm, I try to focus on the fact that God loves me and doesn’t expect more of me than I can reasonably do.

3. Achievement comes by continually completing the next most important task.

Part of our problem with overwhelm is that we want everything now! Thus, we try to get it all done now and end up frustrated and overwhelmed.

Someone has said that “We overestimate what we can accomplish in a day and underestimate what we can accomplish in a year.”

Instead, we need to take the long view which says, “I’m going to keep banging away on this project, doing the next most important task, and one day it will result in a huge accomplishment.”

I’m reminded of the old saying, “How do you eat an elephant?” Answer: “One bite at a time.” Or, as someone else has said, “Inch by inch anything’s a cinch.”

4. The Holy Spirit will guide me to the next most important task.

When I’m frantic with overwhelm, I find that often the best thing to do is to stop, get quiet, listen and wait on the Lord, so He can direct me in what to do next. The Bible repeatedly says to “wait on the Lord.” When I do that, He soon brings to mind the next most important task.

In fact, when I quiet myself before the Lord, He often brings to mind important tasks I had forgotten to do, and ideas I hadn’t thought of.

I’m not talking about an hour of listening, or even fifteen minutes. Usually it is five or ten minutes of solitude that quiets my restless, overwhelmed spirit and allows guidance from the Lord to occur.

5. I won’t survive.

This might sound strange, but to conquer overwhelm, I often remind myself that life is short, everyone dies, and I don’t have to be so stressed since in the end I won’t survive anyway.

Call me morbid; I prefer to call it realistic.

If this step isn’t helpful for you then skip it, no problem. But for me, taking things too seriously is a problem, and it helps me lighten up and remember that I won’t survive anyway.

6. Sabbath rest is God’s command and a physical, mental and spiritual necessity.

I certainly understand that “remember the Sabbath” is part of the Old Covenant, whose laws have been nullified in the New Covenant of Christ. However, the command to practice a Sabbath rest was part of the 10 Commandments, God’s top ten! To violate the Sabbath could bring the death penalty under the Old Covenant (see Exodus 31:14). It’s a serious issue.

The key concept was “rest:” 8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. (Exodus 20:8-11 KJV)

Why did God rest on the seventh day? It was certainly NOT because the Almighty needed rest, but it was to demonstrate for us the importance of weekly rest.

Here’s the bottom line: If we are 24/7 workaholics, we’ll violate a biblical principal of rest and never conquer overwhelm.

I know there are pastors who abuse this biblical example, and I encourage them to reconsider and repent. The principle of rest is vital and will enable us to do more in the end, and likely live longer as well.

7. When I am weak, then I am strong.

This paradox is taught in 2 Corinthians 12:10 where the Apostle Paul wrote: “For Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

It truly is a paradox, and a quite wonderful one! Time after time it has been so very encouraging for me to remember that when I am weakest, the Lord can be the strongest as He works through me. I might be feeling overwhelmed, but in the midst of the threat of overwhelm, the Lord is powerfully strong for me, because when I am weak, He is strong.

I can conquer overwhelm when I remember that in my weakness, the Lord can be strongest for me.

Conclusion:

Remembering these seven reminders really helps me to conquer overwhelm. I hope they can help you also.

Help Spread the Word! If you found this article helpful, we’d love for you to share it with others on social media or otherwise. This will help get the Word in front of more people who need biblical guidance. Thanks for your help!

Additional resources about related subjects on this site:

• Ministry Job vs Secular Calling Pros and Cons When You Question God’s Calling

• Adjust Your Plans Based on God’s New Direction

• Quote card: The will of God will not take us…How to Know God’s Will in Difficult Decisions

• 3 Wonderful Joys of a God-sized Vision

• Quote Card: Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God…

• How to Tackle a Mountain-Sized Goal in Faith

• Faith Means Acting When You Feel Inadequate

• 3 Steps to Get the Help You Need Today

• DOO IT: Four Steps to Accomplishing Your Dreams

• Quote card: You are never too old to set another goal…

NOTE: Facebook is random. Email is reliable. Subscribe via email and you won’t miss any of my articles, podcasts or videos. You’ll also get my eBook: 10 Prayers to Unlock Heaven on Earth