I am a steady reader. Some might say a voracious reader. I know a few voracious readers, and I don’t read as much as they do. But I am always in the midst of a book or two, and sometimes three. As I stated in the most recent post, the characteristics that make a book good to me are clustered around the usefulness of the information.  Here are the characteristics I use to choose the books into which I invest time:

• Important Information – is the book on a topic that is important enough to read.
• Readable – Some books are harder to read than others, but they may contain the most important information.
• Life-changing – is the information in the book relevant to daily living to the point that it is a life-changing read.

With these factors in mind, here is another installment in the list of books I would recommend to any person who is seriously seeking a New Covenant relationship with their God. That would not be the relationship with our God that is often promoted in most institutional churches today. These books are about a depth of intimacy with our God that is life-changing to the core, one that disrupts our living to the point of abandonment of the self-life in order to live daily in Christ as He live in you. This is what it means to intimately know our God and walk by His life in us.

John Eldredge – “The Sacred Romance,” “The Journey of Desire,” “Walking With God,” and “The Utter Relief of Holiness.” There are more great books by John, but these four stand out for me.

A.B. Simpson – “Christ Life,” which is the first book of Simpson’s I have read. What a great read! I would call this a must-read for anyone serious about seeking intimacy with their God.

Brennan Manning – “The Furious Longing of God.” Manning does a great job of describing the deep longing our God has for us.

W. Ian Thomas – Read everything Thomas wrote. Seriously. Start with “The Mystery of Godliness,” and go straight into “The Indwelling Life of Christ – All of Him in All of You.”

Norman Grubb – “The Deep Things of God.” Nobody does it better than Grubb when it comes to explaining our God’s purposes in dealing with humanity across the ages, and how those dealings bring us into union with our God. Clear, concise, yet deep like the title indicates.

Milt Rodriguez – “The Temple Within.” Rodriguez writes clearly on the dwelling place of our God within us, and how that indwelling can transform us radically from the inside out.

Frank Viola – “From Eternity to Here,” a sweeping explanation of the grand purposes of our God in His dealings with humanity. A good companion to Norman Grubb’s book above. Also by Viola: “Pagan Christianity” (with George Barna), an explanation of how the institutional church came to be in the woeful state it is in today; “Finding Organic Church,” a great follow-up to “Pagan Christianity;” and pretty much anything on his website, which is full of really great resources for the earnest seeker (including a lot of podcasts).

Leanne Payne – “The Healing Presence.” Anything written by Payne is not a quick read, but not because she is a poor writer. Like many of the great writers, her work is dense-packed with truth that cannot be glossed over by her or by the reader. I found myself reading about three pages at a time and then meditating and writing what the Spirit was revealing. Really, really good stuff here on how the Holy Spirit works to clean up and beautify the life of a person who is fully surrendered and submitted to Him.

Joshua Ryan Butler – “The Pursuing God.” Butler writes a detailed theological exploration of how our God pursues us, one that covers the scope of the Scriptures. Again, a slower read, but deeply enlightening.

Andrew Murray – Read all the Murray you can get your hands on. His books on the Holy Spirit are the best on the market, particularly “Experiencing the Holy Spirit.” His books on holiness excel the rest, including “The Holiest of All – An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews.” This is a serious book, a verse-by-verse commentary on the entire book of Hebrews. It is almost unbelievably rich, page after page. If you want to understand Hebrews and Godly holiness, invest the time in this book. Also, consider these titles by Murray: “The Kingdom of God is Within You,” “Humility,” “Absolute Surrender,” and “Holiness” (edited by Lance Wubbles). I will add more Murray books on another list.

So few of those who should be mentoring us into a true New Covenant relationship with Christ understand that life themselves. The institutional church is bereft of the knowledge of this life of a true disciple. Instead, it is busy pursuing a worldly religiosity that is like a parking lot puddle – yards wide and a half-inch deep. “In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food,” warned the writer to the Hebrews (Hebrews 5:12). Those words are for almost all church leaders in the institutional church today.

If you want to find godly mentors, you will have to invest in reading. The books on the lists I am posting here, here, and here are such people. Stay tuned for more to come. Now, get to reading!