Meet Me in the Library

On a lonely Greyhound bus in January of 1958, a young Marine slumped in his seat with his head down. His heart ached for the wife he’d left behind and feared for the place he was headed. In his hands. he held Elisabeth Elliot’s book, Through Gates of Splendor. As he turned the pages, his life was turned around forever . . .

That was me.

I had no idea what God had in store for me when I boarded that bus. It turned out to be one of my life’s defining moments . . . and it came to me through a book. God used Elisabeth Elliot’s volume to rearrange my attitude, my thinking . . . my entire future.

God has used other books and their significant messages in my life. I’d like to introduce you to a few. I want to encourage you with the truths I’ve learned from them and to tell you a bit about their authors. My hope is that you will be strengthened and challenged by these grand messengers that have pointed the way for me.

At a time when the publishing industry pushes out thousands of new books in print each year and even more than that electronically, I want to share with you selections from eight works that endure—works that have inspired me to reach higher and further. You’ll see they touch on various aspects of the Christian life: suffering, joy, prayer, and servanthood, to name a few.

Across time and generations, these great books carry the truths of God and the thoughts and feelings of the human spirit. They are worth passing on, and each one should be read in the next generation and beyond.

What books would make your list? Consider the authors who speak into your life—the ones whose writings have defined your life in some way. My short list is the new volume, Meet Me in the Library: Readings from Eight Writers Who Shaped My Life. I could easily add a dozen more books for each topic mentioned, but this is a good place to start.

—Chuck

Comments

[PJA]

I can hardly wait to read it. Your book "Grace Awakening" was a defining moment in my life! God used it to save me from a life of not knowing my relationship with Him I could never earn by works and then came the responsibility of what I do with that freedom. Praise the Lord that was over 23 years ago!!

[Moffat Odhiambo Ayodo]

Halo Chuck,
I am a Kenyan who has been greatly blessed by your writings. I was introduced to you through your Insight for Living radio (TWR) program way back in 1990 and since then your teachings have helped shape my spiritual life. I recently accepted an offer to participate in a teaching exchange program in South Carolina, and I have found myself likening my situation here to what you say you went through in 1958 when you served in the marines.This is my fourth week in the USA and I can say it is tough being a teacher in this part of the world. Couple that with the separation from my wife and children, and you have a situation that can destroy one. But thank God for you brother, your words have lengthened my hope a little bit. My e-mail address is bob8carol@yahoo.com
Thanks and God's blessings to you.

Moffat Odhiambo Ayodo

[Jim]

Chuck, if I were to write the same book, I would include your writings.
Thanks.

[Pierre Franco]

Hi Pastor Chuck,

Thank you for sharing your reading list with us. Thank you for putting your pen to paper. I received a most wonderful surprise and gift from a friend yesterday. I feel most honored for the words that were written in the book. I pray our Lord would grant me the desire of preaching His word Pastor Chuck. I shall not "fear to own His cause, or blush to speak His name." I hope I am counted worthy of being a fellow "soldier of the cross."

Thank you ... I don't know if you will ever understand how much that meant.