Kriss

Kriss
Stuart Weir
Marshall Pickering, 169 pages. £5.99
ISBN 0-551-03029-1

Jesus Here and Now
Cliff Richard
Hodder & Stoughton, 121 pages. £4.99
ISBN 0-340-66905-5

Renewal for Life
David Watson
Hodder & Stoughton, 110 pages. £4.99
ISBN 0-340-66904-7

If you are on the look-out for books suitable for non-Christians, new Christians or for Christians keen to deepen their relationship with God, then the above books are worth considering.
Kriss, the biography of athlete and television personality Kriss Akabusi, is particularly relevant to non-Christians because of the way Kriss's faith comes through loud and clear without dominating the book. The biography skilfully moves from the athletics track to Kriss's spiritual struggles and, in so doing, introduces evidence and ideas which encourage the reader to consider the truth and relevance of the Christian faith. The emphasis of the book is more on 'the why' you should become a Christian rather than 'the how'. As Kriss says: 'Work hard to achieve all you can, but ultimately without God you won't find meaning or satisfaction to life.'
Jesus Here and Now and Renewal for Life are titles from the 20 Minutes with God series and contain 30 devotions suitable for individual daily use or for group study. Each devotion starts with a Bible reading and is followed by the author's own comments, insights and experience. Each devotion ends with a reflection or questions which help the reader to see how the reading relates to them.
Jesus Here and Now is particularly relevant for new Christians because it deals with matters such as what it means to become a Christian and what it means to live for Jesus. The book includes some relevant details of the author's own life and experience where these are helpful to illustrate a point. The chapters end with some challenging and practical reflections relevant for all Christians dealing with matters such as our attitudes towards others, the part we play (or don't play?) at church, our attitude to money and our prayer life.
When it comes to Renewal for Life, the overwhelming impression that I am left with is of David Watson's ability to portray the Christian life as one which is so demanding and yet so attractive that I want to be 200% committed to following Jesus after reading it! The book begins with the essential foundations of the Christian life and then asks the question: 'Ready for renewal?'. The book then explores how our lives can be changed if we dare admit our spiritual bankruptcy before the Cross, ask God to fill us with His Holy Spirit and experience afresh the overwhelming love of God for us. The book explores the changes to our priorities, our readiness to suffer, our life in the church, our joy, our prayer life, our commitment to mission and other vital areas. The author writes from a charismatic perspective and he graciously challenges all evangelicals to seek a deeper walk with God.

Helen Percy

© Evangelicals Now - April 1997
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Main Articles

• Being a Christian university student
  A discussion of attitudes to be adopted by Christian students at university
• Shanty town church
  An account of Christian witness in a slum area of the Mathare valley just outside Nairobi
• How to help Muslim converts
  The condition of Christians in Muslim countries and the help given by the Barnabas Fund
• Strasbourg's Cockney Christian
  Interview with David Hallam MEP (Member of European Parliament)
• Labels past their sell-by date (Bulldog for April)
  The labels of charismatic and reformed
• Let's keep asking questions
  Discussion on the question of Biblical inerrancy

Other articles

• Killing Fields - Living Fields - An account of the suffering of the Cambodian church during the Khmer Rouge regime - an extract from the book Killing Fields, Living Fields
• In Pursuit of God: The Life of A W Tozer - The evangelical mystic - remembering A W Tozer - extract from the book In Pursuit of God: The Life of A W Tozer
• The Doctrine of Humanity
• The Beauty of the Lilies
• Shine - The story of the Australian pianist David Helfgott
• The Openness of God - A challenge to the traditional understanding of God
• Treasures of Darkness - Reaching a new understanding of God's sovereignty through suffering
• The Blessing of Tears - Healing benefit in weeping
• A Grace Disguised - Reflections of Gerald Sittser on the years following the loss of his mother, wife and child in a road accident
• The Naked Feet of Nicaragua - Account of a project to open up the interior of Nicaragua by the provision and use of a hovercraft
• The Ten Commandments for Today
• Becoming a Premier League Husband - (Audio tape)
• Cure for Life
• Revelation Unwrapped (Bible Application Series)
• Kriss - Biography of athlete Kriss Akabusi
• Jesus Here and Now
• Renewal for Life
• Manual of Congregational Principles - (Reprint of work first published 1884)
• I Believe in Taking Action
• Animal Rights and Wrongs - A Biblical Perspective