Christmas Gifts, Wintertime Reading and Christian Biography

Are you looking for a good Christian book to give someone as a Christmas gift or to enjoy reading yourself on some of the frosty winter evenings to come? If so, I happen to have several good Christian biographies I’d like to recommend to you.

Timeless Stories, God’s Incredible Work in the Lives of Inspiring Christians – This is like a Chicken Soup for the Soul book to encourage and strengthen followers of Jesus. It’s a collection of short, true stories from the lives of outstanding Christians on a variety of key themes such as Family, Prayer, Faith, Service, Adversity, etc. It appeals to adults and youth alike.

Women of Faith and Courage – Women and older girls will appreciate this collection of abbreviated biographies on five prominent Christian ladies: Susanna Wesley, Fanny Crosby, Catherine Booth, Mary Slessor and Corrie ten Boom. Both in the privacy of their own homes and in the public sphere these women served theLord, their families and others with tremendous faithfulness and fruitfulness.   

Hudson Taylor, Gospel Pioneer to China – Taylor’s missionary career was one big adventure from start to finish, and is fascinating to both younger and older readers. His undying concern for those who needed to hear of the Savior and his remarkable faith in God motivated and enabled him to establish the China Inland Mission, through which tens of thousands of Chinese came to faith in Christ. His example quickens our own compassion and faith.

John and Betty Stam, Missionary Martyrs – This book relates the real-life story of two committed Christian young people who first separately, then together served Christ faithfully, and who ultimately sacrificed their very lives in doing so. Their examples have inspired untold thousands to serve Jesus with greater commitment. Older teens and young adults processing the issues of marriage and call to vocational ministry may find this biography especially beneficial.

These next three longer volumes (300+pages) are probably best suited for somewhat older and more serious biography readers. They’re ideal for readers who are ready to be benefited by more substantive Christian biography.

David Brainerd: A Flame for God – Brainerd was a pioneer missionary to Colonial American Indians. He persevered through marked difficulties and discouragements in his ministry, which was crowned with a remarkable bona fide revival among theIndians to whom he ministered. This book is full of citations from Brainerd’s private diaries, which reveal the passionate devotional spirit with which he served the Lord.

Adoniram Judson: Devoted for Life – Judson was America’s very first foreign missionary and a pioneer missionary to Burma. He and his three successive wives endured staggering hardships in bringing the Gospel to Burma, establishing healthy Christian congregations there and translating the entire Bible into the Burmese language.Their sacrificial accomplishments continue to bear spiritual fruit in that difficult country to this day.

Andrew Murray: Christ’s Anointed Minister to South Africa – Murray was South Africa’s premier preacher, devotional writer and church leader in the latter 1800s and early 1900s. While being a man of seemingly constant action and accomplishment, Murray was also a contemplative individual whose preaching and writing were deeply devotional. Through his prolific writing endeavors he had a worldwide ministry to hundreds of thousands of Christians in his own day, and his books continue to minister to thousands today. Pastors and laymen alike will be inspired by his example.

There are lots of good historic Christian biographies that have been published for younger children and older youth. See Christian Focus Publication’s Trailblazer series (under its CF4Kids imprint), YWAM’s Christian Heroes Then & Now series, as well as similar series by other publishers.

Copyright 2018 by Vance E. Christie