"On the way to Heaven - a message of hope in the face of death"

For many years I was a worshipper at St. Andrew the Great, "the Round Church", in Cambridge and was helped in my walk of faith by Revd. Mark Ashton.  In 2007, while on sabbatical, Mark suffered pain around his gall bladder and in December 2008 went into Addenbrooke's Hospital for surgery only to be told he had cancer of the gall bladder that was untreatable.

This book takes us on the journey undertaken by Mark as he prepares for death.  It is a remarkable story of hope and deep faith and is something very special.  He speaks of how his Christianity became intense; how he realised that nothing else mattered but his faith.  He also realised what joy a Christian can experience as they prepare to meet with the person for whom they have lived their life and how the Resurrection takes on a completely different perspective.  As he puts it, "The Resurrection no longer becomes a matter of intellectual interest."  He also deals with the issue of healing and says that although he feels it is not wrong for us to seek healing but death should not be seen as a travesty.  Ultimately, death is seen as a restoration of us all.  At the very end of the book I was struck by the fact that as he lay dying, waiting to meet his maker and could only say a few words, all he could say was, "Soon home."

This book gives us hope in the face of death and I would strongly recommend it to everyone who has experienced the death of a loved-one or has a terminal illness or is concerned about the issues of life and death.

“Am I a Christian?” by Dan Clarke printed by IVP.

 Are you a Christian and, if so, how do you define yourself as such?  Are you a Christian because you were christened, you attend Church or try to lead a good life?  The book works through these questions that are often asked; questions that relate to belief in Jesus Christ, belonging to local communities, behaving in an appropriate manner and the issues of baptism.  It has a well-balanced biblical text and deals with practical situations.  It answers the questions many of us face when we are confronted with people who either believe they are Christians or have serious doubts about their Christian faith.  The text is easy to read and the style is light.  “Many of us have ticked the census form box that says we are Christians – but what does that mean?”  The questions raised will help in your assurance that Jesus Christ is your personal Saviour.  There are lots of personal testimonies that make it relevant to everyone.

“The Busy Christian’s guide to busyness” by Tim Chester published by IVP.

 I can have workaholic tendencies and it was only when I sat down and read this book that he made the blindingly obvious extremely relevant.  This books deals with all the issues of timekeeping and how we can use our time to glorify God.  It is a very practical book and deals with how to manage your time more effectively so that God is glorified in your worship.  It makes statements that are relevant to this period in time – it deals with getting our priorities in the right order – how often are our priorities job, home, lifestyle, church, ministry?  Sometimes they are lifestyle, job, home, church, ministry.  Clearly these priorities are not God’s priorities.  God’s priorities are our personal ministry, our Church, our home, our job and our lifestyle.  It helps us to focus on using our gifts and growing our Church and also with managing other people’s expectations.  God wants us to make the most of the life He has given us and to do what He calls us to do in Matthew 28 – to make disciples.  This is an incredibly helpful book and I would strongly advise you to read it if you have, like me, a very busy life.

“Shelter in the time of storm – a Meditation on God and trouble” by Paul David Thripp published by IVP

 This is a book to be read over a year containing 52 meditations on Psalm 27, which deals with difficulty and worship, speaking of difficulty and beauty, of the evil of people against people and the mercy of God.  If you do read it, please hold on to your hat, as it will take you on a somewhat difficult journey.  However, it will enable you, through prayer and meditation, to draw inner strength from the words given to David by our God who knows mankind’s need for His presence in times of difficulty.  The most telling chapter for me is Chapter 3 dealing with verse 5 “for He will hide me in His shelter in the day of trouble”.  This passage speaks of realistic expectations in marriage and in our wider life.  We often put ourselves in difficult places because we have been caught up with unrealistic expectations of the people around us.  We must allow ourselves to be hopeful and look towards a better future for and in those around us.

“Thomas Cranmer” by McCulloch printed by Yale Press

This was the winner of the 1996 Whitbread Biography Award and although over 600 pages long, I found it compulsive reading giving an insight into the mind of Thomas Cranmer, Tudor politics and the real reasons behind the Reformation and the existence of the Church of England.  It allows us to see into the mind of a great man who was gospel-centred at his heart and wanted to see the Protestant Reformation fulfilled.  This is a must-read if you want to understand the history of why you are an Anglican.

“Homosexuality – the Straight Agenda” printed by Day One Publications

 We live in an age when homosexuality is perhaps the most controversial and divisive subject for the Church.  We, as Christians, need to understand the difference between political correctness and Biblical correctness.  If you read this book you will gain a deep understanding of the basis of Christian teaching from the Church fathers and a wider understanding of what the Bible says on sexuality in general and homosexuality in particular.  It addresses how a Church can care pastorally for those who wish to worship within its congregations but would define their own being as homosexual.  It also addresses the difficult issues of Christian chaplaincy in Hospitals and how we deal with Aids patients.  Many say that conservative Evangelicals are hard, dictatorial and judgmental regarding homosexuality.  I found this book to be helpful, insightful and well written.

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