It's the time of year for lists. Here are the best books I read in 2017 as well as the rest I read throughout the year, categorized, but in no particular order.

At Christmas, Jesus became the only person ever born on a mission to die. He became the only priest to ever walk the road of a sacrificial lamb.

What could God do if we used 2018 to reach out beyond social media to the real persons behind the avatars? It would be costlier, yes. But it would be more beautiful and more satisfying. And, in the end, it may be the thing that God uses to bring revival. 

no matter who we are or what we have or where we may be, God has entrusted something to us. What shall we do with it? That is the question to which we must find the answer. All our hopes and dreams must circle that stewardship.

The default assumption I bring to my relationship with God is that he loves me for what I do. I bet you assume the same thing, too.

A little over seven years ago, one phrase in the first chapter of the book of Hebrews grabbed my attention. “He upholds the universe by the word of his power.”

David Robinson was a basketball player—and a really great one. But Robinson’s life was bigger than basketball, and when it was over, he passed the baton to his friend Tim Duncan and got to work making dreams come true for others.

Sin makes us illogical. It muddies our mind, causing us to choose things contrary to the right path. Paul highlights this lack of logic in selecting the law over Christ.

As every age does, we search out wisdom apart from God. But we cannot find it. Until we turn away from evil and to God we never will. 

There is a spirit behind every religious message. John tells us it’s either from God or from the Antichrist. What should we believe? That's such an important question, isn’t it? What we believe forms what we worship, and what we worship forms who we become. And John tells us not to believe every spirit.