Instead reproducing the normal promotional blurbs for these books I’ve worked on here, I’m just gonna reproduce the introduction editor’s note I wrote for this book, and which appears in its contents. . . .
Dr. Ken J. Burge, Sr. Attributes of God on F.I.R.E.: Probing Fourteen Character Traits of God to Imitate. 168p., $18.99, Deep River Books.
Knowing God, by necessity, means taking the time to know who God is. More than sixty years ago, A. W. Tozer captured this idea in his classic little book The Knowledge of the Holy, and his words still ring true today: “Were we able to extract from any man a complete answer to the question, ‘What comes into your mind when you think about God?’ we might predict with certainty the future of that man.”
Our actions can only reflect the knowledge of God we already have—and, in turn, reflect how much we really trust Him.
The modern church has largely lost a proper perception of God. And because of that, we’ve lost our reverence for Him as well. And we won’t rediscover our reverence for God until we rediscover God Himself—until we rediscover a passion to know Him, as He desires to be known.
The things of God need to become the things of us. Until they do, we will never move forward. But once we make the effort to know God more deeply, we’ll not only learn more about Him but about ourselves—because we’ll see finally begin to see ourselves the way He sees us. And His way is never wrong.
I’ve worked on the previous eight books in Ken Burge’s F.I.R.E. series, but for all the reasons above I’m especially excited about this one. As Ken reminds us, familiarity—not complacent familiarity but intimate familiarity—is the key here. As we become more familiar with who God is, and as we grow with Him in relationship, we will be moved to respond in ways that truly reflect who He is.
So pull up a chair, an open mind, and an open heart, and spend some time with Ken learning more deeply about our God. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matthew 11:29, KJV). You won’t regret the time spent.
Lay It Down 
A Commentary on Jeremiah
Breaking down Jeremiah—even as we watch him break down over Judah. . . .
Michael B. Shepherd. A Commentary on Jeremiah. 912p., $57.99, Kregel Academic.
The book that bears the prophet Jeremiah’s name does not merely document the past but looks forward to God’s future and final work in Christ. Perhaps more than any book of the Old Testament, Jeremiah attests to the process of its own writing, transmission, and editing, and these internal clues confirm its original purpose as a book for all time and for every nation.
Michael Shepherd carefully lays out Jeremiah’s far-reaching message with passage-by-passage translation and up-to-date commentary. The themes of judgment and restoration certainly concern Israel’s historical judgment at the hands of the Babylonians and their subsequent return, but also the eschatological judgment of all worldly opposition to God and a final restoration and flourishing in the land of the covenant.
Shepherd’s second volume in the Kregel Exegetical Library series, this commentary makes a significant contribution to the academic dialogue on the book of Jeremiah and its connections to the rest of Scripture. The exploration is helpful for the scholar but accessible and useful for the pastor, examining the themes of covenant, kingship, judgement, restoration, and the nations.