Oswald Chambers: The Best from All His Books

OSWALD CHAMBERS, THE BEST FROM ALL HIS BOOKS, was published in 1987, seventy years after his death. He was primarily a preacher who spoke what God led him to say. The book has a portrait of Chambers on the dust cover. He had an intense face with sharp, but kind features. There is a brief foreword by his daughter Kathleen and an informative introduction by Virginia Verploegh Steinmetz. The book has been edited by Harry Verploegh. There is a system of notations that tell where the selections were previously written, and an easty-to-follow key of the sources. It is a book filled with much wirting. There are 398 pages printed in a small type face. Chambers was born in Scotland in 1874. His father was a preacher, and his mother was influenced by the famous preacher Charles Spurgeon. As a young man, he planned to be an artist, but he felt the call to the ministry in his twenties. He became an evangelist with an international ministry. That the work of Oswald Chambers is preserved is a miracle. During World War I, he moved with his family to Egypt, where he established YMCA desert camps. During the two years he spent there, he kept a diary, and some of his thoughts were preserved on paper. He died in 1917 at the age of forty-three. He preached without interest in writing. His wife Gertrude had a personal system of shorthand, and she went around taking notes because she realized the remarkable value of his God-annointed words. His writing helps Christians seeking the will and mind of God. His classic, My Utmost for His Highest: Selections for Everyday, is also a valuable book to read. It provides the reader an opportunity to do some serious soul searching leading to a closer daily walk with God. THE BEST FROM ALL HIS BOOKS is easier to read because it is arranged in topics in alphabetical order. Perhaps it provides an easier way to cut one's teeth on the profound and very richly inspired thought processes of this remarkable man. It keeps the reader from having to dig through a massive amount of material to find thoughts on a certain subject. Sometimes one can pick up the book and read a selection that is very short, maybe just a sentence. Here is an example: "God does not expect us to work for Him, but to work with Him." Here is one more: "Purity is not a question of doing things rightly, but of the doer on the inside being right." There are also lengthy essays on various subjects. Reading and meditating on these can provide spiritual growth, comfort, and joy.

"The Best From All His Books" is an excellent compilation of some of Oswald Chambers' more profound yet simple statements from his various titles. Included are comments from the areas of "Abandonment" to "Zeal" and a bunch of categories in between. While I have read Utmost for His Highest and a couple of other books, the quotes come from several books I have yet to read. Read and enjoy wise sayings from a true man of God whom God still uses to minister to many people today! Highly recommended.