I want to be able to experience the fullness of God in
both the darkest of days as well as the mundane routines of everyday life. I want to see beyond the surface, to see with
His eyes, and for Him to fill me with His power so that He can use me to
accomplish His purposes in this world. I
want to love more deeply. I want to be
like Jesus. These are my deepest heart
desires. I wish they were more
consistent with my actions.
Aside from reading the Bible, I have found that writings
from great Christians in previous generations help me to be aware of my blind
spots that result from my culture and generation. Yes, they have their own blind spots that result
from their own culture and generation as well, but there is much to glean from
living in community with these people of the past. All these are reasons why I was attracted to
the devotional Take Time to Be Holy: 365
Daily Inspirations to Bring You Closer to God.
Take
Time to Be Holy is a classic little treasure of the 19th
century writings of Samuel Logan Brengle, born in 1860, a leader in the
Salvation Army denomination. Editor Bob
Hostetler selected Brengle’s writings and transformed them into a devotional
format, replacing archaic language, and adding transitional sentences so that
each one-page devotion reads smoothly.
The writings focus on what it means to be holy, how to
receive it by God’s grace, how to make ourselves available to the Holy Spirit’s
fullness, and how He impacts our lives with grace and power. Each page is thought-provoking and speaks
into our lives today in an inspiring way that makes us WANT to be holy and to
live in the Holy Spirit’s fullness. This compact little book fit in my purse and inspired me and spoke peace and power into my life on my lunch breaks at work.
But this book isn’t for everybody. I found some of the language confusing – entire
sanctification, former baptisms, sanctified wholly, losing the blessing, crying
out to God for “the blessing”. For those
who don’t understand this terminology, there are not explanations here. If you are Pentecostal, Salvation Army, or
hold to charismatic views of the Holy Spirit, parts of this little book will make more
sense. While the book is based more on experience than Scripture, I think there is much value packed
in this devotional, so if you don’t agree with some of the theology of
sanctification, there is still much here to ponder.
I
received a complimentary copy of this book from Tyndale publishing in exchange
for my honest review.
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