I have a lot of books. Deb has the official count since she logs them in for insurance purposes but I think its well over a thousand. About half are reference books and commentaries, some are vintage editions, the rest are divided up into meticulous categories (at least in my brain) from Eastern Orthodoxy to Islam, from worship to church government and everything in between. Many have been bought along the way in my studies and some have been graciously given to me. Often those given to me get recorded and put in their proper topical place for future reading...and then are forgotten. And every once in a while I'll extend my hand to something unfamiliar and not required.
One such book was written by Andrew Murray titled, The Master's Indwelling. I was actually very familiar with Murray's work, With Christ in the Schoolhouse of Prayer but I neglected to see if he had any other works of interest.
This summer my hand extended and with great joy my heart followed.
For those not familiar with Andrew Murray, he was born in South Africa to missionary parents in 1828. His ancestors were from Scotland and when he was 10 years of age he was sent back to his country of ancestral origin for a proper education. In his early adult life he would return to his beloved South Africa where he would pastor for the rest of his life. And in the midst of his pastoral duties he wrote works that stirred the soul and challenged the mundane. The Master's Indwelling was originally from a series of lectures that he gave at the Northfield Conference in 1895, later re-written, revised, and published.
In subsequent blogs I would like you to journey with me through the pages of a book that had a profound effect on my inner longing to be more like Christ.
If you've ever struggled with why you can't seem to get victory over a specific sin, I hope you'll allow me to convey Murray's timely counsel.
If you've ever wondered what it means to truly die to yourself so that Christ might live through you, I hope you'll prayerfully walk beside me as I go through Murray's biblical exhortations.
Perhaps you are waiting on God and feel like nothing is happening or what true biblical humility looks like - then join me on this journey.
Ultimately Murray's heart was the fulfillment of God being "all in all."
This is more than a book to me. It was a timely answer to prayer reminding me of what is important as a follower of Christ and as a pastor/teacher. It affirmed that God is omniscient and omnipotent. He took a book that has been on my shelf since 2005 and placed in into my life when it was exactly needed. If you can pick up a copy and follow along...great. If not, I hope you'll be provoked by my inner musings along the way.
The first time through was relief to my soul. I'm wondering how I will describe the review?
As a side note...he was 67 when he wrote these....perhaps their is hope for me yet. It also reminds me that great men of thought are usually the ones who have lived life and experienced the Scriptures in such a way that they have become a part of them. Unfortunately, we put men out to pasture at the time where they could offer the body of Christ the best that they have.
I was sitting in my office last week and I witnessed a crime. Around four o'clock the perp (that's TV slang for perpetrator) was walking on the other side of the street when this person stopped, looked back at my neighbor's porch, and saw a garment package leaning against their door. The perp turned, walked up to the door, and stole the package.
As one can imagine the effect of witnessing such evil, my heart was racing. I yelled out the door in my most thunderous voice, "Put it back!" The perp looked back thinking it was the thunderous voice of God. Well...the perp looked back because I was yelling from my upstairs office window out of view from where the perp had already walked.
Ready to right a social wickedness I ran downstairs with my phone loaded and ready to shoot. The problem is...I am absolutely ignorant on how to use the thing. I couldn't figure out how to take a picture and what is the non-emergency number for the police? The perp was long gone when I finally arrived outside to call them.
However, my keen skills of exegetical prowess, examining the Scriptures for details, have well-equipped me for giving complete descriptions. I proceeded to describe the perp to the authorities with almost divine precision.
For a brief moment I panicked. I thought that I was going to have to pack a travel bag, leave Deb a note, and go live with an Amish family in Indiana (reference to the movie The Witness with Harrison Ford). But that's probably where they would look first since I grew up around there. I was a witness to a crime. I snitched. And now the full wrath of the ungodly was probably coming my way. Thank God I'm saved. "O Death where is thy sting..." I didn't want to know.
Things were made worse when the police knew this person by name, proceeded to bring the perp over to MY HOUSE, and ask if this was, indeed, the perpetrator of the crime. Shaking internally, but with steel outward resolve, I affirmed.
Of course there was immediate denial: my word against the perp's. But I had done my civic duty and if I must suffer, so be it. I began to pray the imprecatory psalms where David asks the Lord to cut the hands off of his enemies. However, in my heart I knew that there was a heart issue at hand. Something was broken inside this person. There was a need...not for stuff...this person didn't look poor, but a need for...purpose...I don't know. Why does anyone steal things? Because they can? Because they want to?
Yes, the thought of wondering about the quality of the parents entered my mind but then I was reminded that King Saul had his Jonathan and King David had his Absalom. The parent does not necessarily make the child. Military or some rigid boarding school might.....
Anyway...just a reminder that my world is broken. Thankful it wasn't my stuff. And thankful it wasn't one of my girls. You see the perp was a teenage girl.
I'll never be able to walk comfortably in a mall again....
