Certain words can create strong reactions in people. Something about the verb “blanch” makes me not hungry anymore. Maybe there’s a new diet idea.
Sadly, this also happens when talking about the most basic teachings of Christianity. Notice, I didn’t say “doctrines.” I don’t want to lose your attention.
Life is busy. In between all the tasks we try to accomplish each day and all the roles we are trying to fill, it can be hard to spend the amount of time we’d like to in devotions each week. Regardless of how much we know we need that time each day with God, it’s amazing how quickly everything else can come between us and Him. This is why small devotional booklets like Amazing Grace for a Woman’s Heartand Loved Beyond Measure can serve such a great purpose, giving us a few brief moments to stop and turn our focus back to God.
Dr. Iver Olson gave a series of lectures in 1951 on the subject, “Baptism and the Spiritual Life.” From those lectures, we have this little book of the same title. Do not let the length of the book (86 pages) deceive you; it is a helpful study of pertinent biblical texts regarding Baptism.
“Come and rest a while.” Mark 6:31 is the first verse you read in this book, and how appealing it is. First, come . . . set yourself apart in a quiet place and come to the Word. Secondly, rest a little while . . . this isn’t always easy in this fast-paced life we live. But when I take a few minutes in the early morning and pick up this little devotional book, I find myself digging into that verse in my Bible and don’t realize that I just spent an hour or more reading and studying!
“My group isn’t outward focused enough! They don’t know much about the Bible! Our discussions always seem so shallow!” Thus, Trevin Wax, author of Gospel-Centered Teaching summarizes the concerns of Bible teachers everywhere. Modern Christianity tends to counteract these concerns by reinventing either the teacher or the curriculum in order to reengage the student. Wax presents a different, thoroughly biblical approach. He argues, “Get the message right, and God will work through a variety of methods. But miss the message, and the best methods in the world won’t bring about transformation” (p.7).
