It’s wonderful to know that there is nothing the world can do to ruin the joy that comes from salvation!

And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice in his salvation. — Psalm 35:9

Grace is truly amazing! No one deserves God’s mercy and love, but yet He chooses to love those whom he does even though we’re all born in sin!

I have basically shared much of the same Christian beliefs the Amish hold. The longer I study the bible, the more my faith becomes similar to theirs. What perplexes me though is why the Amish no longer seem to follow Matthew 28:19-20. Those verses, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen,” sum up the Great Commission.

The Amish are Anabaptists. The Anabaptists were originally intensely evangelistic. Mennonites are also Anabaptists. They still do evangelize, but the Amish have stopped doing so. Even though outsiders occasionally do become accepted into the Amish church, it is rare. I completely understand why different Amish districts have their own Ordnung, but what doesn’t make sense to me is why those who marry a Christian outside of their community are judged as being rebellious against God’s will and then end up being excommunicated and shunned. I sort of comprehend why, but not completely.

I might completely understand this rejection if it wasn’t for reading an Amishman’s response to the question, “Can an outsider join the Amish church/community?” His remark was,

You do not need to move here to adopt a lifestyle of simplicity and discipleship. You can begin wherever you are.

Maybe if I could figure out just exactly what that remark means, it might help get rid of what seems inconsistent.

If a lifestyle of simplicity and discipleship means living in the will of God, then I don’t get why a marriage between someone who grew up Amish with a non-Amish Christian would be viewed as sinful rebellion. I read an analogy made between the Ordnung and team members of a sport — meaning that rules are required for fair game play. If those rules create that kind of division among Christians which end up forbidding the sharing of meals together, then how is hurt avoided? It doesn’t seem like the same kind of hurt someone experiences from being proud.

Pain from separation, as in the above example, seems to wound the spirit of love. I agree with shunning as being a form of loving discipline when someone’s eternal soul is at stake.¹ But since the bible does not clearly state that it is a sin for an Amish Christian to marry a non-Amish Christian, I don’t see how someone’s eternal soul is at risk.

I understand the Amish view of having a divine responsibility to judge those who break their baptismal vows and to preserve the purity of their church. However, it appears that when vows like that are being made (along with the severe consequences of breaking them), their church has become a higher authority than the bible.

¹Shunning is not harboring vengeance or malice. It is being unable to pardon an offense that someone refuses to acknowledge and repent of. Forgiving, pardoning, and reconciling a relationship, are three different things.

Without a reason to trust (especially after trust has become severely broken), there is no relationship to reconcile. Christians have the authority (and responsibility) to either pardon their brother/sister-in-Christ who commited the trespass or not, but if the offender isn’t a professing Christian, then it is up to the world to judge and choose whether or not to pardon the offense commited.

When the laws of human government are broken, then sometimes both the church and the state may be obligated to judge. When it’s only God’s law stated clearly in the bible that has been broken, then it’s the believers who must deal with it.

Trust can be earned back, but not without evidence of repentance. Repentance is the only hope for possibly regaining the motivation needed to work at trusting again.

God does not demand more from us than what we’re capable of. Yes, we need to know the truth. But we also need to know that the truth is simple. How more simple can it be said than how it is in John 14:6? —

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

It’s also important to comprehend the flip side about knowledge. Jeff Miller deflates the popular verse about knowledge puffing up by emphasizing the importance of love and charity. Jesus is love and charity incarnate. Knowledge must be coupled with love for us to build each other up. No one can teach a know-it-all.

I prefer being wiser by finally putting the lesser matters into perspective. To not do so, hinders the more important things in life from getting accomplished.

As of today, I began to realize how much I’ve been impugning the beliefs of others. After this awareness started, I found the sermon Should Christians Proselytize? and read all of it. Now Luke 18:13 weighs heavily on my mind.

Adherence to the golden rule and the two greatest commandments wouldn’t nurture strife, but rather encourage gentleness and meekness.

It’s not my place (or anyone else’s either) to insist on how certain bible verses should be perceived, but it is my duty to share God’s message of salvation while His mercy and grace for mankind still exist. I trust that He will speak to each individual through His written word (that can be visibly read or audibly heard). I do not have a gift for teaching God’s word, nor do I have one for preaching sermons expounding on verses from scripture. What I do have is the habit of doing those two things, because of being responsible for the spiritual well-being of my children.

There are many proclaiming to follow Jesus who not only hate others that differ from them in lesser theological matters (yet these ‘enemies’ have led countless people to Christ), but also these same people harbor hatred towards those who dare to publically refuse to share that same malicious spirit. The bottom line is, “Does the believer abide in the doctrine of Christ?”

[The next paragraph deals with cult members. Christians should have unbelieving friends, but stay away from ungodly practices and worldviews.]

To not abide in the doctrine of Christ means bringing in some error concerning the person or office of the Lord Jesus. Opposers of the Lord Christ’s name and His dignity undermine God’s glory and His kingdom. Any who do not profess and preach the doctrine of Christ, respecting him as the Son of God, and salvation by him from guilt and sin, are not to be noticed and countenanced.¹ Yet in obeying 2 John 1:9-10, we must show kindness and a good spirit to those who differ from us in lesser matters, but hold firmly the all-important doctrines of Christ’s person, atonement, and holy salvation.

Jesus said, “For he that is not against us is on our part.” It is vital to hold fast to the basics of what Christian faith is, so that we don’t give the devil a foothold to divide the family of God.

For decades, I was an Arminian. Afterward, I became a Calvinist. In my post Devotion to Caution, I said Calvinism and Arminianism are basically opposite. There isn’t much wrong with saying a statement like that, at least from what I can tell. However, I’m beginning to think that my going beyond it may have been an example of what God warns His people against doing. Christians are to edify and strengthen the body of Christ. A healthy body is wholesome.

When it comes to the body of Christ, I like how Charles Spurgeon (a believer of election) wisely replied to the question of how he reconciled predestination and man’s free responsibility. He said, “I do not try to reconcile friends.” Quoting Warren W. Wiersbe’s words from his book What to Wear to the War: Studies from Ephesians 6, “In order to be balanced and able to walk as Christians, we need a thorough understanding of all the Bible’s doctrines, teachings and commands.”

For something to be whole, it has to be complete. No component elements or parts can be missing. God will see to it that all of His children will finally be together again someday. It’s just sad that more of us can’t be together while we’re still here in this world.

Also for decades, I was a church goer. I attended a spectrum of denominations — starting with the charismatic speaking-in-tongues flavor, grazing on the reformed range, and retiring my organized fellowship era inside an easy-going (non-speaking-in-tongues) evangelical pasture. Afterward, “going to church” passed away from my life. I’m now reborn into a world undefined by man’s walls. I sort of feel like how you’d imagine a ghost that’s been left behind, waiting to be reunited with its immortal body. I meet other ‘ghosts’ of this same faith on rare occasions, but I don’t get to ‘hang out’ with them in person (What ghost can without having a ‘validated’ body? Is that why ‘I’ have become ‘invisible’ to others inside any ‘visible’ church?). That’s okay, because all spirit-filled believers abide in the Holy Ghost and can fellowship wherever God’s Spirit is.²

Another decades-long belief I held was that no consideration should be made as to when the end of time will be. Afterward, I independently began to see an opposing view. I won’t say more than that any longer. Hopefully no one will make any assumptions about what position I now hold on that issue.

It takes concentration to change the direction of the way you perceive the silhouette of the spinning dancer turning. It also takes concentration to ‘see’ the opposite side of what you believe, especially if you get mesmerized by the one you’re holding for a long time.

One dancer can’t spin in two opposite directions simultaneously. No one can believe two opposite beliefs at the same time either. However, two opposite beliefs can complement one another if you try to understand the other perspective. Perhaps this is why God has designed the bible to be able to function like an illusion, while simultaneously being the source of all truth and reality. How else would Christian faith be put to the test? It isn’t up to Christians to sort out the wheat from the tares or to get bent out of shape whenever someone else isn’t agreeing with us.

If I never wondered how there could be so many different Christian denominations all worshipping the same bible,³ I never would have become as enlightened in understanding how so many people can be as different as they are, while still being basically alike as human beings.

¹This also applies to Christians who have trespassed against you and refuse to confess the wrong they have done. Either the wrongdoer will confess or deny sinning against you. Denial is usually evident by the lack of pleading for forgiveness. Words like “I’m sorry” might be said, but if they are, most likely there won’t be any reference to what the person is sorry about specifically. Words without actions, in this case, are no different from coming to Christ for salvation without evidence of repentance.

Here’s how Oswald Chambers puts it in his book, He Shall Glorify Me,

“I cannot forgive my enemies and remain just unless they cease to be my enemies and give proof of their sorrow, which must be expressed in repentance. I have to remain steadfastly true to God’s justice. There are times when it would be easier to say ‘Oh well, it does not matter, I forgive you,’ but Jesus insists that the uttermost farthing must be paid. The love of God is based on justice and holiness, and I must forgive on the same basis.”

²The bible says much about how spirit-filled believers are to abide in the Holy Ghost, especially during end times. Regardless of what century or millennium it is, being faithful to God requires being obedient to His will.

³Non-denominational churches are a myth. Every church has its own set of common denominators unique to their congregation, but not all have well-defined labels.

Even becoming conscious of my consequences for not doing as God says in Ephesians 6:11 occurred very gradually, but now that I’m starting to detect the connections, I’m in awe over how many ways and how far I’ve slipped backwards in my walk with the Lord.

Things like mental overload, bad decisions, insomnia, confusion, anxiety, etc. have been getting ridiculously rampant in my life. The real attention getter for me came from a recently acquired illness I’m still waiting to finish recovering from.¹

Becoming aware of what’s going on spiritually isn’t enough to change course when you’re ensnared away from completely living in God’s will. For a long time I’d pray for God to help me reverse direction. What may have been the turning point I needed could be from the words of encouragement I read in Phil Smouse’s book My Everyday Promise Bible. It was the promise for day 196 entitled Not a Reward. Reading the words, “New life is a gift, not a reward for the good things we have done…” instantly lifted me out of my state of despair. I especially liked how Smouse ended that day’s promise with the question, “Why would you try to pay for it if God will give it to you for free?”

Being reminded new life is a gift put me back on my feet spiritually, but, to not get knocked back down, Warren Wiersbe’s book What to Wear to the War is what I needed to re-read. I had been reading the bible as usual, but for some odd reason His word wasn’t penetrating through to me. The more I continued to re-read Wiersbe’s book, the more I realized why reading the bible wasn’t enough to stop Satan from having his way with me. I was living like a tired soldier trying to take a vacation while being on a battlefield.

It’s true that if a Christian isn’t moving forward spiritually, he is falling backwards. There is no middle ground or time for taking a break from wearing God’s armor. I’ve said God never sleeps. I should have added that Satan and his demons never sleep either. Christians may and should sleep physically, but never spiritually. My spiritual laziness and ignorance has led me to make the type of mistakes that rob a Christian from getting more and more of God’s kindness and peace.

The Living Bible states the remedy for fixing such mistakes quite well through its paraphrase of 2 Peter 1:2-12,

Do you want more and more of God’s kindness and peace? Then learn to know him better and better. For as you know him better, he will give you, through his great power, everything you need for living a truly good life: he even shares his own glory and his own goodness with us! And by that same mighty power he has given us all the other rich and wonderful blessings he promised; for instance, the promise to save us from the lust and rottenness all around us, and to give us his own character.

But to obtain these gifts, you need more than faith; you must also work hard to be good, and even that is not enough. For then you must learn to know God better and discover what he wants you to do. Next, learn to put aside your own desires so that you will become patient and godly, gladly letting God have his way with you. This will make possible the next step, which is for you to enjoy other people and to like them, and finally you will grow to love them deeply. The more you go on in this way, the more you will grow spiritually and become fruitful and useful to our Lord Jesus Christ. But anyone who fails to go after these additions to faith is blind indeed, or at least very shortsighted, and has forgotten that God delivered him from the old life of sin so that now he can live a strong, good life for the Lord.

So, dear brothers, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen, and then you will never stumble or fall away. And God will open wide the gates of heaven for you to enter into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I plan to keep on reminding you of these things even though you already know them and are really getting along quite well!

If you’re interested in reading more about The Pursuit of Christian Character, Bob Deffinbaugh offers some additional food for thought on this subject at the bible.org site.

¹Postscript added on 5.20.10 — Normally, I take Colloidal Silver to prevent an illness from taking over my compromised immune system. This time, however, I had none left and was too sick to bother taking myself to go buy some. I think I was too tired to even think of ordering it online, but finally a couple of days ago I ordered some and it just arrived a few minutes ago.

This nonprofit organization is described as being dedicated to protecting people and families from extortion, persecution, exploitation, socialism, divorce, crime, and sin. It advocates personal liberty, personal responsibility, constitutional and SMALL and accountable government, sovereignty, and religious faith.

It doesn’t take long to realize that the material found at the famguardian.org site is the result of many dedicated people. Also obvious is how serious most of the subject matter found there is.

Because it can be overwhelming to know where to begin opening up the links to such an internet inside the internet, I would suggest starting with the Philosophy of Liberty. That page will read to you in a way unlike any other you will find on the internet.

Thank God they have a page with lots of funny humor to offset some of the intense subject matter! The song Colo-Rectal Surgeon was the first bit I sampled. It helped to pull me a little bit further away from the dark abyss that is now arriving with the end of time.

Keith’s response to Nyman’s post expresses my thoughts exactly. Notice Nyman’s response to it.

The number one reason why I usually will not enable comments is because it goes against my Christian beliefs. Christians should do what they can to avoid arguments and quarreling. Allowing an environment for the kind of debating that typically goes on when comments are enabled on controversial posts fosters an ungodly spirit.

When I encounter posts which contain heated responses going back and forth on controversial topics, I quickly begin to feel very disturbed. That’s unavoidable for me — probably because of being both a Christian and an Aspie. Others cannot know the intense degree to which I’m empathetic towards the feelings of every human being.¹ That’s why trying to explain this in a way others can comprehend what I’m talking about might be impossible, but since it’s not for me to judge what others are capable of, I shall make the attempt.

Imagine a young child who loves both of his parents equally. Then try to imagine how that child would feel while hearing his parents arguing passionately. He would be disturbed because he wants his parents to get along together. For them to be against each other on an issue (or issues) reveals evidence of the potential that they will divide apart (i.e., split). What condition does that then leave the child in? He suffers heartache, especially since he knows there is nothing he can do that’s within his power or control to keep them from hurting each other.

Think about what and why people get defensive. Jesus was perfectly humble. He valued not what others in this world thought of him. Nor did He insist others follow Him. He merely abided His earthly life with His heart’s affection ruled by God. He loved mankind, but loved His heavenly Father more.

What stimulates the need in people to force their opinions on others is pride. Proud people don’t let God be God. When that’s the case, they take it upon themselves to act like god. That’s chaos, because there is no unity (i.e., no common denominator). Chaos and confusion are the grounds for malice to grow.

I once said on my blog, “There is no love in strife, quarreling, wrangling, bickering, or any debating that stems from pride. A malicious spirit only invites disrespect and needs to be disregarded.” God has reasons for saying what’s stated in Romans 1:28-31 and Matthew 5:11-13. There are many other bible verses warning mankind about strife.

I also had written, “Just because others like to debate and argue doesn’t mean I should too. If you’re here to complain, criticize, accuse, and/or condemn me, then maybe it’s best you leave. I don’t allow readers to challenge what I write in my posts, since most contradictions have already been argued elsewhere ad nauseam.” If the way I said it sounds nasty, I didn’t mean it to. It’s hard to know how to say something so people get the message that you mean what you say, while at the same time, keep from crossing the boundary of acting like a god. Adding to that, all the different types of characters who are reading online makes it impossible to not offend someone sometimes, especially if they’re unwilling to be understanding and/or are intolerant of others who differ.

If this post gets misconstrued as being like a sermon given by a preacher because I’m not going to enable comments, the reasons for that will probably vary. For starters, to judge like that is to not look at the whole picture. I am more than my blog. I have lived beyond a middle age. That means my blog is affected by a history of being (mis)treated by others in different ways, a lifetime of learning that has developed who I now am today, and (most importantly) being in training under the rule of my Heavenly Father. I won’t go beyond what I’ve already said, because what I’ve already said might be too much for some people to gracefully accept.

¹Even though I’m super-sensitive towards how others feel does not mean my behavior reflects it perfectly all the time. I have moods just like anyone else. I’m more aware of the times when I’m being a hypocrite or jerk than when I’m not being like that.

As God says in 1 Corinthians 2:13, the Holy Ghost teaches us when we compare spiritual things with spiritual. The less we do as those noble Bereans, in that “they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11), the more likely we can become “conditioned” into accepting false doctrine.

Oswald Chambers’ writings are rarely critiqued with spiritual discernment. His ministering style is almost hypnotic in effect. I didn’t notice some ever so subtle inconsistencies of his preaching until reading The Complete Works of Oswald Chambers. The more that I read that’s in that book, the more apparent the need becomes to sort out what’s true versus what’s a distortion.

Truth demands consistency. That’s why it is always safe to study the bible, provided that the King James Version is used as the ruling guide over our modern English translations.

There is nothing wrong with having help to understand God’s word, but no matter who the person is that’s ministering His word, it is always crucial to remember that no human being is capable of flawless preaching. With spiritual maturity comes an increased awareness whenever something isn’t quite fitting appropriately with all of what’s said in the bible.

Chambers came to Christianity in his teen years under the ministry of Charles Spurgeon. Chambers is best known for his devotional My Utmost for His Highest. What’s less known about Chambers (and is probably the reason he is as popular as he is) is that his theology is based on John Wesley (an Arminian). Charles Spurgeon’s preaching, however, was Calvinistic. That would explain why Spurgeon’s devotional God’s Treasury: The Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith is less confusing and more consistent.

Calvinism and Arminianism are basically opposite. Only one of the two is true doctrine. Either God is glorified or self is. Either we are saved by sovereign grace or we are saved by something we do. Either we wait for God or God waits for us. Either God gave every human being that ever lived, lives, and is yet to be born, to Christ or He gave only a remnant to Christ. Either our salvation is secure or we can lose it.

I won’t get into mentioning the bible verses that apply to the two opposing doctrines. They can be found in the bible, on the internet and in many books. It’s not my intent to create division or to argue. I only want to bring awareness to the importance of always exercising caution when reading devotionals and theology books.

After having accumulated and read many books by great theologians, I can’t say they’re not beneficial. But, at the same time, there is a risk involved.

Here are a few others who advise caution when reading Oswald Chambers:

• Von Ein Kunde
• Tom Riggle
• Miles J. Stanford
• The Far Left and the Far Right

When there is a spiritual maturing process happening, the one whom it’s happening to cannot remain unchanged. Knowledge begins to have a metamorphic effect if the person will take hold of it for thinking how to use it for God’s will being done through him. One’s conscience is limited by the knowledge he has of the bible. The less knowledge a saved person has of the bible, the more other knowledge dangerously puffs up his pride.

In the minds of false Christians, knowledge of the bible can be a weapon of attack used on non-believers. They act like god and think it’s their job to change others to be like them.

A true Christian minds his own business and knows that the things to ‘fix’ are not external.¹ Good works (e.g., feeding the hungry) and bad works (e.g., lying) are not always dependable indicators of whether or not someone is saved, because what is seen can be temporary and/or manipulated.

When God tells us we can know others by their fruit, He is referring a person’s overall disposition. We all have different moods that change like the weather, but each of us have characters that remain generally consistent. We live with our own unique and delicate ecosystem. Some are barren like a dry desert where life isn’t as easy to spot. Others are like a lush rain forest that’s noisy with life.

Anybody can work on looking like a good person to others. That’s something controllable. If it wasn’t so, we wouldn’t have social services, therapy groups, psychologists, etc. What we can’t control is what’s inside the heart. We’re all born in sin. That’s why there is such a high failure rate to permanently rehabilitate criminals, addicts, etc. Just because one addiction may end (e.g., alcohol) does not mean it couldn’t have been replaced by another dependency (e.g., AA).

Only when the dependency becomes solely upon God is there a successful change to the being of an individual.

An example how education has become a god is when people refuse to accept others the way they are and think that others should be like them. Non-Christians complain about Christians proselytizing, but yet they can’t see how they’re doing the same thing by acting like the world would be a better place without Christians. Neurotypicals want to change Aspies, but yet they can’t see how much of their traits annoy Aspies.

The definition of worship is to serve. If education wasn’t worshipped, people would stop being servants to it. Knowledge per se isn’t bad. It becomes corrupt in the minds of those whose hearts are proud.

I’m beginning to suspect it’s because of pride that I was trying so hard to keep up with editing my posts whenever I noticed improvements were in order. A voracious thinker is bound to encounter a lot more changes in perception of theories than someone who doesn’t analyze material to the same level of intensity, especially when under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

A wise man admits being capable of making mistakes, but it’s foolish to be fanatically trying to be flawless to please those who think they’re already flawless.

The fruit of fool who thinks he knows himself is seen by how he looks down upon others as being inferior to himself. No matter how educated or how much knowledge any of us hold, we’re all idiots in the eyes of our creator. Thinking that we can compare ourselves to others only proves how little we know.

I’m not going to jump from the frying pan of analyzing myself into the fire of someone else analyzing me. I hope I’ve been on the heat of God’s flames long enough to finally evaporate sufficiently to end a long-time bad habit.

¹In a “Christianized” country like America where bibles, the internet, radio, television, telephone, and printed media abound as resources for those who seek how to become saved, the Christian’s business is to be ready to give an answer to those who seek the gospel. In the regions of the world where the the gospel has not yet been preached (i.e., heard or known about), Christians are to spread the word. When it comes to a place where either could be the case (as is the world wide web), Christians should both preach the word and be ready to give an answer to those who genuinely seek God. Giving an answer doesn’t mean arguing. It means guiding others to Christ. God draws His elect towards Him. Those who aren’t attracted to what Christians have online don’t have to read it, but they also have no right to deny others from reading it who may want to.

A Christian’s business is to be working on ‘fixing’ his internal sins. Those are the hidden abominations. Examples are: envy, deceit, backbiting, coveting, maliciousness, fornication, pride, gossiping, implacability, breaking promises, being spiteful, unmerciful, etc.

By heeding the reality of God’s grace within us we are never bothered again by the fact that we do not understand ourselves, or that other people do not understand us. If anyone understood me, he would be my god. The only Being Who understands me is the Being Who made me and Who redeems me, and He will never expound me to myself; He will only bring me to the place of reality, viz., into contact with Himself, and the heart is at leisure from itself for ever afterwards.

After having thought about that, I realized how true it is. It explains the craving to be understood and to know oneself. Both things are a trap, especially because of how impossible it is to satisfy either yearning.

When I reflect upon how much torment my heart would endure because of being an Aspie in a NT world, I find Chambers’ advice awesome! I can only imagine how something like this rubs against the grain of today’s Asperger awareness movement.

I’m not saying anything against neurodiversity advocates or those opposing them. What I am saying is that I’m beginning to believe I will quietly exit out of the arena of the Asperger movement. I have no regrets being an Aspie, but the more time I spend of my life focused on Aspergers, the more I feel I’m not living up to my full potential.

I can’t think of anything better to retire from than the work of trying to get others to understand me.

The last time I went to an Asperger group meeting for adults was on December 12th of last year. If I were to continue, it would be almost three years of going. There isn’t anything much left for me to give to the group information wise about Aspergers that I haven’t already said and there isn’t anything much left for me to gain by going.

Group meetings are not like gathering together for leisure activities; such as hanging out at a pub for pizza, going on a picnic or hike, etc. A lot of time in my life was occupied in settings similar to classrooms, bible study groups, support groups, and other special interest groups (e.g., computer clubs, sportsman clubs etc.). Rarely have I been able to simply enjoy time with another person outside of some programmed or planned project that’s restricted to a scheduled time and run by a leader.

I grew up in the era of when people dropped by unexpectedly for a cup of coffee, answered their phones, and made time to do fun things together. I can’t bring them back, but I also don’t have to do things that are not satisfying to me.

Long ago, church was satisfying and I attended many different ones. Today I realized I have a pastor again and he’s bar none the best I’ve ever experienced! Just because Oswald Chambers isn’t alive anymore does not mean he can’t shepherd my soul through his words left behind in print. God did it by leaving us His word in the Bible and He can just as well keep a pastor (or chaplain, which is what Chambers was) blessing congregations after that individual has been taken home to be with the Lord.

It seems fitting that Chambers was a chaplain rather than a pastor. The basic difference between a pastor and a chaplain is that a pastor stays put in one place while a chaplain is “God on the go.” Chaplains serve people where there is no organized church.

Chambers wasn’t famous in his lifetime (1874-1917). Now he’s somewhat famous. I say somewhat because he should be more well-known than what he is by now. I can imagine why his popularity level is relatively low. One can’t read much of Chambers without it having a strong effect on his or her life. Modern Christianity wants God diluted. Chambers gives God’s message in concentrate and concentration is what it demands.

How often do you see nothing but the highest rating given by all reviewers?

Postscript added on 3.22.10 — Now that enough time has passed for me to form an opinion on some of the works by Chambers, I’ve written my own review in a post called Devotion to Caution.