In this book Joni takes us through some of the writings of a man called Brother Lawrence, a monk who lived through the drudgeries of monastery kitchen duty during the turbulence of 1600s France. Quite different to us, and to Joni Eareckson Tada  who famously suffered a terrible accident that broke her neck and left her paralysed. And they are an unlikely pairing in other ways too. Sometime after her accident, Joni became a “five-point Calvinist,” a theology known for its strong emphasis on God’s sovereignty. The monk Brother Lawrence emphasised a person’s free will. These two are different theologies, so in some ways it is odd that Joni found the humble work of  this monk meaningful and helpful in her quest for God’s peace. However—despite their disagreements—Joni shows his writing  to be winsome, simple, and engaging.  He offers a no-nonsense approach to sin and its decaying effects on a lively relationship with God. She is drawn to Lawrence’s authenticity. Here was a Christian man who suffered greatly, like her; and he struggled morally and deeply regretted having wandered far from his spiritual moorings. When he failed spiritually, he admitted his sin and was quick to repent. That’s the stuff Joni respects. Now sadly, Lawrence underplays the redemptive work of Christ as the fullest expression of God’s love for a wounded world, but Joni recognises that, seeing the difference between her Calvinist theology and his Catholic theology. However—as we read in the book’s introduction— ‘If Brother Lawrence had been able to see far into the future of his fellow journeyman Joni Eareckson Tada, he would have smiled to hear her say, “Without Christ, there is no sense in suffering. Without Christ, there is no presence of God.”’ And that is why this book is such a great read.

ISAIAH BY THE DAY: A New Devotional Translation – Alec Motyer (Christian Focus, 2011)

I know one or two, at least, in our congregation who have known great help from Alec Motyer, some having read a similar edition of Motyer’s commentary on the Psalms, which takes the same approach, being a day-by-day devotional book. This one is Isaiah, which is the book we’re going to be reading for the next few months as a church. Isaiah is sixty-six chapters of some of the most gospel-filled content in the Old Testament, and Alec Motyer is my favourite commentator on the book. Motyer is not from our tribe (he was an Anglican), but what’s refreshing about his writing and preaching is that he shows the wonder of seeing the Lord Jesus Christ in the Old Testament (though we may wish he was less bogged down in the academic rigour expected of a writer of his standing). He is now with the Lord, but before his death, he contributed so much of worth to our thinking on this wonderful book of the Bible (and others). If nothing else, what reading this devotional commentary will do for you is give you a sense of awe and quietness in the face of the wonder that the Lord Jesus Christ has come to save us from our sins and that he’s done that through being the suffering servant. Magnificent!