Ezekiel is an apt prophet with which to begin this collection of devotions that encourage saints under pressure to stay faithful to the gospel.
Those who have become lukewarm in their devotion to the Lord will be challenged by Ezekiel’s call to repentance and faith, amid the impending spectre of God’s wrath. However, this is balanced by many references to the patience and long-suffering of God.
Other devotions, based on Peter’s epistles, begin with the comfort believers may take from the doctrine of election by grace alone. We see our eternal hope in Christ and how God uses trials to sanctify believers. Taylor also explores what our response to trials should be and quotes from well-loved hymns to underline the great truths of Scripture.
Devotions based on Daniel draw richly from the faithfulness of this prophet and his famous three friends during the 70-year exile of God’s people in Babylon. Readers are assured that their faith was amply rewarded.
Comments on John’s Gospel set forth a clear challenge for believers to share their faith. They are encouraged to enter into their great heritage in Christ, while unbelievers are called to respond to all that the Lord Jesus has accomplished for them.
In the Ezra and Nehemiah studies, the author highlights some contemporary challenges for the church today: fear of man, slothfulness and compromise. John’s epistles highlight the three tests of genuine faith — truth, love and obedience. The devotions challenge believers to strive for assurance of salvation by considering each of John’s three tests in their own lives.
In the Ecclesiastes section, use is made of insightful comments from other authors. The modern relevance of Ecclesiastes is also brought out, wrestling as it does with issues current today. The devotions in the Psalms are a timely corrective to modern day ‘easy-believism’ that offers forgiveness without real and lasting repentance.
Finally, Taylor looks into Revelation. The introduction to these devotions reminds us that it was given to the apostle John on the eve of two great periods of persecution in the early church. The devotions, here based on the seven letters to the churches, call on believers in all ages to withstand trials by clinging to godliness and faithfulness to God’s Word.
Grahame Wray
Leeds
