HOLINESS:
Food for the Journey
Edited by Elizabeth McQuoid
IVP. 112 pages. £5.99
ISBN 978 1 789 741 964
Holiness is the latest publication in the ‘Food for the Journey’ series of study notes for personal Bible reading.
Each book in the series contains excerpts from Keswick Convention speakers past and present, and 30 personal devotions. Amongst the contributors are Derek Tidball, Jonathan Lamb, Alec Motyer, John Stott and Don Carson.
Greatly to my benefit
I really appreciated the opportunity each morning to slow down and read what for many will be familiar Bible passages but more slowly. My temptation is to read Romans 12 or Ephesians 5 and say to myself ‘I know that’ and move on. But to spend four or five mornings in those passages meant I couldn’t do that – and it was greatly to my benefit. I felt as if I was being fed some of the highlights of the Keswick Convention each morning. It helped me confess my sin and pray more specifically for myself and others – rather than simply praying ‘make me more holy’.
The biggest weakness of the format is that the Bible passages are studied in Bible order. We’re immediately plunged into the details of Leviticus without giving sufficient regard to the fact that we’re not Old Testament believers. I found myself asking: ‘But how do I make sense of Leviticus as a Christian?’
And while it’s true that the notes on the Old Testament passages reference Jesus and point to the New Testament, they do so without a Biblical theology of holiness. It’s rather like a jigsaw – all the pieces are on the table, each piece is described but the picture hasn’t been put together.
So while I wouldn’t recommend this for a new Christian, I would recommend it for someone who has been a Christian for a while and wants God’s word to take root and transform their lives, and equip them to live as His holy people.
