No Other Rock

Throughout 2007, we will be going through Dr. J. Sidlow Baxter’s devotional, “Awake, My Heart.” As I have already discussed, I feel that I was called to begin with this book. If you missed that, please feel free to contact me via e-mail and I will discuss further with you.

For me, that call is enough. However, many of you may be wondering “why should I care” about that book. In other words, you may need a form of validation, if you will. So, as I make preparations for this “project” I will present that information to you.

There is a very brief Wiki on J. Sidlow Baxter that presents a high-level biographical overview. From elsewhere on the Web, I can provide you the following details:

J. Sidlow Baxter was born in Australia and grew up in Lancashire, England. He attended Spurgeon’s Theological College in London and was a pastor in Scotland and England. He is the author of over thirty books and has ministered in churches, Bible Conferences, and missionary centers throughout the United States, Canada, Great Britain and other places around the world. [source: The Preachers Corner]

His most popular work Explore the Book was published in 1987 (ISBN 0310206200). It is a 1760 page book that offers and analysis and summary of each book of the Bible.

From the back of the book, it reads that the devotional:

…continues to challenge and encourage readers with its biblical insight and personal warmth. With more than one million collies in print, Awake, My Heart is more than just another book of brief, daily devotions. As Dr. Baxter writes in the forward, each of the entries is “not only devotional, but expository and homiletical so far as space allows. Moreover, each article is one complete study-in-brief.”

A quick perusal of the book’s contents confirms this description. No devotional is in excess of one page. Each begins with a piece of scripture, and though I have not read any of them in depth at this point, they appear to be lesson oriented and spiritually purposeful. I’m looking very forward to getting started.