My Utmost for His Highest: Selections for the Year

I heard about this book during a sermon as it was highly recommended as extremely useful to anyone looking for spiritual guidance. The author's wife put together the most profound excerpts of her late husband's sermons/lectures as daily devotionals. He was a Scotsman, founded a religious school in London in 1915, and was a preacher/missionary to various areas (including to Soldiers during WWI in Egypt) who died unexpectedly in 1917, so the language is of the period in this edition (which I find more interesting). (Also, please note: some wrote in other reviews they purchased the edition with the modern day language and did not enjoy it as much as this version).Divided by dates with a devotion for each, there is also a scriptural reference in support of each topic. I found it helpful from Day One of my ownership in September, when I opened it to a random day in July... and found the message was exactly what I needed for that specific point in my life, dealing with an unhealthy work environment, toxic people at work, etc. It paid for itself with just that one entry (as that one entry helped me get through that time of dysfunction with my chin up and head held high), and I have been enjoying it since! You can either follow it day by day, or let yourself be led to the specific devotion your soul needs at the time. Either way, a GREAT book and GREAT resource for any spiritual person. I highly recommend it!

It seems hard to believe that Oswald Chambers lived for only 43 years , yet during that brief period, his quest to draw close to God. drove him to such spiritual depths. His devotional reading for January 1 sums up Chambers life goal -- "i am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and Him alone". BE WARNED: this book should not be seen as a daily devotional; it should be seen as a DAILY SPIRITUAL WORKOUT. I have used it as my daily reading on three different years. Each reading has driven me to a deeper, more meaningful spiritual walk. If you are looking for a "spiritual Pilates workout" , you will find it in this devotional.

Author is Spiritually Deep. “Deep calleth unto Deep”. I’ve read this book through many times and always pick up more info. Prompted me to buy the complete Works of Oswald Chambers. This book is second only to the Bible itself. Did I tell you I named my my Cat Oswald Chambers?

I purchased this book from Books Squared and it arrived promptly! I wanted it in order to begin using it as my main Daily Devotional to read along with my Bible. It couldn't have arrived at a more wonderful time. Tomorrow we begin the New Year--2015. Thank you Books Squared!!!I had owned a copy of My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers years ago. It is a wonderful devotional book. Oswald Chambers held many nightly meetings in which he taught from the Word of God. His wife was prolific in shorthand and made notes during her husbands teachings. This book was put together from Oswald Chambers' wife's notes. It is a definite Christian Classic because Mr. Chambers doesn't just give you a verse of scripture and then try to tell a modern story weaved around the verse. Instead, he expounds upon the scripture verse. That is a rarity in devotional books these days.I highly recommend this book for all who are seeking more of God. Your spirit will be fed the meat of God's word. It is an excellent book!

Updated: I since purchased another copy of this book for use as a gift. This copy was marred, and in fact ruined for purposes of use as a gift, by a low quality sticker that amazon attached to the back of the new copy of this leather bound book. The glue was poorly selected and bonded the to leather, so that when the large, ugly upc was removed, a lot of sticky glue and discoloration remained. I read that acetone would remove this. Well, I work hard, and have no time to just run out and buy acetone. Fast forward more than 30 days later, I have acetone, but it also ruins the coloring which is added to the leather making for an even more unsightly effect. So now I have an extra copy of the book which I guess I can throw in my car in case, heaven forbid, I'm ever stranded and dying in my car, at least I'll have a devotional to read. Junky stickers like this seem to be all the rage with amazon and some of their 3rd party merchants these days. I don't think they actually care about the books enough to even notice and it's a real shame.Original Review: This is the best devotional reading I've ever encountered, and will probably never be topped. I don't know how Chambers had such insights, but in my opinion his writing approaches the inspiration level of scripture. It's timeless and will undoubtedly help you get your mind and soul in order throughout the dark times that plague us all periodically. I recommend that anyone with any spiritual inclination, Christian or otherwise, keep a copy handy and try working through the year with My Utmost for His Highest. And, by the way, this edition is very, very nice. The binding and the printing are all well above expectations. Possibly the only extra thing I could ask for would be one of those silk built-in bookmarks, that would really make this perfect, but I'm not going to complain of such an omission at this price. Highest recommendation.

I have had a copy of this book since 1976 and value it greatly. My son got a copy from a friend of his when he was in his 20s, and most recently my adult daughter heard of this book from someone she knows and asked me if I'd ever heard of it. So I bought her a copy. Interesting to me that I never even told my kids I had the book, yet they have heard good things about it from others. Ordering it for my daughter, I assumed the price would be sky high after all these years, but not so. Very reasonably priced. So inexpensive actually that I not only bought my daughter this hard copy book of the original but also ordered her a copy of the new one out that is in "modern language" so she can compare the two and see which she prefers.

As Thomas Merton put it, there is nothing really new under the sun. "There is nothing so ancient and so dead as human novelty. The 'latest' is always stillborn. What is really NEW is what was there all the time. I say, not what has repeated itself all the time; the really "new" is that which, at every moment, springs freshly into new existence."I have used this devotional since my mid twenties.. thirty years or so. I haven't used it rigidly every day, but I'm sure I have been through it eight or ten times. And I can safely say that the Lord has spoken to me freshly hundreds of times. It has this enduring quality, and this poly-valence.But it is neither easy nor simple reading. The language is often archaic. Even the updated version retains a 19th century British flavor. But for those who love language, this is not a barrier but rather a recommendation.Finally, remember that Chambers is now public domain and his devotional is available online.[...]

It is no surprise that this book has garnered such gleeful adulation by Christians for the past hundred years. reading through only a couple days of devotionals will reveal a vast treasure of scriptural application and wisdom that reminds the reader of Solomon's book of proverbs. Even though this book was written in a time and culture vastly different from today's, the wisdom of God persists in the gentle advice to discipleship that Jesus has been prompting us to and Oswald Chambers echos. Buy this book if you desire daily encouragement through God's word. I can testify that you won't regret it.

Oswald Chambers is one of my favorite Christian authors. I like the way he presents Jesus to a fumbling and confused world.I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to explore a clear and deeper walk in their Christian walk.

One of the best devotionals in existence

This edition is very well bound - a "coffee table" addition; but it's the daily words of wisdom and insight into Christian life and service that make this so inspiring. A very good purchase.