Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God: The Life Story of the Author of My Utmost for His Highest [Paperback]

David McCasland (Author)

Book Description

Series: OSWALD CHAMBERS LIBRARY | Publication Date: September 1, 1998

In Oswald ChambersAbandoned to God, you trace the life of this servant of God from his boyhood home in Scotland through an astounding journey of faith and trust in God's provision. From the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, and ultimately to a YMCA training camp in Egypt during World War I, you'll find Chambers to be a man utterly devoted to God, His Word, and to sharing the timeless wisdom of the Bible with others. The last six years of his life were spent as principal of the Bible Training College in London and as chaplain to British Commonwealth troops in Egypt during World War I. After Chambers died, at age 43 in 1917, the books that bear his name were compiled by his wife from her own verbatim shorthand notes of his talks. Chambers never lived to see the book for which he is best known, My Utmost for His Highest, published. He left a spiritual legacy that has touched men, women, politicians, and preachers ever since. Now you can read about this remarkable life well-lived and find inspiration to persevere for the sake of Christ.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David McCasland is the foremost authority on the works of Oswald Chambers. He is the author of Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God, which won the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association Gold Medallion award for biography, and is the compiler and editor of The Complete Works of Oswald Chambers. David is a regular contributer to the daily devotional Our Daily Bread, with special appearances on television's Day of Discovery.

From AudioFile

ÒYour daddy has gone to heaven,Ó Biddy Chambers tells her daughter at the opening of this biography of the twentieth-century Scots Protestant minister and teacher. Starting with Oswald ChambersÕs death from appendicitis at age 43, the book chronicles his early life, his commitment to God, and his missionary work. Simon Vance narrates with an ear for drama, treating the biography as if it were a novel. In quotations Vance gives Chambers a light Scots burr. Thus, the biography serves as a good introduction to both ChambersÕs writings and a life influenced by both art and faith. Further, it offers insight into why ChambersÕs religious talks, preserved in print by his wife, are still read well after his death. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Discovery House Publishers (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572930500
• ISBN-13: 978-1572930506
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #78,471 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #10 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Protestantism > Inspirational
  • #19 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Literature & Fiction > Poetry

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not to be missed!, July 9, 1998

By 

Susan Melkus (Omaha NE) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God: The Life Story of the Author of My Utmost for His Highest (Hardcover)

I finished reading this book about a month ago. It is the best biography I have ever read! I knew that I liked Oswald Chambers already, but now I can say I love him. What a man of God he was. What depth, compassion, heart he had. He was so wise, yet not a highbrow know-it-all. His poetry is intriguing and very thought provoking. What he wrote as a teenager is completely amazing and I was in awe of his talent and gift so well written about in this book. Many thanks to David McCasland for his thorough, dedicated research,and diligent effort to provide us a reference to one of the greatest, most inspiring men of God who ever walked this earth. Buy it soon. Read it sooner. You won't be sorry. You'll be altered! susie melkus

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A worthy read, a noble life, July 22, 2003

By 

Tom Williams (Orlando, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God: The Life Story of the Author of My Utmost for His Highest (Paperback)

After reading Chambers' word daily for the previous three years, I had already been changed by the man's insights into the God's Word and the disciple's walk. As Richard Halverson (former Chaplain of the United States Senate) said of My Utmost for His Highest, "No book except the Bible has influenced my walk with Christ at such deep and maturing levels."

When I began to read what I thought would simply be a pleasantly uplifting and inspiring life story of a man I already admired, I did not imagine how much McCasland's biography would enrich my appreciation of Chambers' words and life. The book is quite well written, and was most certainly enjoyable, but it provided far more enriching rewards. The details of Chambers' life and thinking that McCasland's work painted became a context which greatly deepens the significance of Chambers' writing - especially My Utmost for His Highest. Provided with Chambers' background, upbrinning, struggles, failings, loves, sacrifices, ambitions, convictions, conversations, correspondences and more, his own writing has led me to even deeper appreciation and understanding of the walk of a faithful servant of Christ. I am still astounded that he died at my own age - how could such a young man come to know the Lord and the yoke of service so well in such a short time?! I am grateful that McCasland went on to relate the story of Biddy, Oswald's widow, and her incredible faithfulness to the work that Oswald was unable to continue.

I have already purchased and given away several copies of Abandoned to God, and will continue to recommend and share it. McCasland has done more than simply told the story of a man, he has revealed and shared a noble life with us. In summation, I must say that this book has become my favorite biography, and has probably made more difference in my life than any other I have read. Thank you, David McCasland!

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read, February 8, 2006

By 

Tim Challies (Oakville, Ontario) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God: The Life Story of the Author of My Utmost for His Highest (Paperback)

I have to admit: Only a few years ago I was quite convinced that Oswald Chambers simply could not be worth reading. I had first heard of the man through the context of a sudden rush of interest that seemed to be spearheaded by the Christian music industry. Several Christian artists banded together to record an album and the devotional classic My Utmost For His Highest was packaged with it. I assumed, somewhat unfairly, that if he garnered this amount of interest from Christian musicians there must be something wrong with him. I am ashamed to admit this today.

In the last few years I have come to develop an appreciation for the life and ministry of Oswald Chambers. I still know only very little about the man but have come to see an almost prophetic aspect to his writing. Much of what he wrote almost 100 years ago seems as relevant today as it was then. There were some strange and even unbiblical aspects to his ministry, but what shines most clearly about Chambers' life is his all-out devotion to Christ. He knew the Savior deeply and profoundly and sought to submit his life entirely to the Lord.

Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) was born in Scotland, where he also spent most of his youth. He was a gifted artist and intended to follow that path in life until, at age 22, he felt called into the ministry. He studied (and later taught) at a small seminary in Dunoon and, upon graduation, teached and preached in Britain, America and Japan. In 1910 he married Gertrude Hobb, whom he affectionately called "Biddy," and soon after opened a Bible College. When war engulfed the world, Chambers left the comforts of home and left for Egypt to be chaplain to British troops stationed there. His life and ministry were cut short when, in 1917, he died from complications following surgery to remove his appendix. Biddy continued his ministry in Egypt and, after the war ended, returned to England and began to publish his words which she had often transcribed from sermons, lectures and talks. This amounted to near 30 books, the most famous of which is My Utmost For His Hightest. Oswald Chambers, while appreciated in his day, has become widely known to evangelicals through the labors of his wife.

Abandoned to God is a biography of Chambers written by David McCasland who also authored, Pure Gold, a biography of Eric Liddell I recently reviewed. He is an excellent biographer who is able to major on the majors, focusing on the most important aspects of his subject's life. As often as possible he allows the man to speak for himself and he quotes continually from the writing and correspondance left by Chambers. He seems to present, as nearly as we could hope, Oswald as he truly was.

It has been several years since I first heard the name of Oswald Chambers. I am now glad to know that his writing has experienced a resurgence, especially in the form of My Utmost For His Highest which is still available in any Christian bookstore. A new generation deserves to be able to know the name of Chambers and to benefit from the example he left us of a man who gave all he had to His Savior. Abandoned to God is a well-written, thoroughly-researched and stirring biography and one I am glad to recommend to you.