On This Day

Witnesses from the past -- One per day

Review by Mary Jane Harrison

What a great way to learn about interesting men and women related to the Christian faith! In his new book On This Day, Robert J. Morgan has written 365 stories about preachers, saints, martyrs, and heroes through the ages. From the Roman Empire to the Reformation, from Martin Luther to Billy Graham, readers will learn Christian history in small segments tied to Scripture selections and be uplifted each day in the year. The selections are so interesting that the problem will be reading only one per day.

For example, the selection for December 2 is based on the life of Frances Havergal, who struggled with the pull of her singing talent and her desire to serve Christ completely. On December 2, 1873, she read a booklet "All for Jesus" and "saw as a flash of electric light" the blessedness of true and total consecration. Soon thereafter she wrote the words to the classic hymn, "Take My Life and Let It Be" and gained a place in musical history that she might never have attained otherwise. The Scripture selection for that account is Galatians 2:19-20.

Readers may know Morgan as the author of The Children's Daily Devotional Bible which received the 1997 Gold Medallion Award in the elementary children's category from the Evangelical Christian Press Association. Morgan is a pastor in Donelson, Tennessee, and On This Day grew out of his use of such stories and examples in sermon preparation. He has also done research in Great Britain and the New England states, giving the stories touches of color and detail they might not otherwise have. Although the book provides illustrations for sermons (a copy makes a great gift for your pastor), he has made the content simple enough for those who aren't familiar with Christian history.

Morgan urges Christians to know something about those who preceded them in the church to get their bearing for their own faith. "These stories will help broaden a person's approach not just to the Scriptures but to their entire heritage as followers of Christ."

But he has an even stronger reason for writing a daily devotional based on the witnesses from Christian history. Morgan sees that we are living in a time of rapid secularization in the United States. "We're within a generation of seeing only five to six percent of the population going to church on any given Sunday. Movies, television, commercials, and materialism are combining to present Christians with a very dangerous moment in history. . . . Hopefully this book will anchor us in our faith so that we will find the resilience and courage to be more outspoken."

Dietrick Bonhoeffer's story, presented on November 9 in On This Day, is history's stark testimony of where such lack of courage can lead a nation and of what power to witness for Christ we can draw from Christian martyrs in days gone by. Do not miss this book.

Mary Jane Harrison is a pastor's wife in Odessa, TX.

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