“Abide In Christ” by Andrew Murray. Whitaker House, publisher, 251 pages.

Bottom line up front: This is an extraordinary book from an extraordinary writer. It is a must-read volume that, if read with a heart seeking the indwelling Christ, will bring the reader into the way of life for which we were created and redeemed. If one does not understand what Murray is bringing in the book, one does not understand the Christian faith.

Why you should read this book: The subtitle on this edition captures part of the “why” for reading Murray’s work – “The Joy of Being in God’s Presence.” True Christian joy is the joy of the Holy Spirit in us, something that comes only as one begins to abide in Christ and engages the Christ living within. This book is yards ahead of any other I have seen on the topic of daily abiding in Christ and living by the fullness of His indwelling presence. Maybe leagues ahead.

The point: On the back of the book we find these words – “So many Christians, instead of accepting God’s invitation to enter His throne room, stand alone outside the door, uncertain and ashamed. Christ beckons them to His banqueting table and offers them a room in His house, but they foolishly give up the glory of the life He has offered. They come to Jesus as Redeemer but never go beyond the doorway to abide in Him and experience the unspeakable joy of dwelling with the King of Kings.”

The promises of our union with the God Who is in Christ Who dwells in us now (if we will have Him) are for this life and for eternity. Many believe these promises are only for our afterlife, a kind of reward for trying hard to be good here on earth. Yet the scriptures are clear: the eternal life of Christ in us, with all its promised fullness and freedom, is meant to be ours beginning now and stretching on into eternity. Murray understood and lived this life. He offers to guide you to the threshold of that life. You will have to take the steps to enter into it as our God has explained to us in His scriptures and Murray explains in this book.

The impact: I have owned a copy of this book for years, but never got around to reading it. The Holy Spirit prompted me to pick it up this last Fall. What an amazing book! So much that my God has been doing in me over the last decade was clearly explained therein, and the path forward into the fullness of Christ in me was illuminated. The Spirit spoke volumes to me as I journeyed through the book.

Read. This. Book. Do so in submission and surrender to the Holy Spirit, holding nothing back from Him. He will meet the honest, yielded seeker on these pages. I cannot imagine how an honest seeker can escape the the joy, the simplicity, and the fullness of abiding in Christ while this book is in his or her hands and heart.

Similar/complementary reads: “Christ Life” by A. B. Simpson. “The Life of God in the Soul of Man” by Henry Scougal. “The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification” by Walter Marshall. Instead of the original Marshall book with its 1690s English, get the shorter version, “The Teaching of Walter Marshall in The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification” by Joshua Nickel. This has the key chapters lightly edited to a more modern vernacular. Andrew Murray credited this book with his own awakening into the abiding life in Christ.