Oswald Chambers
Oswald Chambers (1874–1917). Born on July 24, 1874, in Aberdeen, Scotland, to a Baptist minister’s family, Oswald Chambers became a renowned Bible teacher and author, best known for My Utmost for His Highest. Raised in a devout home, he studied art at the University of Edinburgh and Dunoon Theological College, developing a gift for preaching influenced by Charles Spurgeon, whom he heard at 16. Converted in his teens, he felt called to ministry after a profound spiritual experience and traveled globally, teaching at Bible schools in the UK, U.S., and Japan. In 1910, he married Gertrude “Biddy” Hobbs, who later compiled his teachings; they had one daughter, Kathleen. Chambers founded the Bible Training College in London (1911–1915), closing it to serve as a YMCA chaplain in Egypt during World War I. There, he ministered to soldiers at Zeitoun Camp until his death from appendicitis complications on November 15, 1917, in Cairo, at age 43. His books, like Biblical Psychology and Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, were published posthumously from Biddy’s shorthand notes. Chambers said, “The great essential of the missionary is that he remains true to the call of God.”
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Oswald Chambers preaches about the divine perspective on suffering, urging believers not to be discouraged by trials as they are opportunities for God's loving discipline. He emphasizes the importance of patience in maintaining spiritual strength and encourages a focus on imitating the character of Jesus Christ. Chambers highlights the significance of relying on God's creative power in times of despair and the ultimate goal of pursuing holiness over fleeting happiness.
Quotes
“We say, sorrow, disaster, calamity. God says, chastening and it sounds sweet to him though it is a discord to our ears. Don't faint when you are rebuked, and don't despise the chastening of the Lord. In your patience possess your souls.” “We look upon the enemy of our souls as a conquered foe, so he is, but only to God, not to us.” “Earnestness is not by any means everything; it is very often a subtle form of pious pride because it is obsessed with the method and not with the Master.” “Character in a saint means the disposition of Jesus Christ persistently manifested.” “Books are standing counselors and preachers, always at hand, and always disinterested; having this advantage over oral instructors, that they are ready to repeat their lesson as often as we please.” “The dearest friend on earth is a mere shadow compared to Jesus Christ.” “A good book, in the language of the book-sellers, is a salable one; in that of the curious, a scarce one; in that of men of sense, a useful and instructive one.” “When a man gets to despair he knows that all his thinking will never get him out. He will only get out by the sheer creative effort of God. Consequently he is in the right attitude to receive from God that which he cannot gain for himself.” “Holiness, not happiness, is the chief end of man.” “When it is a question of God's almighty Spirit, never say, I can't.” “Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time.”
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Oswald Chambers (1874–1917). Born on July 24, 1874, in Aberdeen, Scotland, to a Baptist minister’s family, Oswald Chambers became a renowned Bible teacher and author, best known for My Utmost for His Highest. Raised in a devout home, he studied art at the University of Edinburgh and Dunoon Theological College, developing a gift for preaching influenced by Charles Spurgeon, whom he heard at 16. Converted in his teens, he felt called to ministry after a profound spiritual experience and traveled globally, teaching at Bible schools in the UK, U.S., and Japan. In 1910, he married Gertrude “Biddy” Hobbs, who later compiled his teachings; they had one daughter, Kathleen. Chambers founded the Bible Training College in London (1911–1915), closing it to serve as a YMCA chaplain in Egypt during World War I. There, he ministered to soldiers at Zeitoun Camp until his death from appendicitis complications on November 15, 1917, in Cairo, at age 43. His books, like Biblical Psychology and Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, were published posthumously from Biddy’s shorthand notes. Chambers said, “The great essential of the missionary is that he remains true to the call of God.”