Oswald J.

Chambers

Oswald J. Chambers (born July 24, 1874 in Aberdeen, Scotland; died

November 15, 1917 in Egypt) was a prominent early twentieth century
Scottish Protestant Christian minister and teacher, best known as the
author of the widely-read devotional My Utmost for His Highest.

Born to devout Baptist parents, Chambers did not plan to go into the
ministry. He studied at Kensington Art School and attended the
University of Edinburgh, where he studied fine art and archaeology.
But while at Edinburgh, he felt called to ministry, and transferred to
Dunoon College. An unusually gifted student, Chambers soon began
teaching classes and started a local society dedicated to Robert
Browning, his favorite poet.

Chambers travelled the world, stopping in Egypt, Japan, and America.

It was on one of his trips to America that he met Gertrude Hobbs. In
1910 he was married to Hobbs, whom he affectionately called "Biddy".
On 24 May 1913, Biddy gave birth to their first and only child,
Kathleen.

In 1911 he founded and became principal of the Bible Training College

in Clapham in London. In 1915, feeling called to the war effort (World
War I), Chambers applied and was accepted as a YMCA chaplain. He
announced that the Bible Training College would be suspending
operations for the duration of the war. Chambers was assigned to
Zeitoun in Egypt, where he ministered to Australian and New Zealand
troops who were later part of the disastrous Battle of Gallipoli.

Chambers died November 15, 1917 in Egypt as the result of a ruptured

appendix. He suffered the extreme pain of appendicitis for three days
before seeking medical attention, refusing to take a hospital bed
needed by wounded soldiers.

While there are more than 30 books that bear his name, he only
penned one book, Baffled to Fight Better. His wife, Biddy, was a
stenographer and could take dictation at a rate of 250 words per
minute. During his time teaching at the Bible College and at various
sites in Egypt, Biddy kept verbatim records of his lessons. She spent
the remaining 30 years of her life compiling her records into the bulk of
his published works.
Oswald Chambers' Bio

Oswald Chambers sometimes startled audiences with his vigorous

thinking and his vivid expression. Even those who disagreed with what
he said found his teachings difficult to dismiss and all but impossible to
ignore. Often his humor drove home a sensitive point: “Have we ever
got into the way of letting God work, or are we so amazingly important
that we really wonder in our nerves and ways what the Almighty does
before we are up in the morning!”

Oswald Chambers was not famous during his lifetime. At the time of his
death in 1917 at the age of forty-three, only three books bearing his
name had been published. Among a relatively small circle of Christians
in Britain and the U.S., Chambers was much appreciated as a teacher
of rare insight and expression, but he was not widely known.

Chambers was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1874, the youngest son

of a Baptist minister. He spent his boyhood years in Perth; then his
family moved to London when Oswald was fifteen. Shortly after the
move to London, Oswald made his public profession of faith in Christ
and became a member of Rye Lane Baptist Church. This marked a
period of rapid spiritual growth, along with an intense struggle to find
God’s will and way for his life.

A gifted artist and musician, Chambers trained at London’s Royal

Academy of Art, sensing God’s direction to be an ambassador for Christ
in the world of art and aesthetics. While studying at the University of
Edinburgh (1895-96), he decided, after an agonizing internal battle, to
study for the ministry. He left the university and entered Dunoon
College, near Glasgow, where he remained as a student, then a tutor
for nine years.

In 1906 he traveled to the United States, spending six months teaching

at God’s Bible School in Cincinnati, Ohio. From there, he went to Japan,
visiting the Tokyo Bible School, founded by Mr. and Mrs. Charles
Cowman. This journey around the world in 1906-1907 marked his
transition from Dunoon College to fulltime work with the Pentecostal
League of Prayer.

During the last decade of his life, Chambers served as:

• traveling speaker and representative of the League of Prayer, 1907-
10
• principal and main teacher of the Bible Training College, London,
1911-15
• YMCA chaplain to British Commonwealth soldiers in Egypt, 1915-17
He died in Cairo on November 15, 1917, of complications following an
emergency appendectomy. The complete story of his life is told in
Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God (1993).

Taken from The Quotable Oswald Chambers, edited by David

McCasland. Used by permission.

Books [Teachings and Bible Study]:

My Utmost for His Highest

The Updated Edition was first published in 1992 after considerable
editorial work by James Reimann. This edition is available in several
bindings. Choose whichever one is suitable for your particular needs.

Baffled to Fight Better (Now re-titled Our Ultimate

Refuge)
A study guide to the book of Job, Chambers looks at the problem of
suffering. Do we only suffer if we have sinned? Should Christians
suffer? These words were spoken many years ago, but are still very
relevant in the 21st Century.

Biblical Ethics
With discernment and passion, the author of My Utmost for His Highest
helps you tackle subjects that form the very fabric of Christian living -
the biblical principle of integrity.

Biblical Psychology
This was one of the few books Chambers saw in print before his death,
and looks deeply at the theology of the soul. Chambers based his
teaching on the foundation that God created people as relational
creatures. How do they reconcile their faith in a world full of sin and its
effects.

Christian Disciplines
Oswald Chambers elaborates on six essential disciplines God uses to
build strong Christian character: divine guidance, suffering, peril,
prayer, loneliness and patience.You will better understand events in
your life when you recognize these disciplines as God's way of
developing intimacy with you.
Conformed to His Image/Servant as His Lord
A study offering practical advice on how to let go of the "old us" and
become "new creations", how to get out of the depths of apparent
spiritual failure and into a full Christian life.

If You Will Ask

Prayers changes us and then we can change things", so said Oswald
Chambers in one of his lectures. This book contains many of OC's
thoughts and words on prayer.

Our Brilliant Heritage/If You Will Be Perfect/Disciples

Three books in one, which tackle the subject of sanctification and how
we can inherit is and appropriate it through our relationship with Jesus
Christ.

Our Ultimate Refuge

Pain and suffering can bring a new understanding of God's majesty,
goodness, and plan for us. While few will ever suffer to the extreme
that Job did, his character and his dealings with God can bring light to
our own pain and to the suffering of others. This thoughtful study of
the book of Job explains the positive effects pain can produce in our
lives. It also show us how not to deal with those who are suffering. With
characteristic insight, Chambers discusses and reveals the inadequacy
of our myths of self-sufficiency and eternal optimism.

So Send I You/Workmen of God

Although this book is particularly directed to those called to missions,
there are challenges here to everyone who wants to see the lost saved.

Studies in the Sermon on the Mount

A very valuable study aid for individuals or groups looking at Matthew
5-7, the "Sermon on the Mount". We discover why these three chapters
are so vital to us as Christians. The third reprint of the current edition
will shortly be available.

The Love of God

What does the phrase "God is love" really mean? Chambers claims that
we can be so active in God's work, that we are lazy Christians!