Joyce Meyers has been inspiring Christians for decades with the pearls of inspirational wisdom which she has faithfully shared via her radio program and books. Now, her husband Dave shares a powerful devotional crafted from a strong, personal walk with the Lord. Let’s take a look at the book that will certainly capture the attention of those drawn to Christian devotionals.

Dave Meyers is one of those rare men who works quietly in the shadow of their wife’s ministry. Joyce Meyers, who has been inspiring and motivating Christians for decades is a strong inspirational and motivational speaker in her own right. Still, Joyce credits the quiet, strong leadership of her husband in keeping her ministry on track as well as debt free. In reading Life Lines you will fully appreciate the saying, “still waters run deep” and quickly understand that Dave’s relationship with his Savior is a strong one.

Life Lines is only 126 pages in length, but each page is a separate devotional that stands by itself. On any given page the first thing that you will read is a Biblically based saying followed by the chapter and verse that the saying is based upon. The body of the devotional is a 1-2 paragraph exposition of the text full of wisdom and laced with nuggets of truth. Indeed, on page 98 Meyers states: God is more interested in your stability than your tranquility. He then references Psalm 1:2-3 for supporting text and sums up how “a life rooted in God and His Word is like a tree rooted in the eternal stream.”

The devotional is composed of five chapters featuring five separate themes:

1. Faith
2. Grace and Forgiveness
3. Character
4. Life in Christ
5. Secrets of Daily Living

I personally like to read devotionals from varying themes on one day or several devotionals from the same theme on another day. You may find yourself cracking open the Word and reading the supporting chapter to glean the most out of every devotional. Truly, Meyer’s book exhorts believers to seek God’s will for every aspect of their lives. In that, this book is a real gem.

Life Lines is published by Warner Faith, New York, 2004 and is available at Christian bookstores everywhere or through Joyce Meyers Ministries.

One of my favorite Christian writers is Clive Staples (Jack) Lewis, an Irish author who taught English literature and language at Oxford’s Magdalen College and was a Professor of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge University. The first time I read one of his works was in high school when I came across a book in his space trilogy works, That Hideous Strength. Admittedly, my first encounter with one of Lewis’ writings wasn’t a good one as I struggled mightily to finish the book. I never quite understood what it was about!

In my twenties I was introduced to Mere Christianity, an excellent work in defense of Christian beliefs. I was a young believer then and a friend correctly thought that this book would help build my faith.

Later, I read the Screwtape Letters a funny, but chilling look at spiritual warfare. Clearly, Lewis was blessed with a certain amount of spiritual insight not normally shared by God. I understand that Lewis experienced some unusual battles as he wrote this book.

More recently I had the opportunity to watch the movie, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, based on one part of a seven-part fantasy series written for children. The movie and the series also stirred the interest of my wife and children who are waiting for the second movie, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, to be released next summer.

Finally, I enjoyed the BBC production of Shadowlands, a movie that examined the personal life of Lewis, including his eventual marriage to Joy Davidman and her death from cancer. I did see the Hollywood version later, but the original movie I found to be more accurate (both of Davidman’s sons were portrayed, while in the second movie she had only one son) and interesting.

Now to my point: I recently discovered The Joyful Christian, a book that was compiled in 1984, some 21 years after Lewis’ death. Containing 127 readings from a wide range of Lewis’ writings, the book covers many different topics including morality, prayer, praise, sex, perfection and more. In some cases excerpts from his other writings are shared, meaning you may need to get that book for his full opinion on a particular subject. Still, for Lewis fans The Joyful Christian offers a good taste of what he is all about.

Lewis is not a theologian, rather he is an atheist turned Christian who came to faith at the age of 31. By that time he was already well established on a scholarly level with the bulk of his writings still to come. Lewis’ writings were heavily influenced by his knowledge of the medieval and renaissance eras and he was part of an informal literary group known as the Inklings (with J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, Owen Barfield and others) who met on a regular basis to discuss various books and encourage the writing of fantasy novels.

I came across The Joyful Christian at a second hand bookstore, but I know that it is still available through notable online distributors including Amazon. If you aren’t familiar with Lewis’ writings, this book is a good place to start and it should encourage you to seek out his other works.