Consider Jesus and Other Brief Devotionals by Vance Havner

If you’ve never read Vance Havner’s writings, I can’t think of a better place to start than this little volume of short devotionals. Every page is vintage Havner. In his foreword, Dennis Hester writes, “These brief meditations are powerful, Bible-centered truths written in the same witty and prophetic style for which Havner is loved and known.” He continues: “Consider Jesus is filled with Havner’s priceless wit and practical wisdom. The author takes time to reflect on his walking and talking with God. Havner’s love for nature, his devotion to Jesus Christ, and his ability to apply eternal truths to everyday living are refreshing, stimulating, and encouraging.”

Havner himself writes in the first of these devotionals: “No life is great that does not point to Christ.... In these pages many verses are called to mind. Start from any of them and the path leads to him.... Satan will go to any lengths to keep you from considering the Lord. If he can put you to riding the hobby of a favorite doctrine; if he can get you to look back at yesterday’s failures, or ahead to tomorrow’s dreads, or around at the array of circumstances, or within at your own weakness and poverty – anywhere but looking unto Jesus – then he is satisfied.”

So let us pause a moment and take a fresh look at Jesus, “lest we be wearied and faint in our minds.”

About the Author
Vance Havner (1901-1986) was a unique servant of God whose spoken ministry spanned over seventy years and whose written ministry extended to almost forty books. Michael Catt, Pastor of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia, says of him: “There was no one like Vance Havner. His preaching style was unique, powerful, and pointed. He was a master at turning a phrase, using humor to set up a point, and then driving the point home like a sharp, two-edged sword. Every Christian should read Vance Havner… If you love A. W. Tozer, you’ll love Vance Havner. He was one of God’s gifts to the church in the 20th century. His ministry and his preaching needs to be heard in the 21st century.”