Immersed: 40 Days to a Deeper Faith, is a daily devotional designed to develop deeper Christian disciples, written by Doug Munton, pastor of First Baptist Church of O’Fallon, Illinois. It is divided into six chapters designed for each week, and each chapter has seven daily readings, except the last chapter, which has five readings, bringing the total to 40 daily readings. Each reading is about two and a quarter pages in length. The book may be read alone as a daily devotional, or read in conjunction with a small group discussion or church-wide campaign. I read one reading each day for 40 days, as suggested, but on my own without a group discussion. Each daily reading comments on a particular scripture verse, which he explains and applies to daily life, and concludes with points to ponder and reference to two chapters of the Bible as a suggested daily Bible reading. The seven weeks of devotionals cover the subjects of God’s Word, personal renewal, following Christ in difficult times, recognizing blessings and blessing others, choosing a missional life, and living out your faith in the real world.
Munton writes in a conversational style, filled with everyday illustrations, making it easy to read. However, don’t assume this is just light reading. He has many keen insights that often sent me to my knees in prayer, reflection, and got me on my feet to take action.
Munton has a gift for memorable illustrations. The story on Day 22 is a beautiful example. Munton tells how his father learned to count his blessings, while alone on a mountain during the Korean War. Then (spoiler alert) Munton shares how after his father died, they found a photo of his Dad in uniform in Korea. His mother pointed to the mountain behind him in the photo and said, “that is the hill where your father counted his blessings” (p. 110). Munton also knows how to turn a phrase and is full of provocative quotations. He says, “our hope is not that our problems will be absent but that our Lord will be present” (p. 80). He says, “the mission of Jesus– and, therefore, the mission of His disciples– is about more than helping nice people be nicer. It is about helping dead people find life” (p. 140). He says, “We can never be worthy of salvation but we can live worthily in salvation” (p. 176).
Each daily reading ends with reference to two chapters of the Bible suggested for daily scripture reading, designed to take the reader through The Gospel of John, The Acts of the Apostles, and Proverbs. While I agree that it is an important part of discipleship to read through books of the Bible, I wonder if it might have been better to if Munton had done the daily Bible readings differently. Most of his assigned daily Bible readings do not relate to the daily devotionals. However, since each daily devotional is built around a key Bible verse, it seems to me it would have been better to assign the reader to read the whole Biblical chapter that includes the focus verse of each day’s devotional, giving greater context to the excellent devotionals that Munton writes.
Despite that minor critique, this book is one of the best resources I have read for personal discipleship. I highly recommend it.
Copies can be found online at amazon.com, or at discounted bulk prices directly from the author at http://www.dougmunton.com.
In the interest of full disclosure, Munton is a personal friend of mine, and I received a complimentary copy of his book, but I was under no obligation to write a favorable review.