Godspeed is a devotional book based on the reformation and having just passed 500 years of celebrating it, I found a great interest in reading this book. It also just so happens that at the same time of reading this book it fit so nicely with the historical studies that were going on in our classroom at school. I found that the author adds bits and pieces of so many voices over the time of the Reformation. They are written in such a way that really makes you think and ponder and read them more than once to get the concept at times of what he’s saying. Personally, to me, I thought there were great devotional writings scattered throughout.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Easy read and yet on point, should help over busy to re-focus on the truly important

I really enjoyed this devotional and I usually dont like devotionals. While I am not totally Reformed, for several reasons, I did learn quite a bit and had not heard of most the quotes included in this collection, so it was quite a learning experiance! It was also not just about encouraging the reader everyday regardless of who was reading it so that was great too. It was learning suited for every reader. Neat devotional!

Godspeed

Voices of the Reformation
by David Teems

Abingdon Press

Christian , Religion & Spirituality

Pub Date 03 Oct 2017

I am reviewing a copy of GodSpeed Through Abingdon Press and Netgalley:

During the Protestant Reformation times were difficult. The reformer went against the then prominent church. Men and women like Anne Askew, the one they called The Faire Gospeller an attractive, well informed, independent women in a male dominated sixteenth century woman.

Men like Martin Luther too dared to stand up for what they believed an action that could and often did mean a death sentence. Men like William Tyndale as well were not afraid to stand up, and speak up about what they believed.

Anne Askew was more of a street preacher because women were not allowed at the pulpit in the sixteenth century.

If you are looking for a Devotional that will allow you to learn more about the Reformers, I recommend Godspeed.

I give this book five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

First sentence: It was William Tyndale, with his 1526 English New Testament, who introduced the word godspeed into the English language. Tyndale lived in the shadows of death. Hounded by a very large, widespread, and oppressive religious body, he lived with the understanding that each day could be his last. Yet far from crippling his efforts or restraining his spirit, it gave him clarity and deepened his resolve. It sharpened his natural gifts as well as his aim, proving, as it did with most of the reformers, that Christianity is always at its best when under fire.

Premise/plot: Godspeed is a new year-long devotional by David Teems. The focus is on the Reformers and the Reformation: William Tyndale, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, John Wycliffe, Jan Has, Ulrich Zwingli, Anne Askew, Anne Boleyn, Katherine Parr, Thomas Cranmer, Girolamo Savonarola, etc. Teems writes, "This little book doesn’t pretend to be a history, and it doesn’t always behave like a devotional."

Each entry features a quote by a Reformer, a short devotional message, a prayer, and a scripture verse.

My thoughts: I really enjoyed reading this devotional book. Some entries I loved more than others. But overall, I'd say it is a thought-provoking, substantive choice for a devotional book. Perhaps this is of more interest to history-lovers and church-history lovers. But the Reformers can teach us all a little something. So don't be intimidated by the idea of reading "ancient" theologians.

I loved reading the quotes. I liked Teems' devotions and prayers. Some of the prayers were really compelling.

Favorite prayer: "May the Word of God be your shield, your strong and high tower, your refuge in a time of flight, your peace in a time of calamity. May it have access to your thought life, to the secrets you keep there. May it be the answer when you have none, when you are mute. May it embolden. May it give you courage in a desperate time, wisdom in a time of doubt and uncertainty. May everything you do, everything you set your hand to have the seal of God upon it. And may you rest peaceful at day’s end, content with your labor. Where you fail or fall short, may the Word comfort even as it corrects. May it be your confidence in this world, your backbone, your clear eye, the depository of all you do and hope. Amen. "

Favorite quote by Teems: "Did William Tyndale translate the Bible or did the Bible translate William Tyndale? When you read Tyndale, it takes very little work to detect the consistencies in him, the themes he gravitates to, that repeat themselves again and again. Everything he does, everything he thinks, is, like his very soul, tethered to the Word of God. Before he translated a single word from one language to the next, the Word was at work translating him. Feeding on the Word, saturating himself with the Word daily altered him. Improvement led to improvement, compounding along the way, even as the scripture says, “to everyone who has, more will be given.”"

Favorite quote by Martin Luther: For some years now I have read through the Bible twice every year. If you picture the Bible to be a mighty tree and every word a little branch, I have shaken every one of these branches because I wanted to know what it was and what it meant. —Table Talk

Favorite quote by William Tyndale: Cleave fast unto the naked and pure word of God. The promise of God is the anchor that saveth us in all temptations. If all the world be against us, God’s word is stronger than the world. If the world kill us, that shall make us alive again. —The Obedience of a Christian Man