A Book with a Red Cover

Earlier in my life I knew David Ellis. Not well, but a little bit. He was my minister, or one of them, being Associate Minister at St George’s Tron in Glasgow back in the day. I was at university with one of his sons and we were good friends. We were both involved in the Christian Union and one year we ran our faculty group – Arts and Law – together. Because of our friendship, I visited the Ellis home and so spoke more to David than I might otherwise have done. And from his son I heard a little about David and his wife Adele’s life serving God through The Overseas Missionary Fellowship (now OMF International).

However, mostly I knew David through his preaching. It was he who made me really understand Paul’s contention in Romans 8 that ‘in all things God works for the good of those who love him’. That’s true, David said, but our ultimate good is that we get to know God better and live our lives serving him. Our ultimate good is not necessarily having what we want. I also remember him speaking at the CU’s Christmas Praise event in the University Chapel where (in common with many evangelical ministers that year) he quoted from that year’s Christmas number one:

A time for living, a time for believing
A time for trusting, not deceiving
Love and laughter and joy ever after
Ours for the taking, just follow the master

Yes, Mistletoe and Wine brought to us by Cliff Richard lent itself well to the Christian message.

Through All the Changing Scenes was published by Christian Focus in 2020 and recounts David’s experiences of God’s unfailing love and concern. Until very recently it was on my TBR shelf and I have only just started reading it so I can’t tell you much more. But, based on my limited knowledge of David, I am confident in recommending it to you.

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