Those who are intimately acquainted with spiritual realities, know that just as there are seasons in the natural world, so there are seasons of the soul. As I write this, here on the North American continent, autumn has officially begun. Even now as I glance up from my keyboard, I can look out my study window and see the early morning sun highlighting varying shades of greens and yellows on the poplars in our back yard. Fall is here; nature is once again entering her cycle of decay, dormancy, and death. While there are inevitable natural cycles of the soul—seasons … Continue reading “Bending Low in Prayer”
Month: February 2017
The Letter and the Spirit / Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was brought up in Welsh Calvinistic Methodism, first as a boy in Wales and then as a teenager and student in London. Pursuing a future in medicine, he completed his academic education and training in London and by the age of 26 he also became a Member of the Royal College of Physicians. With a brilliant and lucrative career in front of him, however, God had plans for Lloyd-Jones to be a physician of souls rather than of bodies. Though raised in the church, it wasn’t until he was a young doctor that Lloyd-Jones came to … Continue reading “The Letter and the Spirit / Martyn Lloyd-Jones”
Letters from Noah: Letter 17
Dear Brother Christopher, As I recounted in my earlier letter to you, at Yahweh’s command, I selected all the animals that were to be saved from the Great Deluge. Then came a very emotional time for me. After all the animals had been led into the Ark, my wife and three sons and three daughters-in-law walked up the ramp. Try to put yourself in my place, dear brother. I was then in my six-hundredth year. I had lived in intimate communion with Yahweh for centuries, walking righteously by faith. I had faithfully offered sacrifices to Yahweh and taught my family … Continue reading “Letters from Noah: Letter 17”
The Way of the Lamb / George Steinberger
These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. Revelation 14:4 THE FOOTPRINTS of the Lamb of God mark out the only way upon which true spiritual progress is possible. It is the pathway where we find enduring peace, where we live a fruitful life, where we win spiritual victories, where we attain to the goal of glory. He who follows the Lamb in His way comes at last to where the Lamb Himself is. And the Lamb is in the midst of the throne. No other way leads thither. Often the way of full salvation through Christ … Continue reading “The Way of the Lamb / George Steinberger”
Mighty in Faith
And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. Hebrews 11:4 George Müller (1805-1898) was great in faith and prayer, trusting God alone to supply the needs of orphans under his care. His biographer Roger Steer tells the following story about how God faithfully heard the prayers and honored his believing servant. Early one morning Abigail was playing in Müller’s garden on Ashley Down when he took her by the hand. “Come see what our Father will do.” He led her into a long dining-room. “The plates and cups or bowls were on the table. There was nothing on the … Continue reading “Mighty in Faith”
The Spirit of Orthodoxy
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth.” John 14:16-17 Dr. Daniel Steele (1824-1914) served his Lord and the Methodist Church as a pastor, evangelist, college president (two colleges), professor (including Boston University), and as a writer to the church at large. He was the founding president of Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York. Steele served on the committee assigned to create a charter for Syracuse, which was designed to be a Methodist-affiliated school. Upon reading the charter’s first draft, he remarked later, it “would have suited a Muslim … Continue reading “The Spirit of Orthodoxy”
Living Stones
As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:4-5 One day, I was reading the following words of C. S. Lewis (1898-1963); they have stayed with me ever since: “This world is a great sculptor’s shop. We are the statues and there is a rumor going round the shop that some of us are some day going to come to life.”* With those words … Continue reading “Living Stones”