by Peter James | Apr 19, 2025 | Favorite, John Milton
John Milton (1608-1674) was nearing the end of his eventful life. He felt as if he had one last poem in him. He rose each morning at 5:00 am, meditated with his Hebrew Bible for an hour and offered the day in prayer. (John had learned ancient Hebrew as a child and as...
by Peter James | Apr 18, 2025 | Jonathan Edwards
Presbyterians were selecting hymns for their new hymnal. They asked the originators of the new hymn, “In Christ Alone,” to change the lyrics from “the wrath of God was satisfied” to “the love of God was magnified.” The two authors...
by Peter James | Apr 17, 2025 | Jean-Pierre de Caussado
Jean-Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751) was a simple man. He was driven by one compelling ambition: to love God and surrender to him completely. If we abandon ourselves to God, there is only one rule for us to follow: the duty of the present moment. This eighteenth...
by Peter James | Apr 16, 2025 | Richard Baxter
Richard Baxter (1615-1691) was a confirmed middle-aged bachelor and rector of a rural Church of England parish. (He was also numbered among the Puritans but don’t get me started on how often we unfairly malign these early American settlers!) Margaret Charlton,...
by Peter James | Apr 15, 2025 | William Carey
William Carey (1761-1834) failed at the job of cobbler. He was good at making shoes yet lousy at making money. Next, he turned to preaching. William lived during a time when people were indifferent, even hostile to world missions. He said to a gathering of Baptist...
