John Bunyan and his wife married in 1648 in a simple service befitting those who were poor. Mrs. Bunyan (history does not record her first name) had two books in her possession inherited from her father. One was titled The Practice of Piety,...
I associated Ash Wednesday with Catholics in my childhood years. Receiving ashes on the forehead, giving up things for Lent, and refraining from meat on Wednesdays and Fridays were things only Catholics did. Silly me! Ashes have long been used as...
Jim Jarvis was homeless, living on the streets of east London. He was all of ten years old, an orphan whose mother likely died in a cholera outbreak. Jim attended the Ragged School for poor children. Its founder, Thomas John Barnardo (1845-1905),...
I'm intrigued by the innumerable ways people come to saving faith in Christ. For some, conversion is dramatic and decisive. For others, it is gradual and progressive. Philosopher Johann Hamann (1730-1788) had elements of both gradual and sudden...
I have written of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1907-1945) before. Twice, actually. I can't help myself. There are at least two good reasons to return to his prayers. First, there is an abundance of prayers written by Dietrich during his two-year...
Insecure leaders can kill an organization. They view competent people as competitors rather than partners in the mission. Insecure pastors are deadly also. Their high need to control and to receive endless validation cripples a church. This is...
Elizabeth was forty, still living with her father and siblings in Ireland. She suffered from a chronic lung disease and spent most of her time in bed, writing poetry. Her prospects for marriage were bleak, I'd say. She received a letter which...
John Nelson (J. N.) Darby (1800-1882) was thrown from his frightened horse against a doorpost. The accident in 1827 required an extended convalescence at his sister's home in Dublin, Ireland. J. N. had earlier given up a lucrative law practice to...
This story is about a woman who wanted to succeed for her talents, not her connections. Novelist Charles Dickens was close friends with the Procter family. The father of the Procter family, Brian, was a lawyer by day and a poet by night. Their...
Loving people is hard enough, but loving our enemies is darn near impossible. One of my challenges in praying for enemies is that my mind jumps the tracks to dredge up old hurts and resentments. Tell me if this does not happen to you! When Jesus...
It's a rare textile fabric from the fifth century depicting a bearded, middle-aged man at prayer. His manner is distinctive--arms raised, elbows to the sides of his body, and hands open to God. It's a posture known as orans, a Latin word that...
Prayers from the Cloud is a compilation of other peoples' prayers. My premise is that praying other people's prayers enlarges our prayer life. That's why pastors took the trouble to write prayer books--to teach their people how to pray. While...
Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson‘s stirring rendition of "Come Sunday" prompted two clergymen to write Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (1899-1974) to do a sacred music concert at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. Duke promised to pray about it. The...
If God knows what we have done wrong, why must we confess our sins? Consider what novelist Frederick Buechner writes on the subject, "To confess your sins to God is not to tell God anything God doesn't know. Until you confess them, however, they...
Nobody wants a broken heart, yet heartbreak can also open us to new possibilities. Mother Teresa said it well, "May God break my heart so completely that the whole world falls in." Bob Pierce (1914-1978) was a young missionary leading Christian...
Chris and I worked at a Salvation Army summer camp for underprivileged children after college. I was the maintenance guy, and she cooked the food. What a way to start a marriage! Salvation Army people love brass bands. We can personally attest to...
I receive positive feedback whenever I preach about worry. I seriously doubt it has much to do with the profundity of the message. Rather, the subject matter touches a felt need in people. Over the years, I've collected my favorite quotes on worry....
I've heard it said that everyone has a book in them. Christopher Hitchens once commented in a C-SPAN discussion on new book releases, "Everybody has a book in them which is exactly where it should, in most cases, remain." Some books are better left...