1663 HT: Dan Graves When Jospeh Alleine‘s older brother Edward died, Joseph underwent a spiritual crisis, what he would call a “thorough conversion.” Edward had been studying for the ministry and Joseph pleaded with his father to be allowed to take his place. His father agreed and Joseph headed off to school. The young man…
1549 HT: Dan Graves ELIZABETH DIRK‘S parents put her in a convent as a girl. We don’t know why, but that decision brought her to Christ—and to death. In the convent, Dirks* learned to read both Latin and her native Dutch. She pored over a Latin Bible. Becoming convinced monasticism was not biblical, she looked…
1700 HT: Stagger and Reel Today, we celebrate the birth of Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf, born on May 26, 1700. A pivotal figure in the history of the Moravian Church, Zinzendorf’s life was marked by profound devotion to Christ and an unyielding passion for mission work. Known for his famous quote, “I have loved…
Regular readers of this blog will be familiar with my commitment to the Church in both Sudan and South Sudan. Both these nations have been ravaged by conflict and suffering for many years and the news, at least that portrayed by the secular media, is almost unrelentingly bad. There is no doubt that the suffering…
1738 HT: Dan Graves John Wesley was almost in despair. He did not have the faith to continue to preach. When death stared him in the face, he was fearful and found little comfort in his religion. To Peter Böhler, a Moravian friend, he confessed his growing misery and decision to give up the…