Biographical Sketch

At the time that Lindley offered his services to the American Board of Foreign Missions, the famous David Livingstone had not yet set foot on the African continent, and the vast interior of Africa was still a blank spot on the map. But if God was truly the omnipresent Lord of the universe, He was Lord over the vast, uncharted African continent too.

As a young boy, Isaac Watts also had a striking ability to speak in rhyme, even when those talking to him were using ordinary speech. The story is often told how one evening, while his father was leading in family Bible reading and prayer, a mouse climbed up a rope along the fireplace. The boy held his peace until the prayer was ended, then he burst out in merriment, saying, “A mouse, for want of better stairs, ran up a rope to say his prayers.”

Traveling chess players from Germany and France would call upon Ridley in London to test their skills against his sharp, active mind. After reading and studying the Scriptures, Ridley usually spent an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening conversing with guests and playing chess. His mastery of chess matched his mastery of the Word of God, and his skill was attested by his opponents.

Finally, the time for the sermon came. Henderson leaned forward in his pew. Bruce ascended the pulpit, opened his Bible, and announced his text. He read aloud the first verse of John 10. The words of the text pierced Alexander Henderson’s heart! Did the preacher know that he, the pastor of Leuchars, was there? More importantly, did God know Henderson’s thoughts, his ambitions, his motives, and his very heart?

The young missionary and his wife settled down into a long dugout canoe. The canoe, skillfully oared by area tribesmen, would transport them to their new home deep in the swampy jungles of Indonesia. The young couple, Don and Carol Richardson, had no idea of the unknown dangers that lurked in the dark recesses of the swamps. But they knew that their omniscient Lord was fully aware of all that lay ahead.

When he was just 11 years old, he not only killed his first lion, but he also took part in the bloody Battle of Vegkop. The political history of the South African Republic is a complicated one, but one fact is clear: Paul Kruger became the dominant figure of Boer history for half a century.

He was well aware that the authorities at Cambridge forbade any Greek and Hebrew Bibles, calling them “the sources of all heresies.” But Bilney’s curiosity overcame his fear. He purchased the volume of the Greek New Testament and tucked it under his scholastic gown.

When news came in 1866 that the Korean government had killed 8,000 Catholic converts, Thomas resolved to go to Korea and give the pure Gospel to the people there. Despite the dangers, he boldly sailed to the Korean peninsula to shine the Light of the World into a kingdom of darkness.

In the year 1655, the savage dukes of Savoy waged a massive crusade to crush the simple believers of the Italian Piedmont. But God raised up a remarkable individual to show His power.

Two circuit preachers knew that a particular distillery had wrecked the lives of several families in the area. Lives were destroyed as Christians backslid into drunkenness and rage. Men struck their wives in fits of drunken anger, and children cowered in fear of their enraged, intoxicated fathers.

After a riveting sermon, the sheriff served an arrest warrant to John Bunyan and left. He had the choice to flee and avoid arrest, but he believed that he should demonstrate before his congregation that he was willing to suffer for the sake of Jesus, and that he was not afraid of imprisonment or death.

One of the enemy warriors hurled his spear at the boys. The deadly spear pierced through the baby brother, but 12-year-old Opukahaia survived. He was captured and forced into slavery, serving the murderer of his parents. Eventually Opukahaia fled and managed to catch a ride on a merchant ship. The ship’s captain brought him to New Haven, Connecticut, where he encountered Christian civilization for the first time.

On July 8, 1741, a visiting minister from Northampton, Massachusetts, was scheduled to preach in a Connecticut village church. While not particularly famous or popular, he was known to be an honest servant of the Lord who relied upon the power of the Holy Spirit.

In 1655, Stephen Charnock took a bold step into the public sphere. He went to Ireland with Henry Cromwell, son of Oliver Cromwell, who was recently appointed Governor of Ireland, and became the court chaplain.

It was thought by all who knew the Ryle family that young John would follow his father into banking, and maybe even serve in Parliament someday. But during a severe sickness, he thought much of God, eternity, sin, and salvation.

In his youth, George Whitefield developed a love for the theater and aspired to become an actor. He later mourned over this period of his life, confessing that he was “addicted to lying, filthy talking, and foolish jesting.”

In the summer of 1901, an American army officer was waging a most unusual war in the city of Havana. Some thought the colonel was crazy. Others believed him to be a genius.

God’s call to His people to be “set apart” from uncleanness was applied by Dr. Joseph Lister in many practical ways. The revolutionary surgical procedures of sterilization that he developed saved thousands of lives over the years.

King Edward VI reigned for only 6 short years, but his brief reign was a model of Godliness. Thomas Cranmer said of the young king that he had “more divinity in his little finger than we have in our whole bodies.”

A rescue ship drifted slowly toward the rocky coastline. This particular area was known to be at “the end of the earth.” Long feared by sailors for its violent storms, hidden rocks, and savage natives, this desolate region of rocky islands is known as Tierra de Fuego. It is located off the coast of Patagonia, the southernmost tip of the mainland of South America. The mission of the rescue ship was a desperate one: to locate and assist seven missionaries who had come to bring the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ to these desolate islands.