Biographical Sketch

The emaciated monk wept bitterly on the floor of his chamber. Try as he might, he could not break the chains of uncleanness. He had renounced the world. He had fled all temptation. He had taken the Augustinian vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

Everyone in the room knew that this Nonconformist meeting was illegal. The sound of larks and sparrows took the place of the peals of the organ. A simple table served as a pulpit, and upon it rested the well-worn Bible of John Bunyan, their pastor.

In a dark rainforest in what is now Nigeria, a young African mother placed two large clay pots under a tree. Any observer from Europe might have imagined that she was collecting food for her family. But there was a darker purpose for her actions!

Many Christians have read with spiritual profit the works of E. M. Bounds on prayer. His rich and powerful quotes on the subject of prayer have been repeated many times. He said rightly, “The story of every great Christian achievement is the history of answered prayer.”

On May 11, 1928, a baby boy was born to a Dutch blacksmith and his invalid wife. They named their little boy Anne. In the Dutch language, Anne can be a masculine name. This little boy would grow up to become known as “Brother Andrew” in the English-speaking world.

George Washington Carver is most famous for discovering many remarkable uses of the sweet potato and the peanut. But Carver’s influence was far beyond these two commodities. His greatest legacy was the way that he overcame the prejudices of his generation. He helped white men, even former slaveholders, to appreciate the gifts of their black brethren. He set an example of not judging men by the color of their skin, laying aside prejudice, and following the example of His Master, Jesus.

The young couple from America stood side by side on a hill. The location was a remote area deep in the heart of China. A year earlier, the two had stood together at the marriage altar. They had faced a bright future before them, a future seemingly filled with hope and promise as they purposed to serve the Lord together. Little did they know then that their love for the Master would lead them to their present situation—on the hill of execution outside the Chinese village of Miaoshou.

The sixteen-year-old boy stood in amazement as he beheld a large temple in Kyoto, Japan. It was acclaimed to be the “temple of 33,333 gods.” Row upon row were carved wooden images, brightly gilded and set in niches in the walls. He had never seen anything like it before. William Borden was already a devoted Christian by the age of sixteen. The trip around the world opened his youthful eyes to the realities of heathenism.

Many of us have heard these inspiring words that are the title of a famous book of selected Scripture meditations. However, fewer people are familiar with the life of the man who made these words his testimony. Although Oswald Chambers lived to be only forty-three years old, his life after his conversion was characterized by a desire to love the Lord with all his heart, all his soul, and all his might. In secret, Chambers was the same man that he was in public—a wholehearted servant of the Lord.

Sergeant Jacob DeShazer was assigned to kitchen duty on December 7, 1941, and was peeling potatoes when the news came that Pearl Harbor had been attacked by the Japanese Imperial Air Force. DeShazer was filled with hatred at the knowledge that his fellow servicemen had been strafed and bombed in Hawaii. He shouted out in anger, “Japan is going to pay for this!”

No one would have thought that the poorly educated British girl would someday become a missionary in a faraway land. The young girl probably never thought so either! Gladys Aylward was living the typical life of a working class girl at the turn of the twentieth century in England. She worked as a parlormaid, and she had no interest in spiritual matters. Her ambitions and dreams were in drama, and she hoped to become an actress. Thus, Miss Aylward spent her evenings attending drama classes. One night, however, for some reason she went to church instead. That evening, the Holy Spirit moved in her heart, and Gladys Aylward dedicated her life to Christ.

As the preacher began preaching that July day in Enfield, Connecticut, there were no outward manifestations that this sermon would be different from any other previously preached message. The minister’s delivery was not dramatic or energetic. Instead, he had read slowly and distinctly from a handwritten manuscript. He described in the language of the Bible the everlasting fate that awaited the sinner, apart from the saving grace of the Lord Jesus. The minister viewed himself as God’s emissary, and saw his duty as a simple one: to speak the truth.

Dr. Graham became known as “America’s pastor.” He preached in 185 countries all over the planet. He was friends with numerous presidents, and met personally with these men, from Harry Truman to Barack Obama. Graham was known and respected by heads of state all around the world. His son, Franklin Graham is the founder of the international relief ministry called Samaritan’s Purse. Franklin Graham once said about his father, “My father, Billy Graham, lived to be 100 years old without a scandal, because he followed the footsteps of his father in heaven with consistency.”

A true peacemaker is very hard to find in our world of pride, contention, and division. However, one such person was widely known in his day as a peacemaker. That man was Robert Cleaver Chapman. He was a humble servant of the Lord. His life testified that a man of reconciliation is a man of humility.

There are times in the life of every Christian man and woman when a decision must be made, a difficult one, and the choices are between honoring the Law of the Lord, or honoring one’s own desires, or gaining the praise of the world. For some, this decision is made quietly and in secret. For others, the decision must be made in the full glare of public limelight. At the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, an athlete named Eric Liddell was forced to make his decision before a watching world.

Up until the day Preena climbed into her lap, Amy Carmichael considered her work to be evangelism throughout the villages. She did not have intentions to be a mother. But on that day in March 1901, her ministry began that lasted for over fifty years in a place she named Dohnavur. Her special work became rescuing and raising these temple girls and eventually boys for Jesus instead of the heathen gods of stone. “Children tie the mother’s feet” was a Tamil proverb. As more and more girls and babies came to Amy Carmichael, who quickly became Amma to them, she had to turn her evangelistic work over to others.

As the thirty-nine-year old pastor was heading to church, a black van pulled up. Two men jumped out of the van, seized Wurmbrand, shoved him into the back of the van, and put a gun to his head. Thus, began the imprisonment of the man who would one day write a famous book, Tortured for Christ. This book was on the importance of rejoicing in persecution. It has been a blessing and encouragement to millions of believers worldwide.

The young minister of the Gospel weighed his options. A large, influential church on Long Island had given him a gracious invitation to become their pastor. If he accepted the position, he would have a comfortable salary, an esteemed pulpit, a beautiful home, and a position of influence and notoriety that could place his name among the honored of the land. But deep in his heart, the young man knew that God had called him to take the message of the Gospel to the Indian tribes of the western frontier.

No hymn has earned such a lasting place in the collective memory of humanity quite like “Amazing Grace” by John Newton. This beloved hymn is largely autobiographical, tracing the life and spiritual experience of John Newton. But Newton wrote the hymn in such an expansive way that its truths can be applied to every repentant human heart. We are all “wretches” who need Christ’s saving grace.

James Hudson Taylor was born on May 21 in Yorkshire, among the rolling hills and valleys of northern England. His father was a chemist and also a lay preacher in the Methodist church. Hudson was a sickly child. His father often prayed that God would strengthen his weak son and make him a mighty man to accomplish great things for God’s Kingdom.