Biographies

The emaciated monk wept bitterly, kneeling on the floor of his cell at the monastery. Try as he might, he could not break the chains of impurity and sin in his life. The pious monk had renounced the world. He had tried unsuccessfully to flee all temptation. He had taken the Augustinian vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. In his search for absolution, the man had left a promising legal career and had given away all of his worldly belongings. He had come to the monastery to find peace and seclusion from the world. However, even there away from all evil, he had discovered to his horror that his own heart was full of sin. Masses, candles, beads, fasting, penance, and even painful flagellations (beatings) could not drive lust, pride, and sin from his heart.

The sunset slowly painted the snowy mountain peaks with a golden glow as a party of weary trappers approached an encampment of Snake Indians. The Snakes were usually accepting, even welcoming, of white men. The tired, hungry mountain men seemed reasonably assured that their hosts would offer them food and a warm place to sleep.

The Hebrew boy who had once been betrayed by his brothers, accused by his master’s wife, and forgotten by his fellow prisoners was now arrayed in fine linen, wore the gold signet ring of Pharaoh, rode in the second chariot, and bore a gold chain about his neck. Wherever he went, people bowed in his presence.

As a young man, he had been a drunkard, a gambler, a fighter, and a man known for violent outbursts of temper. But all that had changed before the war when the Lord Jesus had transformed Alvin. He was now a man of meekness, a humble Christian who cared for his mother, farmed his land, and looked forward to marrying his fiancée, Gracie, if he ever got home again to the mountains of Tennessee. When he was drafted upon the entry of the United States into the First World War, he had written simply on his draft card: “I do not want to fight.”

In the Gospel record, we meet a man who was much like us in many ways. He was a working man; in his case, he was an ordinary fisherman from Galilee. He struggled with pride, anger, and self-confidence. But his life was transformed by the Lord Jesus Christ, and God was able to use him mightily, even after his many failures. This man’s testimony can be an encouragement to us all. Let’s look at one particular moment in his life.

If we were to visit the streets of any major city in England at the turn of the nineteenth century, we would be witness to a sad and pitiable sight. Roving bands of orphaned children begged and stole their way through life. Often they were dressed in rags, with little to wear and nothing to eat. One German-born pastor and his wife could not simply pass by while orphans died by the hundreds in the streets.

In a dark day of murder, intrigue, and violence, one faithful priest of God emerged as a heroic defender of life.

Long before he was the father of his country, George Washington was a son. Men who learn to command must first learn to obey, and men in positions of authority earn their trust by serving faithfully under authority. Throughout his life of service, George Washington was a man who understood and respected authority.

Isaac is probably the least known of the Old Testament patriarchs. But on three important occasions during his life, Isaac demonstrated remarkable honor to his father and mother. His life provides a good example of the blessing of the “long life, and peace” that is promised to the honorable son.

When Truett opened his first Chick-fil-A restaurant in Atlanta’s Greenbriar Mall in 1967, the operators of the mall urged him to stay open all seven days of the week. However, he firmly but kindly explained that Chick-fil-A restaurants were closed on Sunday as his policy was to keep the Lord’s Day set apart for his employees to rest and worship with their families.

Even in the midst of all his military battles, he never forgot the Lord’s Day. On the evening after acquiring the nickname “Stonewall” for his brave stand at Manassas, in his tent Jackson wrote a letter to his pastor. With the letter he enclosed a check for the Sunday School class that he dearly loved. He did not mention in his missive his own heroic actions on that day.

The story of Eric’s victory in Paris has been told many times in different ways, with varying degrees of accuracy. The story that is told less often is the story of Eric’s subsequent victories. After his Olympic victory, Eric Liddell spoke all over Scotland at various evangelistic meetings. Crowds flocked to hear the humble man who was bashful about his trophies but bold about his Savior.

On a cold, miserable day, a French warship steadily made its way along the Scottish coastline. The warship was powered by human labor — the steady pull of many chained galley slaves. Aboard the ship, performing backbreaking work at the oars, was a feeble man who was very near the point of death. It had been many months since the Scotsman had seen his native land.

Alfred had become king at a desperate time. Parts of the country, such as East Anglia & Kent, had fallen to the Vikings. London was in the hands of the same cruel invaders. Another Viking army was marching from Reading. It seemed that the two invading forces advancing on both sides of Alfred would squeeze Wessex into submission and place the entire kingdom under tribute.

John the Apostle enjoyed a close relationship with the Lord Jesus. At the Last Supper, he was reclining at the table next to Jesus. Later, of all of the disciples, he was the only one specifically mentioned as being present at the Crucifixion. After Christ’s resurrection, it was John who identified Him on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

A bold prophet from the village of Tishbi had not bowed the knee to the modern ideologies of the age. Elijah’s name means “My God is Jehovah.” One day, as the prophet of Jehovah, Elijah had emerged from his homeland of Gilead. He walked into the palace of Ahab and Jezebel with the startling declaration: “As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word” (I Kings 17:1). With that ominous weather forecast, Elijah walked out of the palace and vanished into the wilderness. For three and a half long years, King Ahab scoured the country to find him but failed in every attempt.

That time had come. The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius was on the throne. Throughout the Empire, Christianity was spreading at an astonishing rate. In spite of fire, sword, and beastly fury, Roman officers and even high government officials were being converted from paganism to serve the true and living God of Heaven.

There are times in life that we are called upon to lay aside our own natural reasoning and to act instead upon the command of the Lord. Such a time came for a common laborer in an obscure rural village two thousand years ago.

Seven-year-old William Bradford stood over the grave of his mother in the little village of Austerfield in the hills of Yorkshire, England. Having previously lost his father when he was a baby, young William was now alone in the world. Few would have supposed that this orphaned boy would amount to anything.

Although only thirty years old, Dudley Tyng was already known as a bold, uncompromising preacher. He would seek out those who needed Christ and unashamedly preach to them the Gospel. On March 30, 1858, Pastor Tyng preached to a packed auditorium of 5,000 men gathered for a noon meeting. His message was from Exodus 10:11: “Go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord.” Placing his left hand on his right arm at the shoulder, he fervently avowed, “I must tell my Master’s errand, and I would rather this right arm were amputated at the trunk, than that I should come short of my duty to you in delivering God’s message.” In that assembly, an estimated 1,000 men came to Christ that day! As Pastor Tyng left the meeting, he had no idea what would soon happen. Shortly thereafter, Pastor Tyng was in his study. Outside in the Pennsylvania farmyard an old mule plodded in a giant circle, powering the corn sheller. Taking a break, the preacher strolled outside to check on the corn shelling. As the young man reached out to scratch the mule’s head, his long shirt sleeve was caught in the corn shelling gears! Swiftly his […]