Hull

Paul Cook comments on the revival in the city of Hull, England in the 19th century:

" . . . in 1858 the people of Hull used to run to their places of worship -- many of which seated over 1000 -- in order to secure a seat for the mid-week preaching meeting. This seems inconceivable today; but it did happen, and by the grace of God we trust it will happen again. Once more we learn that it is 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the Lord of Hosts."

Edwards on Revival

"It may be observed that from the fall of man to our day the work of redemption in its effects has mainly been carried on by remarkable communications of the Spirit of God. Though there may be a more constant influence of God's Spirit always in some degree attending his ordinances yet the way in which the greatest things have been done towards carrying on this work always has been by the remarkable effusions at special seasons." Jonathan Edwards

Good reasons that we should pray for revival!

Covenanter James Renwick

The following traditional incident is said to have befallen him when he was on one occasion preaching, in the wilder parts of Galloway. It was known that a conventicle was to be held by him among the desert mountains, in a place the name of which is not given; and to this place the leader of a party of dragoons repaired with his men, for the purpose of surprising the meeting, and of seizing the preacher. Mr. Renwick and his friends, by certain precautionary measures, were made aware of their danger, and fled. In the eager pursuit, the commander of the troopers shot far ahead of his party, in the hope of capturing by his single arm the helpless minister, on whose head a price had been set. Mr. Renwick, however, succeeded in eluding the pursuit; and wending his way through the broken mosses and bosky glens, came, in the dusk of the evening, to Newton-Stewart, and found lodgings in an inn, in which, on former occasions, he had found a resting-place.
After a tedious and fruitless chase through moor and wild, the leader of the troopers arrived at the same place, and sought a retreat for the night in the same inn. It appears to have been in the winter season when this occurrence took place, for the commander of the party, feeling the dark and lonely hours of the evening hang heavy on his hands, called the landlord, and asked if he could introduce to him any intelligent acquaintance of his, with whom he might spend an hour agreeably in his apartment. The landlord retired, and communicated the request to Mr. Renwick, and whatever might have been his reasons for the part which on this occasion he acted, Mr. Renwick, it is asserted, agreed to spend the evening in the company of the trooper. His habiliments would, no doubt, be of a description that would induce no suspicion of his character as a Nonconformist minister; for in those days of peril and necessity, there would be little distinction between the preacher and the plain peasant, in regard to clothing. It is highly probable that the soldier was a man of no great discernment; and hence Mr. Renwick succeeded in managing the interview without being discovered by the person in whose presence he was, and without his being suspected by others who might happen to frequent the inn. The evening passed agreeably and without incident, and they parted with many expressions of high satisfaction and good-will on the part of the officer, who retired to sleep with the intention of resuming his search in the morning.
When all was quiet in the inn, however, and when sleep had closed the eyes of its inmates, Mr. Renwick took leave of the landlord, and withdrew in the darkness and stillness of the night to the upland solitudes, to seek some cave, in whose cold and damp retreat he might hide himself from the vigilance of his pursuers.
When the morning came, and the soldiers were preparing to march, the commander asked for the intelligent stranger who had afforded him so much gratification on the preceding evening. The landlord said that he had left the house long before the dawn, and was now far off among the hills to seek a hiding-place. "A hiding-place!" exclaimed the leader. "Yes, a hiding-place," replied the innkeeper; "this gentle and inoffensive youth, as you have witnessed him to be, is no other than the identical James Renwick after whom you have been pursuing." "James Renwick! impossible!—a man so harmless, so discreet, and so well informed; if he is James Renwick, I for one, at least, will pursue his track no longer."
The officer, accordingly, marched away with his dragoons, and searched the wilderness no farther for one of whom he had now formed so favourable an opinion. It was probably with the full concurrence of Mr. Renwick that the master of the inn divulged the secret when danger was no longer to be apprehended; and it was done, in all likelihood, with a view to show the troopers that the Covenanters were not the men that their enemies affirmed they were—wild, fanatical, and ferocious; and by this means, if possible, to leave a good impression on the mind of those who, without cause, were seeking their destruction. (Rev. Stewart)

Schaeffer Quote

You must not lose confidence in God because you lost confidence in your pastor. If our confidence in God had to depend upon our confidence in any human person, we would be on shifting sand.
-- Francis Schaeffer

Poem by John Newton

"Though troubles assail
And dangers affright,
Though friends should all fail
And foes all unite;
Yet one thing secures us,
Whatever betide,
The scripture assures us,
The Lord will provide.”

Fun Quotes

"I am not bothered by the things in the Bible that I don't understand . . . it's the things of the Bible that I do understand that keep me up at night." Mark Twain

Lady Nancy Astor to Winston Churchill: "Winston, if you were my husband I would poison your tea!"
His response: "Nancy, if I were your husband I would drink it!"

"An archaeologist is the best husband a woman can have. The older she gets the more interested he is in her." Agatha Christie

Spurgeon on Perfectionism

A few weeks ago in Sunday morning service we were looking at Philippians 3:12-16, and we talked some about the issue of perfectionism. Following are a few remarks by Charles Spurgeon on the topic:

"Our Wesleyan brethren have a notion that they are going to be perfect here on earth. I should be very glad to see them when they are perfect; and if any of them happen to be in the position of servants, wanting situations, I would be happy to give them any amount of wages I could spare, for I should feel myself highly honored and greatly blessed in having perfect servants; and what is more, if any of them are masters, and need servants, I would undertake to come and serve them without any wages at all if I could but find a perfect master. I have had one perfect Master ever since I first knew the Lord, and if I could be sure that there is another perfect master, I should be greatly pleased to have him as an under-master, while the great Supreme must ever be chief of all. One man, who said he was perfect, called upon me once, and asked me to go and see him, for I should receive valuable instruction from him if I did. I said, 'I have no doubt it would be so; but I should not like to go to your house, I think I should hardly be able to get into one of your rooms.' 'How is that?' he inquired. 'Well,' I replied, 'I suppose that your house would be so full of angels that there would be no room for me.' He did not like that remark; and when I made one or two other playful observations, he went into a towering rage. 'Well, friend,' I said to him, 'I think, after all, I am as perfect as you are; but do perfect men ever get angry?' He denied that he was angry, although there was a peculiar redness about his cheeks, and a fiery flash in his eyes, that is very common to persons when they are in a passion."