Rodney Smith (1860-1947) was born in a gipsy tent near Epping Forest in England. As was then true of gipsies, the boy received no education; he was truly illiterate. He joined the family trade by selling his father’s hand carved clothespins. In the evenings, his father, Cornelius, played a fiddle to entertain the men who […]
In a fit of violent temper, I left home when I was nineteen and joined the crew of a freighter which was sailing for India. My life became more and more sinful until I lost all concern for anything of true worth. It seemed that my wish that I would some day travel so far […]
Gipsy Smith was preaching in Edinburgh, Scotland. One of his helpers was George Jackson. Mrs. Jackson came to him at the close of the gospel meeting, and said, “Gipsy, there is a young woman in the inquiry room who is in a desperate state. She refuses to go away. Nobody seems to be able to […]
Those heavenly creatures whose very existence is to serve and obey the commands of God, gaze down upon the people of God in wonder and amazement. They are accustomed to seeing many wonders, for they dwell in the presence of God. They were present at the Incarnation of the blessed Son of God (Lk. 2). […]
They can be blue or white, yellow, orange, or red. I should be able to see about 3,000 of them on a clear, dark night. But astronomers tell us that there are more than 200,000,000,000,000,000,000 (200 billion billion) stars, more than 40 billion per person on our little planet-home. There was a day that scientists, […]
If the man at the pool of Bethesda learned anything (John 5), it was certainly the lesson of his utter helplessness. For others at that pool there had been healing on the principle so popular with men, that God helps those who help themselves. For in mercy an angel stirred the water, and man had […]
Following the prologue of John’s Gospel comes the first main division from 1:19 to the end of chapter 12. This narrates the public testimony of Christ by word and work. The narrative begins by resuming the witness of John the Baptist at Bethabara where he was baptizing. John had by this time drawn the attention […]
On the Eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, on the farther side from Jerusalem, and about two miles from that city, lies the village of Bethany. Today it is known as El Azariyah, the Town of Lazarus; sometimes it is called Betania. A dusty street or two; a few small dwellings; and a fragrance […]
Behold, we count them happy which endure. John Bunyan (1628-1688) the Puritan preacher from Bedford, England, was one of these happy men. He grew up in poverty, his father being a tinker (mender of utensils). He says, “Notwithstanding the meanness and inconsiderableness of my parents, it pleased God to put it into their hearts to […]