James and John were surnamed by the Lord “Boanerges“, meaning “sons of thunder.” (Mark 3:17) In the early years of the 19th century there was an Irishman by the name of Patrick Brunty, (1777-1861) who decided to change the spelling of his name to Brontë, the Greek word for thunder. He was a clergyman. His wife Maria Branwell (1783-1821) was Cornish. In 1820Brontë moved to Haworth, in Yorkshire, where he became Rector. He had four children, Charlotte (1816-1855), Patrick Branwell (1817-1848), Emily (1818-1848), and Anne (1820-1849). [Read more…]
Archives for July 2000
87. Immanuel
What music there is in that name – Immanuel. To many of God’s sons and daughters the name Immanuel causes a tingling down the spine, a heady sense of other worldliness, a feeling of the nearness of the divine presence, a sense of safety, security, peace, life, tranquillity, beauty and wonderment. [Read more…]
86. Road Rage
One hears increasingly of the “Road Rage” phenomenon these days, people seemingly obsessed, or possessed, by a violent spirit when in charge of a car. Latent violence is unleashed by people who might otherwise be self-controlled and of a friendly disposition. Foul language, rude finger signs, facial grimaces, these are the least hurtful of the observed effects. Sadly, one hears all too often that a man jumps from his car and attacks the owner of another car, or if this proves impossible, he takes it out on the car itself. Sometimes there are cases of ramming into “offending” vehicles, regardless of the subsequent costs, which often are not met by Insurance claims. [Read more…]
85. Filling up that which is lacking
“The hope of the Gospel . . . whereof I Paul am made a minister, who now rejoices in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for the sake of His Body, the Church.” (Colossians 1:23-24) [Read more…]