Part three in this present series.

In PT50 we saw nine examples of severity of judgment. Our present purpose is to see what the Scriptures have to say about repentance. Here are nine important quotations. [Read more…]

By comparing the “severity” references with the “repentance” references, one has to conclude that parables to not define judgment as being “set in concrete”, but are divine incentives for sinners to repent. This falls in line admirably with what Kenneth Bailey tells us about Middle Eastern culture. This is what he has to say concerning the five foolish virgins. [Read more…]

One day in 1895 while William Newell was on his way to teach a class, he was suddenly overcome by the magnitude of what Christ had done for him at Calvary. He quickly entered an empty classroom and penned down a few verses on the only available paper he had, an old envelope. As he left the room he bumped into Dr. Daniel Towner, the director of music at the school, and showed him the verses. Within an hour the music was composed and the hymn “At Calvary” was born. Here are two verses from that hymn. [Read more…]

This is a story about Queen Victoria, which without doubt will be known by every Englishman. During the week of her coronation, when Victoria was still a young lady, she was sitting in the Royal Lodge while Handel’s “Messiah” was being performed. The lady-in-waiting came to her and said, “Everybody in the room with the exception of the Queen will rise and will remain standing for the duration of the music. It is royal etiquette that the Queen should remain seated.” The music continued, sweeter and fuller, it seemed to be sweet enough for heaven. When the “Hallelujah Chorus” began, the people rose and stood with their heads bowed. It was obvious that the Queen was deeply moved. Her lips trembled and her eyes filled with tears, her body shook until the melody sounded, “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” In spite of the royal etiquette the young Queen rose and remained standing with her head bowed till the music ended. [Read more…]

“In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth”
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

What was the Apostle John thinking of when he spoke of “the Word”?  What word? What did he mean? These questions would be asked by a person reading the Gospel for the first time, whereas most of us as Christians have learned to take it for granted and not ask straight questions.  John was not just an historian, but also a mystic, and in his Gospel he hid many things from direct view, and here we have one such example of “hidden manna”. (Rev.2:17) [Read more…]

My mind goes back to 1954 when I was just 23. Our next-door neighbours were Jewish, and we had a good and friendly relationship with them. Their son Geoffrey was attending his Barmitzvah classes at the local Synagogue, and every Friday evening he shared his lessons with my friend Peter and me. It was our first encounter with Hebrew. [Read more…]

Aleph is an Ox and here is its head,
Beth is a House where we all go to bed.

Gimel is a Camel, standing tall on his feet,
Daleth is a Door leading out to the street. [Read more…]

When Franklin Roosevelt invited England’s King George VI for a visit to the United States in 1939, the significance of the invitation did not go unnoticed. No reigning British Monarch had ever set foot on American soil, not even in colonial times. Ever since America declared its independence from England in 1776, the United States and Great Britain oftentimes experienced tense relations, but President Roosevelt’s invitation to the King carried great significance in the history of Anglo-American relations, not only because of their colonial past, but more importantly, because it signified the dawn of a new era in American and British cooperation. With Europe poised on the brink of war, Franklin Roosevelt realised the necessity of fostering closer ties between the two democracies. [Read more…]

Who then was this Indian?  Chief White Feather (1905 – 1980) was the grandson of Sitting Bull by his fourth wife. Remarkably, his mother was a Christian and taught him about the Lord when he was small. However, the results came years later. At one time, his father travelled with a circus with his children. Somewhere in their travels, contacts were made that resulted in the Chief receiving musical training. He had a wonderful baritone voice and became a professional operatic singer. [Read more…]

Ron Kelly, Jr: wrote about the song –
Rhea F. Miller (1894 – 1966) was the only daughter of Martin and Bertha Ross, from Brooktondale, NY, which is 8 miles out of Ithaca, NY. “Grampa Ross,” we called him, had been a drunk and wanted nothing to do with religion. His wife, Bertha, was faithful to God in spite of her husband’s drunkenness. Her faithfulness and the prayers of family and friends eventually led to his salvation and deliverance from alcohol. As a result, he entered the ministry and became pastor of the Baptist Church in Brooktondale. The Miller family attended the Baptist church, whose members included a young man named Howard Vassar Miller. He was saved in 1910 when he was just 16 years old. It wasn’t long before he and Rhea caught each others’ eye, and after he graduated from Colgate University, he and Rhea were married. [Read more…]