“The human spirit will not even begin to try to surrender self-will as long as all seems to be well with it. Now error and sin both have this property, that the deeper they are, the less their victim suspects their existence; they are masked evil. Pain is unmasked, unmistakable evil; every man knows that something is wrong when he is being hurt. . . . [Read more…]
107. “I cannot tell . . . but this I know.”
I cannot tell why He, whom angels worship,
Should set His love upon the sons of men,
Or why, as Shepherd, He should seek the wanderers,
To bring them back, they know not how or when.
But this I know, that He was born of Mary,
When Bethlehem’s manger was His only home,
And that He lived at Nazareth and laboured,
And so the Saviour, Saviour of the world, is come.
102. Souls of men
“The Love of God is Broader than the Measures of Man’s Mind.”
Frederick William Faber was born 28th June 1814 at Calverly, Yorkshire, England. He grew up in an atmosphere of Calvinism, and attended University College, Oxford, where he obtained his B.A. degree. In 1837 he was elected a Fellow of that College, and took orders in the Church of England, becoming Rector of Elton, Huntingdonshire in 1843. [Read more…]
80. Professor William Barclay
Courageous Advocate of Universalism
Born in 1907, the son of William Dugald Barclay of Fort William, a Gaelic-speaking highlander, William spent most of his life in Bonnie Scotland. He was educated at Dalziel High School, Motherwell, “just an ordinary school – – Scottish education at its best.” In 1925 he went to Glasgow University, and left four years later with a first-class honours degree in Classics. Then in 1929 he entered Trinity College, Glasgow to begin the final stage of his training for the ministry. In 1933 he married Kate, the daughter of the minister of the parish of Dundonald in Ayrshire. “I cannot think what life would have been like without her.” Thence he set out on his career, as a Minister of the Gospel at Renfrew, and later in life became Professor of Divinity atGlasgow University. [Read more…]
76. The Opening of the Sheath
In the last W.P. I mentioned that all living human beings had an invisible sheath, or aureole, surrounding them. In this number, I should like to quote from the book by George Ritchie, entitled “Return from Tomorrow”. 1978. Kingsway Publications. In 1943 Ritchie was serving in the army as a young man, and at Christmas time he died of double lobar pneumonia. But nine minutes later, armed with an unforgettable experience of eternity, he returned from the dead. He had walked and talked with Jesus through a series of teaching experiences, some of which were terrifying, others enthralling. In 1978, as a practising psychiatrist, he finally, and somewhat reluctantly, put pen to paper to tell the world of his adventure during those nine minutes. The following extract relates specifically to his experience in a bar, where he witnessed the opening of the sheath. [Read more…]
70. Vision & Prophecy
The Outpouring on the Streets
(Hollie Moody writes, saying that she experienced the following Vision and Prophecy on Wednesday March 1st, 2000.)
In my mind, I was in what appeared to be a conference room. There was a large conference table in the middle of the room. It was so large, it filled almost the whole room. Seated around the table were what I perceived to be men of God. I saw priests, rabbis, etc. Each of them had stacks of paper and books in front of them. A large Bible was in the middle of the table. The men of God were discussing their interpretations of certain verses and passages of scripture in the Bible. I stood and observed the men of God for a while. [Read more…]
68. The love of God
Such is the title of a hymn, written by F. M. Lehman in 1945, which I have in my “Old Fashioned Revival Hour Songs”, published in 1950. There’s a very good reason for printing the words of this song. Please read along with me – [Read more…]
45. Forgiveness & Punishment
Be not deceived. God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap. (Gal.6:7)
He who does wrong shall receive for the wrong which he has done, and there is no respect of persons. (Col.3:25)
Whatever good thing that any man does, the same shall he receive of the Lord. (Eph.6:8)
44. The Second Coming
C.S.Lewis (and George MacDonald before him) have been a great help in clearing away from our minds inferior thought patterns, and crystallise those we find difficult to vocalise. God imparted to these men the power of mental clarity that few possess. As a result, to read any of their works is cathartic. One comes away feeling cleansed, bright, and more cheerful. The following quote from Lewis is timely, simply because of the spiritual anxiety generated by those who insist on finding dates for our Lord’s return. [Read more…]
42. “Like unto Moses.”
Deut.18:18-19 “I will raise up a prophet from among their brethren, LIKE UNTO THEE,
and will put my words into his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.” [Read more…]