November 18, 1626: "... the newly completed St Peter's Basilica ... the largest church in Christendom, with a length of 619 feet. " (Blake)
http://saintpetersbasilica.org/Exterior/Square/Pics/Precepio06.jpg
Looking for a solution to a tough problem in your life? You might take heed to George Whitfield's advice given in a letter dated November 19, 1742 - 'Plead His promises, be much in secret prayer, and never give God rest, till your soul is filled with all His fulness.'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGjfrjgKni0
Nov. 19, 1862: "Birth of William (Billy) Sunday, American revivalist. Orphaned during the Civil War, Sunday became a major league baseball player 1883-91, then turned to evangelism in 1893, speaking to an estimated total audience of 100 million before his death in 1935." (Blake) For the technology of the times (or lack of), that's a big audience to reach!
Nov. 20 1872 marked the debut of an old favorite hymn of many- "I Need Thee Every Hour" by Annie Sherwood Hawks, 36 at a National Baptist Sunday School Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio. It has brought comfort to many and remains as fresh today as it was when written 140 years ago. That's because there is no other ultimate solution to the challenges life throws our way!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-LkUTjYSUs
Nov. 20, 1850: Fanny Crosby comes to faith in Jesus at age 30. 15 years later, she wrote the first of her 8,000 or more hymns!
And on Nov. 21, 1943 as a political prisoner of the Nazi regime, German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote: 'A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes...and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent.' (Blake)
Nov. 22, 1963: Death of C.S. Lewis, 65, Anglican scholar, novelist and Christian apologist. Well_known for his children's classic, "The Chronicles of Narnia" (1950-56), Lewis also penned other Christian classics, including "The Screwtape Letters" (1943) and "The Great Divorce" (Blake)(1946).
Lewis, at one time an atheist, came to realize that it takes faith in God and his son, Jesus Christ, to give meaning to life!
And on Nov. 23, 1654: "French mathematician Blaise Pascal, 31, underwent a profound religious conversion. He thereupon abandoned his study of science, having realized that "the Christian religion obliges us to live only for God, and to have no other aim than him."" (Blake)
How reassuring to be able to look back over Christian history and see that there are multitudes of men and women whose lives are a witness to the faithfulness of a loving God! He will always be present in our times of need as we turn them over to him.
"All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth." (Heb. 11:13, NLT)
Are you looking forward to a better future?