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1839 |
Birth of Phoebe Palmer Knapp, American Methodist hymnwriter. She published more than 500 hymn tunes during her lifetime; her most famous melody comprises the tune to Fanny Crosby’s hymn, “Blessed Assurance.” |
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1843 |
Scottish clergyman Robert Murray McCheyne wrote in a letter: ‘You will never find Jesus so precious as when the world is one vast howling wilderness. Then he is like a rose blooming in the midst of the desolation, a rock rising above the storm.’ |
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1930 |
Pioneer linguist Frank Laubach wrote in a letter: ‘It seems to me…that the very Bible cannot be read as a substitute for meeting God soul to soul and face to face.’ |
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1931 |
The World Radio Missionary Fellowship (WRMF) was incorporated in Lima, Ohio, by co-founders Clarence W. Jones and Reuben Larson. Today, this interdenominational mission agency broadcasts the Gospel in 15 languages to South America and throughout Europe. |
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1965 |
Three white Unitarian ministers, including the Rev. James J. Reeb, were attacked with clubs on the streets of Selma, Alabama, while participating in a civil rights demonstration. Reeb later died in a Birmingham, Alabama hospital. |
Laubach makes an interesting point here largely because it has been drilled into us to read our Bibles, how many times have you been told “You should have a Quiet Time” but the reality is, we were never commanded to sit for 15-20 minutes and read our Bibles. The unfortunate outcome of this type of message is that after we get up from our beds, desks or kitchen tables, we believe we have met God.
This is like saying if I read my fiancé’s letter, it is the same as her being there. Laughable, right? But how often do we think that about God. When was the last time we had a real heart-to-heart with God?
This is a painful thought for me. Working on the blog can take hours every day, and there is a tendency to do so much reading, writing, cutting and pasting that I believe I have grown instead of just put up a lot of stuff on the Internet. I don’t think it is an either / or choice, but it is a reminder, that being busy for God, even reading the Bible, listening to Christian music, or reading and writing Christian blog entries isn’t a replacement with meeting him .
