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Quote of the day

“The above Preface was ready for the printer, and the book nearly finished, when, on the 15th of July last, I was suddenly interrupted by a stroke of p...”

Schaff, Philip. History of the Christian Church, Volume VIII: Modern Christianity. The Swiss Reformation.

Devotional

We have two divine intercessors (1856)

But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One—1 John 2:1 (NIV...

Events

1492

Columbus reaches an island in what will become known as the West Indies. His writings show he intended to bring the gospel as well as pursue his secular ends.

Authority for the date: Goodpasture, H. McKennie. Cross and Sword. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1989.

1518

Martin Luther and Cardinal Cajetan meet in Augsburg over the following three days to discuss Luther’s 95 Theses. Cajetan tells Luther he must recant unconditionally.

Authority for the date: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/luther/lutherchronology.html

1772

Conversion of Benjamin Abbott, who will become an American revival leader. His conversion to Christianity came after fearful mental struggles, influenced by the preaching of Abraham Whitworth.

Authority for the date: http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/ABBOTT/2001-11/1005331969

1845

Death of Elizabeth Fry. A Quaker, she was known as a pioneer in prison reform.

Authority for the date: Encyclopedia Americana, 1956.

1868

The Jesuits are expelled from Spain.

Authority for the date: Townsend, G. H. Handbook of the Year, 1868. London: Wyman & Sons, 1869.

1881

Death of Josiah G. Holland, American news editor and author of the Christmas hymn “There’s a Song in the Air.” After a brief career in medicine, Holland had established a weekly newspaper. Later he joined the staff of the Springfield Republican, in Massachusetts. Holland also helped found Scribner’s Magazine, serving as its editor the rest of his life.

Authority for the date: Wells, Amos R. A Treasury of Hymn Stories. Baker, 1992.

1894

Carl Strehlow, German missionary to Australia, arrives at Hermannsburg station where he is appointed head of the mission and will translate the Bible into three aboriginal languages.

Authority for the date: atributetoaustralianchristians.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/carl-strehlow/

1895

Death of hymnwriter Frances Humphreys Alexander, best known for “There is a Green Hill Far Away” and the Christmas carol “Once in Royal David’s City.”

Authority for the date: wwww.findagrave.com

1901

Death of Edward Raimond Baierlein, Lutheran missionary among the Chippewa Indians near Frankenmuth, Michigan, and and later among the people of Sadras, Cuddalore, and Tranquebar, India. He wrote books about his Michigan work, where he was beloved for treating the Indians as true equals.

Authority for the date: cyclopedia.lcms.org/display.asp?t1=B&t2=a

1907

Missionaries May Law and Rosa Pittman arrive in Hong Kong where they will help establish a Pentecostal presence, be quarantined several weeks after contracting smallpox, and begin to learn Chinese.

Authority for the date: Daniel Bays, “Missionary Establishment and Pentecostalism.”

1915

A German firing squad executes the British nurse Edith Cavell who had helped allied soldiers escape. At her death she says she has to go deeper to true love.

Authority for the date: Britannica.

1951

Simon Kimbangu dies after being imprisoned for years by Belgian authorities in Congo Free State. Baptist-trained, he had preached a Christian gospel of one God, healed the sick, and alarmed colonial administrators. 

Authority for the date: Hastings. History of African Christianity.

2005

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez decides to expel the New Tribes Mission, which he says is an imperialist invasion working with the CIA. This follows a suggestion by televangelist Pat Robertson that perhaps Chavez should be assassinated.

Authority for the date: http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/1430

2014

Death of Tsehay Tolessa, an Ethiopian woman whose deep Christian faith had taken her through years of captivity and torture at the hands of Marxist Dergs in degrading conditions.

Authority for the date: The Life, Works and Witness of Tsehay Tolessa and Gudina Tumsa, the Ethiopian Bonhoeffer

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Containing today’s events, devotional, quote and stories