UNLABELED

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Prologue
It happened in Africa
Rahela Morgan tiptoed along the tiled hallway, holding her breath. A hyena howled in the distance. Her dog, Titan, barked in reply. But in the house, no one stirred, not even her old nurse, Deborah, who had ears like a hawk and a nose for sniffing out trouble.
“So far, so good,” thought Rahela, as she slipped into the bathroom and closed the door softly behind her. She fumbled in the pocket of her pajamas for the precious packet she had bought that day at the pharmacy in Mombasa, fifty miles away. Morning sickness for several weeks had made her determined to know the worst.

Broken Bread

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Broken Bread

Thirty years ago I read, Broken Bread, by John Wright Follette. The following poem has stayed with me all these years and I consider his book was worth reading for this poem alone. But there are other gems too.––R. Barry Tait

Identification

I am a flame born of celestial fire,
I bear a name, Insatiable Desire.
   I wear in heart an image all divine,
   Past human art, not traced by mortal line.
I hear God call to taste His heavenly power:
I give my all to burn life’s single hour.
   So let me burn through fetters that would bind;
   Thus will I learn and freedom will I find.
I shall return to Love’s eternal fire,
There shall I burn─a satisfied desire.
                                      ─John Wright Follette

                                        

As Different As Chalk Is from Cheese: They Knew Their God Vol.6

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As Different As Chalk Is from Cheese: They Knew Their God Vol.6

Continuing our study into the variety of characters cited in the series, They Knew Their God, here is Volume 6, noting, as with Volume One, the nationality, denomination, vocation, and the century in which they were born as relating to each character.

 

Volume 5: 14 characters described in 14 sketches.  

Nationality: 1 Syrian, 4 Scots, 5 English, 3 American, 1 German.

Century: 1 from 4th century, 7 from 18th century; 5 from 19th century, 1 20th century.

Denomination:  1 RC, 4 Anglican, 1 Lutheran, 1 CIM (China Inland Mission), 3 Presbyterian, 1 Baptist, 1 Salvation Army.

Vocation—original and final.  

Church Father/bishop/author

Cowherd/teacher—minister, commentator

Anglican vicar/advisor/author

Missionary pioneer

Student/prayer-warrior

Academy Principal—minister

Cooper/itinerant preacher

Missionary

Dentist—missionary

Housewife—missionary

Politician/abolitionist/reformer

Preacher/temperance advocate/abolitionist

Pastor/exorcist

Lawyer—preacher/intercessor/author.

 

Sex: 2 women. 12 men

As Different As Chalk Is from Cheese: They Knew Their God Vol. 5

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As Different As Chalk Is from Cheese: They Knew Their God Vol. 5

Continuing our study into the variety of characters cited in the series, They Knew Their God, here is Volume 5, noting, as with Volume One, the nationality, denomination, vocation, and the century in which they were born as relating to each character.

 

Volume 5:12 characters described in 12 sketches.  

Nationality: 1 Welsh, 1 Spanish,  6  English, 1 Scots, 1 Canadian,  1 Swiss, 1 French,

Century: 1 from 16th century; 2 from 17th, 3 from 18th century; 6 from 19th century.

Denomination:  1 RC, 4 Anglican, 1 Lutheran, 1 CIM (China Inland Mission), 3 Presbyterian, 1 Baptist, 1 Salvation Army.

Vocation—original and final.  

Nobleman/public orator—Anglican vicar/poet

Nobleman/R.C. priest

Tutor/chaplain/Anglican curate/author

Tutor—Anglican vicar/author

Philanthropist/deaconess

Scholar—missionary/minister/philanthropist

Bank clerk—missionary

Minister/poet

Missionary pioneer

Housewife/missionary/author

Salvation Army officer/soul-winner

Minister/author

 

Sex: 3 women, 9 men.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As Different As Chalk Is from Cheese: They Knew Their God Vol. 4

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As Different As Chalk Is from Cheese: They Knew Their God Vol. 4

Continuing our study into the variety of characters cited in the series, They Knew Their God, here is Volume 4, noting, as with previous volumes, the nationality, denomination, vocation, and the century in which they were born as relating to each character.

 

Volume 4. 13 characters described in 12 sketches.  

Nationality: 3 American, 6 English, 1 Irish, 2 German, 1 Finish,

Century: 2 from 17th century; 3 from 18th century; 8 from 19th century.

Denomination: 2 Anglican, 3 Methodist, 1 RC/Lutheran, 1 Presbyterian, 5 inter-denominational, 1 Plymouth Brethren.

 Vocation—original and final.  

Anglican vicar.

Anglican vicar—Bible commentator

Methodist itinerant preacher

Hostess

Scholar—Christian theologian and pastor

Farmer—missionary

Homemaker/prayer warrior

Nobleman—missionary/philanthropist

Dr. of philosophy—evangelist/prison reformer

Businessman/manufacturer/philanthropist/home missionary

Homemaker/Sunday School teacher/home missionary

Noblewoman—prison reformer

Trainer of missionaries

 

Sex: 5 women; 8 men.

 

 

 

 

 

North Carolina Flooding

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Thanks to Hurricane Florence, flooding is on most of our minds just now. Evidently, however, flooding in North Carolina has been happening for a very long time. In the children’s book, Asking Father, we read of how God used a flood to answer prayer!  Many years ago, a group of believers wanted to build a church in downtown Swan Quarter, NC.  but the owner of the  building lot refused to sell it to them because he knew a business would be willing to pay more money.  The believers reluctantly built their wooden, whiteboard Church on the edge of town. During a flash flood, however, this little building was lifted from its foundations. It floated downtown, landing on the disputed building site. The owner acknowledged the hand of God in this situation and let the church remain.  Asking Father contains other encouraging stories of answered prayer, written especially for children.

As Different As Chalk Is from Cheese: They Knew Their God Vol. 2

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As Different As Chalk Is from Cheese: They Knew Their God Vol. 2

Continuing our study into the variety of characters cited in the series, They Knew Their God, here is Volume 2, noting, as with Volume One, the nationality, denomination, vocation, and the century in which they were born as relating to each character.

 

Volume 2. 20 characters described in 17 sketches.  

Nationality: 1 Latvian, 1 German, 1 Chinese, 3 Irish, I Welsh, 3 Scots, 3 English, and 7 American.

Century: 1 from 17th century; 2 from 18th century; 15 from 19th century; 2 from 20th century.

Denomination:  1 Baptist, 1 Pietist, 3 CIM (China Inland Mission), 1 YWCA, 2 Quaker, 3 Methodist, 2 Anglican, 2 Presbyterian, 3 AEB (Africa Evangelistic Band), 1 JEB (Japan Evangelistic Band, 1 Christian Brethren.

Vocation—original and final.  

Anglican curate

Author and hymn-writer

Book-keeper—traveling Quaker evangelist and philanthropist

3 Deaconesses

Farmer—Methodist bishop

Homemaker—author, and preacher

6 Missionary pastors/evangelists

2 Pastors/authors

Philosophy professor—Quaker mystic.

Presbyterian minister

Ribbon weaver —Pietist recluse

Scholar— pastor

 

Sex: 7 women; 13 men.

 

 

 

More Memories

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More Memories:

It was in the early to mid-seventies. My parents, Edwin and Lillian Harvey had already written and published a few books. Their extensive files provided ample material for further compilations. In what direction to branch out next must have been in their minds and in their prayers.

We were living in England in those days and, being interdenominational, my parents’ ministry brought them in contact with Christians from various backgrounds and denominations. One day, Tim, a young squadron leader in the RAF handed my father an autobiography, then popular on the Christian market, and asked him to read it. When my Father handed it back, Tim asked: “What do you think of it?”

“It’s well written, but does not stand up to the test of the cross,” my dad replied. “Miracles, spiritual wonders, amazing power—all these are emphasized, but not once is there a mention of the cross.”

I cannot remember the details of the ensuing conversation. I do know, however, that Tim challenged my dad to point him to biographies which did indeed pass the test of the cross!  He was eager to read of men and women from various denominations and cultures who knew God intimately. My father recommended Men and Women of Deep Piety, but concluded that many of the current Christian biographies concentrated on what a man or woman had accomplished for God rather than on their spiritual journey. Not long afterwards, the They Knew Their God series began to materialize.

The characters they would choose to include in this series, my parents decided, would be varied. They would come from all over the world–England, Africa, Europe, America! They would not be confined to one denomination. It would not matter if they were Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Anglican, or Roman Catholic. If they had striven to know God with all their being—that was the main criterion. And lay people would be included, both men and women. They would represent differing points of view, vocations, and cultures. Their journeys would take them on widely varying paths, but their destination would be the same! And, hopefully, the effect upon the readers of this series would be this: “I want to know God!”

It is no longer in the seventies. We entered the twenty-first century eighteen years ago. The world is changing fast. Some of the stories in these books may be considered out-dated. The language might be classed as somewhat “antiquated.” The standards presented might seem unreasonably high, but the goal in reprinting these books is, hopefully, the same goal as that which motivated my parents in the first place—to fuel the desire which lurks in the heart of every true follower of Jesus and to echo Paul’s words: “That I might know Him!”

Everything Matters

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Everything in Order!

Manuscripts everywhere–three hundred and sixty-five of them–on the table, on every chair, and even, if I remember correctly, on the floor! My mother was the personification of order, so why, I wondered had she allowed these papers to remain all over our tiny living-room for hours if not for several days? Even the best of memories fade somewhat after sixty-five years or more, so some of the details of that morning may not be absolutely correctly relayed. But I can remember, vividly, asking my parents the question: “Why aren’t you putting away these papers? They’ve stayed there for ages.”

I don’t know what answer I was expecting, certainly not the one I received. “We’ve left them there,” my parents replied, “because we’re praying over them.”

That answer puzzled me at first. Not that I wasn’t used to our family praying over everything—my problems at school with bullies, my father’s Sunday sermons, church conflicts, financial needs—everything and anything was brought to God. But manuscripts? I didn’t understand.

“These manuscripts,” they continued, “are readings for every day of the year, so there are 365 of them. They are on different subjects—prayer, the importance of the Bible, suffering, missionaries, and many more. We are asking God to help us arrange them so that, in the future, those who read them will find something special to help them on that particular day.”

That made sense and I was satisfied. Order does count. How you arrange things was important, at least to our family it was.

I must have been around eight or nine at the time and I forgot all about the incident for a long while. The manuscripts were eventually put into book form and The Christian’s Daily Challenge came into being. Then, some years later, my parents began to receive letters from around the globe, telling not just that people had been blessed through reading the book but that, when they had been facing some crisis in their lives, the reading for that particular day had seemed written just for them. When I heard this, something clicked! I saw myself as a perplexed eight-year-old, staring at the 365 manuscripts that had invaded the privacy of our home.

Something still clicks, so much so that I am going to go right now to our website and see what the reading is for today. It is entitled “The Microscope of Love. “Don’t wait for tomorrow”; advises Frances Ridley Havergal.  Take this day, the morning hours past, the evening ones to come, and apply this microscope, and see if you don’t find you are walking in the midst of miracles of love, and that all things are for your sakes.” Now that advice, I’m pretty sure, is relevant to every one of us! Check out these daily readings on our site. I think you’ll find it worth your while!

Trudy Harvey Tait

https://harveycp.com/?product=christians-daily-challenge-the

Small Beginnings

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I thought that perhaps some of you who have read Edwin and Lillian Harvey’s books might like to know how it all began, or, to be more accurate, how “they” all began. Well, three hundred pounds, a sympathetic printing establishment called “Nelson and Knox” in Northern Ireland, and a few grains of mustard seed faith which, our Lord said, could remove mountains, and you pretty much have the origin of what we now know as “Harvey Christian Publishers.” Well, this is not quite accurate. Without a profusion of material from the extensive files that Lillian had slowly accumulated over the years, Harvey Publishers might never have come into being. The material in these files had already provided inspiration for the periodical The Message of Victory which Edwin and Lillian jointly edited. But although this little magazine had a circulation of thousands within the British Isles, they felt the time had come to produce inspired reading in a more permanent form—a daily reading book with quotations from godly men and women from various denominations and cultures. They would call it The Christian’s Daily Challenge. True, there were other daily devotionals on the market, but this book would be unique. It would unite the voices of saints of all ages and denominations in one grand challenge to godly living!

So, the material was there and the vision, but what about the finance? It was post war Britain. Life was not easy. Rationing was at its height and money was scarce. Edwin and Lillian were leaders of the Metropolitan Mission with British headquarters in Glasgow. They had enough money to live on, but that was all. Well, not quite. They had saved up over the years by going to auctions, buying up canned goods, and reselling them for a small profit to the kitchen staff at the mission’s Bible School.A few pennies here, a few shillings there, and three hundred pounds had been accumulated!

With many of the readers of their periodical in Northern Ireland, Edwin and Lillian had contacted a Christian printer there who was shocked when these novice authors announced they wished to print ten thousand copies of their first book! The printer informed them that they were either utterly crazy or people of tremendous faith! He must have decided on the latter and informed these naïve adventurers that he would allow them to print in installments. So they placed their hard-earned three hundred pounds in the printer’s hands, sold their first batch of books, and then paid for the next batch with money from these sales. A traveling salesman saw the book and decided he wanted to distribute it. And he did. The books spread over the British Isles. Thousands were eventually sold and blessed many readers all over the world. The name of this first book? The Christian’s Daily Challenge!