John Bunyan lived in a volatile time in England’s history. As Joel Beeke wrote in John Bunyan, Grace in Fearing God, “England was visited by deadly plagues and torn apart by civil wars. In 1636 the plague returned killing thirty thousand people or more in England. The historian Christopher Hill wrote, ‘the most turbulent, seditious, and factious sixty years of recorded history.’”[1] But, God raised up John Bunyan for a specific time and a specific purpose. God has used this man to influence not just England or his generation but the whole world and future generations. Tim Challies has given him the title of “the most famous of all puritans.”[2]
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World Changer Wednesday-J. C. Ryle (1816-1900)
Man of Granite with the Heart of a Child
J. C. Ryle is one of the most widely read evangelical authors of the 19th century. He was given many different titles by his peers. F. J. Chavasse described Ryle as, “That man of granite with the heart of a child. Truly, Ryle stands among so many for his unwavering stance on God’s Word during a time the church of England was putting into question the reliability of Scripture. He was not easily swayed by man and was as bold as a lion with the gospel. His aim in life was seeing the lost being found—the enemies of God becoming children of God. For that, Ryle also was a lover of people. He genuinely displayed God’s love towards others in his day-to-day life.
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World Changer Wednesday- Corrie Ten Boom (1892-1983)
A lesson on Forgiveness:
Corrie ten Boom is a world changer. She lived in one of the darkest times of humanity yet was able to be a light shining bright for Jesus Christ. Her life shouts what forgiveness is in Christ and how we can forgive others because we have been forgiven of much.
Corrie ten Boom was born in the beautiful country of Holland. Her father was a watchmaker and life was good for the ten Boom family.
Her parents raised her and her siblings in the ways of the Lord. At age five, Corrie came to faith. Family worship was consistent in the home. Many of the lessons she would learn in family worship would impact her and prepare her and her siblings for what awaited them. Her father taught them that there is love that one needs to have for God’s people, which would later motivate the ten Boom family as they worked with the underground network to save Jews from the Germans.
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World Changer Wednesday-George Whitefield (1714-1770)
The Great Awakening took place across two continents (America and Europe). There are a few names that come to mind with the Great Awakening; John and Charles Wesley, Jonathan Edwards, and George Whitfield are among them. When you read the account of Whitefield you are amazed at what he was able to accomplish with the limited technology of the time. It would seem impossible or supernatural. Harry Stout writes that “by 1750 virtually every American loved and admired Whitfield and saw him as their champion.” It has been said that by the time Whitfield died, 80% of the people in the American Colonies heard Whitefield in person at least once in their lifetime (this is before TV or radio)—fascinating! Eric Metaxes attributes to Whitefield the success of American Independence. He states that without the Great Awakening there would be no revival and no revolution. There would be no America as we know it. No one in church history has been able to rally people like George Whitfield and he was used by God for the sake of the gospel as a world changer.
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World Changer Wednesday-John G. Paton
What do you get when you put Indiana Jones, John the Baptist, and a missionary together? You get John G. Paton. A man who was willing to go to an island where the missionaries before him went and were killed and eaten by the islanders within hours of their landing. If ever there has been an autobiography that read like an adventure novel, it is that of John G. Paton. Though his account is exciting to read, his faith despite difficult situations and his love for Jesus stand far above the adventure. He begins his autobiography by saying, “What I write here is for the glory of God” and truly his life was one lived for God’s glory.
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