IMPORTUNITY
Text: Luke 11:5-13
"And He said unto them: --
"Which of you shall have a friend
And at midnight ask him, ‘Lend
Me three loaves that I may dine
With a vis’ting friend of mine
Who from distant journey fared
Catching me quite unprepared;’
And he from within shall say,
Rouse me not, the door shall stay
Shut! My children and I do sleep;
Call me not, thy silence keep.
Let repose our portion be
I cannot rise and give to thee!’
"Let Me tell you he’ll not rise
Give to him for friendship ties,
Yet for his importunity
Rise and give him gen’rously
Whatso’er his caller needeth
For relentlessly he pleadeth!
"And I postulate anew
‘Ask, it shall be given you;
Seek and ye shall find, My friend;
Knock and it shall be opened then.
Who of you his child would shun
If he asked of him a bun?
Ye with evil natures give
Gifts to those who with you live;
God likewise His children hears
Who prevail in prayer and tears,
Gives His Spirit full and free
Honors importunity!’"
--Frank Fellows
Part II
"In the affair of marriage, be guided by the advice of parents or guardians. Parents have no right to select for you, nor ought you to select for yourself, without consulting with them....
"Till you are of age, parents have positive authority to forbid; and it is an undutiful act in you to form connections without their knowledge, and to carry them on against their prohibitions. ... Very seldom does that connection prove otherwise than a source of wretchedness on which the frown of an affectionate and wise father and mother fell from the beginning, for God seems to rise up in judgement and to support the parents’ authority by confirming their displeasure with His own. ...
"Where children are of full age, and are guided in choice by prudence, by piety and by affection, they certainly may, and must be left to decide for themselves.
"... Love should respect the mind as well as the body; for to be attached to an individual simply on the ground of beauty, is to fall in love with a doll, a statue, or a picture. Such an attachment is lust or fancy but certainly not a rational affection. If we love the body but not the mind, the heart and the manners, our regard is placed upon the inferior part of the person, and therefore, only upon that which by disease may be next year a very
different thing to what it is now. Nothing fades so soon as beauty; it is but the delicate bloom of an attractive fruit. And if there be nothing agreeable underneath it will be thrown away in disgust when that is brushed off; and thrown away, too, by the very hand that plucks it. ...
"Let us ask, ‘Will the understanding united with that countenance render its subject fit to be my companion, and the instructor of my children? Will that temper patiently bear with my weaknesses, kindly consult my tastes, affectionately study my comfort? Will those manners please me in solitude as well as in society? Will those habits render my dwelling pleasant to myself and to my friends?’ We must try these matters and hold our passions back, that we may take hold with our judgment, and suffer reason to come down and talk with us in the cool of the evening.’"
-Excerpts from John Angell James
16, 1580--The English Parliament imposes a tax of 20 pounds (c. $100) for absence from church!
1604--Dr. Reynolds, President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, will raise the issue for one uniform translation of the Bible. This conference is held at Hampton Court, and has been duly called by James I, who only recently has ascended the throne and whom Parliament has yet to recognize as king. From this conference the "Authorized Version", otherwise known as the "King James Version", will ultimately spring.
18, 1782--In Salisbury, now Franklin, New Hampshire, Daniel Webster is born. In 1807, he will write his pastor, "I believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God. The miracles which He wrought establish in my mind His personal authority and render it proper for me to believe whatever He asserts. I believe, therefore, all His declarations, as well when He declares Himself to be the Son of God as when He declares any other proposition. I believe there is no other way of salvation than through the merits of His atonement. I believe that the Bible is to be understood and received in the plain and obvious meaning of its passages, since I cannot persuade myself that a book intended for the instruction and conversion of the whole world should cover its meaning in any such mystery and doubt that none but critics and philosophers can discover it." -- an excerpt.
19, 1807--Robert E. Lee is born in Stratford, Virginia. He will become an Episcopalian who will distinguish himself throughout the Civil War as a Christian general. He will refuse President Lincoln’s commission to fight on the side of the North.
20, 1669--Susannah Annesley is born in London, England. She will marry Samuel Wesley and will become the mother of 19 children of whom will be John and his brother Charles.
21, 1824--Thomas Jonathan Jackson is born in Clarksburg, West Virginia. "Stonewall" will conduct a Sunday school for Negroes several years before the Civil War. His servants will be welcomed to join the family in prayers. Each Sunday afternoon he will actively teach them the Word of God. As a Christian general, he will wrestle with the question of attaching on Sunday, even refusing to mail a letter on the Lord’s Day. He will petition the Confederate government suggesting mail not be carried on this day. He will pray all night before a battle and sometimes during the battle. The first Chapel of Logs will be built in his brigade.
A Presbyterian, he wrote his pastor, "You suggest I give my views and wishes in such form and extent as I am willing should be made public. This I shrink from doing, because it looks presumptuous of me to come before the public and even intimate what course I think would be pursued by the people of God.... My views are summed up in these words: Each Christian branch of the church should send into the Army some of its most prominent ministers, who are distinguished for their piety, talents, and zeal; and such ministers should labor to produce concert of action among the chaplains and Christians in the Army...
and as a general rule, I do not think that a chaplain who would preach denominational sermons should be in the Army...but let the question be: "Does he preach the Gospel?"
*23,----: Noah sends forth a raven from the window of the ark.
--Genesis 8:5-7
25, 1627--Robert Boyle, "Father of Modern Chemistry", is born in Lismore Castle, Munster, Ireland. Converted in his early teens, he will come under powerful Calvinistic preaching in Geneva, Switzerland. At his own expense, he will have the Bible printed in Irish and Gaelic, and will support missionary endeavors in Ireland, Wales, Scotland, India and North America.