Scripture Testimony Collection

This is a brief biography to introduce the life of Hudson Taylor to the younger though all Christians will benefit from learning about his life to dare greatly for his Lord and Savior.

Born into humble circumstances in nineteenth century Scotland, Mary Slessor's path seemed determined as she began work as a child laborer in a textile mill. Short of stature, blue-eyed, red-haired, and with a fiery personality to match, Mary was made of tough stuff. Even though she worked twelve hours per day, she faithfully attended night school, even bringing books to work, stealing glances as she could. Her homelife was full of conflict and want until her alcoholic father died, after which Mary became the primary breadwinner. These trying circumstances were the refining crucible of Mary's strong character and her deep faith in God, a faith that was modeled by her mother. Mary lived out this faith through teaching and serving the poor-especially the rough children-in the slums of Dundee, Scotland. Even from childhood her sights were set on far-off places. Mary and her family enthusiastically followed the reports of the new Presbyterian mission in Calabar, Nigeria. She said, "It was the dream of my girlhood to be a missionary to Calabar." At age twenty-eight, she was able to join the mission herself, and spent nearly four decades serving the people there. God used Mary Slessor's upbringing to prepare her for life in Africa. She endeared herself to the people by living the way they lived, and eating the food they ate. This was partly because she was used to humble circumstances, but also so that she could economize as she continued to support her family back in Scotland from her missionary's salary. Her experiences in the rough neighborhoods of Dundee gave her a boldness to deal with intense conflicts and murderous superstitions in Calabar. Impelled by the love of Christ, she championed the causes of the poor and weak, especially women and children. To combat the superstitious tradition of killing twins, she adopted many while she preached on the value of life. Today, more than one hundred years later, Mary Slessor is still celebrated in Calabar, Nigeria. Her statue stands in the center of the city, a memorial to a woman whose life was a blessing to this people. She is depicted holding infant twins.

Dr. Frederick Baedeker, born in Germany in 1823, earned a doctorate in philosophy, became a successful business man and educator, then founded a high-class school in Weston-super-Mare, England, to where he emigrated, married, and settled into a prosperous life. But at age forty-three, Baedeker attended a series of evangelistic meetings about which he said, "I went in a proud German infidel, and came out a humble, believing disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ." Through aristocratic connections, God granted Dr. Baedeker unprecedented access to the horrible prisons of Czarist Russia, and at one point eighty-six-year-old George Müller laid his hands on Dr. Baedeker's head and "separated him to the special ministry to the banished brethren, committing him to the loving care of our Heavenly Father." Instead of enjoying the comforts of his upper-class position, Dr. Baedeker chose to spend his days and his personal wealth to visit the downcast and forgotten so that he might lift their chins with the hope of the glorious Gospel. Frequently in great need or danger, or facing opposition, he sought and found deliverance through prayer. These proofs of God's love and faithfulness are chronicled in story after story in this powerful biography. Originally published in 1907, the year after Dr. Baedeker's death, Dr. Baedeker and His Apostolic Work in Russia is an essential Christian biography. From the author, "A life-work so signally exemplary in its long-sustained heroism for Christ, and so rich in spiritual stimulus, could not be allowed to pass unchronicled."

Imagine a man walking into a poor rural village containing thousands of people and then promising to take care of their every need; food, clothing, housing, education. And then imagine that he proposed to do this without telling anyone other than God that these needs even existed. This man was George Müller, and that village was the more than ten thousand orphans for whom he cared, over sixty years of his life. In his youth, George Müller was such a slave to money that he would lie, cheat, and steal to get it. But then God set him free. He said, "There was a day when I died, utterly died...died to George Müller, his opinions, preferences, tastes and will-died to the world, its approval or censure-died to the approval or blame even of my brethren and friends..." God transformed this wayward youth into a humble man of faith who set about-as one of his primary life goals-to prove to the world that God is alive, that He loves us, and that He is trustworthy and faithful. In spite of his indifference to money, or perhaps because of it, God allowed more than £1,300,000 to pass through his hands towards the needs and support of orphans, missionaries, schools, evangelism, and more, all meticulously recorded to the glory of God the Provider. First published in 1899, the year after Müller's death, George Müller of Bristol was the first authorized biography, written by his friend Arthur T. Pierson, who was author of numerous books on missions, theology, apologetics, and biography, and who was also a preacher, including two years over Charles Spurgeon's church in London. Pierson skillfully draws deep spiritual lessons from Müller's life, making this biography one of the most important Christian books of all time.