About Us
About S.D. Gordon
Samuel Dickey Gordon was a prolific author and evangelical lay minister active in the latter part of the 19th and early 20th centuries. He was born in Philadelphia on August 9, 1859. There, he served as assistant secretary of the Philadelphia Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in 1884-86 and then became State Secretary for the YMCA in Ohio, serving from 1886 to 1895. He is perhaps best known for his series of books Quiet Talks on ..., published between 1903 and 1935, which have their own unique style very much different than that of other writers of the day. His devotional, The Bent-Knee Time – A Bit for Every Day of the Year, was published in Philadelphia in 1918 by the American Sunday-School Union. S.D. Gordon went home to be with his friend and savior, Jesus Christ, in June, 1936.
About The Bent Knee Time - A Bit for Every Day of the Year
Here’s how S.D. Gordon introduced his daily devotional:
A WORD AT THE START
These daily bits are meant to be little wedges for the Quiet Corner, to get things started.
A life of victory and power hinges on three things: an Act, a Purpose, and a Habit; an initial act, a rock-rooted purpose, and a daily habit; the act of surrender to Jesus as Master of one’s person and life, the simple, steady purpose in everything to do as he would wish, the daily habit of getting a bit of time every day off alone with the Master, with the door shut, the Book open, the knee bent, and the will bent afresh.
The daily habit needs much emphasis because it puts new life-blood daily into the act and the purpose. After these other two are fixed in where they belong this is the hinge on which the whole life swings.
These little bits are meant to be distinctly secondary to the Book itself. They are simply to start one’s thoughts a-going, and to help fit the Book into one’s own daily life. The chiefest thing always is the fresh touch face-to-face with Jesus. And he always meets one at the bent-knee time to give that fresh touch. You can count on that.
S.D.G.
About This Site
My name is Jasper Hall. I was born in Alaska, spent my early years in California, and returned to Alaska to work and play in my teenage years. I attended the University of Alaska – Fairbanks and obtained a Business Degree. After some years in banking and business, I moved my young family to Portland, Oregon, where I attended Multnomah Biblical Seminary and obtained a Master of Arts in Biblical Studies. It was there, in a free book box at the campus library, that I found a copy of The Bent-Knee Time that, according to the note inside the front cover, a father had gifted to his son in 1948 – the little book has been with me ever since.
After seminary, I returned to the business world; but all along the way, I’ve made it a point to add the “daily bits”, the “little wedges for the Quiet Corner”, to get my days started. When you find something good, you want to share it; hence, this website. With the help of my wife, Eva, my son, Robert, and my daughters, Sarah and Adrienne, here it is! May these little bits bless you, as they have me – and may they continually remind you of God’s Presence, Power and Provision as you read them!
J.R.H.