Read of the King's Work in History

"The truth is this: The march of Providence is so slow, and our desires so impatient; the work of progress is so immense and our means of aiding it so feeble; the life of humanity is so long, that of the individual so brief, that we often see only the ebb of the advancing wave and are thus discouraged. It is history that teaches us to hope." 

- Robert E. Lee, from a letter to Lt. Col. Charles Marshall (September 1870)

I'm looking out at the two Presidential candidates, and the next four years with either of them, and even as a post-millist I find the outlook a bit discouraging.  We Americans are in a pickle ethically and financially and neither of these two yahoos are gonna do anything to reverse any of it.  

    So, if you're thinking the same as me, let me recommend that you pick up a history book and, as General Lee related in his quote above, be encouraged by how far Christ's Bride, equipped with the Gospel, has advanced over time against the gates of Hell.  And I have just the book for ya: The Triumph of Christianity: How the Jesus Movement Became the World's Largest Religion by Rodney Stark.  Overall it is an excellent, readable history of the Church since the time of the Ascension.  I'd caution you on his view of Scripture though (he doesn't believe in the inerrancy and infallibility of the Word) and many of his interpretations of texts are dreadful and should be ignored, but his fluid recounting of history is wonderful to read.  Pick it up and receive hope from reading about Jesus' sovereign, incremental, widespread, unstoppable work in history.