Vaclav Havel, the Czech poet/President, experienced years of oppression and persecution under Communist rule. He later observed: "I am not an optimist, because I am not sure that everything ends well....
It was Dwight Moody who said, "I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And that which I can do, by the grace of God, I will do." With that simple commitment, God u...
"I have preached the gospel now these thirty years and more, and . . . often, in coming down to this pulpit, have I felt my knees knock together, not that I am afraid of any one of my hearers, but I a...
If I straighten the pictures on the walls of your home, I am committing no sin, am I? But suppose that your house were afire, and I still went calmly about straightening pictures, what would you sa...
A man passed out a card, at his daughters wedding, with these words engraved on it: I am the Father of the Bride. Nobody is paying much attention to me today. But, I can assure you that I am gettin...
Several years ago, Ann Landers printed in her column a poem that depicts Gossip speaking. Among other things, Gossip says, "I maim without killing. I break hearts and ruin lives. The more I am quoted,...
If I straighten the pictures on the walls of your home, I am committing no sin, am I? But suppose that your house were afire, and I still went calmly about straightening pictures, what would y...
Our plight is much like the story that has been told of the two teardrops who met while traveling along the river of life. One said, "I am a teardrop from a woman who met the man of her dreams and ...
During World War II, a military governor met with General George Patton in Sicily. When he praised Patton highly for his courage and bravery, the general replied, "Sir, I am not a brave man…T...
Newspapers ran a story about a 55-year old North Florida man who went to a judge with an unusual request. He asked the judge to allow him to change his name to "God."...
I love the story Gordon MacDonald tells. Among the legends is the tale of a medieval sidewalk superintendent who asked three stone masons on a construction project what they were doing. The first repl...
A kindergarten teacher gave her class a "show and tell" assignment. Each student was instructed to bring in an object to share with the class that represented their religion. The first student got...
An Interview with Mark Labberton, Sr. Pastor of First Presbyertian Church of Berkley, Califonia....
Being interviewed by the school administration, the eager teaching prospect said: "Let me see if I've got this right. You want me to go into that room with all those kids, fill their every waking mome...
Dear Ann Landers: I am writing from behind bars. The charge? A felony - child molesting. Not a pleasant subject, I realize, but this letter is not being written to be pleasant or to gain sympathy. Yo...
What do you do when your fears seem to be winning the day? What if you pray and God still hasn’t come through for you? If you are like most people, you begin to lose hope, and you wonder why you bothe...
Outreach is a task assigned to the church by Christ, but it's easy to lose our sense of urgency when we lose sight of the overall picture. I am reminded of the digging of the Panama Canal. Over a pe...
What do you do when experience teaches that you cannot win for losing?...