One of Rabbi Ben Jochai's scholars once asked him, "Why did not the Lord furnish enough manna to Israel for a year all at one time?" The teacher said, "I will answer you with a parable. Once there was...
Corrie Ten Boom once observed, "You just collect roses, the praise and compliments, during the day; you hold them, put them together in a bouquet, then at the end of the day, you get on your knees and...
Those who speak up for Jesus are often labeled as annoyances. Some of that may be unavoidable. Herb Caen once said, “The problem with born-again Christians is that they are an even bigger pain the ...
P. H. Welshimer, a great preacher of a previous generation, used to advise his fellow preachers, "If you have to be a second-rater, then be a first-rate second-rater." That’s not bad advice fo...
The book, Significa, tells of Sir Henry Morgan, the famous pirate, who once won a libel suit against a man who called him-of all things--a pirate. The man was John Esquemeling, one of Morgan's former ...
C.H. Spurgeon once said, "Prayer pulls the rope down below and the great bell rings above in the ears of God. Some scarcely stir the bell, for they pray so languidly; others give only an occasional je...
A study once disclosed that if both Mom and Dad attend church regularly, 72% of their children remain faithful. If only Dad, 55% remain faithful. If only Mom, 15%. If neither attended regularl...
A British publication once offered a prize for the best definition of a friend. Among the thousands of answers received were the following: "One who multiplies joys, divides grief, and whose h...
The reasons why I'm giving up sports: football in the fall, baseball in the summer, basketball in the winter. I've had it all. I quit attending sports once and for all, and here are my 11 excuses: 1. ...
Too Cold for His Image I once saw, lying side by side in a sculptor's workshop, two heads made of metal. One was perfect. All the features of a manly, noble face were clear and distinct. The other, ho...
Leo Cummins once wrote up a list of "Murphy's Laws" for ministers. They include the following: 1) The amount of flack received on any one subject is inversely proportionate to that subject's real valu...
There once was a poor, rural family who were greatly concerned because their little boy had not started talking. The family didn’t have many resources to call upon, so the problem went on for a long t...
Josh McDowell explains that, “An executive recruiter, a ‘head-hunter’ who goes out and hires corporation executives for other firms, once told me, ‘When I get an executive that I'm trying to hire for ...
Sigmund Freud's favorite story was about the sailor shipwrecked on one of the South Sea islands. He was seized by the natives, hoisted to their shoulders, carried to the village, and set on a rude thr...
When Ivo Andric was awarded the Nobel prize for literature in 1961, the committee cited his epic novel The Bridge on the Drina as reason enough for the award. The Bridge on the Drina is historical fic...
Strawberries are my favorite fruit. I even love strawberry plants, for once they preached a powerful sermon to me which I've never forgotten. I was on my hands and knees in my garden pulling weeks, wh...
Golfer Arnold Palmer once played a series of exhibition matches in Saudi Arabia. The king was so impressed that he proposed to give Palmer a gift. Palmer demurred; "It really isn't necessary, Your Hig...
Love Wrought It On one of the arches in a magnificent cathedral in Europe is sculptured a face of wondrous beauty. It can be seen only once a year when the sun is in a certain position. For then its r...
An article in the Nov. 14, 2003 issue of The Wall Street Journal notes, "Americans don't seem much interested in converting the 'heathen,' as it was once put. Indeed, they decreasingly believe there i...