One of my favorite quotations was given to us by the great Samuel Johnson. He said, "Great works are performed not be strength but by perseverance. He that shall walk with vigor, three hours a...
Victory takes persistence. It took twenty-two years for the McDonald's hamburger chain to make its first billion dollars. It took IBM forty-six years and Xerox sixty-three years to make their first bi...
Edison's best-known adage appears in various forms, the shortest being his comments to an interviewer that "genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration," his reply to a question a...
The famous jockey, Willie Shoemaker, once lost a race because he thought he had won it. He mistook a marker for the finish line and stood up in the stirrups. The horse took this to mean the race was o...
What do the founders of McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken, the inventor of the light bulb, and the widow in today's story all have in common (Luke 18:1-14)? If you guessed "persistence," you're ri...
Sociology professor Anthony Campolo recalls a deeply moving incident that happened in a Christian junior high camp where he served. One of the campers, a boy with spastic paralysis, was the object ...
Two frogs fell into a can of cream - or so I've been told.The sides of the can were shiny and steep,The cream was deep and cold,"Oh, what's the use?" said No. 1,"tis fate - no help's around - Good-bye...
It happened in Southwest Asia in the 14th Century. The army of Asian conqueror Emperor Tamerlane (a descendant of Ghengis Khan) had been routed, dispersed by a powerful enemy. Tamerlane himself lay hi...
Harold Sherman quite awhile ago, wrote a book entitled How to Turn Failure Into Success. In it he gives a "Code of Persistence." If you give up too easily, write this down and read it daily. 1. I will...
Wilma Rudolph suffered from polio as a child. Polio left her with a crooked left leg. She wore metal braces and had to have treatments for over six years. At age 11, through sheer diligence an...
Chuck Swindoll has written, "Remember during your growing-up years how your mother had a specially designed wall with some pencil marks on it where, as you grew from year to year, she marked where you...
Many pastors are intimidated by the thought of preaching all the way through an entire book of the Bible. Some fear that congregational excitement will be hard to sustain and that pastor and congregat...
A penitent monk single-handedly carved steps in the stones leading to the top of Mt. Sinai where Moses received the Law from God. There are 1,360 steps to the pinnacle. Pilgrims still climb those step...
It has been said that you can learn a lot in jail—most of it bad—but there are some good things that can be learned in prison. Just ask John Bunyan....
Most people would affirm the genius of Thomas Jefferson. He was an eloquent writer, an inquisitive thinker and a great inventor. Those who visit the Jefferson home, Monticello, are amazed at his many ...
Athletes often have a perseverance and determination Christian should envy....
What does evangelistic preaching sound/look/feel like? Here are eight characteristics....
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...