Paul W. Powell Legacy Library

One of the common denominators of all world religions except Christianity is that they do not correlate faith and works. In Christianity there is the closest correlation between them. In fact the Bible says, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26). The Bible is clear: a workless faith is worthless fai...

Author R. Lee Sharpe (1872-1951) once told a great story about his dad. He wrote, “One spring day long ago Father called me to go with him to old man Trussell’s blacksmith shop. He had left a rake and a hoe to be repaired. And they were ready when we came, fixed like new. Father handed over a silver dollar, but Mr. Trussell refused to take it. ‘No,&r...

The king of all sins is pride. It is the sin that made a devil out of Satan. As English author John Milton once wrote, “He would rather reign in hell than serve in heaven.” Not only was pride the devil’s problem, it is also our problem. We all face the temptation to strut around before God and to look down our noses at other people.  Pride asse...

British evangelist Alan Redpath (1907-1989) recalls going with a pastor friend to an old village church in the north of England during the early days of World War II. They met the vicar there in charge of that parish. Redpath wrote, "He took us into his old vicarage, and we went inside and discovered it had all been modernized. It had electric lights, an electric stov...

1 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. 4 And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. 5 And when...

Nothing is more universal than trouble. In its many forms it comes to all men alike. Our only trouble-free days are those in the past. The question then is not “Will I have trouble in life?” or “Why do trials come?” but “How will I face them?” It is a question of attitude. The person who has not learned to deal successfully with tro...

I read somewhere the story of a group of teenagers who broke into a department store one night. They didn’t steal or destroy anything. They just had a wonderful time switching price tags. The next morning customers were puzzled and delighted to find fur coats selling for $5.00. Cold cream was priced at $150. A silver service was marked $1.75 and a pair of ladies...

Edward Gibbon, the English historian, defined history as “the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind.” You need not read very far in history to see that there is much truth in this analysis. While in sports, technology, and a few other areas man has made magnificent advances, in personal and international relations his record is one of...

Two friends chanced to meet on the street one day. One said to the other, “Friend, how is it with your soul?” His friend replied, “You know, I’ve been so busy lately I had almost forgotten that I had a soul.” In the early 18th century, the Church of England was spiritually dead. Thomas Carlyle described the period as “soul extinct,...