It is a disquieting thought, said Charles Dickens, to do anything for the last time. I love the story from Fred Smith’s book, You and Your Network. He writes, “A young preacher in his first pastorate in a small northern mill town was talking for his first time with the mill owner, who said, ‘Young man, you have not seen me in church and you will not see me until my funeral. I own this...
I wrote this piece on the day that my wife and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. As you could guess, in our 25 years we’ve had many ups and downs, joys and sorrows, victories and defeats, but all in all, for me, it has been a confirmation of the scripture, “Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing and obtaineth favour of the Lord” (Proverbs 18:22).
God did me a real favor when...
The old proverb says, “It’s an ill wind that blows no good.” When the storm winds of life blow your way, when trouble comes, when you experience suffering, look for the good in all of it.
It is not always easy to see, of course. When Winston Churchill, the man who led England safely through World War II, was then defeated in the election of 1945, Lady Churchill said to him, “It may wel...
A San Francisco psychiatrist once made an interesting observation about the young ladies who followed Charles Manson, the convicted orchestrator of the murder of Sharon Tate. He said, “Most of Charlie’s girls were hysteric, wishful thinkers, seeking after some absolute.”
I think much of the turmoil and confusion of our age is due to the fact that people seem to have no absolutes. They h...
A man once asked the Lord, “How long do I have to live?” He answered, “Long enough to make a difference.” Here are some lessons that will help us make a difference:
Trouble knocks a lot of nonsense out of us. It often knocks us off our high-horse and onto our knees. It's then that it reminds us of our need of God.
The instructions on some medicine bottles say, “shake well before using.” That’s what God has to do to us sometimes. He shakes us to make us usable.
American novelist Thornton Wilder wrote, “In love's service only wounded sold...
Years ago a lawyer told me of a client who came to him to have his will drawn. He wanted to leave his large estate to Christian causes. The lawyer inquired as to why he was not leaving it to his children. He was not trying to change the man’s mind. He was only curious.
The man said, “Because I do not want to deny my children the joy of earning their own way in life and the spiritual gr...
I loved the 2010 movie “True Grit.” For one thing, I liked the music, “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.” But the main reason was the acting of then fourteen-year-old Hailee Steinfeld who played the part of Mattie Ross. When they started filming, Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon used a lot of curse words. So, little Hailee started a “bad boy jar” and charged them $5 every time they used the “f” word...
John Newton, who wrote the hymn “Amazing Grace,” was once the captain of a slave trading ship. In 1748, caught in a great storm at sea, he turned to God and became a Christian. In time he became a wonderful parish priest and built a great church.
As an old man and blind, he began dictating his memoirs. One day he said, speaking of the thousands of slaves he transported on his ship, “I l...