Paul W. Powell Legacy Library

Life has been defined as the sum total of a person’s choices. From the cradle to the grave we face many great decisions. What is life’s greatest choice? It is not the choice of a vocation, or education, or a mate. Life’s greatest choice has to do with God and one’s spiritual life. The Bible presents that choice to us when it says, “Choo...

The excuses that people give for not attending church are abundant. They are also pretty shallow when carefully examined. I am sure you would agree that the same excuses people use for not attending church would be absurd if the preacher tried to use them as reasons for not attending a sports event.  Consider these common excuses for not attending church as reas...

Dale Carnegie once said, “We have only four contacts with the world, you and I. We are evaluated and classified by four things: 1) by what we do; 2) by how we look; 3) by what we say; and 4) by how we say it.” If that be true, and I think it is, then we must all give careful attention to these areas of our life, for through them we either become stepping...

One of the most pressing issues of our day is that of moral standards. What absolutes impose the limits of freedom? What givens determine what is right and what is wrong? There are some people who say that there are no absolutes in life. They reject all moral standards completely. They claim freedom on all matters of morals and live only for pleasure. Their motto see...

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote a story about a handsome, kindly Dr. Jekyll who discovered a drug that had the supernatural power to change a person’s personality. When taken, it immediately transformed him into Mr. Hyde, a monster who delighted in evil deeds. He spent the rest of his days living the double life of the good Dr. Jekyll and the evil Mr. Hyde until he...

Discipline is an act of love. It gives a child the security of knowing that you care about him. It teaches him respect for authority and it develops self-control. The value of discipline is beyond dispute. But what is the proper form of discipline? Here are five do’s of discipline. 1. Be firm and consistent. Do not let discipline depend on your feelings. 2. Be...

One of the secrets of the great life of the apostle Paul was that he learned how to forget. He did not spend his time looking at his successes or his failures. Rather, he kept focusing on the future and pressing toward the mark of Christian maturity (Philippians 3:13). This is one of the secrets of any great life. It was the brilliant mind of Aldous Huxley that came...

Many years ago four men accompanied me on a mission trip to the West Indies. While visiting with people about Christ one day, a heckler said, “Practice what you preach!” I later learned what was behind the taunt. A few years earlier a young man had professed Christianity and had become very active in the church. He had even done some preaching. Then he fe...

A survey conducted several years ago revealed that the average person speaks about 18,000 words a day—enough to fill 54 pages of a book. In a year’s time this would be enough words to fill 66 books 600 pages long! Since speech is such a vital part of our lives you might assume that God is concerned about its proper use. He most certainly is! Christianity...