Paul W. Powell Legacy Library

In 1960 the country of Surinam had only one entry in the Olympics. For four years their athlete had trained for the 800-meter run. He was entered in the trial heat. He didn’t win. In fact, he didn’t even run. He slept through the event. Think of it! He slept through the most important event of his life. Christians are in danger of letting something like t...

Christians are not to hide their light. Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). He commanded us to live in open goodness and service. We are not to be secret disciples. We are to stand up and speak up for God and for good. However, the Bible also warns...

Somebody asked Billy Graham about the many converts who came to his revivals, “Will they last?” He replied, “You might as well go to the hospital in the maternity ward and ask that same question about the newborn babies you see behind the glass.” “Will they last?” The answer is “no” unless somebody loves them, feeds them...

I read some time ago that one of the directors of the Rockefeller Foundation said that the members of that organization are either patrons or they are partners. A patron is a person who lends his name and his support to an organization. He occasionally will attend one of the annual meetings. There is some kind of slight attachment to that organization. A patron intend...

Stanley Tam said that one day a man visited him and asked him a question that changed his life. “Do you have a friend?” he asked. Stanley said, “Well, sure I have some friends.” The man said, “No, I mean the kind of true friend who will stick with you. Suppose you fell into some great sin. Would he still love you and would he still help y...

One of our men shared with me some time ago about a financial disaster in his life. He explained that before that time, he was the most carnal Christian there was. He only remembered praying three times. When he got married, he prayed, “God bless my marriage.” When his first child was to be born, he prayed, “God help my child to be healthy.” Wh...

In his book Life’s Sentence, Chuck Colson says this: “We humans obviously have a problem of maintaining a steady level of spiritual fidelity. One solution is the continual checking and encouragement of a Christian friend.” He came to that conclusion when he was going to his first television interview concerning his book Born Again. He began to realiz...

As the old TV commercial once put it, “If you’ve got it, flaunt it.” That’s what Jesus meant when he said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Our lives are to point men to God but we should not be visible in the church only. A Christian who...

Will Durant, in his book The Story of Civilization, spoke extensively about revolutions. He wrote, “The only real revolution is the revolution of the individual. The only real revolutionists are the philosophers and the saints.” What an insight! He was saying to us that violent revolutions do not redistribute the wealth; they just destroy the wealth. Advoc...