Paul W. Powell Legacy Library

Some time ago, a man came to Norman Vincent Peale to share with him the problems of his life. The man was the manager of a hotel. He had a nervous breakdown early in his life, and he was afraid that he was about to have another one. He began to share all of his problems and his burdens with Dr. Peale. The more he shared those problems and burdens, the more uptight he...

“If Christianity today is losing its influence, the reason may be that the church consists of soft pews, soft music, and soft soap.” So said Pastor John C. Jeske one time in the Presbyterian Journal.  We must never so water down our message as Christians that it loses its cleansing power. We must fight the temptation to be apologetic and even as...

Once we buried a young lady who was only 21 years old. She was killed in a head-on collision while on her way to church. The night before the funeral, my daughter asked why God allows things like this to happen. I wish I knew. Things like this have puzzled saints, wise men, and philosophers since the world began. There is simply no one easy answer as to why tra...

During the last few decades, a small number of “radical” theologians have received worldwide publicity from their announcement that “God is dead.” Some members of the secular press, hungering for headlines, raised these men to a level seldom afforded a philosopher or theologian. While there is nothing new about such claims, we who are Christia...

Once a lady came by my study to ask me about heaven. She wanted to know if there would be degrees of rewards there. I told her that the scriptures teach us that there will be (1 Corinthians 3:11-15). The Bible teaches that our destiny depends on faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), but our rewards depend on works (Revelation 22:12). It is by the grace of God that we are saved; i...

“What is faith?” asked the Sunday school teacher. A young boy answered in a flash, “Believing something you know isn’t true.” There are many people who feel this way. They believe that Christianity is a collection of myths or fairy tales with no rational basis. Christianity is true and rational. It can be successfully defended. The case...

I believe in the devil! Many people don’t. They think that belief in a personal devil is a part of mankind’s nursery furniture. They put him in the same category as Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. They relegate him to the superstition and ignorance of the Middle Ages. Granted, the truth about Satan has been greatly distorted by the false notions of the...

There are three places we can live—in the past, in the present, or in the future. Some people live in the past. They are always looking back. Their lives are so weighted down by mistakes, failures, regrets, and sins of the past that they don’t enjoy the present. Others live in the future. They either spend so much time dreaming of the future or dreading...

I am told that there are more than 7,000 promises in the Bible. This means that the Bible is a storehouse, a treasure of riches awaiting the exploration of every Christian. These promises are eternal. Solomon, on the occasion of dedicating the Temple of God said, “Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promise...