Paul W. Powell Legacy Library

13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: 14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;...

7 Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return? 8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. 9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed m...

Someone has said that Jesus "died on the cross to save us from our sins; he arose and lives within us to save us from ourselves.” We need to be saved from our sins of the past. We also need to be saved from ourselves in the present. We are our own worst enemies. It is from our own lusts and desires that all temptation and sin arise. In every life there is a spi...

Bob Gibson, star pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals (1959–75), once spoke about the rough and rugged life of a famous athlete. After telling of many unpleasant experiences with the fans, he said, “I don’t like crowds—and fans, except for a very few, are all fair weather.” I suppose every famous person knows how fickle the crowd can be. J...

People often say, “Everything that happens is for the best.” Through the years people have licked their wounds with the false comfort of this misconception. To believe that everything is for the best is not Christian optimism but blind fatalism. To say this is to fail to take evil into account. It is to call evil good. Men are free to choose evil as well a...

Two young girls were standing on the deck of a ship early one morning. The older said to the younger, “Isn’t it a beautiful day? And look at the horizon, how beautiful it is.” The younger girl looked at her with a bit of puzzlement on her face and asked, “What is a horizon?” The older girl pointed off into the distance and said, “...

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...

How can your life be better? How can you live life at its best? The answer is simple: Live by God’s rules. Life at its best is a life lived in obedience to God’s laws. The Bible says, “He that keepeth the commandment [of the Lord] keepeth his own soul [life]; but he who despiseth his way shall die” (Proverbs 19:16). God wants us to enjoy life...

The motto for every Christian’s life should be, “Thy will, O God, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.” Behind this motto is the assumption that God has a will for every life. Both Jesus and the apostle Paul lived their lives under the conviction that God had a will for them, and they died with the satisfaction that they had accomplished it. As...