Paul W. Powell Legacy Library

I visited with a young lady to invite her to church. We had talked for only a few moments when tears welled up in her eyes and she became very emotional. It was clear that she was deeply distressed. I shared with her what Christ meant to me and how through faith in him I had found peace and happiness in life. She replied, “I really could use some of that.&rdqu...

Charles J. Brown II was a multimillionaire oilman who retired at the age of 38. About a year later he made a commitment of his life to Christ to be ready, willing, and able to serve kingdom causes when needed.  I heard a story about a request that once went to Charlie for some personal information to be used in publicizing some Christian meetings. Back came the...

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...

Those who value life the most are interested in investing their lives in great causes. Jesus gave us the key to a happy, meaningful life when he said, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 16:25). Life’s greatest investment is in the cause of Christ. It brings back to yo...

The great musician Leonard Bernstein said that when he was young his father strenuously opposed his going into music. Bernstein explained, “If you were to ask my father today if he opposed this, he would deny it. But he would rationalize by saying, ‘How was I to know that he was a Leonard Bernstein?’” That reply, “How was I to know?&rdqu...

Running can be good for you—both physically and spiritually. The apostle Paul expresses this truth when he wrote to Timothy, “Flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and meekness” (1 Timothy 6:11). The word flee means “to run away from.” The word follow means “to run swiftly af...

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...

You know it is tragic to see a person [grow, excel] in one area and not grow in another. Some of you remember reading about Babe Didrikson Zaharias, perhaps the greatest woman athlete ever to live in America. In 1932 she won gold medals in the Olympics in the hurdles and in the javelin throw. She was not only a great track star, but she was an All-American twice as a...

One day a tall middle-aged man pushed his way through the Christmas crowd and asked a clerk for a compass. She led him to the counter displaying mechanical drawing sets and laid out several instruments. “Oh, I don’t want one that draws circles,” the customer protested. “I want a compass that gives directions.” “Sorry,” came...