Paul W. Powell Legacy Library

A friend met another friend after many years of not seeing him. And she was surprised to learn he had left the pulpit to become a medical doctor. When she asked him about this he explained his actions in this way: “I have learned that people will pay more money for the care of their bodies than they will for the care of their souls.” Some time elapsed and...

How can a doctor treat a patient if he is not with him? How could you set things in order if you aren’t there? Jesus was often criticized because he associated with sinners. He justified his actions by saying, “They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:31-32)...

On the surface the argument is plausible: let liquor become part of a child’s life when he is young and he will drink in moderation. Unfortunately it does not seem to work that way. It appears strange that while many countries are cracking down on the abuses of alcohol, we Americans are calling for more leniency. Alcoholism is one of the great social problems t...

Sin is deadly and should not be treated lightly. The Bible warns, “Fools make a mock at sin” (Proverbs 14:9). How do people mock sin? 1. Some people mock sin by changing its name. W. E. Sangster, the late Methodist preacher, said, “Years ago I attended a joint meeting of doctors, psychiatrists, and ministers to discover ways in which we could w...

There are times when, in the face of a temptation or an invitation to do evil, there is no substitute for an absolute, resounding “no.” The word no is one of the smallest yet hardest of all words to say. Youth especially have trouble saying it. We have trouble with it because we all want popularity, success, and happiness. To say no increases the poss...

When trouble of any sort comes to us, our first response is to ask, “Why?” Death, disease, deformity, and accidents perplex all of us. There is no one easy answer as to why people suffer, but several possible explanations are given in the Bible. 1. Judgment for sin. Some suffering comes as punishment for sin. This is the oldest and most common explanatio...

Everyone needs to know how to deal with other people’s sins. Daily we are affected by them and they cause us many a crisis and much misery. We are never free from the wrongs caused by others, and they are never free from the wrongs caused by us. Sometimes the sins of others touch us directly. A business partner turns out to be dishonest; your husband is unfaith...

There is a magnetism to the cross of Jesus Christ that cannot be explained apart from God. Jesus once said, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth [on a cross], will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32). What is it that gives the cross such a universal and irresistible appeal? 1. It is the magnetism of love. In the cross of Christ we see the love of God a...

Drunkenness is one of American’s leading health, moral, and social problems. The Bible warns, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging; and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise” (Proverbs 20:1).  The evils of drunkenness can be seen in a story that I found in an old Spanish schoolbook many years ago. On a lonely stretch of mountain road a...