Amy Carmichael was a young girl from Belfast, my home city, who gave her life to God in missions and her heart to India for fifty years establishing the now famous Dohnavur Fellowship. Her focus centered on ...
I heard it first in my mother's kitchen where many a good lesson was learned, but I believe it was first said by Benjamin Franklin, "Waste not want not." It is a maxim that serves to remind us that what we ...
The story is told that during a political debate an opponent of President Lincoln accused him of being two-faced and duplicitous. The crowd waited for a response. Lincoln in forming an answer was...
While I was a teenager in Britain during the 1970s Ian Dury and the Blockheads conquered the pop music world with their number one single, "Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick." That was...
In 1968, the Ohio State Buckeyes made it to the college football national championship. Along the way they soundly and roundly defeated their arch rivals Michigan 50-14. The game against the Wolverines...
Each year at the Oscars, the film industry does a good thing by not only recognizing the star power of the "best actor" or "best director," but they also recognize the value of the supporting cast. Alongside the "best actor" and...
I once read that Willie Nelson, the acclaimed country star, bought his own golf course. Somebody asked what "par" was for the course. "Anything I want it to be," he replied....
I recently read about man who lost the function of his memory due to a horrendous mix up in the operating theatre during which the wrong part of his brain was removed. In all other areas he functioned well, but...
Sports writer, and columnist Rick Reilly gave this advice to rookie professional football players: "Stop thumping your chest. The line blocked, the quarterback threw you a perfect spiral while...
T. W. Wilson was Billy Graham's lifelong friend, and trusted companion. Wherever Billy went he went, and whatever Billy needed, he sought to supply. Like Jonathan toward King David, T. W. Wilson was happy...
Many years ago Dr. Joseph Parker, a contemporary of C. H. Spurgeon and pastor of the famous City Temple Church, mounted the steps to his pulpit and announced his reading for the morning as Psalm 23. Slowly and distinctly he read, "The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want."...
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I have a friend in ministry who has a wonderful habit of invariably finishing a conversation especially when talking of difficult problems or people with the words, “It is all good.” His words are based on the wonderful promise of Paul in Romans 8:28 where those loved by God are reminded that God is actively working all things in their lives together for their good....
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Phillips Brooks, the former New England pulpiteer, was known for his calm demeanor. So you can guess the surprise of his associates when they found him pacing up and down the floor of his study like a lion in a cage. One of the friends asked, "What is the trouble, Dr. Brooks?" He abruptly responded, "The trouble is that I am in a hurry, but God isn't."...
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Before entering the ministry, I spent some six years as a reserve police officer in the Royal Ulster Constabulary. At the time, Northern Ireland was dealing with the insurgency of the IRA terrorist organization which was trying to force the British out of Northern Ireland against the will of the majority of its people. As a police officer, I was a target for assassination....
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I once read about an Ambassador from Spain to America who did not know the English language very well. In a meeting with an American diplomat they began to engage in some small talk, and so the Ambassador was asked if he had any children....
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Daniel Boone was one of the heroes of the American frontier. It is said that he was once returning from the uncharted forests beyond the Kentucky River, and was asked by a lady if he was ever lost. The famous scout replied, “I cannot say I was ever lost, ma’am, but I was bewildered for three days.”...
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Some years back the Readers Digest magazine told the story that when someone suggested that rowing become part of the Clemson University’s athletic program, Athletic Director, Frank Howard, declared...
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A generation back there was a famous Hollywood actor named Spencer Tracy who starred in such notable flicks as Captain Courageous (1937), Father of the Bride (1950), and The Old Man and the Sea (1958). Most people in that day...
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When David Thoreau, the American writer, was on his deathbed, he was visited by a minister who urged his dying friend to be ready for death. The pastor queried, “Do you know where you are going in the next life?” Thoreau...
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William Temple, 98th Archbishop of Canterbury, famously said: “Prayer is not the overcoming of God’s reluctance but the laying hold of His willingness.” In these words...
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