The Widow's Millions
Someone has calculated that if the widow's 2 mites had been deposited in a bank at 4-percent interest compounded semiannually, by today it would have grown to the sum of $4.8 billion trillion. What potential there is in such a small investment when it's left to grow for a long time!
Dangerous Conclusions
It's possible to begin a discussion by talking about or even defending what God has said, and yet end up with beliefs that allow us to disobey Him. At the dawn of creation, for example, Satan slithered up to Eve and drew her into a religious discussion. He simply asked what God had commanded regarding the forbidden tree—but he led her to a deadly conclusion (Gen. 3:1-6).
Expect A Blessing
When a person stomps out of a church service complaining about the quality of the music, the length of the announcements, or a poorly delivered sermon, he himself may be the problem.
The Main Goal Of Life
In 1636, a group of Puritans founded Harvard University. Its motto was Christo et Ecclesiae, which means "For Christ and the Church." One of the school's guiding principles was this: "Everyone shall consider the main end of his life and studies, to know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life. John 17:3."
Work Opportunity
Imagine an 18-year-old searching the want ads for a summer job. Because he likes the outdoors, his interest is drawn to an ad about a national wildlife and fish refuge. It lists several job openings, but instead of promising attractive benefits and lucrative pay, the ad warns that the work will include "exposure to heat, humidity, rain, mud, millions of biting mosquitoes, poisonous plants, barbed wire, and hard work." The pay is minimum wage.
The Little Things Too
Pastor Harold Springstead was driving along, on his way to preach at a little country church, when he felt a sudden vibration. A tire had gone flat. As the 78-year-old pastor maneuvered his car to a stop, a trucker pulled up behind him. A young man jumped out, assessed the situation, and cheerfully changed the tire. Pastor Springstead got to the service in plenty of time, and it was not until later that he realized his car didn't even have a jack!
Houses That Speak
Shortly after Scottish preacher G. Campbell Morgan's wedding, his father visited the home the newlyweds had just furnished and decorated. After they had shown him the place with pride and satisfaction, he remarked, "Yes, it's very nice, but no one walking through here would know whether you belong to God or the devil!"
Heart To Heart
We would expect King David to be extremely upset, because his enemies were scheming to dethrone him. Yet in Psalm 62 he testified that his soul was quietly confident before God. How was this possible in the midst of such turmoil? Verse 8 offers a clue—one I discovered for myself several years ago.
God-Honoring Work
Several years ago in the South African territory of Kwa-Zulu, the government dug irrigation ditches on both sides of a river. This allowed the rich land to be farmed. The Christian Zulus on one side of the river produced lush crops and prospered. The traditional animist worshipers on the other side continued to live in abject poverty, producing almost nothing on the same kind of soil.
