Our Basic Need
Field Marshal William Slim was leading the British forces during the Burma campaign of World War II. Concerned about the men under his command, he learned that one soldier was extremely despondent over bad news from home. So the commander asked his senior chaplain to have a member of his staff talk to the soldier.
Worthy Of Worship
As Moses was tending his father-in-law's sheep in the desert, his attention was drawn to a strange sight. A bush was burning, but it was not being consumed. As he looked more closely at this phenomenon, he heard a voice say to him, "Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground" (Ex. 3:5).
Contaminate Them
Eighty-year-old Tita Nava gave her testimony in a church in Manila. A retired college professor and administrator, she had been searching in her later years for God. She wanted a relationship with "a living being, not a statue." A friend recommended that she join a group called the "Golden Girls," which was connected with an evangelical church.
Word Search
Emily loved the New York Times crossword puzzles. Her boyfriend Bill wanted a unique way to propose to her. So he enlisted the help of crossword composer Will Short.
A Love That Won't Let Go
An elderly man lay in a hospital, with his wife of 55 years sitting at his bedside. "Is that you, Ethel, at my side again?" he whispered.
The Iron Collar
A missionary in West Africa was trying to convey the meaning of the word redeem in the Bambara language. So he asked his African assistant to express it in his native tongue. "We say," the assistant replied, "that God took our heads out." "But how does that explain redemption?" the perplexed missionary asked.
Do All The Good You Can
At the church I attend, the Sunday morning service closes with a song based on John Wesley's words. We sing, "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in every place you can, at all the times you can, to everyone you can, as long as you ever can—do all the good you can." I've come to appreciate these words as a fitting challenge to live like Jesus, who "went about doing good" (Acts 10:38).
Pleasure's Aftermath
There are two words in Ecclesiastes 2:2 that describe living for pleasure without thought for God. The first word, laughter, means "superficial gaiety," which is called "madness."
