Welcome Criticism
A number of years ago I read an interesting article about cancer researcher Dr. Robert Good. He was described as a hard-driving individual with an enormous faculty for new ideas and the ability to make use of any information that came to him. I was most impressed, however, with a statement that credited him with a willingness to recognize an error in his theories and abandon them faster than anyone else in medical research. An associate said, "Dr. Good never gets married to his hypotheses, so he doesn't go through the pangs of divorce when one is proven wrong."
Getting Into The Habit
The family car is packed to the limit. The kids have their books, tapes, and games. The car-top carrier clearly signals to all observers that our family is taking a trip. But before we leave the driveway, we always stop and pray—asking God for safety and for family unity on our trip. It's a habit.
Give God A Chance
A child once asked, "What does God do all day?" If the answer to that question depended on how much we allow God to do in our individual lives, some of us would have to reply, "Not much!" In difficult situations, it's easy to say we trust God and yet try to handle things ourselves without turning to Him and His Word. This is masked unbelief. Although God is constantly working, He allows us to set a limit on the degree of work He does on our behalf.
An Inseparable Trio
For several years he had been a bitter recluse, never attending the church he once loved dearly. Now he was terminally ill and cried most of the time. The few people who had maintained some contact with him were deeply concerned. They remembered him as a warm Christian man until a very unfortunate incident occurred.
'Begin With Me'
Josiah became a king when he was 8 years old, a seeker at 16, a reformer at 20, and a humble servant of God at age 26. His dramatic spiritual growth and leadership resulted from listening to God's Word and then obeying what he heard.
Lost And Found
Evangelist D. L. Moody once visited a prison called "The Tombs" to preach to the inmates. After he had finished speaking, Moody talked with a number of men in their cells. He asked each prisoner this question, "What brought you here?" Again and again he received replies like this: "I don't deserve to be here." "I was framed." "I was falsely accused." "I was not given a fair trial." Not one inmate would admit he was guilty.
Unfaltering Faith
Scottish author Sir Walter Scott faced financial disaster when his publisher went bankrupt in 1826. He was heavily invested in the firm, and it appeared that he would lose everything, including Abbotsford, his castle-like home. A Christian of unwavering faith, he wrote in his journal, "Things are so much worse than I apprehended that I shall neither save Abbotsford nor anything else. Naked we entered the world and naked we leave it. Blessed be the name of the Lord."
Unchanged Orders
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC, has a guard 24 hours a day. Every hour on the hour, 365 days a year, a new soldier reports for duty. When the new guard arrives, he receives his orders from the one who is leaving. The words are always the same: "Orders Remain Unchanged."
He Humbled Himself
Bill, a college student, was a new Christian. According to author Rebecca Manley Pippert, one Sunday he visited a church near campus. He walked in barefoot and was wearing a T-shirt and jeans. The service had already started, so he walked down the aisle looking for a seat. Finding none, he sat down cross-legged on the floor—right in front of the pulpit!
