Month: May 2002

Compelling Love

I read a story some time ago about an aspiring young golfer who spent hours in his backyard practicing his golf swing. He wasn't allowed to use a real golf ball close to the house, only a plastic, practice ball.

The Good Life

Many people associate "the good life" with success, fame, and money. Yet a dying man who had it all told me that his life hadn't been worth the effort to attain his success.

Murphy's Laws

Murphy's Laws are observations about life that seem to have the weight of experience behind them. You've probably heard this one: "If anything can go wrong, it will." Here's another one: "You can't do just one thing; everything has its consequences."

Where's The Power?

I read a humorous story about a man who strolled out of a hardware store with a smile on his face and a brand-new chainsaw in his hands. He was told it could cut down five big oak trees in an hour. Twenty-four hours later, however, his smile was gone. Frustrated, he was back at the store complaining that the saw would never cut five trees in an hour. "It took me all day to cut down five trees," he said.

Home Missions

One morning as I was strolling along the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, I saw a middle-aged man sitting in the water. We exchanged greetings, and then he painfully struggled to his feet and began to talk.

How Can We Love?

First Corinthians 13 is often read at weddings. Yet even optimistic newlyweds will eventually fail to love. The only individual who perfectly fulfills this "love chapter" is Jesus Christ.

My Little Girl

Several years ago I read about a girl named Mary who had been born with a cleft palate. When she started school, her classmates teased and taunted her unmercifully because of her scarred and misshapen lip, crooked nose, lopsided teeth, and garbled speech. Mary soon became convinced that no one could love her.

Study To Live

If you want to become one of the nearly 24,000 licensed taxi drivers in London, get ready to do a lot of studying. The only way to get behind the wheel is to master The Blue Book, the single manual for a course that takes between 2 and 4 years to complete. It may take only a few minutes for the driver of a traditional black cab to take you from one point to another—but knowing how to get there required years of purposeful study.

Facing Danger With Prayer

Trouble lay ahead for King Hezekiah of Judah. He had just received a menacing letter from Assyria's King Sennacherib. This marauding monarch had conquered many cities, and Jerusalem was next on his list. In his letter, Sennacherib mocked the God of Israel and threatened to destroy the holy city.