What Really Matters
In 1985, Frederick Holliday, the superintendent of Cleveland's public schools, shot himself through the heart with a .357 magnum. In a suicide note he said that although he had achieved great success, he could not tolerate being stripped of his dignity by the unfair and vicious accusations leveled against him by his opponents.
An Atheist's Bible
She was the best-known atheist in the United States, perhaps in all the world. Madalyn Murray O'Hair was profane and aggressive, devoting herself to attacking all religion, and especially Christianity. Then, in 1995 at age 76, she mysteriously disappeared. Was she the victim of foul play or had she gone into hiding? Before evidence eventually pointed to a former associate as the murderer, the Internal Revenue Service seized her personal belongings to pay delinquent taxes and personal debts.
Inconvenient Times
A suicidal woman stood on a bridge in Seattle for 3 hours ready to jump. The situation created such a colossal traffic jam that some motorists, caught in the delay, began to curse the woman and screamed at her to jump. She did—and she survived the 160-foot fall into a canal. Many residents later sent flowers and cards to her in the hospital, apologizing for what had happened. But some of the angry drivers phoned the local newspaper and blamed the woman for not choosing a less-traveled place to end her life.
Taking Time For God
Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951) was one of the most loved and most effective Bible teachers of the early 20th century. According to a close friend, Ironside devoted the first hour of every day to Bible study and prayer. It was his "morning watch," as he put it, and a necessary part of every day.
Reasons To Praise
How could we forget? How could we be so much like Job? How could we fail to be awestruck by God's majesty?
How Are You?
When people greet each other, they usually say, "How are you?" At one time in China, the typical greeting was, "Have you eaten?" In the days of poverty, asking our friends if they had eaten was to express our concern for their well-being.
'Do Your Best!'
When Leonardo da Vinci was still a pupil, his elderly, well-known teacher asked him to finish a painting he had begun. Young da Vinci stood in such awe of his master's skill that at first he respectfully declined. But his teacher would accept no excuse. He simply said, "Do your best."
Poor Little Rich Church
The city of Laodicea was rich, and so were the people of its church. The area thrived on three enterprises: finance, textiles, and eye salve. The city was a major banking center, and the most popular clothes among Rome's upper class were black wool garments made in Laodicea. Pharmaceuticals were doing well because the eye salve made in the city was sold far and wide. The people of this rich church bragged that they had "need of nothing" (Revelation 3:17).
What Kind Of Soil Are You?
A new resident at the drug rehabilitation center where I worked was given the task of planting runner-bean seeds. With no experience growing vegetables, Jim quickly became bored waiting for the seeds to sprout.
