End Of Construction
One day Billy and Ruth Graham were driving through a long stretch of road construction. They had numerous slowdowns, detours, and stops along the way. Finally they reached the end of all that difficulty, and smooth pavement stretched out before them. This sign caught Ruth's attention: "End of construction. Thanks for your patience." She commented that those words would be a fitting inscription on her tombstone someday.
Thanks For Fleas
Corrie ten Boom was an inspiration and challenge to thousands of people after World War II. Hearts were stirred and lives changed as she told with moving simplicity about God's sufficiency to meet her needs, even as a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp.
The Largest Gift Ever
Ted Turner, successful broadcasting entrepreneur, asked a provocative question of his good friend Vartan Gregorian, president of the Carnegie Corporation: "You're a big fund-raiser. What's the largest gift ever?" Gregorian told him that it was the $500 million donation Walter Annenberg had made to education. Turner replied: "How about a billion? I'm going to give a billion tonight." And he did, promising $100 million annually to fund United Nations programs for the next 10 years.
Good But Guilty
Was the apostle Paul right when he declared that "there is none righteous" and "all have sinned"? (Romans 3:10,23). Or is that verdict of condemnation too sweeping?
The Object Of Our Faith
Suppose someone asks you to take a ride in his single-engine plane. You politely decline. Why? Well, you've heard that the plane has a history of mechanical problems and you don't have confidence in its safety. The pilot assures you that he fearlessly entrusts his life to it whenever he flies. You still decline. A few weeks later the plane crashes, and he is killed. An investigation shows that the engine was faulty. The pilot had strong faith—but it was faith in a faulty object.
Loosening Our Grip
An American tourist traveled to Poland to visit with a respected religious teacher who was known for his wisdom. The visitor noticed that the man's room had nothing but a table, a chair, and some books. Puzzled by such austerity, he asked, "Where is your furniture?" The teacher answered, "My furniture? Where is your furniture, my friend?" The American protested, "Furniture? But I am only a tourist passing through." "So am I," said the man.
An Uncertain Future
The patriarch Isaac was an old man when he said, "I do not know the day of my death" (Genesis 27:2). That is true of us whether we're young or old. We never know when the thread of life is going to be broken. This fact was vividly illustrated by something that happened in France in 1965.
The Most Basic Belief
Adolf Hitler was dead. Germany was embarking on the overwhelming task of rebuilding itself as a nation. The German theologian Karl Barth had just returned from exile in Switzerland to the University of Bonn. With the noise of cranes and earthmovers in the background, Barth began his first lecture to a class of war-weary students. His very first sentence was: "I believe in God."
The Value Of Prophecy
Some people believe that the Bible is merely a haphazard collection of ancient writings. But we have good reason to believe it is God's inspired Word. For example, the Bible contains prophecies that have been fulfilled. Centuries before specific events took place, the writers of Scripture predicted their occurrence, and in the course of time those events came to pass.
