The Living Word
(Originally appeared in Songs in the Night, copyright Warren W. Wiersbe) Never underestimate the power of a book. I am told that for every word in Hitler’s Mein Kampf, 125 people lost their lives in Word War II. In 1848, Marx and Engels published a little pamphlet called the Communist Manifesto; and today nearly half
P Is for Plagiarism (Part 2)
Let’s begin with the fact that honesty and ministry go together, and what God has brought together must not be torn asunder. Another name for this is “integrity.” How can anybody claim to preach God’s truth when the message was pilfered from somebody else? How can ministers exhort us to love the Lord when they
P is for Plagiarism (Part 1): Warren Wiersbe
Sunday after Sunday, the minister preached his way through a book of sermons that he was certain nobody in his congregation had ever seen. However, one man in the church owned a copy of the book and had read it. As the man left church one Sunday, he said to the minister, “That was a
The Tyranny of Things
Are you trapped in the tyranny of things? A wealthy man was moving into a new house, and his next-door neighbor happened to be a Quaker. The Quakers, as you know, believe in simplicity and plainness of life. The Quaker neighbor watched as the movers carted in numerous pieces of furniture, a great deal of
The Secret of Encouragement
All of us have our crisis days when everything seems to fall apart, days when it looks as if we have come to the end of the road and that God has turned against us. In 1 Samuel 30 we see David experiencing such a crisis. He had just returned from battle to discover that
The Blessing of Not Knowing It All
The wiser a man becomes, the more ignorant he knows himself to be. All of us come to a certain point in life–usually when we are younger–when we feel that all wisdom is ours and there is just nothing more to learn. Then we turn a corner and discover that our store of knowledge is
Why Did Jesus Die?
The trial was illegal, the charges were false, and the witnesses were paid to lie. From every human point of view, the death of Jesus Christ was a triumph of injustice and inhumanity. Yet–He died willingly. He could have commanded the armies of heaven to rescue Him, but He refused. Instead, He surrendered Himself into the
The Medicine of a Merry Heart
A doctor friend of mine used to cry on my shoulder occasionally. One day he said to me, “You know what’s wrong with this world? I’ll tell you what’s wrong–people expect me to solve their problems with pills. All you can do is relieve the symptoms, but the problems are still there.” Then he added,
A Land of Hills and Valleys
For some reason, I have never enjoyed geography. Perhaps I didn’t study hard enough in school. But as I study my Bible, I find myself becoming greatly interested in God’s geography, particularly something that God said about the Promised Land He was giving to His people, Israel. “But the land you are going over to
Psalm 31b
Like a LeperPsalm 31:9-13 You and I can’t help what others do and say. We can help what we do, because we are responsible. But when others start talking about you or fighting against you, you may not be able to control that. It’s difficult when people start to slander the righteous. But this is what David
Psalms 30 – 31a
Never Be Moved?Psalm 30 One little phrase is repeated seven times in Psalm 30–“You have.” David was praising God for what He had done for him. Are you doing that today? “You’ve seen that plaque that says, “Prayer changes things,” and that’s true. I’ve also seen a plaque that says, “Praise changes things,” and that
Psalms 28-29
Checking HandsPsalm 28 When I was in grade school, every day the teacher would go up and down the aisles. She would make us hold out our hands. First, with the palms up to make sure our hand were clean. Then with the palms down to make sure our fingernails were clean. Of course, none