He abandoned all worldly possessions, lived a celibate life and traveled on foot proclaiming God's love. His parables were the stuff of legends. No, it's not Jesus, but someone many people said lived more like Jesus than anyone they had ever known....
His father died when he was three, and his mom died at the tender age of six. Paul Tournier (1898-1986) withdrew into himself, becoming lonely, shy and unwanted. What turned it around for him were three significant people in his life. The first was...
Henrietta Mears (1890-1963) stood before her church at age five and announced her intention to join with uncommon clarity and conviction. She taught her first Sunday school class at twelve. When warned in her teens that she would become blind if...
Do we REALLY believe God satisfies us? While we may be quick to answer in the affirmative, our actions tell a different story. Despite Christ's promise of abundant life, we continually look to other things to make us happy--a job promotion, bigger...
Prayers at presidential inaugurations are typically offered by notable clerics and leading religious figures. (Billy Graham holds the distinction of praying at four different presidential inaugurations.) Most inaugurations open with an invocation...
The nineteenth century Russian Czar Nicholas I was a classic autocrat. He crushed dissent, created a police state in Russia, and waged numerous expansionist wars. He must be Vladimir Putin's role model! Nicholas wasn't corrupt when he first became...
Caedmon was a common laborer whose job was taking care of the animals at Whitby Abbey in England. Monks at the abbey sang after dinner for recreation and took turns leading the brothers in singing. Caedmon didn't know the songs and couldn't carry a...
Some of you tell me you read these prayers early in the morning. Quick now! Can you recall anything from last night’s slumber? Aside from a few memorable and often bizarre dreams, I can’t account for what goes on in my brain at night. People who...
Two prominent German musicians walked along a country road in the summer of 1836. They heard people working in the fields singing a beautiful hymn they had never heard and became curious. This group of Silesians who lived in the eastern section of...
In researching today's prayer, I learned that elephants are excellent swimmers and can travel long distances in deep water. Who knew? They have perfected the art of doggy paddling, making use of their strong feet to serve as paddles in the water....
We live in a loud world. Noise is everywhere, a barrage of sound and fury. Cell phones are ubiquitous. Privacy isn’t dead yet, but its future is up for grabs. In this hyperconnected world, we must intentionally choose solitude. We need open spaces...
My cynical side comes out whenever I watch Hollywood celebrities sing carols on Christmas Specials. Do they have a clue when they sing the lyrics, "Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see, Hail the Incarnate Deity." I react similarly when I hear...
Dan answered the knock at his door. It was his friend asking a big favor. He was planning an ordination service and wanted Dan to write a song to accompany the theme of Isaiah 6. "When do you need it?" Dan asked. His friend apologized for the short...
He thought seriously about running for Congress. He was already an established editor at twenty-five and emerging as a respected poet. He wrestled with the decision about whether to join the anti-slavery movement. It would surely jeopardize his...
For those who have difficulty sleeping, do you know there is a hymn written expressly for those among us who struggle with sleep? The first verse of this hymn written three hundred fifty years ago sets the tone for everything that follows in its...
He was raised in a church that practiced only extemporaneous prayer. Spontaneous prayers were considered more spiritual than written prayers. But when asked to lead the pastoral prayer each Sunday in worship, he changed his mind. Giving careful...
She became ecstatic when a spider joined her in her prison cell. Most of us have little use for spiders, but when you spend six and a half years in solitary confinement, even a spider's company can serve as company. She watched this tiny spider...
They were different. Peculiar, some thought. An alien cult, perhaps. They did not join in worshiping Roman gods, nor did they participate in the gladiatorial games. Some accused them of being cannibalistic, given their secret rite of ingesting...