Henry Ward Beecher related an incident about Charles Smith, a laborer on his father's farm in Litchfield, Connecticut. He said, "He had a little room, in one corner of which I had a small cot. As a boy I used to lie there and wonder at the enthusiasm with which that farmhand engaged in his d

No Vacancy Those words, "There was no room for them in the inn," remind me of an experience my family had several years ago. We had been traveling all day, and I was trying to find a motel where we could spend the night. It was getting late, and the children were tired and fidgety. As we

The land of Persia was once ruled by a wise and beloved Shah who cared greatly for his people and desired only what was best for them. One day he disguised himself as a poor man and went to visit the public baths. The water for the baths was heated by a furnace in the cellar so the Shah m

In the early 19th century, a war-weary world was anxiously watching the march of Napoleon. All the while babies were being born. In 1809, midway between the battles of Trafalgar and Waterloo, William E. Gladstone was born in Liverpool; Alfred, Lord Tennyson in Summersby, England: Oliver W

This story begins in 1989 in Harlingen, Texas. Dan Henderson was on the city desk when a man dropped by the office and said that he was from Cleveland, Ohio. His name was Don Richards. He was visiting the Valley. He was crusading there and everywhere, he said, "to encourage more motorists

Sometimes what's on the outside doesn't always coincide with what is on the inside. During Mikhail Gorbachev's historic pre-Christmas meeting with Pope John Paul II, people were amazed to hear Gorbachev speak of religious freedom and the right of people in the Soviet Union to satisfy thei

Dr. Francis Shaeffer in discussing problems among Evangelicals and people who believe the Bible noted the recurring problem of "An unbelievable concern with Prophetic events yet not doing anything about it in your practical Christian life!" -Sermons Illustrated May/June 1990  

Habitat for Humanity is the well known group that organizes volunteers to build houses for the homeless. On one job site a worker was awakened at 2:00 a.m. by a noise. He went over to the almost finished house. He found one of the volunteers on his knees under the sink, laying floor tiles

Several years ago I read the story of Sammy Morris, a devoted Christian from Africa who came to America to go to school. Although his pathway to service for Christ was not easy, his difficulties never deterred him. Perhaps this was because he had learned genuine humility. One incident tha

The really great man never thinks of his own importance. William Carey, who began life as a cobbler, was one of the greatest missionaries and certainly one of the greatest linguists the world has ever seen. He translated at least parts of the Bible into no fewer than thirty-four Indian la