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Butterfly A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could…

Devotional by David Jeremiah

The ship may not need an anchor in calm waters; when upon a broad ocean a little drifting may not be a very serious matter. But there are conditions of weather in which an anchor becomes altogether essential. When a gale is rushing toward the shore, blowing great guns, and the vessel cannot hold her…

John Bunyan, in Pilgrim’s Progress, tells us that Christian, by the light of day, looked back on the Valley of the Shadow of Death, which he had passed through in the nighttime, and saw what a narrow path he had kept and what a bog there was on one side, and what a miry place on the other, and where…

One reason God has a poor people is so that He may display more the power of His comforting promises and the supports of the gospel. “There,” says the architect, “this building is strong.” Yes, but it must be tested: Let the wind blow against it. There is a lighthouse out at sea, but it is a calm night—I…

An officer in India had tamed a leopard. From the time when it was quite a kitten he had brought it up, until it went about the house like a cat, and everybody played with it. But he was sitting in his chair one day asleep, and the leopard licked his hand—licked it in all innocence. But as he licked,…

What would you think of a man who went as near as he could to burning his house down, just to see how much fire it would stand? Or of one who cut himself with a knife to see how deep he could go without mortally wounding himself? Or of another who experimented as to how large a quantity of poison he…

There once was a lady who wanted to hire a driver. When three applied, she had them in one by one. “Well,” said she to the first, “How near can you drive to danger?” “Madam,” said he, “I believe I could drive within a foot without fear.” “You will not do for me,” said she. To the second she said, “How…

I never wonder when I hear of some professing Christians giving up Christianity, for they have never experienced the joy of it. It was only a burden to them. When a poor fellow has a load on his back that does not belong to him and does not yield him any comfort but only galls his shoulders, you are…

There was once a square piece of paper put up into George Whitefield’s pulpit, by way of a notice, to this effect: “A young man who has lately inherited a large fortune requests the prayers of the congregation.” Right well was the prayer asked, for when we go up the hill we need prayer that we may be…

A child would generally stand on his feet in a gust of wind if he knew it was coming. But when the wind happens to come around a corner furiously, he may be taken off his feet. Mind you are well ballasted by prayer every morning before your vessel puts out to sea, or carrying the quantity of sail you…

Had Abraham stopped in Ur of the Chaldees with his friends and rested there and enjoyed himself, where would his faith have been? He had God’s command to leave his country to go to a land that he had never seen, to sojourn there with God as a stranger, dwelling in tents, and in his obedience to that…

We little know how much preservation from falling we owe to our losses and crosses. The story of Sir James Thornhill painting the inside of the cupola of St. Paul’s is probably well known to you. When he had finished one of the compartments, he was stepping backward that he might get a full view of it…

I remember talking once to a lady who assured me again and again that she prayed daily for me that I might be kept humble. I told her that I would pray the same prayer for her. When she said, “Oh, I am never tempted to be proud,” I replied, “Well, dear friend, I am afraid you are very far gone in that…

The man that has seen affliction, when he is blessed of God, has the disposition to cheer those that are afflicted. I have heard speak of a lady who was out in the snow one night, and was so very cold that she cried out, “Oh, those poor people that have such a little money! How little fuel they have,…

In the olden time when the gospel was preached in Persia, Hamedatha, a courtier of the king, having embraced the faith, was stripped of all his offices, driven from the palace, and compelled to feed camels. This he did with great content. The king passing by one day saw his former favorite at his ignoble…

In You'll Get Through This: Hope and Help for Your Turbulent Times, Max Lucado writes, “Don’t see your struggle as an interruption to life but as preparation for life. No one said the road would be easy or painless. But God will use this mess for something good.” You’ll Get Through This, page 55 Hebrews…

In You'll Get Through This: Hope and Help for Your Turbulent Times, Max Lucado writes, “Turbulent times will tempt you to forget God. Shortcuts will lure you. Sirens will call you. But don’t be foolish or naive. Do what pleases God. Nothing more, nothing less.” You’ll Get Through This, page 41. 1 John…

Scientists constructed the “biosphere 2” to learn more about how our planet’s systems work. One of their discoveries was unexpected. They learned that trees grew quicker in the biosphere, but because there was no wind they would fall under their own weight before they could completely mature. Without…

In his book, Shaped by God, Max Lucado writes ”When God sets out to shape us in His image, he often uses the heat and pressure of our daily lives to temper us and craft us into beautiful instruments He can use.” Shaped by God, 175 James 1:2 (HCSB) “Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience…

Are we falling asleep like the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane?

What is the worst thing that may happen to us because of our faith? In our current culture we may face ridicule or perhaps some form of censure, but for many in our world, the cost of following Jesus is paid in the blood of martyrdom. The mother of an Egyptian Coptic who was among the 21 Christians beheaded…

Dayton Moore is the general manager of the Kansas City Royals. He is battling to educate his young players on the harm pornography does both to the players themselves and to the women they love. Surprisingly he is getting pushback, not from the team but from people in the porn industry, some sports journalists,…

Much of the Pixar movie Inside Out? takes place inside Riley’s head, an 11-year-old girl, with five emotions: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust embodied by characters who help Riley navigate her world. Early in the film, Joy admits that she doesn’t understand what Sadness is for or why it’s in Riley’s…

Deep in the Maine wilderness on a January winter day, 57-year-old Nicholas Brown was in a snowmobile accident. The crash caused him to break his leg. With no possibility of help, Brown crawled on 2.5 miles on his elbows. The night was dark, the temperature was below freezing, but over the rolling hills…