When your interest, your feelings, your wants, nay, even your future independence are on one side, and the plain dictates of duty and religion on the other, then it is that you must "be very courageous" and not turn aside...

Judges 19:6Universalmoral integrity under pressurecost of discipleship

Joseph S. Exell

241 words

Historical

The Wicked Uprooted: Their Place Shall Not Be

When a tree is merely cut down, its stump remains; sprouts may yet emerge.

Psalms 37:10UniversalGod's judgment over wickednesspermanence of righteousness

Charles H. Spurgeon

210 words

Historical

The Shrewdest Call in Baseball

In August 1945, Branch Rickey sat across from twenty-six-year-old Jackie Robinson in the Brooklyn Dodgers' office at 215 Montague Street in Brooklyn and made an...

Proverbs 15:1Universalnonviolencecourage

262 words

Historical

A Free Man's Unfinished Freedom

In 1799, an enslaved man named Denmark Vesey won $1,500 in a Charleston, South Carolina lottery and purchased his freedom for $600. He built a...

Galatians 5:1Universalfreedomfaith

250 words

Historical

The Carpenter Who Preached Exodus

In the dim light of Charleston's African Church, Denmark Vesey opened his Bible to the Book of Exodus. It was the spring of 1822, and...

Exodus 3:7-8Universalfreedomfaith

235 words

Historical

The Dual Strength That Makes Young Men Glorious

Exell's Victorian exposition distinguishes between two essential dimensions of this strength, each indispensable to true manhood.

Proverbs 20:29Universalphysical and moral strengthyouth and responsibility

Joseph S. Exell

201 words

Historical

Guardians Who Refused to Be Defeated

In the spring of 1945, Colonel Benjamin O. Davis Jr. led the 332nd Fighter Group on bomber escort missions across Nazi-occupied Europe from Ramitelli Airfield...

Romans 12:21Universalexcellencecourage

238 words

Historical

When the Universe Refused to Revolve Around Us

In May of 1543, a dying Nicolaus Copernicus lay in his bed at the cathedral chapter house in Frombork, Poland. He had served as a...

Isaiah 55:8-9Universaltruthcourage

245 words

Historical

The Soul's Repeated Warfare Against Despondency

Notice that David does not merely pose the question once; he takes up his soul "very short," demanding accountability: "Why art thou so cast down, O my soul?

Psalms 43:5Universalperseverance in strugglespiritual warfare

Charles H. Spurgeon

216 words

Historical

The Dreary Midpoint: Where Faith Fails at Half-Height

Maclaren seizes on this universal truth: "Half-way is just the critical time in all protracted work.

Nehemiah 4:9-21Universalperseverance through discouragementdistinguishing facts from false inference

Alexander Maclaren

244 words

Historical

The Golden Silence: Three Forms of Sacred Quietness

Silence can manifest cowardice or stupidity; speech can be more precious than gold, triumphant over error.

Ecclesiastes 1:7Universaldivine sovereigntyemotional restraint

Joseph S. Exell

206 words

Historical

The Soul's Warfare: Israel's Victory Over Inner Enemies

In the higher regions dwell principles of innocence, hope, love, justice, trust, kindness, purity, and tenderness—the kingdom of heaven itself.

Ruth 4:33Universalspiritual warfaredivine assistance in struggle

Joseph S. Exell

215 words

Historical

The Terrific Power of Yahweh's Thunder in the East

Eastern storms possess a peculiar ferocity: vivid lightning and suffocating darkness alternate with startling rapidity, creating an appalling effect.

Psalms 18:13Universaldivine powerGod's majesty

Joseph S. Exell

208 words

Historical

Red Tails Over Europe

In the skies above Nazi-occupied Europe, the pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group — known as the Red Tails for the distinctive crimson paint on...

Colossians 3:23Universalexcellencecourage

226 words

Historical

The Great Reward of Heaven: Nine Marks of Divine Blessing

First, consider who bestows it: Yahweh Himself, the Giver of all good gifts.

Matthew 5:12Universaldivine rewardheavenly promise

Joseph S. Exell

190 words

Historical

What a Churchman Saw Without a Telescope

For decades, a quiet church canon named Nicolaus Copernicus climbed the tower adjoining Frombork Cathedral in northern Poland, studying the night sky with nothing more...

Job 38:31-33Universaltruthcourage

231 words

Historical

What Rescue Costs

In October 1943, the Gestapo came for Irena Sendler. For months, the thirty-three-year-old Polish social worker had used her permit to inspect the Warsaw Ghetto...

Proverbs 24:11-12Universalcouragecompassion

232 words

Historical

A Faith That Hid the Hunted

In the winter of 1942, Pastor André Trocmé stood before his congregation in the small Protestant church of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, a village perched on a...

James 2:17Universalfaithcommunity

260 words

Historical

The Futility of Forcing Religious Reform Without the Heart

Maclaren observes that while the young king commanded Judah to 'seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law,' he could not actually make them obey.

2 Chronicles 14:2-8Universalthe limits of external reformationthe necessity of inward transformation

Alexander Maclaren

226 words

Historical

Military Might Proves Powerless Against Yahweh's Will

At the Battle of Arbela, Persian forces mustered between five hundred thousand and one million soldiers—a staggering host arrayed in terrible might.

Psalms 33:16Universaldivine sovereigntylimitations of human strength

Charles H. Spurgeon

204 words

Historical

A Conspiracy of Goodness

In the winter of 1942, when the Vichy government began deporting Jews from France to Nazi death camps, Pastor André Trocmé stood before his Huguenot...

Matthew 25:35Universalfaithcommunity

242 words

Historical

Ten Thousand Strangers Invited In

In December 1937, when Japanese forces captured Nanjing, China, American missionary Minnie Vautrin faced an impossible choice. As acting head of Ginling Women's Arts and...

Matthew 25:35-36Universalcourageprotection

251 words

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