Fortification

Hudson Taylor Makes his first Voyage to China (illustration)

In 1853, when young Hudson Taylor was making his first voyage to China, his vessel was delayed near New Guinea because the winds had stopped. A rapid current was carrying the ship toward some reefs and the situation was becoming dangerous. Even the sailors using a longboat co …

Randolph Forbade Mention of Death (illustration)

According to Life magazine, William Randolph Hearst, when 75 years old, forbade the mention of death in his presence. However, when yielding voting control of his publications to an attorney, “the man who has arrogantly and brilliantly ruled a $200,000,000 empire acknowl …

Confused Student with a Large K on his T-Shirt (illustration)

A university student was seen with a large “K” on his T-shirt. When someone asked him what the “K” stood for, he said, “Confused.” “But,” the questioner replied, “you don’t spell “confused“ with a “K.&r …

Leaning Tower of Pisa had Poor Foundation (illustration)

Recently, the “Leaning Tower of Pisa” was finally reopened to the public, after having been closed for almost a dozen years. During that time, engineers completed a 25 million dollar renovation project designed to stabilize the tower. They removed 110 tons of dirt, an …

A Mysterious Change to Jesus on the Mount (illustration)

The “transfiguration” refers to the mysterious change that occurred to Jesus on the mount: “Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face …

William Booth - How to Handle Criticism (illustration)

During the early days of the Salvation Army, William Booth and his associates were bitterly attacked in the press by religious leaders and government leaders alike. Whenever his son, Bramwell, showed Booth a newspaper attack, the General would reply, “Bramwell, fifty years …

Astrology is Booming and being Computerized (illustration)

An upsurge in astrological interest is unmistakable evidence of moral and social decay. Occultism rises ominously in times of world turmoil, religious apostasy, and moral decline. Carroll Righter is perhaps the best known and most successful of United States astrologers. Dubbed & …

The Family is the Foundation of Society (illustration)

The evidence is convincing that the better our relationships are at home, the more effective we are in our careers. If we’re having difficulty with a loved one, that difficulty will be translated into reduced performance on the job. In studying the millionaires in America ( …

Jimmy Swaggart Defies Order of Assemblies (illustration)

When Jimmy Swaggart defied the orders of the Assemblies of God to refrain from preaching for one year, he assured the public that he was free of moral defect, for, he said, Oral Roberts had cast out the demons from his body over the phone. Oral Roberts confirmed Swaggart’s …

God’s Plan for Our Protection (illustration)

Do we have blanket immunity from Satan’s invasion? No, that protection is conditional on our responsible participation in God’s plan for our protection. Dr. Unger writes: “The Holy Spirit indwelling the believer, ungrieved by sin (Eph 4:30) and unquenched by disobedience ( …

Sister Hissyfit Was Left Off The Invitation List (illustration)

A pastor arranged for a gathering of the women’s auxiliary. It was to be a garden party on the church lawn, under the old oak. At the last moment, the morning of the party, the preacher discovered he left Sister Hissyfit off the invitation list. The pastor called the dear s …

Tozer - The Holy Spirit is a Person (illustration)

 "Spell this out in capital letters: THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A PERSON. He is not enthusiasm. He is not courage. He is not energy. He is not the personification of all good qualities, like Jack Frost is the personification of cold weather. Actually, the Holy Spirit is not the …

Susannah Wesley Prayed 1 hr Each Day For Her Children (illustration)

Susannah Wesley, mother of John Wesley spent one hour each day praying for her 17 children. In addition, she took each child aside for a full hour every week to discuss spiritual matters. No wonder two of her sons, Charles and John, were used of God to bring blessing to all of En …

Andrew Bonar - Envy is My Hurt (illustration)

The godly Scottish preacher Andrew Bonar penned a diary entry. He wrote, “This day 20 years ago I preached for the first time as an ordained minister. It is amazing that the Lord has spared me and used me at all. I have no reason to wonder that He used others far more than H …

Entire Band Falls to Their Knees (illustration)

Neil Marten, a member of the British Parliament, was once giving a group of his constituents a guided tour of the Houses of Parliament. During the course of the visit, the group happened to meet Lord Hailsham, then lord chancellor, wearing all the regalia of his office. Hailsham …

Worriers Die Sooner Than Non-Worriers (illustration)

A John Hopkins University doctor says, “We do not know why it is that worriers die sooner than the non-worriers, but that is a fact.” But I, who am simple of mind, think I know; We are inwardly constructed in nerve and tissue, brain cell and soul, for faith and not fo …

Hudson Taylor - God’s Work Done God’s Way (illustration)

Missionary statesman Hudson Taylor had complete trust in God’s faithfulness. In his journal he wrote: “Our heavenly Father is a very experienced One. He knows very well that His children wake up with a good appetite every morning… He sustained 3 million Israeli …

Theodore Roosevelt With Delegation in His Barn (illustration)

During one of his political campaigns, a delegation called on Theodore Roosevelt at his home in Long Island. The President met them with his coat off and his sleeves rolled up. “Ah, gentlemen,” he said, “come down to the barn and we will talk while I do some work.& …

Zig Ziglar Invites a Friend to Church (illustration)

Zig Ziglar said that he invited a friend to go to church with him. The man answered, “Well, I’d like to go. But the church is so full of hypocrites.” Ziglar replied, “That’s okay. There’s always room for one more.” (Melvin Newland - Sermon Central)  …

The City That Dared God to Show Himself (illustration)

In a book entitled Down to Earth, John Lawrence tells the story of a city that dared God to show Himself and paid a terrible price. It seems that the city of Messina, Sicily, was home to many wicked, irreligious people. On December 25, 1908, a newspaper published in Messina print …

World War II Was The Most Costly War in People Killed (illustration)

By far the most costly war in terms of human life was World War II (1939-45), in which the total number of fatalities, including battle deaths and civilians of all countries, is estimated to have been 54,800,000, assuming 25,000,000 U.S.S.R. fatalities and 7,800,000 Chinese civil …

William Carey Was a Shoe Cobbler Not a Shoe Maker (illustration)

William Carey is considered the father of modern missions. He spent his early years as a cobbler and became one of the greatest linguists the church has ever known. It’s reported that Carey translated parts of the Bible into as many as 24 Indian languages. When he first went to …

If You Had Five Minutes to Live What Would You Say? (illustration)

If we discovered that we had five minutes left to say all we wanted to say, every telephone booth would be occupied by people calling other people to stammer that they love them. Why wait until the last five minutes? ©. Morley, in Homemade, July, 1990). …

Why an English Actor Gets a Bigger Crowd Than a Preacher (illustration)

It has been said that an eminent preacher once asked the great English actor Macready, “What is the difference between you and me? You are appearing before crowds night after night with fiction, and the crowds come wherever you go. I am preaching the essential and unchangeab …

Your Hours Are Running Out (illustration)

You’ve inherited over one-half million-in fact your inheritance averages out to be 573,450-no, not in dollars but in something more important, TIME. The average person lives approximately 573,450 hours. But, your hours are running out. I know because mine are too. (National Inst …

Young Man Proposing to His Girl Friend (illustration)

  I once heard of a young man who was proposing to his girlfriend. He had the ring in his hand and said: “Sweetheart, I love you so much, I want you to marry me. I don’t have a car like Johnny Green. I don’t have a yacht like him or a house as big as his. I don’t hav …

God Became The Senior Partner in The Cheese Business (illustration)

Years ago a young man began a small cheese business in Chicago. He failed. He was deeply in debt. “You didn’t take God into your business. You have not worked with Him,” said a Christian friend to him. Then the young man thought, “If God wants to run the cheese bu …

Adolph Hitler Took Over When The German Mark Collapsed (illustration)

In 1923 the Germans stalled on their reparations payments and the French seized the industrial Ruhr to compel payment. The German mark had been declining since World War II. It began plunging: 7,000 to the dollar in January, 160,000 in July, 1 million in August. A kind of madness …

How Ivy League Princeton Apostasized (illustration)

How Ivy League Princeton Apostasized - In its charter it insisted faculty be “convinced of the necessity of a religious experience for salvation.” But it was not required of students. How did they yield? Not by the presidents; every president from its 1746 founding to …

Hugh Lattimer Preached With Boldness to King Henry VIII (illustration)

Hugh Lattimer once preached before King Henry VIII. Henry was greatly displeased by the boldness in the sermon and ordered Lattimer to preach again on the following Sunday and apologize for the offence he had given. The next Sunday, after reading his text, he thus began his sermo …

What is the Gospel? (illustration)

In a 1995 survey by Barna Research Group, it was discovered that non-Christians have no clue what Christians mean when some of them use phrases Christians often take for granted. 63% of non-Christians don’t know what Christians mean when they talk about the Gospel. 75% of n …

Howard Hendricks Had a Teacher Who Believed in Him (illustration)

Howard Hendricks tells how he came from a broken family and was a problem kid. During his first day in fifth grade the teacher said, ’Oh, Howard Hendricks. I’ve heard a lot about you. I understand you are the worst kid in school.’ That year Howard did whatever he could to prov …

Young Preacher Faced His First Trial Sermon (illustration)

A young preacher-to-be, having passed his doctrinal examinations, faced his trial sermon. In a large auditorium sat three ministers and 75 others who came to listen. When he stepped into the ...

Martin Luther Tacks Ninety-Five Theses to The Church Door (illustration)

The most important figure of the Reformation was a monk by the name of Martin Luther (1483-1546). As a young monk, the corruption of the church, the debauchery of priests, and the power of ...

Senior Pastor Tells Assistant to Run From Sin (illustration)

A senior pastor once told his handsome new assistant pastor to avoid the dangers of immorality in the ministry. The assistant pastor quite sure of himself said, “I’ll do much of my socializing in ...

What to Say to The Parents of a Dead Teenager (illustration)

A young preacher heard about a sudden and tragic death of a teenager in a car accident. He rushed to the home of the parents only to find them standing in the front yard next to their car. They had just arrived home from the hospital.He didn’t know what to say so he said …

The Importance of a Church Name (illustration)

Two men are standing on the front lawn of a church. One man is leaning on the church’s sign and the other is looking at it from the front. The sign reads: Oak Road Bible Believing, Hand Clapping, Foot Stomping, Hemlines Below The Knee, Tie Wearing, Blood Washed, Coffee-An …

The Devil Saw a Man Pick up Something (illustration)

Once the Devil was walking along with one of his cohorts. They saw a man ahead of them pick up something shiny. “What did he find?” asked the cohort. “A piece of the truth,” the Devil replied. “Doesn’t it bother you that he found a piece of the tr …

Branding Cattle on a Ranch (illustration)

A New York family bought a ranch out West where they intended to raise cattle. Friends visited and asked if the ranch had a name. “Well,” said the would-be cattleman, “I wanted to name it the Bar-J. My wife favored Suzy-Q, one son liked the Flying-W, and the o …

A Straw in The Nose (illustration)

James Dobson tells of a friend of his during their days in medical school. One day this man was walking across campus laden with books and briefcase. He passed by a fast food stand, and ordered something to eat and a milkshake to wash it down. He balanced it all on top of his b …

E.M Bounds - The Power of Prayer (illustration)

E. M. Bounds says in his classic book, The Power of Prayer: “Men are God’s method. The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men...What the Church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but m …

Death is Real at Any Age (illustration)

At six years of age one of my closest friends, invited me to go to the river with him to play. I asked my mother if I could go and she said no A few hours later we learned that he had drowned. When I was 16 I was invited to ride to the stock car races with one of my closest fri …