In 1923 a group of men who were considered winners met at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. Present were eight of the world's most successful financiers. Like whom? Charles Schwab, president of Bethlehem Steel, was there along with the president of the world's largest utility company, Samuel Insull. Richard Whitney, the president of the New York Stock Exchange, was also there. Also attending that meeting was Albert Fall, then a member of the U.S. President's cabinet, along with the heads of the world’s largest investment firm, the greatest monopoly in the world, and the Bank of International Settlement, respectively.
April 8, 2021
Amidst the heather of beautiful Scotland lived a country doctor many years ago. This Scottish physician was greatly loved by the villagers and patients of the wee town in bonny Scotland, so when he died, he was greatly missed by his village. His wife, though, did not share his disposition or love for people, and upon his death she examined the financial records which were found in the doctor's office. On several pages were written these words in the doctor's hand in bold red ink: "Forgiven—too poor to pay."
April 7, 2021
The reflections of an old man who senses that death is near are always meaningful. Such were the words of Moses who reflected on a life of challenge and who wrote, "Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands" (Deuteronomy 7:9).
April 6, 2021
A dad took his son, then about five years old, and lifted him to the top of the wall about 42 inches off the ground. Then he said, “Now, son, jump and I’ll catch you!” The little boy looked down and hesitated. “Come on, jump! I’ll catch you.” The lad looked into the face of his father and then jumped, but as he did so the dad withdrew his arms and the little boy landed in a crumpled heap on the ground—shocked, and crying. “Look,” said the dad, “this is to teach you an important lesson—you can never trust anybody, ever, not even me. Don’t forget it.”
April 5, 2021
"You can make three wishes," goes the old story of the genie and his jug. If you could fulfill three desires, what would they be? Fame, fortune, and power? Or what? When he wrote to friends at Philippi, a colony in northern Greece where he had established a church, Paul told them he had three desires, much different ones from those which I suspect we would have written about. First, he said that he wanted to know Christ in a meaningful and completely fulfilling relationship. He then added that he also wanted to know the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings.
April 2, 2021
David Jacobs was six years old when he began an uphill battle with cancer which eventually took his life. But in the course of the valiant battle which David fought, this brave little boy gave us some insights that remind us of the way "a child shall lead them." He was about to undergo a chemotherapy treatment when he and his father sat next to a gray-haired man old enough to be David's grandfather.
April 1, 2021
Question: Why does the guilty one seem to get away with wrongdoing? Ever ask yourself that? There are times when it appears that the real winner is the liar, the cheat, the scoundrel—at least at the onset. Take, for example, the woman who asks the penetrating question about the betrayal of her husband. She writes, "Why isn't he suffering, why is he getting away without any pain. He sinned, he caused the pain and yet I'm the one walking through the fire, and I'm the one carrying around the scars from the burns."
March 31, 2021
In a Judean wilderness, David cried out, "O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water" (Psalm 63:1). At the time, David was being hunted by Saul, who felt that he was a threat to his kingdom, and at times David became weary in body, wondering if he would ever find peace. No doubt he wondered if he would ever be able to go back home to Bethlehem and sleep without concern for his safety.
March 30, 2021
Someone handed the following to me written by an anonymous hand. It's labeled, "The Toddler's Creed." It reads, "If I want it, it's mine. If I give it to you and change my mind later, it's mine. If I can take it away from you, it's mine. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine. If it's mine, it will never belong to anyone else, no matter what. If we are building something together, all the toys they are mine. If it looks just like mine, it's mine." Any parent who has ever tried to mediate between siblings, both of whom are shouting, "It's mine!" has to smile.
March 29, 2021