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Don’t Be Taken Captive Iker Casillas is arguably one of the greatest goalkeepers to have played the game of soccer. In the 2013–2014 playoffs in Spain, Casillas became the first goalkeeper in history not to allow a goal for the entire eight-game tournament. That level of perfection takes constant vigilance. You cannot take your eyes off the...

Alive in Christ: Part 1 “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” This line from William Shakespeare’s As You Like It has staying power because of the strength of metaphor. Metaphor is one of the most potent ways to communicate an idea. As one writer explains, a “metaphor consists in bringing two sets of ideas close...

Dying to Self In January, Netflix released a special featuring Marie Kondo, who urged home owners to “tidy” by getting rid of excess clothing, books, and household items. Her best-selling book and the televised special received so much attention that many people began emptying closets and drawers, trying to live a new life less cluttered...

Chosen, Holy, and Loved Jesus told the parable of a servant who owed a king the equivalent of millions of dollars. In a lavish act of mercy, the king forgave the servant’s debt. Soon afterward, the forgiven servant encountered a fellow servant who owed him the equivalent of a few thousand dollars. When asked for more time to repay the loan,...

Friendship in Ministry At a time when traveling evangelists were looked upon with suspicion, Billy Graham determined to have integrity in his ministry. As a part of this decision, he crafted four rules that governed his conduct: (1) operate with financial transparency; (2) avoid even the appearance of sexual immorality; (3) avoid criticizing...

Prayer in Ministry The United States Olympic committee ranked wrestling as the fifth most difficult sport out of sixty. Wrestling requires a unique combination of speed, strength, endurance, technique, confidence, and drive. Dan Gable, an Olympic gold medalist in the sport, was quoted as saying, “Once you’ve wrestled, everything else in life...

Finishing Well John Stephen Akhwari was a world-class marathon runner from Tanzania. In the 1968 Olympic Games, he had the chance to compete for his country. Nineteen kilometers into the race, John was caught in a group of runners jostling for position. He fell, dislocating his knee and injuring his shoulder. Despite these serious injuries,...

Treasures Can Be Gifts When the Queen of Sheba came to test King Solomon’s wisdom, she brought a treasure trove of gifts (1 Kings 10:1–13). Solomon answered her questions and passed her tests with flying colors. “Indeed,” the Queen said, “not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard” (v. 8). She...

Guarding His Treasured Possession First Lady Dolley Madison is credited with saving some of our nation's historical treasures. In 1814, when British troops landed in Maryland and headed toward the capital, Dolley kept calm and began loading important items into her carriage. Among them was a full-size portrait of George Washington. With no...

The Treasure of God’s Word The Perahu Pustaka, or Book Boat, is a unique mobile library in Indonesia. A journalist decided to combine his love of boats and books by building a baqgo, a small sailboat, that takes 4,000 children’s books per trip to villages where literacy is low and pleasure of reading is unknown. When the boat arrives, kids...