Jesus used parables to communicate.  Basically, a parable is a story about ordinary life that contains eternal truths.  Jesus was the Master Storyteller!  In fact, Scripture informs us that Jesus rarely spoke without the use of telling stories.  A critic of my preaching once complained, “Ah, you=re just a story teller.”  I said, “Thank you.”  I doubt if he caught the irony.

In Luke 8, Jesus told the parable of the sower.  He talked about the wayside soil, the stony ground, the thorny ground, and the good ground which yielded a great return.  As I was reading this chapter again recently, my mind raced back to the early 1950’s when Evangelist Billy Graham held his first crusade at Haringay Arena in London.  Despite early criticism of his going there, the crusade was a mammoth success.  One night, as Graham gave the invitation to accept Christ, a striking young actor, well-known on Piccadilly Circus strode forth.  His stage name was John French.  He had already done command performances before the Queen and Sir Winston Churchill as well as Hollywood movies.  When French said ‘yes’ to Jesus, he meant it!  God called him into the ministry.  Until the day he died several years ago, John was on the front lines for Christ, preaching, writing and acting in Christian drama.  I knew him very well.  He was often a guest in our home and spent a number of Christmases with us.  I asked him once, after dinner, “John, why did you leave the theater?”  He looked at me for a moment and replied softly, “Why, Dan, I never left the theater; the theater left me!”

John French was a prime case of the seed of the Word finding fertile soil.  Here’s the principle: the more of the seed of the Word we sow, the more it finds good fertile ground. Let’s be a faithful sower today!

Prayer:   O God, I am so thankful the seed of the Word was sown in England so my friend John could know you.  I am thankful that he sowed so much in his life.  Now we continue the cycle of being a faithful sower to the next generation.  Let the soil I find today be truly fertile for eternity.  Amen.

Recently a book was released titled The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived, written by Allan Lazar.  Catch the phrase, “who never lived.”  Mythical people.  Make-believe personages.  Here are a few of the entries who, according to Lazar, most impacted society:  # 1 was the Marlboro Man.  Lazar contends that this lanky cowboy reigns as a global symbolism of capitalism.  He didn’t indicate how the Marlboro Man impacted once-healthy, pink lungs.  # 2 on the list was Big Brother, Orwell’s creature from the novel “1984.”  # 3 was King Arthur.  Santa Claus grabbed the #4 spot and Hamlet was # 5.  Frankenstein’s monster also made the top ten.  Others in the 101 included Dr. Jekyll, Robin Hood, Scrooge, Mickey Mouse, King Midas and Archie Bunker.

But all of these figures were mere figments of someone’s fertile imagination.  They never actually breathed or did a single heroic thing.  Jesus Christ, on the other hand, split the ages with His very real life.  Dr. James Allan Francis was profound when he preached a message in 1926 about the actual Christ of God and concluded:  “….of all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that were ever built, all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as has that one solitary life.”  Yet”….he never wrote a book, never held an office, never went to college.  He never traveled 200 miles from the place He was born.”  Not a myth, dear friend!  The greatest reality of all time was Jesus Christ, the Messiah, sent by God, the Word Who became flesh and dwelt among us full of grace and truth.”

The wonder is that we can know Him, Jesus, personally.  We can talk to Him constantly.  He dwells within us.  You have that privilege today of an intimate daily walk with the greatest One of all, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Prayer:  O God, what a privilege to be indwelt by Your Holy One, not a myth, not a legend, but the living Christ.  I am blessed today.  Amen.

You may remember the late, famed sportscaster Howard Cosell. He verbally could hold his own with anyone, especially his critics (and there were some severe ones). A celebrity roast was held in his honor during which the speakers had a field day ribbing Cosell for everything from his very bad hairpiece to his vitriolic way of broadcasting. Their broadsides were hilarious and everyone waited to hear how Cosell would respond. When he finally took the podium, he said, “You roasters have hit me with the best you’ve had. But it was like throwing spit balls at a battleship.” Oh, I love that line! Talk about putting critics in their place!

So let me ask you: how do YOU deal with the “roasters” in your life? Yes, we all have them! Well, first of all, understand that for every person who would vilify you there are probably a dozen or more who would praise you. Ah, but we don’t remember the dozen or more, do we? No, no, we remember the spiteful people. You know, critics concern me. I sometimes read critics’ reviews of movies. Rarely do these geniuses agree with each other. I have wondered, “Hey, if these critics are so smart, why aren’t they out there making the movies and the big bucks?” Simple answer. They can’t. They just criticize those who can.

I have had probably more than my share of critics, primarily because I’ve been in front of the public for a half century. I want to please as many people as I can, but if that isn’t possible, I can be satisfied with a day’s activities if I know I’ve pleased Christ. Always check for the nail prints in your critics’ hands. If they don’t have those marks, then their verbal jabs are nothing more than spit balls against a battleship. Please the Master. If He says, “Well done!” then you’ve got it made.

Prayer: O God, let me be like the Apostle Paul, always looking to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of my faith. Let me not be deterred by those who don’t understand or are misinformed. You are my defense, my shield. I rest in that knowledge today. Amen.

It would have done Lazarus little good to have been resurrected had he been forced to stay in those awful grave bindings. Jesus made sure that living nightmare would not occur by commanding, “Loose him, and let him go!” That’s an edict that many authority figures have trouble understanding.

Each year Americans bid “Happy Birthday” to Abraham Lincoln, believed by many to be our greatest president. Despite the decades that have passed since he died, Lincoln’s legacy continues. “Honest Abe” is remembered for many reasons but two stand out principally: He led this nation through the Civil War and he proclaimed the Emancipation Proclamation in January of 1863. While the document was not the cure-all when it came to civil liberties, it certainly set the tone for what would happen in future decades.

It takes an ego-driven leader to chain people. It takes great leaders to set them free. Leaders such as Jesus! Scriptures promise that when Jesus sets us free, we are truly free! Think about folks who are imprisoned by drugs, pornography and other bondage. Hopeless? No, indeed, for Jesus delivers. Proven fact! There are so many examples. I think often of my good buddy Gary S. Paxton, the pop song-writer who gave the world such “classics” as Monster Mash and Alley Oop, as well as many really sane songs. For 22 years Gary lived under substance abuse dominion. Then, one night in a little church in Nashville, Gary met Jesus. The bondage was smashed! Shortly thereafter, Gary wrote the gospel classic, He (Jesus) was There All The Time.

We followers of Christ celebrate liberty. Not necessarily freedom to do what we always WANT to do, but liberty to do those things that we OUGHT to do. In pursuing that course we find the fulfillment and joy God meant for us to have all along.

Prayer: O God, I proclaim my liberty through Christ Jesus! I am not a prisoner of the enemy, nor am I under his boot to obey him. I am free to live, free to celebrate creation, free to enjoy every day of life. Including today! Amen.

My wife and I often visited the Ravenhills in their home near Lindale, Texas.  On two separate occasions, Ravenhill preached extended revival meetings in churches I pastored. He mentored me in discipleship matters in a way no one else ever did.  He once said to me, “Dan, if Jesus preached the same message that many ministers preach today, He would never have been crucified.”  The great Christian and Missionary Alliance writer, A. W. Tozer (Ravenhill’s close friend), observed this about him:  “Such a man (as Ravenhill) is not an easy companion.  He is not the professional evangelist who leaves the wrought-up meeting as soon as it is over to hurry to the most expensive restaurant to feast and crack jokes with his retainers.  He cannot turn off the burden of the Holy Ghost as one would turn off a faucet.  He insists upon being a Christian all the time, everywhere.  And again, this marks him as different.”

Tozer was right.  I once complained in a letter to Ravenhill about a tough time I was going through and he replied, “Dan, you are quite possibly the greatest martyr in the history of Christianity.”  I could have walked upright UNDER a door!  Thank God for mentors who not only tell it like it is, but live it the same way!

Prayer:  O God, I thank You for sending men and women into my life who stretched me spiritually.  They were not always easy to be with, but, oh, the difference they made in the way I live!  May I, too, be a mentor to someone for Your sake.  Amen.

Our church held a missions golf tournament recently.  Someone brought in a photographer who went from foursome to foursome taking shots of each of us swinging the club.  I received my copies of the pictures several days later.  I am still depressed.  See, in my mind’s eye, I feel that I must look a lot like Tiger Woods when I swing.  The pictures revealed something altogether different.  Like Tiger Woods’ great grandmother.  In the picture I saw this slightly-heavy fellow with the rusty over-the-top swing that was truly a disgusting sight to behold.  Yes, it was I!  What can I tell you.  What a revelation!

Perhaps that is one reason many folks never read the Bible.  Scriptures are God’s camera and show us precisely the way we look to Him.  Frankly, some of it is negative (no pun intended there).  But, on the other hand, some of the pictures are pretty good.  After all, we are God’s handiwork.  That part of Him within us that we allow to be conformed to the image of His Son Jesus always looks healthy and invigorating.  It’s that dreaded sin part, uncovered by the blood of Jesus, that is revolting.  Isaiah made it clear that “all we, like sheep, have gone astray.”  While you and I should never set ourselves up as judges of others, we must judge ourselves in the light of Scripture.  For example, when we take communion, Paul writes, “Let a person examine himself (or herself).”  God’s photographer, the Holy Scripture, is taking shots of us this very day.  So….do you want to look at the proofs?

Prayer:  O God, let me see myself as You see me.  And then, by the power of the Holy Spirit, allow me to see myself as I could be by your redemptive power.  In every word, thought and deed today, let me be conformed to that latter photo.  Amen.

One day he asked me what I had learned in Sunday School the previous day.  I could hardly wait to tell him.  “Oh, Denny,” I began, “we learned all about Stephen.  He was the first guy to ever be killed for loving Jesus!”  Denny was impressed.  “No kiddin?  So – how did Stephen die?”  I gave my buddy a superior smile and answered, “Well, Denny, my teacher told us that some people picked up rocks and threw ‘em at him ‘til he died.”  “Wow,” said Denny, “that would be a great story for you and me to act out.  Let’s play Stephen!”  “Great,” I replied.  “It’s my story so I get to play Stephen.”  Denny agreed.  He reached down and picked up one of those hard-clay Iowa clods, wound up and let it fly.  He had good aim!  He hit me right between the eyes and split my forehead wide open.  I went home screaming and the town doctor, Dr. Glen, stitched me up.

I learned a vital lesson in life that day.  Pick the part you want to play very carefully!  If you make a bad choice of parts, you can get clobbered!  I know!  Well, Denny and I never played Stephen again.  Or any other Bible story where there were dangerous parts.
Not long after that, Denny and his family moved to California where he was killed in a car accident.  I look forward to seeing him in Heaven.  It will be quite a reunion.  See, I’ve always wanted a pet lion in Heaven.  So I’ll say, “Hey, Denny, whaddya say we play…..Daniel in the lions’ den?  You can play Daniel!”

Prayer:  O God, on a very serious note, let me follow your choice of “parts” you want me to play in life.  My choices can be dangerous for me.  You know what’s best.  And tell Denny I’m comin’!  Just tell him to get ready!  I owe him one.   Amen.

Did you ever stop to consider how blessed you are if you have the ability to read?  Books open up the universe to us.  What a gift!

For 47 years, the pastor of the historic First Baptist Church in Dallas was George W. Truett.  I have a number of his sermons in print, but my friends who are into church history tell me it was one thing to read his sermons, but quite another to hear them.  Some who actually heard him preach said that Truett was one of the most exciting preachers to hear but one of the most disappointing to read.  That being said, it should be reported that when Truett died in 1944, Dallas came to a standstill and no auditorium could hold the crowd wanting to attend the memorial service.

Truett was a man of books.  His home looked like a public library.  He had over 10,000 books on many subjects, despite the fact that he constantly gave books to other people.  He read quickly, and it is said that when he started a day’s journey by train he would take three or four books with him and finish them before he reached his destination.  He especially loved biographies.

For any person who is going to be a public speaker (or even an interesting conversationalist) and who plans to have fresh content on a constant basis, reading is mandatory.  Learn to read with speed and retention.  Many kids today are taught to read a syllable at a time despite the fact that the human brain is just as capable of absorbing a full sentence line at a time.

I am grateful for teachers who spent hours with me when I was a young student, teaching me grammar and encouraging me to read.  Reading has been the “open sesame” portal to me, as it is for anyone who will take the time to pick up a book and actually read it.

Prayer:  O God, You have equipped Your creation with so many abilities.  Forgive us when we do not expand our horizons of experiencing life.   Thank you for the gift of curiosity and the reading ability to satisfy it.  You are wonderful to us!  Amen.

Let’s think about committees for a moment. Although I am on more committees than I can probably name off the top of my head, I view them all with suspicion. Why? Because committees tend to operate by consensus, which is all-too-often a barrier against inspiration. Let’s face it: committees are known to make mistakes. Case in point: When Oswald J. Smith died in his late 90’s, Billy Graham preached his funeral and told the large, assembled crowd, “We are here to honor the greatest missionary mind of the 20th century.” Yet, when Smith, in his early 20’s, applied to his denomination for missions appointment, that committee rejected him out-of-hand, reporting, “Sorry, you are not missions material!” All of watching Heaven must have greeted that decision with a resounding, “HA!”

Who has ever been a greater preacher than G. Campbell Morgan? Yet, at age 25, when he made application to his denomination for ordination, they denied him, saying, “You show no promise for preaching.” Well, that’s what the committee said. Here’s what history records: Morgan linked arms with D. L. Moody and preached across England. The church he pastored in England, Westminster Chapel, was peerless among congregations of that day. Later, Morgan came to America where he pastored other historic churches. When asked his secret, he replied, “Work. Hard work. And again….hard work.” He was called to his last pastorate when he was 72! He retired at 80. G. Campbell Morgan passed away in 1945. What a preacher! What a man of God! What a powerful force for all eternity! Yet an ecclesiastical committee rejected him completely. You see, he didn’t fit their guidelines.

I have learned in all these decades of ministry not to be too concerned by any critic who doesn’t have nail prints in his hands. When I need mid-course correction, the One with the prints will do it. If He wants to reward me, that will be His option. Not some committee’s prerogative.

Prayer: O God, don’t let pride fill my heart when I am appreciated, but, on the other hand, don’t let me fall apart when I’m not. My allegiance is to You, not some sociological group. I thank You for Your support. Amen.