Many years ago I stumbled onto 1 Samuel 12:24. Some of the modern translations aren't as eloquent in the way they phrase this, but in the older translations it says: "Only fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you." I was raised in a pastor's home in a town so tiny it had only one commercial building (which was the post office, gas station, grocery store and train station). We raised chickens to supplement our income. By all rights, I should be in that town today feeding chickens. The fact that I am able to minister God's Word all over the world is a gift of God's grace, and I never forget that. I want to "consider what great things He has done" for me and fear Him and serve Him in truth with all my heart.

Oh don't get me started. I am greatly blessed by everything A. W. Tozer ever wrote. Pick any of his books, and it's a favorite of mine. I also enjoy reading commentators like F. F. Bruce, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones and other genuine scholars who are true to God's Word. I'm not an "enjoyment" reader; I read to become a better me, not to entertain myself. One of the books that had the most impact on my life was Ted Engstrom's book Managing Your Time. It taught me early in my ministry how to get more done.

I love all the old hymns about the cross--"The Old Rugged Cross," "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross," "There's Room at the Cross for You." And I like other substantial hymns like "The Love of God," "Amazing Love," and "Jesus Paid it All" (especially the haunting melody). There are some newer songs that I like as well. Two of my favorites are "When He Was on the Cross, I Was on His Mind" and "We Shall Behold Him." I even like some of the newest songs when they focus on the older themes of God's grace, justification and redemption. I know Twila Paris is not "newer," but she always wrote substance in her songs.

I have tons of favorite Bible quotes, but I like some others that don't come from the Bible too. Some of my favorite non-biblical quotes are:

"The Bible indicates that God is there and He is not silent. He has spoken to man in the Bible." -- Francis Schaeffer

"Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm." -- Winston Churchill

"A good marriage would be between a blind wife and a deaf husband." -- Honore de Balzac

"I would rather live my life as if there is a God and die to find out there isn't, than live my life as if there isn't and die to find out there is." -- Albert Camus

"You miss 100% of the shots you never take." -- Wayne Gretzky

"Some people are born on third base and go through life thinking they hit a triple." -- Barry Switzer

"Fanaticism consists of redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim." -- George Santayana

The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history." -- Friedrich Hegel

"If a million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing." -- Anatole France

"I come from a family where gravy is considered a beverage." -- Erma Bombeck

"The more he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for powers equal to your tasks." -- Phillips Brooks

And my all-time favorite quote:
"My center is giving way, my right is in retreat; situation excellent. I shall attack." -- Marshall Ferdinand Foch (1851-1955), supreme commander of allied forces in 1918.

Chocolate; hot dogs; barbeque pulled-pork; Chicago-style pizza; rhubarb pie; cherry juice; mangos and any flavor of ice cream that has a vowel in it.

• Jerusalem, from the balcony of my Palestinian friend's (Adel Hawa) house overlooking the Old City (at night) (You have to see it to believe it).


• St. Bernard dogs at the Great St. Bernard Pass from Switzerland to Italy (the alps are gorgeous and so are the dogs).


• Meteora monasteries in northern Greece (It's amazing how they built those monasteries on the peaks of stone that rise hundreds of meters out of the ground).


• The Treasury in Petra (Jordan) (amazing architecture carved out of the rock).


• Fairy Chimneys in Cappadocia (eastern Turkey) (They look like they were carved out of clay).


• The Statues on Easter Island (intriguing).


• Machu Picchu (Peru) (always wanted to go there since I was a little boy, and did).


• The sand beaches of Bora Bora (always wanted to go there since I was a little boy, and did).


• My grandchildren (always wanted to have them since I was a little boy, and did).

Once in 1978 I had a group of 30 students from Liberty University with me in Europe. I ran a program there called "International Studies" in which I took four van-loads of college kids to Europe for three weeks, then was home for two weeks, took another group to the British Isles for three weeks, was home two weeks, took a group to the Holy Land, etc., etc. This European group stayed in youth hostels, not hotels, because they were cheaper. One day before we packed everything in the vans to head out, I saw one of my students talking to a African student on the steps of the hostel in Milan, Italy. I saw this girl pointing my way and then she came over and got me. She said, "I've been witnessing to that young African man but he has a lot of questions and I told him my professor was here and he had all the answers. Would you go talk with him." I did, and after answering a lot of questions about hatred, racism and war we talked about the God of love and mercy and grace. All 30 students waited patiently while I led Francis to the Lord. It was the best day of our trip.