I’m sure Sampson Parker never dreamed that his farming accident on Sept. 11, 2007, might be an illustration of a difficult teaching by Jesus. He was harvesting corn that day in Kershaw County, South Carolina, when stalks got stuck in a set of rollers in his old corn picker. He made the mistake of reaching […]
Archive | Devotionals
I Didn’t Have Time To Do It – Colossians 4:2, 5b
(Below is a devotional message written by one of our members. Ronn Bisbee is an attorney in Dana Point, California, whose primary area of expertise is child support. His email address is below the message, if you want to communicate directly with him. With these words, he challenges each one of us to make an […]
The Battle Belongs to the Lord – 2 Chronicles 20
R.C. Rivera joined CTLA in October 2006, one of only about a dozen members who are not attorneys. A former pastor, he was then owner/operator of Atlas Pro Serve & Associates, with a powerful testimony, which he shared with me over lunch. He was enthusiastic to be one of our 2007 seminar sponsors and gave me his […]
I Hope He Knows How I Turned Out – Ephesians 4:29
Bob Dotson, NBC News Correspondent, tells the unusual story of Fred Benson. Born in 1895 in Boston, he was abandoned by his parents at age 8 and was sent to live with Gurd Miliken and his family on Block Island. He died at age 101 and had served as police chief, fire chief, head of […]
What Are You Fighting For? – James 5:16
Jim and Nell Hamm were about to celebrate their 50th anniversary in February 2007, but that celebration almost got canceled. They were hiking in a north California state park in January when Jim was attacked by a mountain lion. Nell grabbed a log to hit the lion repeatedly, but he wouldn’t let go of Jim’s head. Jim […]
The Cost of Saving Children – Matthew 1-2
Have you read the story of Irena Sadler? Irena saved 2,500 children from the Nazi death camps during WWII. A Catholic nurse in Warsaw, Poland, in 1940, she lived near a neighborhood walled off by the Nazis. They pressed almost 500,000 people into a very small area and 5,000 were dying each month for lack […]
Lying About Steroids or Anything Else – John 8:32,36,44
Marion Jones was arguably the greatest female athlete ever. She won 3 gold and 2 bronze medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. In the 100-meter race, she pulled away so quickly that her closest pursuer was nearly 3 full strides behind her. No doubt, she could have won great recognition without steroids, but she got […]
Heroism At Its Best – Philippians 2:3
ABC’s Nightline told the story of Wesley Autrey who rescued a total stranger from being killed by a Manhatten subway train in January 2007. Wesley had his two small daughters with him, but when he saw 19-year-old Cameron Hollopeter fall on the tracks because of an apparent seizure, he jumped into action. Cameron was jerking […]
Recovering From A Great Fall – Romans 3:23; 5:8
Alcides Moreno and Humpty Dumpty both had a great fall. Al fell 47 stories while working as a window washer on a Manhatten skyscraper on Dec. 7, 2007. His brother died instantly when their scaffolding fell, but somehow he survived the fall of nearly 500 feet. Guess you might say all the king’s doctors and […]
Find a Better Bed! – James 1:14-16
Maybe you heard the story of Robert Baswell, 44, a homeless man who fell asleep in a trash bin in West Palm Beach on May 6, 2007. It provided escape from the rain and a pretty soft bed because it was filled with brush. But, imagine his rude awakening when he was tossed with the […]