A ROCKY FOUNDATION

                                                                           When Charles Cowman the founder of Oriental Missionary Society won Ernest Kilbourne to Christ, Kilbourne became his closest friend. Their relationship, said Mrs. Cowman was “too beautiful for words”.   When Cowman lay dying in 1924, he and Kilbourne reminisced about their long and happy relationship in the Lord with each other. “God knit our hearts together” the ailing leader sighed. Then reflecting in the silence that followed, Cowman corrected himself “no, knit is not the word. He has burned our hearts together”.   Kilbourne son, Bud summed it up in 1976, when he expressed the view that the two men were in effect one man. They always thought alike, identical disclosures of the divine will came to each more than once, regardless of the miles that separated them. The pair reminded Mrs. Cowman of David and Jonathan whom God united as “one stick” in the maste

    Many years ago a shabbily dressed boy trudged several miles through the snowy streets of Chicago, determined to attend a Bible class that was conducted by D.L. Moody. When he arrived, he was asked, "Why did you come to a Sunday school so far away? Why didn't you go to one of the churches near your home?" He answered simply, "Because you love a fellow over here." Apostle Paul loved the Philippians and he enjoyed praying for them (Phil 1 : 3-4). In his letter h e did not just say he was praying for them, he told t hem the specific things he was praying for. He wrote “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment. That you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness” (Phil 1 : 9-11) . This would make them conscious of these things and they would check to see if Paul’s prayers were being answered by obs

      One day Billy and Ruth Graham were driving through a long stretch of road construction. They had numerous slowdowns, detours, and stops along the way. Finally they reached the end of all that difficulty and smooth pavement stretched out before them. Then a sign caught Ruth’s attention: “End of construction. Thanks for your patience.” She turned to Billy and told him that that phrase would be a fitting inscription for her tombstone someday. Paul’s letter to the Philippians was written in prison but in the opening verses, it is not evident that Paul was in prison. His positive attitude concealed the difficulties he faced daily. Although he was not free to move about within society, he did not allow physical limitations to prevent him from being effective in ministry. Even while in bonds, he determined to advance the Gospel by every means available. When he could not physically visit the people of God he wrote letters to them and passionately prayed for them. We often allow ci