All corporations have a board of directors. So do most churches, schools, and nonprofit organizations. But do you have one?
 
Richard Leider, a career consultant, encourages individuals to choose a personal "board of directors" as part of a plan for maintaining health and vitality. They can be people who are alive today or who lived in the past, known to you personally or only through their writings and accomplishments. They are people from whom you would seek advice.
 
Wouldn't it be interesting to select a board of directors from the Bible? What counsel would you seek from people like Abraham, Deborah, David, Luke, Peter, or Mary Magdalene? How could their experiences help you make wise choices today?
 
In Hebrews 11 we read about many heroes of faith from whom we can learn. Their example challenges us to "run with endurance the race that is set before us" (12:1-2). Within the circle of GOD's people of faith, past and present, is a wealth of help and encouragement for us all.
 
The chairman of our board of directors must be the LORD Jesus. First and foremost, we look to Him for wisdom and direction. But the other spots are open for appointment. Why not choose your board of directors today? —DCM
 

I have never met Mary Ruth, but I've received inspiring letters from her. She has known Christ as her Savior for 63 years, and she is investing her life in doing business for Him until He returns. Here is an excerpt from one of her letters:
 
"Each night before I go to sleep, I say, 'Good night, LORD Jesus. I love You. I'll see You in the morning, either here or there (heaven).' When I awake and see that I am still here, I say, 'Good morning, LORD. I love You. I see we have another day together.' Immediately I report for duty and ask Him to let me know, moment by moment, His plans for the day so we can 'get with it' together. I aim to help everyone I can to get ready to meet Him."
 
Mary Ruth then wrote about recent opportunities she and her brother had to witness to people from other countries, and she said that several had received Christ. "GOD reached Chinese, Vietnamese, Buddhists, and a Jew—all in 3 days, and I didn't need a passport, visa, or plane ticket. GOD brought them to us, and all I had to do was report for duty."
 
The example of Mary Ruth and Jesus' parable about the 10 servants in Luke 19 remind us that GOD is willing to employ all of us in the work of His kingdom.
 
It's time to report for duty. —JEY
 

Do you ever get the blues? You know the times—when the press of day-to-day life gets you down. Too much to do. Too many problems. Too little of some necessity but an abundance of some difficulty. No matter the cause, the result is the same: Your strength is zapped, your joy is crushed, and your hope needs to be rejuvenated. Whenever the blues threaten your day, try some of these blues-chasers:
 

Trust GOD's answers for the problems that come into your life. They'll help to chase the blues away. —JDB
 

In a pre-election newspaper column, William Safire posed the question, "What do you do when the candidate you support takes a position you don't like [or when] the candidate you oppose takes a stand that you admire?"
 
Safire suggested three options:
 

Now think about the spiritual parallel. What are our choices when Jesus, our Leader, takes a position we don't like, or when the enemy we oppose takes a stand more to our liking? Some will switch and walk with Christ no more (John 6:66). But that's not a valid option for those who know Him (v.68). Neither can we wear a button that says, "Nobody's perfect." Jesus is the Holy One of GOD. He is perfect. If we disagree with Him, it is because we are wrong. Furthermore, we can't be like the person who never votes. Our LORD didn't give us that option. We must choose whom we will follow.
 
Today, we need to be as wise as Peter and the other disciples. We must follow the LORD even when His ways are contrary to ours. —MRDII
 

Paul lived in the Roman Empire under the rule of the cruel and ruthless Nero. Yet he saw the possibility of better times ahead. If he hadn't, he wouldn't have exhorted the first-century Christians to pray for "a quiet and peaceable life" (1 Timothy 2:2).
 
If Paul were living today, I don't think he would be pleased when Christians paint a totally dark picture of the future. Although some governments do repress their citizens, think of what's happened. Since the Berlin Wall came down, new winds of freedom have been blowing in the world. And even though immorality and broken homes are still a terrible blight, many people seem to be returning to the values of marital fidelity.
 
I believe that the only real hope for the world is the return of Jesus Christ. I don't know when the LORD will come, but while I wait I'll continue witnessing for Him and praying for a great revival. I'll be asking the LORD to lead the nations into paths of peace and prosperity. I'll be doing what I can to help people who are struggling in dire poverty. I'll vote for leaders who uphold moral values.
 
We must not withdraw from the world but do what we can to make it a better place to live. GOD is in control. We can't lose. Let's be optimistic! —HVL
 

In his early years, British statesman Joseph Chamberlain (1836-1914) taught Sunday school. His favorite Bible verse was Genesis 12:5, "They went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came" (KJV).
 
That verse was a motto well-suited to a man of his iron will. It also gave him a biblical basis for citing two qualifications for success in life. One is to have the right destination—"They went forth to go into the land of Canaan." The second is to keep going after we have started—"into the land of Canaan they came."
 
As the apostle Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy, he knew that he would die soon, and he reflected on his life. He was not a leaf tossed about by the winds; he was an arrow headed for a target. Paul found his direction and destination in his relationship with Christ, and he wanted to cultivate in Timothy the virtues of a well-lived life. He offered himself as a model: "You have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance" (2 Timothy 3:10). "Stay with it," he seemed to be saying to young Timothy.
 
Keeping Christ uppermost in our lives will keep us headed right and will give us the strength to keep going. —HWR
 

Leandra is 3 years old. She has bright brown eyes and a very good mind. One day I was babysitting her, and she was watching her brother Max play games on my computer. Suddenly she announced that she was going to get a snack. "I do it myself!" she said emphatically.
 
"I'll help you," I said, and began to follow her. She repeated firmly, "I do it myself!" I watched her walk down the stairs. She turned, saw me, and said, "You stay upstairs, Grandpa. Keep an eye on Max." I tried not to laugh. At the bottom of the stairs she turned back, put one hand on her hip, and said, "I mean it, Grandpa!" I backed out of sight and roared with laughter. Later I checked on her. She had opened the refrigerator, found some packaged pudding, and gotten "her" spoon, but she needed me to open the container for her.
 
I thought later that there's a lot of that spirit of independence in me. I too want to "do it myself" when it comes to growing and serving as a believer in Jesus Christ. Yet I need to realize that even though I may think I don't need His help, I really do. Without it, I am unable to produce the kind of spiritual fruit Jesus talked about in John 15.
 
We must remember the words of our LORD, who said, "Without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). —DCE
 

In 1947, scientists created the Doomsday Clock to symbolically show how close they believe the world is to a nuclear holocaust. In 1953, after the US tested a hydrogen bomb, the hands were set at 2 minutes before midnight. Since then they have been pushed back and forth 13 times. The clock's safest setting was in 1991, after the US and Russia signed an arms-reduction treaty. The time was then set at 17 minutes before midnight. But in May 1999, after India and Pakistan set off nuclear blasts, the hands were advanced to 11:51.
 
GOD has a "clock" too. Over the centuries, prophecy buffs have tried to "set the hands" by predicting the "midnight hour" of Christ's return. But their date-settings have failed and left many people disillusioned. Conflicting views of the precise order of events and the nearness of His coming have diverted many from our LORD's primary reason for speaking about these events. He didn't want prophecy to become a divisive battleground, but a unifying truth for believers.
 
When Jesus spoke of His return, it was to remind us to "be ready" (Matthew 24:44). We are to be faithfully serving Him (v.45) by faithfully serving the needs of others. Let's leave the hands of GOD's clock in His hands. —DJD
 

A group of US military veterans has published the names of more than 300 people who falsely claim to have been prisoners of war during the Vietnam conflict. For whatever reasons—recognition, respect, or perhaps financial gain—these phony POWs speak of places they've never been and experiences they've never had. But an association of former POWs says to them, "We're on your trail and we'll unmask you at the first opportunity."
 
When a group of phony apostles threatened to undermine the gospel of Christ in Corinth, Paul denounced them as deceitful workers and ministers of satan (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). And to establish the authenticity and authority of his own apostleship, he "boasted" not of his successes but of his sufferings: "in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often" (v.23). His list continued with instances of physical danger, mental anguish, and spiritual exhaustion that seem overwhelming when we consider what he endured.
 
If your faithfulness to Christ has caused you to suffer, you bear the marks of a true veteran in His service. In the kingdom of GOD, it's not ribbons and stars but redemption and scars that set you apart as the real thing. —DCM
 

A young woman lived in a home where she was very unhappy. She often complained to her friends and told them how difficult it was for her to stay there. She blamed her parents and the other members of her family for her discontent and threatened to move out as soon as she could afford to be on her own.
 
One day, though, her face was graced with a happy smile. Gone was her usual glum expression. Her eyes were sparkling. There was a spring in her step.
 
When a friend noticed the difference, she exclaimed, "Things must have improved at home. I'm so glad!" "No," the young woman responded, "I'm the one who's different!"
 
That young woman's outlook was brighter and her relationships with others were transformed. It wasn't because her circumstances had improved, but because she had experienced a change in her heart.
 
When we are confronted with irritating situations and we begin to feel sorry for ourselves, we should ask these questions: Is the trouble really with others? Or could it be me? As we ask the LORD to fill us with His perfect love, it's amazing how life begins to look better. Letting GOD change us is the best way to change our world. —RWD
 

Under the cover of a dark Philippine night, three teenagers broke into a van owned by a Christian woman. The trio stole some clearly identifiable items and later sold them on the street. Soon the police were notified about the sale of the stolen goods, and the boys were arrested.
 
So what did the woman do? Seek revenge against the young thieves? No, she visited them in jail, started a Bible study with them, and led each of them to faith in Christ! Then she asked for permission for them to be let out of jail under guard each Sunday to go to church with her.
 
When someone does something against us, it's easy to think it's okay to get back at our oppressors. After all, we suffered genuine trauma and real loss. Somebody ought to pay! But Christ teaches a better way than revenge. We are to follow the pattern of forgiveness that GOD has shown to us. Jesus' words on the subject are startling in their implications: "If you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:15).
 
Our ability to forgive is a clear test of faith. One of the ways we see Christ's grace at work in our lives is through the forgiveness we extend to others. We demonstrate that we are GOD's children when we forgive like the Father. —JDB
 

The atoning death of Christ is a truth so profound that scholars have been unable to fully plumb its depths. Think of it—Jesus, GOD's Son, died to pay the penalty for our sins! Various theories have been advanced to explain what happened, but Scripture teaches that substitution lies closest to the heart of this great mystery. One innocent man bore the sins of all humanity.
 
Cliff Barrows tells of the time his two young children did something wrong. Although they were gently warned, they repeated the offense and needed to be disciplined. Cliff's tender heart was pained at the thought of having to punish the ones he loved. So he called Bobby and Bettie into his room, removed his belt and shirt, and with bare back he knelt by his bed. He told each child to whip him 10 times. Oh, how they cried! But the penalty had to be paid. The children sobbed as they lashed their daddy's back. Then Cliff hugged and kissed them, and they prayed together. "It hurt," he recalls, "but I never had to spank them again."
 
Are you haunted by the memory of some cowardly, selfish, or shameful acts? Jesus took the lashes for all our sins. Now He invites us to accept His forgiveness and devote the rest of our lives to Him. He wants us to know the greatness of His Father's love. That's why He died! —DJD
 

The name of Peter Carter is probably unknown to most people today. He was a 19th-century American Presbyterian pastor. He wasn't as famous a pulpiteer as Charles Haddon Spurgeon. He didn't write great works of theology like his contemporary Charles Hodge. He never achieved the international recognition of Henry Ward Beecher of the Brooklyn Tabernacle. But he lived his faith in such a way that he encouraged hundreds of people to trust and serve Jesus Christ. Carter radiated the Savior's love to children as well as to adults.
 
For example, a visitor asked some of the children in Carter's Sunday school if they knew the Good Shepherd. "Oh, yes," they answered. "He's Pastor Peter Carter." Missionary-statesman Robert E. Speer said, "If all the reasoned arguments in support of Christianity were destroyed, Peter Carter and the two or three men like him I have known would remain for me as its impregnable basis and defense."
 
Even if we think of ourselves as rather ordinary believers, all of us can by GOD's grace be shining lights that "glorify [our] Father in heaven" and point people to the Savior (Matthew 5:16; Philippians 2:14-16). We too can be flesh-and-blood evidence that the gospel is true. —VCG
 

In his book The Unchained Soul, Calvin Miller describes his own struggle with envy and pride. When he was pastoring, he and another church member listed their houses for sale at about the same time. It took Miller's house a year to sell, while the other house sold in 3 days. When people asked the other man why his house sold so quickly, he always replied, "I just put that house in the hands of GOD, and the LORD sold it in 3 days."
 
Miller confessed that every time he heard the man say that, he said to GOD, "Hey, GOD, what have You got against me?" He admitted to reacting defensively to this man's boast about his 3-day sale. Miller would remind GOD of the depth of his own spirituality, compared with the shallowness of the other man's. After all, he had held countless Bible studies in his home and led many people to the LORD, while the other man had done neither.
 
Any one of us can be selfishly interested in the way GOD is blessing someone else's life, while at the same time ignoring our own responsibilities. Envy and anger can at times be the result. When the apostle Peter became curious about John's future, Jesus said that it was none of Peter's business. He told him, "You follow Me" (John 21:21-22). May we learn from Peter's experience and keep our eyes on Christ. —DCE