Can you recall Jesus’ radical philosophy: “Be a servant, give to others”? The basis of that statement is tucked away in Luke 9:23. Following Christ is a costly, unselfish decision. He says: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”

The fine little volume on pastoral leadership, In the Name of Jesus, lists three very real, albeit subtle temptations any servant of Christ faces. They correspond with the three temptations our Lord faced before He began His earthly ministry. They also fit with three observations the apostle Paul mentions in his letter to the Corinthians (2 Cor. 4:1–7).

Take time today to read again, slowly and carefully, through yesterday’s Scripture reading—2 Corinthians 11–13. List the hardships the apostle Paul endured. Try putting yourself and your own particular circumstances and trials into Paul’s constant affirmations of faith. Start with . . .

There are 1,130 frostbitten miles, mountain ranges, blizzards, hungry beasts, and frozen seas between Anchorage and Nome. This awful trek is the scene of the ultimate endurance test known as the Iditarod Sled Dog Race, where twelve huskies pull a sled and its driver through the most grueling, inhuman conditions one can fathom. One frequent champion was the late Susan Butcher, whose tough-minded fixation on winning earned her the nickname Ayatollah Butcher.

Of all the letters Paul wrote, Second Corinthians is the most autobiographical. In this letter Paul records the specifics of his anguish, tears, affliction, and satanic opposition. He spells out the details of his persecution, loneliness, imprisonments, beatings, feelings of despair, hunger, shipwrecks, sleepless nights, and that “thorn in the flesh”—his companion of pain. How close it makes us feel to him when we see him as a man with real, honest-to-goodness problems, just like ours!

Not everybody gets “turned on” over management concepts, but most of us can profit from such information at home or church or school. Even as individuals we may find some of these principles coming in handy.

Thoughts disentangle themselves . . . over the lips and through the fingertips. I learned that saying over thirty years ago, and just about every time I put it to the test, it works! Whenever I have difficulty comprehending the complicated or clarifying the complex, I talk it out or write it out.

God’s Book is a veritable storehouse of promises—over seven thousand of them. Not just eloquently worded thoughts that make you feel warm all over, but verbal guarantees in writing, signed by the Creator Himself, in which He declares He will do or will refrain from doing specific things.

A bazaar was held in a village in northern India. Everyone brought his wares to trade and sell. One old farmer brought in a whole covey of quail. He had tied a string around one leg of each bird. The other ends of all the strings were tied to a ring which fit loosely over a central stick. He had taught the quail to walk dolefully in a circle, around and around, like mules at a sugarcane mill. Nobody seemed interested in buying the birds until a devout Brahman came along.