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He Was 25 When His First Book Captured The Hearts ...
Contributed by Gregory Dawson on Mar 12, 2003 (message contributor)
He was 25 when his first book captured the hearts of his native land. Fame quickly went to his head. He drank immoderately and partied wildly, and in this state he did the one thing one should never do in his country, he carelessly criticized his government’s regime. He was arrested and sentenced to death. But the ruler of his country showed mercy and commuted his sentence to ten years of hard labor. So on Christmas Eve, 1849, Fyodor Dostoyevsky was sent to Siberia "like a man buried alive”, he writes later, “nailed down in his coffin." But Fyodor Dostoyevsky was about to learn that God could bring about good even in the harshness of Siberia. On his arrival in that desolate region, two women slipped a New Testament into his hand and when the officer’s back was turned, whispered to him, “search it carefully at your leisure”. There in Siberia, this young man discovered the beauty of the parable of the prodigal son. It revealed to him the marvelous mercy of his heavenly Father.
"One sees the truth more clearly when one is unhappy," he wrote from Siberia. "And yet God gives me moments of perfect peace; in such moments I love and believe that I am loved; in such moments I have formulated my creed, wherein all is clear and holy to me. I believe that there is nothing lovelier, deeper, more sympathetic, more rational, more manly and more perfect than the Savior: I say to myself with jealous love that not only is there no one else like Him, but that there could be no one."
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During His Reign, King Frederick William Iii Of ... PRO
Contributed by Donnie Martin on Sep 8, 2003
During his reign, King Frederick William III of Prussia found himself in trouble. Wars had been costly, and in trying to build the nation, he was seriously short of finances. He couldn’t disappoint his people, and to capitulate to the enemy was unthinkable. After careful reflection, he decided to ...read more
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A Man Who Had Hitchhiked From Coast To Coast And ... PRO
Contributed by R. Darrel Davis on Sep 17, 2004
A man who had hitchhiked from coast to coast and had walked many miles in the process was asked what he had found the most difficult to endure. To the surprise of his questioner it was not the steep mountains or the dazzling sun or the scorching desert heat that had troubled him, but, in the words ...read more
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We Are Not To Be Isolated But Insulated, Moving ...
Contributed by Donnie Martin on Sep 8, 2003
We are not to be isolated but insulated, moving in the midst of evil but untouched by it. Separation is contact without contamination. Jesus was “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners” (Heb. 7:26), yet He ...read more
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Jerry Rice Works Day In And Day Out To Prepare ... PRO
Contributed by Kent Lenard on Aug 31, 2003
Jerry Rice works day in and day out to prepare for football unlike any other player in the NFL. The story of his ability to push himself started when he was in high school. The Coach of B.L. Moor High School, Charles Davis, had his players run twenty times up a forty-yard hill. On a particularly ...read more
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Webster's Dictionary Tells Me That - Commit Means ...
Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Aug 21, 2003
Webster’s Dictionary tells me that - Commit means to entrust, to give charge, to perform, to pledge. In my search for the definition of Commit I actually looked at one dictionary which did not even have ...read more
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