I was born at the end of the Great Depression, eight years before the United States became involved in World War II. In our small town, caught between the pain of depression and the horrors of war, almost everybody went to church. Much of the preaching I heard as a small boy was judgmental, harsh, and unforgiving. People were as likely to be scared out of hell as loved into heaven. Although tempted to adopt the pulpit style of older preachers, I soon learned that people were hungry for a more hopeful message. The ministry of Jesus was characterized by the magnetic drawing power of the cross, and his encouragement to "Go, and sin no more" was a welcome message of forgiveness. When my pulpit ministry was curtailed by age and illness, I began the email ministry of encouragement. This book is a compilation of some of those messages. I hope and pray that you will find, in every chapter and every sentence, truly encouraging words.
