Ask Chuka

  While reading my devotional by Nicky and Pippa Gumbel, I learned that Charles Finney, the evangelist, was also a lawyer. In the 1830s, speaking in a New York church, he often made altar calls, asking people to step forward publicly while they still had the chance to give their lives to Jesus, and many responded, especially lawyers like him. One night, however, the Chief Justice of New York, deeply moved by the gospel Charles preached, wrestled in his mind with the idea of stepping out like the ordinary people. He wondered if it was appropriate given his prestigious position as the highest-ranking figure in New York’s legal hierarchy. After a long time pondering, he finally thought, ‘Why not? I’m convinced of the truth, why shouldn’t I do it like everyone else?’ Perhaps afraid, like Nicodemus, he went backstage and quietly told Finney, ‘When you call people out to give their lives publicly, I will come out.’ An excited Finney wasted no time. He announced to the whole congregation,...

  When Princess Anita was born, the king ordered his guards to abandon her in the forest because he wanted a son, not a baby girl. Luckily, the princess did not die. A mother bear found her, took her to its cave, and raised her alongside its cubs. Anita grew up strong in the forest, learning to do anything a man could do. When she turned sixteen, after her father died, her mother searched the forest and brought her back to the palace. Anita blossomed into a beautiful lady, the desire of every prince from neighbouring towns, all asking for her hand in marriage. She decided to set up a competition to choose wisely, as they all seemed worthy. Her demands were supposedly simple: Any prince who could beat her in a race would become her husband. As expected, since she was a woman, they all thought it would be easy, but none could outrun her. One day, a very handsome prince from a distant land arrived and accepted the challenge. As they raced, realising he would lose given her remarkable ...