November 3, 2025 - Good Morning! It’s Monday, November 3.
The Wizard of Oz is considered to be one of the greatest and best loved movies in history. But it didn’t start out that way. Premiering in 1939, it did only modest business. After production and publicity costs, its studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, ended up a million dollars in the hole. And then, on November 3, 1956, it showed up on TV. By that time, over 60 million American homes had a television set, and the failed movie became a nationwide success. In 1959, a tradition began where The Wizard of Oz was shown every year on Easter Sunday. The rest, as they say, is history.
History teaches us that failure doesn’t have to have the last word. The Bible teaches us the same lesson. David was an adulterer and a murderer, but we remember him as a great king. The mighty prophet Elijah had bouts of severe depression, but did mighty things for God. Mark, as a young man, deserted the Apostle Paul on a missionary journey, but went on to write a gospel, the gospel that Matthew and Luke used as a source for their books. Paul, himself, appears first in the New Testament as a persecutor of Christians, and ends up as the primary architect of the Christian faith.
Perhaps the greatest biblical success story is Peter’s story. On the night before Calvary, he denies he even knew Christ. He hides in fear as Jesus dies on the cross. But then, Peter is the first disciple to see the resurrected Savior. It is Peter who stands before thousands and preaches with power at Pentecost. And it is Peter who becomes the first leader of the young Church.
Failure doesn’t have to have the last word. History teaches us that. And so does the Word of God.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
