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About the Book
"The Three Most Powerful Words" by Derek Prince explores the importance and impact of three key words: faith, hope, and love. The book delves into the deep significance of these words in the context of Christian belief and offers insights into how embracing them can lead to a transformative spiritual life. Prince argues that faith, hope, and love are not just abstract concepts but powerful forces that can shape our thoughts, actions, and relationships in profound ways. Through biblical teachings and personal anecdotes, he shows readers how to cultivate these virtues in their own lives and unlock their full potential.
William and Catherine Booth
William Booth
The Salvation Army founder, William Booth was born in Nottingham, England, on 10 April 1829.
Salvation Army founder General William BoothFrom his earliest years, William was no stranger to poverty. He was just 14 when his father died and was already working as a pawnbroker’s apprentice to supplement the family’s income.
As a pawnbroker, William saw poverty and suffering on a daily basis. By the time he finished his six-year apprenticeship, he had developed a deep hatred of it.
William, a fiery and impulsive teenager, became a Christian at 15 and began attending the local Wesleyan Chapel. There, he developed the passion that would be the driving force in his life; to reach the down and out of Britain's cities through the Gospel of Christ.
William, a talented preacher from a young age, went on to work as a travelling evangelist with the Methodist church. But it was through preaching in the streets of London's slums that he discovered his life's purpose and The Salvation Army was born.
Catherine Booth
The Salvation Army "mother", Catherine Mumford was born in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, on 17 January 1829.
The Salvation Army founder and Army mother Catherine BoothFrom an early age, she was a serious and sensitive girl with a strong Christian upbringing. By the age of 12, it's said that she had read the Bible through eight times.
At 14, Catherine became ill and spent a great deal of time in bed. She kept herself busy, especially concerned about the problems of alcohol. She wrote articles for a magazine, encouraging people not to drink.
But at 16, she came wholly into her faith. Reading the words, 'My God I am Thine, what a comfort Divine' in her hymn book, she realised the truth of them for herself.
A gentle woman with powerful appeal, Catherine would go on to co-found The Salvation Army and prove an inspiration to women in a harsh time.
Life together
Catherine and William met when he came to preach at her church. They soon fell in love and became engaged. During their three-year engagement, William continued his work as a travelling evangelist. Catherine was a constant support to William, writing him letters of encouragement on his travels.
They married on 16 June 1855.
Together, William and Catherine embarked on a lifelong journey to answer the call of God to bring the Gospel to the people. While William was a natural speaker, Catherine was a quiet woman and not at all accustomed to speaking at gatherings. It took time for her to find her voice, but she was driven by a conviction that woman had the same rights as men to speak. She grew into a courageous speaker, known for her gentle manner but powerful appeal, counselling alcoholics in their homes and holding cottage meetings for new faithfuls.
They were also parents to a growing family of eight children, who were brought up with a firm Christian education and a great love for their God’s mission. Two of their children, Bramwell and Evangeline would go on to be Generals of The Salvation Army.
In 1865, William, by now an independent evangelist, along with Catherine founded The Christian Mission. William preached to the poor while Catherine spoke to the wealthy to gain support for their financially demanding work. In time, she began to hold her own fundraising campaigns.
It was not until 1878 that The Christian Mission became known as The Salvation Army. Modelled after the military with William and his fellow ministers a part of God’s Army, seeking salvation for the masses. William was appointed the first General and his ministers became “officers”.
Catherine became known as “The Army Mother” and remained a strong voice on The Salvation Army’s ideas on social issues and matters of belief.
With its strong focus on the downtrodden and dispossessed, The Salvation Army began to grow beyond Britain’s borders. In William’s lifetime, the Army would be established in 58 countries and colonies. Its mission was and is still guided by William’s book “In Darkest England and the Way Out”, which maps out a revoluntionary approach to social engagement never before undertaken by a church.
Both Catherine and William worked tirelessly to bring the Gospel to all, establishing a movement in the form of The Salvation Army. But, on 4th October 1890, Catherine lost her ongoing battle with ill health. Her son, Bramwell, described her passing as “a warrior laid down her sword to receive her crown”.
William continued on for many years, traveling all over the world to oversee his growing Army. On 20th August 1912, William Booth was, in Salvation Army terms, promoted to glory.
Though passed, both William and Catherine continue to be guiding influences in The Salvation Army and stand as the mightiest examples of how God uses the ordinary to create the extraordinary.
every day’s a bad day - how ecclesiastes taught me to enjoy life
After decades of ministry, what is one piece of advice I wish I had received as a young woman? Study the book of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes has shown me the secret of enjoying life, even in the midst of trouble. It has rescued me from disillusionment when labors I thought were fruitful appeared to be for naught. When friends have turned their backs, Ecclesiastes has helped me guard against bitterness. It has cured me of setting my hope on a particular outcome, and protected me from becoming bewildered and disheartened by bad news. In short, Ecclesiastes made me a realist, and yet I’m happier than ever before. This collection of wisdom has become (as it is for J.I. Packer, whose writings introduced me to Ecclesiastes) my favorite book of the Bible, and one I regret not studying sooner. If you get the wisdom here while you are still young, it will prepare you for real life. It clears away false assumptions with which we sometimes read the rest of Scripture. Even if you find Ecclesiastes when you are older, it sure explains a lot. You learn that life didn’t go sideways; it was already crooked (Ecclesiastes 1:15). Ecclesiastes paints an unvarnished picture of real life, but its heavy shadows help you see the light of real joy. Bad Days Are Normal To begin with, Ecclesiastes tells us what life is really like.  “It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with” (Ecclesiastes 1:13). This is the way life really is, for all of us. Because of that first fatal sin, God cursed the ground and imposed hardship on Adam’s offspring (Genesis 3:16–19). The curse has affected all of us who live “under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:3). Christians are not exempt. The curse has also infected all of man’s work, “the toil at which he toils” (Ecclesiastes 1:3). Life is a burdensome task, a frustrating occupation, a grueling grind. It is an unhappy business. And God made it this way. Our problem is that we don’t really  believe life is an unhappy business. We think if we work hard, we’ll eventually succeed. We imagine suffering is short-term, pain is the exception to the rule, and failure merely the prelude to victory. These illusions leave us blindsided by setbacks, devastated by failure and loss, bewildered by trials, confused by pain. This isn’t the way things were supposed to go!  We talk about having “a bad day” as if it should be one in a thousand, but Ecclesiastes (and really the rest of Scripture, when you read it right side up) tells us that they are all bad. Daily work under the sun is an unhappy business. The sooner we face the fact that we live and work in a sin-cursed world, the more realistic and stable we will be. We will stop expecting things to always get better. We won’t be so surprised when they sometimes get worse. We no longer fear bad news: not because we hope it’s not coming, but because we know it is coming  (Psalm 112:7; Ecclesiastes 12:1). Get Ecclesiastes, and we can learn to meet life’s unhappy business with pluck and humor. We won’t be so quick to doubt God, and we will finally have a settled peace in our heart. As my family reminds each other (with a smile) when faced with some new unhappy business, “That’s Ecclesiastes!” In other words, God can be trusted; he told us this was going to happen. Blessings You Cannot Count Ecclesiastes teaches us how to enjoy life , in the midst of our unhappy business. For while all humankind labors under the effects of the fall, to those God has called according to his purpose, he gives joy . “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God. . . . For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy” (Ecclesiastes 2:24, 26). God’s gifts of enjoyment aren’t random; they are from his hand . As it says in James, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17). God blesses the Christian’s toil with enjoyment. Every feeling of satisfaction in a made bed, a mopped floor, and an organized closet is from the hand of God . Happiness in a deadline met, a budget balanced, or a report filed comes down from the Father of lights . Pleasure in a delicious meal, and in the dishes all cleaned and put away? You guessed it: from the hand of God . How about the relief of solving a problem, the delight of reading a book to your children, the blessing of easing your husband’s troubles? The fresh breeze through the open windows on carpool morning, the delightful lunch with friends, the sweet feeling of a comfortable bed at night — all of these moments of enjoyment in our work are gifts from the gracious hand of God . When you start to look for God’s gifts of joy, the ratio of troubles to joys becomes astonishingly unbalanced, leaning heavily in favor of joy. As my husband likes to say, good gifts are raining down upon us from the hand of God, every day, all day long. We can find enjoyment in our toil if only we would take the time to see, and give thanks to God. Consider: what is one way you can remind yourself to enjoy the gifts from God’s hand today? You will find that it is a happy  unhappy business that God has given to those who please him. The Final Commendation Finally, Ecclesiastes helps us to see beyond our unhappy business . Even if your friends walk away, your business fails, or you are forced to move to a smaller home, you can persevere, because the final value of your work is not found in this life. “For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:14). In other words, it is not left to us, here and now, to determine the ultimate value of our work. As Jeremiah Burroughs says, we are simply called to “perform the duties of [our] present circumstances,” trusting God who will ultimately judge the fruitfulness of our work and give us our heavenly reward. This means that no matter how much heart you poured into a failed friendship, how much creativity you invested in a business you have to close, or how much effort you put into the home you have to leave, your work for the Lord  is never a net loss. Which is why Paul can exhort us to “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing  that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58). Life under the sun is brutal, and it shows no signs of getting any easier. Our work is cursed and will often, more likely than not, fail on some human level. But the godly woman can face the future with peace and confidence; she even “laughs at the time to come” (Proverbs 31:25). For the same God who told us that life is hard has told us that he is near (Psalm 34:18). Through faith in Christ we can enjoy God’s fatherly gifts, abound in the work he has called us to, and look forward to the day when — oh, amazing grace! — we receive our commendation from God (1 Corinthians 4:5).
