Jesus Lives 7
Here's even more!!! God Bless each of you for
visiting. Please sign the guestbook.....
ANYWAY
People are often unreasonable,
Illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind,
People may accuse you of selfish,
ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful,
You will win some false friends
and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank,
People may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building,
Someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness,
They may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today,
People will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have,
And it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis,
It is between you and God;
It never was between you and them anyway.
Author Unknown
THE NEW FOOTPRINTS
Now imagine you and the Lord Jesus are walking
along the beach together. For much of the way
the Lord's footprints go along steadily,
consistently, rarely varying in the pace. But
your prints are in a disorganized stream of
zigzags, starts, stops, turnarounds, circles,
departures, and returns. For much of the way
it seems to go like this.
But gradually, your footprints come in line with
the Lord's, soon paralleling His consistently.
You and Jesus are walking as true friends. This
seems perfect, but then an interesting thing
happens; your footprints that once etched the
sand next to the Master's are now walking
precisely in His steps.
Inside His large footprints is the smaller
"sand print," safely enclosed. You and Jesus
are becoming one; this goes on for many miles.
But gradually you notice another change.
The footprints inside the larger footprints
seem to grow larger. Eventually it disappears
altogether. There is only one set of footprints.
They have become one; again this goes on for a
long time. But then something awful happens.
The second set of footprints is back. This time
it seems even worse than before. Zigzags all
over the place. Stop...start. Deep gashes in
the sand. A veritable mess of prints. You're
amazed and shocked. But this is the end of
your dream. Now you speak:
"Lord, I understand the first scene with the
zigzags, fits, starts and so on. I was a
new Christian, just learning. But You walked
on through the storm and helped me learn
to walk with you".
"That is correct," replied the Lord.
"Then, when the smaller footprints were inside
of Yours, I was actually learning to walk in
Your steps. I followed You very closely."
"Very good. You have understood everything so far."
"Then the smaller footprints grew and eventually
filled in with Yours. I suppose that I was
actually growing so much that I was becoming
more like You in every way."
"Precisely."
"But this is my question, Lord. Was there a
regression of something. The footprints went
back to two, and this time it was worse
than the first."
The Lord smiles, then laughs. "You didn't know?"
He says. "That was when we danced."
FOR HE WILL TURN YOUR
MOURNING INTO DANCING!!!!
Psalms 30:11
Author Unknown
SATAN CALLED A WORLDWIDE CONVENTION
The huge crowd hushed as he stepped up to
speak, "We can't keep the Christians from
going to church. We can't keep them from
reading their Bibles and knowing the truth.
We can't even keep them from conservative
values. But we can do something else. He
paused, everyone listened..............
"We can keep them from forming an intimate,
abiding experience in Christ. If they gain
that connection with Jesus, our power over
them is broken. So let them go to church, let
them have their conservative lifestyles, but
steal their time, so they can't gain that
experience in Jesus Christ. This is what I
want you to do. Distract them from gaining
hold of their Savior and maintaining a vital
connection through their day!"
"How shall we do this?" shouted his angels.
"Simple, keep them busy in the non-essentials
of life and invent many schemes to occupy
their minds," he answered. "Tempt them to
spend and spend, then, borrow and borrow.
Convince the wives to go to work and the
husbands to work 6 or 7 days a week, 10-12
hours a day, so they can afford their
lifestyles. Keep them from spending time
with their children.
Tell them they are doing it FOR their
children, ah, that one works well.
As their family fragments, soon their homes
will offer no escape from the pressures of
work. "Over stimulate their minds so that
they cannot hear THE still small voice. Entice
them to play the radio or cassette player
whenever they drive, to keep the TV, the VCR
and their CD's going constantly in their homes.
And see to it that every store and restaurant
in the world plays music constantly. This will
jam their minds and break that union
with Christ.
"Fill their coffee tables with magazines and
newspapers. Pound their minds with the news
24 hours a day. Invade their driving moments
with billboards. Flood their mailboxes with
junk mail, sweepstakes, mail order catalogues,
and every kind of newsletter and promotional
offering, free products, services, and false hopes.
"Even in their recreation, let them be excessive.
Have them return from their recreation exhausted,
disquieted and unprepared for the coming week.
Don't let them go out in nature. Send them to
amusement parks, sporting events, concerts and
movies instead. And when they meet for spiritual
fellowship, involve them in gossip and small
talk so that they leave with troubled
consciences and unsettled emotion.
Don't let them encourage or uplift each other,
keep those who are the gifted encouragers
especially busy and worn out. And above all
when they get together keep them from praying
for one another.
"Let them be involved in soul-winning. But
crowd their lives with so many good causes
they have no time to seek power from Christ.
Soon they will be working in their own strength,
sacrificing their health and family unity for
the good of the cause."
It was quite a convention in the end. And the
evil angels went eagerly to their assignments
trying to cause Christians everywhere to get
busy, busy, busy and rush here and there.
Author Unknown
IS SATAN STEALING YOUR TIME ???
GOD'S WINGS
An article in National Geographic several
years ago provided a penetrating picture
of God's wings.....................
After a forest fire in Yellowstone National
Park, forest rangers began their trek up a
mountain to assess the inferno's damage. One
ranger found a bird literally petrified in
ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at
the base of a tree. Somewhat sickened by the
eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a
stick. When he struck it, three tiny chicks
scurried from under their dead mother's wings.
The loving mother, keenly aware of impending
disaster, had carried her offspring to the
base of the tree and had gathered them under
her wings, instinctively knowing that the
toxic smoke would rise. She could have flown
to safety but had refused to abandon her
babies. When the blaze had arrived and the
heat had scorched her small body, the mother
had remained steadfast. Because she had been
willing to die, those under the cover of her
wings would live............
"He will cover you with his feathers, and under
his wings you will find refuge..." (Psalm 91:4)
Being loved this much should make a difference
in your life. Remember the One who loves you
and then be different because of it.
Author Unknow
CAN YOU FIND 16??
Can you find the names of 16 books of the
bible in this paragraph?
I once made a remark about hidden books in
the Bible. It was a lulu! Kept people looking
so hard for facts and for others it was a
revelation. Some were in a jam, especially
since the names are not capitalized, but the
truth finally struck home to numbers of
readers. To others it was a real job. We want
it to be a most fascinating few moments for
you. Yes, there are some easy ones to spot.
Others, will require judges to help them. I
quickly admit it usually takes a minister to
find one of them, but there will be loud
lamentations when it is found. A little lady
says she brews a cup of tea so she can
concentrate better. Well, see how you can
compete. Relax now, for there really are 16
names of books of the Bible in this story. One
preacher found fifteen books in twenty minutes,
but it took him three weeks to find
the sixteenth one.
Author Unknown
Answers
WE ARE UNIQUE
I cannot change the way I am,
I never really try,
God made me different and unique,
I never ask him why.
If I appear peculiar,
There's nothing I can do,
You must accept me as I am,
As I've accepted you.
God made a casting of each life,
Then threw the mold away,
Each child is different from the rest,
Unlike as night from day.
So often we will criticize,
The things that others do,
But, do you know, they do not think,
The same as me and you.
So God in all his wisdom,
Who knows us all by name,
He didn't want us to be bored,
That's why we're not the same.......
Author Unknown
SIDE BY SIDE
They lie on the table side by side
The Holy Bible and the T.V. Guide.
One is well worn and cherished with pride.
Not the Bible, but the T.V. Guide.
One is used daily to help folks decide.
No, not the Bible, but the T.V. Guide.
As the pages are turned, what shall they see.
Oh, what does it matter, turn on the T.V.
So they open the book in which they confide.
No, not the Bible, but the T.V. Guide.
The Word of God is seldom read.
Maybe a verse before they fall into bed.
Exhausted and sleepy and tired as can be.
Not from reading the Bible, from watching T.V.
So then back to the table side by side,
Lie the Holy Bible and the T.V. Guide.
No time for prayer, no time for the Word,
The plan of Salvation is seldom heard.
But forgiveness of sin, so full and free,
Is found in the Bible, not on T.V.
Author Unknown
THE DAY I MET DANIEL
It was an unusually cold day for the month
of May. Spring had arrived and everything was
alive with color. But a cold front from the
north had brought winter's chill
back to Indiana.
I sat with two friends in the picture window
of a quaint restaurant -- just off the corner
of the town square. The food and the company
were both especially good that day. As we talked,
my attention was drawn outside, across the
street. There, walking into town, was a man who
appeared to be carrying all his worldly goods
on his back. He was carrying a well-worn sign
that read, "I will work for food."
My heart sank.
I brought him to the attention of my friends
and noticed that others around us had stopped
eating to focus on him. Heads moved in a mixture
of sadness and disbelief. We continued with our
meal, but his image lingered in my mind.
We finished our meal and went our separate
ways.I had errands to do and quickly set out
to accomplish them. I glanced toward the town
square, looking somewhat half heartedly for
the strange visitor. I was fearful, knowing
that seeing him again would call
for some response.
I drove through town and saw nothing of him.
I made some purchases at a store and got back
in my car. Deep within me, the Spirit of God
kept speaking to me: "Don't go back to the
office until you've at least driven once more
around the square."
And so, with some hesitancy, I headed back
into town. As I turned the square's third
corer, I saw him. He was standing on the steps
of the stone-front church, going through his
sack. I stopped and looked, feeling both
compelled to speak to him, yet
wanting to drive on.
The empty parking space on the corner seemed
to be a sign from God: an invitation to park.
I pulled in, got out and approached the
town's newest visitor. "Looking for the
pastor?" I asked. "Not really," he replied.
"Just resting." "Have you eaten today?" "Oh,
I ate something early this morning." "Would
you like to have lunch with me?" "Do you have
some work I could do for you?" "No work," I
replied. "I commute here to work from the
city, but I would like to take you to lunch."
"Sure," he replied with a smile. As he began
to gather his things, I asked some surface
questions. "Where you headed?" "St. Louis."
"Where you from?""Oh, all over; mostly
Florida." "How long you been walking?"
"Fourteen years," came the reply.
I knew I had met someone unusual. We sat
across from each other in the same
restaurant I had left only minutes earlier.
His hair was long and straight, and he had
a neatly trimmed dark beard. His skin was
deeply tanned, and his face was weathered
slightly beyond his 38 years. His eyes were
dark yet clear, and he spoke with an
eloquence and articulation that was startling.
He removed his jacket to reveal a bright red
T-shirt that said, "Jesus Is the Never Ending
Story." Then Daniel's story began to unfold.
He had seen rough times early in life. He'd
made some wrong choices and reaped the
consequences. Fourteen years earlier, while
backpacking across the country, he had stopped
on the beach in Daytona. He tried to hire on
with some men who were putting up a large tent
and some equipment. A concert, he thought. He
was hired, but the tent would not house a
concert. Instead, it housed revival services,
and in those services he saw life more clearly.
He gave his life over to God. "Nothing's been
the same since," he said. "I felt the Lord
telling me to keep walking, and so I did,
some 14 years now."
"Ever think of stopping?" I asked. "Oh, once
in a while, when it seems to get the best of
me. But God has given me this calling. I give
out Bibles. That's what's in my sack. I work
to buy food and Bibles, and I give them out
when His Spirit leads. " I sat amazed. My
homeless friend was not homeless. He was on
a mission and lived this way by choice. The
question burned inside for a moment and then
I asked: "What's it like?" "What?" "To walk
into a town carrying all your things on your
back and to show your sign?" "Oh, it was
humiliating at first. People would stare and
make comments. Once someone tossed a piece
of half-eaten bread and made a gesture that
certainly didn't make me feel welcome. But
then it became humbling to realize that God
was using me to touch lives and change
people's concepts of other folks like me."
My concept was changing too.
We finished our dessert and gathered his
things. Just outside the door, he paused.
He turned to me and said, "Come ye blessed
of my Father and inherit the kingdom I've
prepared for you. For when I was hungry you
gave me food, when I was thirsty you gave me
drink, a stranger and you took me in." I
felt as if we were on holy ground.
"Could you use another Bible?" I asked. He
said he preferred a certain translation. It
traveled well and was not too heavy. It was
also his personal favorite. "I've read through
it 14 times," he said. "I'm not sure we've got
one of those, but let's stop by our church and
see." I was able to find my new friend a Bible
that would do well, and he seemed very grateful.
"Where you headed from here?"I asked. "Well,
I found this little map on the back of this
amusement park coupon."
"Are you hoping to hire on there for a while?"
"No, I just figure I should go there. I figure
someone under that star right there needs a
Bible, so that's where I'm going next." He
smiled, and the warmth of his spirit radiated
the sincerity of his mission. I drove him back
to the town square where we'd met two hours
earlier, and as we drove, it started raining.
We parked and unloaded his things. "Would you
sign my autograph book?" he asked. "I like to
keep messages from folks I meet."
I wrote in his little book that his commitment
to his calling had touched my life. I
encouraged him to stay strong. And I left him
with a verse of scripture, Jeremiah 29:11: "I
know the plans I have for you," declares the
Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm
you. Plans to give you a future and a hope."
"Thanks, man," he said. "I know we just met and
we're really just strangers, but I love you." "I
know," I said. "I love you, too." "The Lord is
good." "Yes. He is. How long has it been since
someone hugged you?" I asked. "A long time," he
replied. And so on the busy street corner in
the drizzling rain, my new friend and I embraced,
and I felt deep inside that I had been changed.
He put his things on his back, smiled his
winning smile and said, "See you in the New
Jerusalem. "I'll be there!" was my reply. He
began his journey again. He headed away with
his sign dangling from his bed roll and pack of
Bibles. He stopped, turned and said, "When you
see something that makes you think of me, will
you pray for me?" "You bet," I shouted back.
"God bless." "God bless." And that was the
last I saw of him.
Late that evening as I left my office, the wind
blew strong. The cold front had settled hard
upon the town. I bundled up and hurried to my
car. As I sat back and reached for the emergency
brake, I saw them: a pair of well-worn, brown
work gloves neatly laid over the length of the
handle. I picked them up and thought of my
friend and wondered if his hands would stay
warm that night without them. I remembered his
words: "If you see something that makes you
think of me, will you pray for me?" Today his
gloves lie on my desk in my office. They help
me to see the world and its people in a new way,
and they help me remember those two hours with
my unique friend and to pray for his ministry.
"See you in the New Jerusalem," he said.
Yes Daniel, I know.
Author Unknown
Page 8
BACK
HOME