STORIES
Read the Bible
An old man lived on a farm in the mountains of eastern Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading his Bible. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate him in every way he could.
One day the grandson asked, "Papa, I try to read the
Bible just like you but I don't understand it, and
what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the
book. What good does reading the Bible do? The
Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the
stove
and replied, "Take this coal basket down to the
river and bring me back a basket of water." The boy
did as he was told, but all the water leaked out
before he got back to the house.
The grandfather laughed and said, "You'll have to move a little faster next time," and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You're just not trying hard enough," and he went out the door to watch the boy try again.
At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got back to the house. The boy again dipped the basket into river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, "See Papa, it's useless!" "So you think it is useless?" The old man said, "Look at the basket." The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the basket was different.
It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket and was now clean, inside and out. "Son, that's what happens when you read the Bible. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you will be changed, inside and out. That is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Take time to read a portion of God's word each day. It will change you from the inside out, transforming you into the image of His Son. You were created to be in the Image of God.
Faith in Jesus
There was a professor of philosophy there who was a deeply committed atheist. His primary goal for one required class was to spend the entire semester attempting to prove that God couldn’t exist. His students were always afraid to argue with him because of his impeccable logic. For twenty years, he had taught this class and no one had ever had the courage to go against him. Sure, some had argued in class at times, but no one had ever really gone against him because of his reputation.
At the end of every semester on the last day, he would say to his class of 300 students, "If there is anyone here who still believes in Jesus, stand up!" In twenty years, no one had ever stood up. They knew what he was going to do next. He would say, "Because anyone who believes in God is a fool. If God existed, he could stop this piece of chalk from hitting the ground and breaking, such a simple task to prove that He is God, and yet He can't do it." And every year, he would drop the chalk onto the tile floor of the classroom and it would shatter into a hundred pieces.
All of the students would do nothing but stop and stare. Most of the students thought that God couldn't exist. Certainly, a number of Christians had slipped through, but for 20 years, they had been too afraid to stand up. Well, a few years ago there was a freshman who happened to enroll. He was a Christian, and had heard the stories about his professor. He was required to take the class for his major, and he was afraid. But for three months that semester, he prayed every morning that he would have the courage to stand up no matter what the professor said, or what the class thought.
Nothing they said could ever shatter his faith...He hoped. Finally, the day came. The professor said, "If there is anyone here who still believes in God, stand up!" The professor and the class of 300 people looked at him, shocked, as he stood up at the back of the classroom. The professor shouted, "You FOOL!!! If God existed, he would keep this piece of chalk from breaking when it hit the ground!" He proceeded to drop the chalk, but as he did, it! It slipped out of his fingers, off his shirt cuff, onto the pleat of his pants, down his leg, and off his shoe. As it hit the ground, it simply rolled away unbroken. The professor's jaw dropped as he stared at the chalk. He looked up at the young man, and then ran out of the lecture hall.
The young man, who had stood, proceeded to walk to the front of the room and shared his faith in Jesus for the next half hour. 300 students stayed and listened as he told of God's love for them and of His power through Jesus.
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God is at the window. There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm.One day Johnny was given a slingshot to play with. He practiced in the woods but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged he headed back to dinner. As he was walking back he saw Grandma's pet duck. Just out of impulse he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head, and killed it. He was shocked. In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the woodpile, only to see his sister watching Diane had seen it all, but she
said
nothing.
to
help
in
the
kitchen."
Then
she
whispered
to
him,
"Remember
the
duck?"
So
Johnny
did
the
dishes.
make
supper."
Diane
just
smiled
and
said,
"Johnny
told
me
he
wanted
to
help
you."
confessed that he had killed the duck. Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug, and said, "Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing. But because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you
would
let
Diane
make
a
slave
of
you."
up in your face (lying, debt, fear, hatred, anger, unforgiveness, bitterness, etc.), you need to know that God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing. He has seen your whole life. He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He's just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you. The great thing about God is that when you
ask
for
forgiveness,
He
not
only
forgives
you,
but
He
forgets.
It
is
by
God's
grace
and
mercy
that
we
are
saved.
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Lessons on Life There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So, he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the autumn.When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen. WINTER
The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. SPRING
The second son said "No it was covered with green buds and full of promise" SUMMER
The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen. AUTUMN
The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.
The man
then explained to his sons that they
were all speaking the truth, because
they had each seen but only one season
in the tree's life.He told them that you
cannot judge a tree, or a person, by
only one season, and that the essence of
who they are and the pleasure, joy, and
love that come from that life can only
be measured at the end, when all the
seasons are up.If you give up when it's
winter, you will miss the promise of
your spring, the beauty of your summer,
fulfillment of your autumn. +++++++++++++++++++++++++
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