God, Christmas Eve and the Geese

There was once a man who didn’t believe in God, and he didn’t hesitate to let others know how he felt about religion and religious holidays.

His wife, however, did believe and she raised their children to have faith in God and the Lord Jesus Christ despite his disparaging comments. On one snowy Christmas Eve, his wife was taking their two children to a special Christmas Eve service in the farm community in which they lived. They were to talk about the birth of Jesus that night. She asked him to come along just like she had done so many times before, but he refused her once again, “That story is nonsense!” he barked. “Why would God lower Himself to come to Earth as a man? That’s ridiculous!”

So she and the children left, and he stayed home.

A while later, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blizzard. As the man looked out the window, all he saw was a blinding snowstorm. He then sat down to relax before the fire for the evening when he heard a very loud thump. Something had hit the window. He looked out but couldn’t see more than a few feet. When the snow let up a little, he ventured outside to see what could have been beating on his window.

In the field near his house, he saw a flock of wild geese. Apparently, they had been flying south for the winter when they got caught in the snowstorm and couldn’t go on. They were lost and stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter. They just flapped their wings and flew around the field in low circles, blindly and aimlessly. And a couple of them had flown into his window, it seemed.

The man felt sorry for the geese and wanted to help them. The barn would be a great place for them to stay, he thought. It’s warm and safe; surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm. So he walked over to the barn and opened the doors wide, then watched and waited hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside. But the geese just fluttered around aimlessly and didn’t seem to notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them. The man tried to get their attention by waving a lantern, but that just seemed to scare them, and they moved further away. He went into the house and came with some bread, broke it up, and made a breadcrumb trail leading to the barn, but they still didn’t catch on.

Now he was getting frustrated. He got behind them and tried to shoo them toward the barn, but they only got more scared and scattered in every direction except toward the opened barn doors. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where they would be warm and safe.

“Why don’t they follow me?!” he exclaimed. “Can’t they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm?”

He thought for a moment and realized that they just wouldn’t follow a human. “If only I were a goose, then I could save them,” he said out loud. Then he had an idea! He went into barn, got one of his own geese and carried it in his arms as he circled around behind the flock of wild geese. He then released it.

His goose flew through the flock and straight into the barn — and one-by-one, the other geese followed it to safety. He stood silently for a moment as the words he had spoken a few minutes earlier replayed loudly in his mind: “If only I were a goose, then I could save them!” Then he thought about what he had said to his wife earlier that evening. “Why would God want to be like us? That’s ridiculous!”

Suddenly it all made perfect sense to him. That is what God had done! We were like the geese–blind, lost, and perishing. God had His Son become like us so He could show us the way, and save us!

As the winds and blinding snow died down, his soul became quiet and pondered this wonderful thought. Suddenly he understood why Jesus Christ had come. Years of doubt and disbelief vanished with the passing storm. He fell to his knees in the snow, and prayed his first prayer: “Thank You, God, for coming in human form to get me out of the storm!”

Perhaps, you can identify with the man’s stance about God and His Son, Jesus; it is never too late to make a u-turn and come to Him. He’s patiently waiting for you.

– Author Unknown

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
– 1 Corinthians 1:18

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

The Miracle of a Song

Her parents and doctors were ready to give up, but her brother wanted to sing a song…

Like any good mother, when Kate found out that another baby was on the way, she did what she could to help her three-year-old son, Victor, prepare for a new sibling.

They found out that the new baby was going to be a girl, and day after day, night after night, Victor sang to his little sister in Mommy’s tummy. He was building a bond of love with his little sister before he even met her. The pregnancy progressed normally for Kate.

In time, the labour pains came. Soon it was every five minutes, every three, every minute. But serious complications arose during delivery and Kate found herself in hours of labour.

Would a C-section be required? Finally, after a long struggle, Victor’s little sister was born. But she was in a very serious condition.

She might not make it alive!

With a siren howling in the night, the ambulance rushed the infant to the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Mary’s Hospital, Knoxville, Tennessee.

The days inched by. The little girl got worse. The paediatric specialist regretfully had to tell the parents, “There is very little hope. Be prepared for the worst.”

Kate and her husband contacted a local cemetery about a burial plot. They had fixed up a special room in their home for the new baby, but now they found themselves having to plan for a funeral.

Victor, however, kept begging his parents to let him see his sister. “I want to sing to her,” he kept saying.

Week two in intensive care looked as if a funeral would come before the week was over. Victor kept nagging about singing to his sister, but kids are never allowed in the Intensive Care Unit.

Kate made up her mind, though. She would take Victor whether they liked it or not! If he didn’t see his sister right then, he may never see her alive.

She dressed him in an oversized scrub suit and marched him into ICU. He looked like a walking laundry basket, but the head nurse recognised him as a child and bellowed, “Get that kid our of here, now! NO children are allowed.”

The mother rose up strong in Kate, and the usually mild-mannered lady glared steel-eyed right into the head nurse’s face, her lips a firm line. “Victor is not leaving until he sings to his sister.”

The head nurse obliged Kate.

Karen towed Victor to his sister’s bedside. He gazed at the tiny infant losing the battle to live. After a moment, he began to sing. In the pure hearted voice of a three-year-old, Victor sang:

“You are my sunshine,

My only sunshine

You make me happy when skies are gray…”

Instantly the baby girl seemed to respond. Her pulse rate began to calm down and become steady. “Keep on singing Victor,” Kate encouraged with tears in her eyes.

Victor continued singing:

“You’ll never know, dear,

How much I love you.

Please don’t take my sunshine away.”

As Victor sang to his sister, the baby’s ragged, strained breathing became as smooth as a kitten’s purr.

“Keep on singing, sweetheart!” Kate cried.

“The other night, dear,

As I lay sleeping,

I dreamed I held you in my hands…”

Victor’s little sister began to relax and rest. A healing rest seemed to sweep over her.

“Keep on singing, Victor”

Tears had now conquered the face of the bossy head nurse.

Kate glowed.

“You are my sunshine

My only sunshine

You make me happy when skies are grey

You’ll never know, dear,

How much I love you.

Please don’t take my sunshine away…”

The next day, the little girl was well enough to go home!

It was a miracle, God used Victor.

Meditation: I will praise the name of God with a song, And will magnify Him with thanksgiving. – Psalm 69:30

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Arise And Rebuild

By William Baldwin

Nehemiah 4:2 “Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish-stones that are burned?” I was only a boy, maybe ten years old, when I was awakened on an unusually warm autumn night by the siren of the local volunteer fire department. Mom in her nightgown, Dad in his boxers, and me in my racecar pajamas stood in our back yard watching flames lick the starlit sky. It was an eerie sight. The largest, most prestigious house in our very middle class community was on fire.

The next morning Dad and I walked down the road to check out the damage. Our neighbors, who beat us to the scene, were already gawking at the white, two-story icon, now a smoldering pile of ruins. The chimney still stood like a “Washington Monument “to its former glory. It was hard for me to believe. Such a stately house, the nicest on our little street, was a heap of coals. I watched trails of smoke still rising from blackened wood and stone. The ornate furniture, up-to-date appliances, and beautiful woodworking were completely charred.

You know, houses aren’t the only thing susceptible to catch fire and burn. People get burnt too. I’m sure some of you have been burned, haven’t you? The stories are similar. With a promising future you walked into life with confidence. Then, like the big white house in my neighborhood, an unexpected catastrophe occurred and you were seared by life’s flames. Burnt. Unrecognizable.

You watched as smoke rose from what was left of yesterday’s optimism and prosperity. This wasn’t supposed to happen. It wasn’t part of the plan. You’re not the first one to experience such heartache. Nehemiah experienced the adversity of being burned. The hometown he and his people revered had been completely destroyed by fire. Jerusalem’s wall, the spiritual emblem of national strength and dignity was torched. By his own admission he was overcome with grief as he recalled its former glory.

What makes the devastation worse is in knowing what once was. Remembering how great things were makes the present misfortune feel all the more hopeless. It’s a lot like staring at the biggest house in your community lying in a pile of ashes. We all have mental photos, flashbacks of our life before we were burned. There’s the daddy pushing you in a swing, a mother cooking, a happily married occasion, a healthy child, and a younger you. Likewise, you see the college degree you never finished, the friend who hurt you, the prayer that wasn’t answered, a worthless 401(k) with no retirement benefits, and the pink-slip from the company you invested your life in.

Smoldering histories, they’re reminders of the great fire, that catastrophic event when you were burnt. The question arises, “What now?” When Nehemiah heard about his beloved Jerusalem he was overcome with sorrow. His mind pulled up the photos of better days, the way God intended things to be, and he just couldn’t handle his emotions. Can you hear his anguish? “I sat down and wept, mourned, fasted and prayed” (Neh 1:4).

Nehemiah’s emotional response is predictable, but what he did next was not. While Nehemiah prayed, he stumbled onto praying the answer. “Give your servant success TODAY” (Neh 1:11, emphasis mine). When you spend time calling out to God sometimes you pray the answer, if even by mistake. He knew he couldn’t go back to the innocent years when the wall was first built, but he could use what he was left with “TODAY.”

From that prayer, Nehemiah determined to rebuild the wall with the rubbish of its former glory. I imagine Nehemiah rummaging through the debris of the old, burned down wall, picking out burnt, but usable stones to rebuild with. It took some work, but he and a handful of faithful, tenacious men rebuilt the city wall using burnt stones from yesterday’s tragedy. Scripture records, “The wall was built” (Neh 7:1). Using “leftovers”, Nehemiah built a new wall that restored hope to his people and gave glory to God.

You thought you could never again be used as you once were. Ever since your “fire”, you declared you would not trust again, teach again, work again, speak again, write again, or love again. You’ve said that that chapter in your life had closed. Well, maybe it’s time to think again. Burnt stones are not only usable, they’re desirable.

Years after the neighborhood mansion had been leveled by fire I was invited into the new house the family had rebuilt. I was about sixteen years old when I walked through the front door into a large living room that was designed around the most beautiful fireplace I had ever seen. It was made from unusual looking, dark colored stones that rose to the ceiling, mounted with a stunning mantel made from some sort of darkened wood. It was built to overwhelm you when you walked into the room, and that it did!

“Whoa!” The words jumped out of my mouth before I realized it. The owner smiled and said, “Everybody likes the fireplace. The stones came from what was left over from the fire six years ago. And the mantelpiece is made from several floor beams that didn’t completely burn up.”

Amazing how something so beautiful can be built from scorched wood and burnt stones. You need to know that God uses burnt stones. The Lord searches through the fragments of our hardships, picking up the scraps He can use again. He helps people who have been burned to get up and rebuild their dreams and fulfill their destiny. And today, of all the people on the planet, He’s chosen you, burnt, but still beautiful. Don’t you think the time has come for you to arise and rebuild?

Meditation: And they shall rebuild the old ruins, They shall raise up the former desolations, And they shall repair the ruined cities, The desolations of many generations. – Isaiah 61:4

You will succeed because Jesus loves You!

B-I-B-L-E

Author Unknown

A father was approached by his small son, who told him proudly, “I know what the Bible means!”

His father smiled and replied, “What do you mean, you ‘know’ the Bible?”

The son replied, “I do know!”

“Okay,” said his father. “So, Son, what does the Bible mean?”

“That’s easy, Daddy. It stands for ‘Basic Information Before Leaving Earth.'”

Meditation: For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. – Hebrews 4:12

You will succeed because Jesus loves You!

10 Most Important Things

– Author Unknown

LOVE

The Special Feeling That Makes You Feel

All Warm And Wonderful.

RESPECT

Treating Others As Well

As You Would Like To Be Treated.

APPRECIATION

To Be Grateful For All The Good Things

Life Has To Offer.

HAPPINESS

The Full Enjoyment Of Each Moment.

A Smiling Face.

FORGIVENESS

The Ability To Let Things Be

Without Anger.

SHARING

The Joy Of Giving

Without Thought Of Receiving.

HONESTY

The Quality Of Always

Telling The Truth.

INTEGRITY

The Purity Of Doing What’s Right,

No Matter What.

COMPASSION

The Essence Of Feeling Another’s Pain,

While Easing Their Hurt.

PEACE

The Reward For Living

The 10 Most Important Things.

Meditation: But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her. – Luke 10:42

You will succeed because Jesus loves You!

Strange Phenomena

– Author Unknown

Isn’t it strange how a 20dollar bill seems like such a large amount when you donate it to church, but such a small amount when you go shopping?

Isn’t it strange how 2hours seem so long when you’re at church, and how short they seem when you’re watching a good movie?

Isn’t it strange that you can’t find a word to say when you’re praying, but you have no trouble thinking what to talk about with a friend?

Isn’t it strange how difficult and boring it is to read one chapter of the Bible, but how easy it is to read 100 pages of a popular novel?

Isn’t it strange how everyone wants front-row-tickets to concerts or games, but they do whatever is possible to sit at the last row in Church?

Isn’t it strange how we need to know about an event for Church 2-3 weeks before the day so we can include it in our agenda, but we can adjust it for other events at the last minute?

Isn’t it strange how difficult it is to learn a fact about God to share it with others, but how easy it is to learn, understand, extend and repeat gossip?

Isn’t it strange how we believe everything that magazines and newspapers say, but we question the words in the Bible?

Isn’t it strange how everyone wants a place in heaven, but they don’t want to believe, do, or say anything to get there?

Isn’t it strange how we send jokes in e-mails and they are forwarded right away, but when we are going to send messages about God, we think about it twice before we share it with others?

It’s strange, isn’t it?

Meditation: My brethren, these things ought not to be so. – James 3:10

You will succeed because Jesus loves You!

Beauty in Disability

Author Unknown

A water bearer had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole, which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it. While the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. This happened everyday for two years, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master’s house.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, the cracked pot spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream.

“I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologise to you.”

“Why?” asked the bearer. “What are you ashamed of?”

“I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master’s house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don’t get full value from your efforts,” the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot and then said, “As we return to the master’s house, I want you to take note of the beautiful flowers along the path.”

Indeed as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path and this cheered it some. But at the end of tile trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, “Did you observe that there were flowers only on YOUR side of the pathway, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you have watered them.

For two years, I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house.”

Each of us has our own unique flaws. We are all cracked pots. Some of us don’t grow old gracefully, some are not so smart, some are tall, large and big, some bald, some physically challenged, but it’s the cracks and flaws each of us has that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.

You just have to take each person for what they are, and look for the good in them. There is a lot of good out there. There is a lot of good in you!

Meditation: Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. – 2 Corinthians 12:10

You will succeed because Jesus loves You!