Who Do You Trust?

Author Unknown

A man just got married and was returning home with his wife. They were crossing a lake in a boat when, suddenly, a great storm arose. The man was a warrior, but the woman became very much afraid because it seemed almost hopeless.

The boat was small and the storm was really huge, and any moment they were going to be drowned. But the man sat silently, calm and quiet, as if nothing was happening.

The woman was trembling and she said, “Are you not afraid? This may be our last moment of life! It doesn’t seem that we will be able to reach the other shore. Only some miracle can save us; otherwise death is certain. Are you not afraid? Are you mad or something? Are you a stone or something?”

The man laughed and took his sword out of its sheath. The woman was even more puzzled; what he was doing? Then he brought the naked sword close to her neck, it was so close that it was almost touching her neck.

Then he asked, “Aren’t you afraid?”

She started to laugh and said, ”Why should I be afraid? If the sword is in your hands, why I should be afraid? I know you love me.”

He then put the sword back and said, “That is also my answer. I know God loves me, and the storm is in His hands.

“So whatsoever is going to happen is going to be good. If we survive, good; if we don’t survive, good. Everything is in His hands and He cannot do anything wrong.”

Meditation: As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. – 2 Samuel 22:31

You will succeed because Jesus loves You!

Why God Loves You

Author Unknown

As I gazed up at the mountains, I was awed by their majesty;

I bowed my head and asked myself, “Why should He care for me?

I am not great like the mountains that tower so high above,

What is there about me that God can find to love?”

“Father, I am not strong like the wind that makes your tall trees sway,

I cannot sing sweetly like your birds; will you love me anyway?

But most of all, I am simply me, and often have cause to fear,

In spite of all my weaknesses, do you promise to be near?”

With eyes closed tight against my tears, I wished He could hear me pray.

Then I felt His Spirit tell me, “Child, look up, I have something to say.

“You are simply you, the spirit I love, a part of my great plan.

I put you here to learn of life and to return to me again.”

“You are more beautiful to me than the loveliest mountain I made,

And your strength exceeds that of the winds, so do not be afraid.

I love you not for what you are, but for what I know you will be.

I am always beside you watching you grow, you are very special to me.”

A smile touched my lips – I knew it was true, my Father had always been there

Giving me comfort and blessings and love and my own special talents to share.

So I do my best to make Him proud. I am not afraid, for you see,

He loves me not for what I am, but for what He knows I will be.

Meditation: The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.” – Jeremiah 31:3

You will succeed because Jesus loves You!

The Story of Tommy

The Atheist Theology Student Who Was Found by God

– Author Unknown

John Powell, a professor at Loyola University in Chicago, writes about a student in his Theology of Faith class named Tommy:

Some twelve years ago, I stood watching my university students file into the classroom for our first session in the Theology of Faith. That was the first day I first saw Tommy. My eyes and my mind both blinked. He was combing his long flaxen hair, which hung six inches below his shoulders.

It was the first time I had ever seen a boy with hair that long. I guess it was just coming into fashion then. I know in my mind that it isn’t what’s on your head, but what’s in it that counts; but on that day I was unprepared and my emotions flipped.

I immediately filed Tommy under “S” for strange … very strange. Tommy turned out to be the “atheist in residence” in my Theology of Faith course. He constantly objected to, smirked at, or whined about the possibility of an unconditionally loving Father-God. We lived with each other in relative peace for one semester, although I admit he was for me at times a serious pain in the back pew.

When he came up at the end of the course to turn in his final exam, he asked in a slightly cynical tone: “Do you think I’ll ever find God?”

I decided instantly on a little shock therapy. “No!” I said very emphatically.

“Oh,” he responded, “I thought that was the product you were pushing.”

I let him get five steps from the classroom door and then called out: “Tommy! I don’t think you’ll ever find him, but I am absolutely certain that He will find you!” He shrugged a little and left my class and my life.

I felt slightly disappointed at the thought that he had missed my clever line: “He will find you!” At least I thought it was clever. Later I heard that Tommy had graduated and I was duly grateful.

Then a sad report, I heard that Tommy had terminal cancer. Before I could search him out, he came to see me. When he walked into my office, his body was very badly wasted, and the long hair had all fallen out as a result of chemotherapy. But his eyes were bright and his voice was firm, for the first time, I believe. “Tommy, I’ve thought about you so often. I hear you are sick!” I blurted out.

“Oh, yes, very sick. I have cancer in both lungs. It’s a matter of weeks.”

“Can you talk about it, Tom?”

“Sure, what would you like to know?”

“What’s it like to be only twenty-four and dying?”

“Well, it could be worse.”

“Like what?”

“Well, like being fifty and having no values or ideals, like being fifty and thinking that booze, seducing women, and making money are the real ‘biggies’ in life.”

I began to look through my mental file cabinet under “S” where I had filed Tommy as strange. (It seems as though everybody I try to reject by classification God sends back into my life to educate me.)

To continue tomorrow…

Meditation: And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. – Ezekiel 22:30

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!

Project Smile

I am a mother of three (ages 14, 12, 3) and have recently completed my college degree. The last class I had to take was Sociology. The teacher was absolutely inspiring with the qualities that I wish every human being had been graced with. Her last project of the term was called, ‘Smile.’

The class was asked to go out and smile at three people and document their reactions. I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say hello anyway. So, I thought this would be a piece of cake, literally.

Soon after we were assigned the project, my husband, youngest son, and I went out to McDonald’s one crisp March morning. It was just our way of sharing special playtime with our son. We were standing in line, waiting to be served, when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away, and then even my husband did.

I did not move an inch. An overwhelming feeling of panic welled up inside of me as I turned to see why they had moved. As I turned around I smelled a horrible ‘dirty body’ smell, and there standing behind me were two poor homeless men. As I looked down at the short gentleman close to me, he was ‘smiling.’ His beautiful sky blue eyes were full of God’s Light as he searched for acceptance.

He said, ‘Good day’ as he counted the few coins he had been clutching. The second man fumbled with his hands as he stood behind his friend. I realized the second man was mentally challenged and the blue-eyed gentleman was his salvation. I held my tears as I stood there with them.

The young lady at the counter asked him what they wanted. He said, ‘Coffee is all Miss’ because that was all they could afford. (If they wanted to sit in the restaurant and warm up, they had to buy something. He just wanted to be warm).

Then I really felt it – the compulsion was so great I almost reached out and embraced the little man with the blue eyes. That is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me, judging my every action. I smiled and asked the young lady behind the counter to give me two more breakfast meals on a separate tray.

I then walked around the corner to the table that the men had chosen as a resting spot. I put the tray on the table and laid my hand on the blue-eyed gentleman’s cold hand. He looked up at me, with tears in his eyes and said, ‘Thank you.’

I leaned over, began to pat his hand and said, ‘I did not do this for you. God is here working through me to give you hope.’

I started to cry as I walked away to join my husband and son. When I sat down my husband smiled at me and said, ‘That is why God gave you to me, honey; to give me hope.’

We held hands for a moment and, at that time, we knew that it was only because of the Grace we had been given that were we able to give. That day showed me the pure Light of God’s sweet love.

The Truck Driver and the Tyre

This is a story about wisdom in unusual places.

One truck driver doing his usual load delivery at a mental hospital parked his vehicle beside an open drain. He discovered a flat tyre when he was about to return from the mental hospital. He jacked up the truck and removed the flat tyre to fix it.

When he was about to fix the spare tyre, he accidentally dropped all the four bolts in the open drain. As he cannot fish the bolts in the open drain, he started to panic as to what should be done?

Just then, one patient happened to walk past him and asked the driver as to why he was looking troubled. The driver thought to himself, since there is nothing much he can do or this mental joker can, so he might as well talk to him just to keep the bugging away. So he informed the mental patient about the whole episode with a helpless look on his face.

The patient just laughed at the truck driver and said, “You cannot even fix such a simple problem? No wonder you are destined to remain a truck driver for life.”

The truck driver was astonished to hear such a compliment from a mental patient. “Here is what you can do” the mental guy continued, “Take one bolt from each of the remaining three wheels and fix it on to the fourth tyre. Then drive down to the nearest workshop and replace the missing ones. Isn’t it simple my friend.”

The truck driver was so impressed with this quick fix answer and asked the patient “How come you are so smart and intelligent and you are here at the mental hospital?”

The patient replied, “Hello friend! I stay here because I am crazy, but not stupid”.

No wonder, there are people who behave like the Truck Driver, thinking that they can figure out or fix things and other people are just plain stupid. No matter how learned or wise you are, always remember there could be some CRAZY guys in your professional/personal life, who could give you lots of quick fixes and brush your wisdom.

– Author Unknown

Meditation: For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. – Romans 12:3

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Why Did Jesus Fold The Napkin?

– Author Unknown

Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself.

– John 20:6-7

Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection? The passage above tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes. The Bible devotes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded, and was placed at the head of that stony coffin.

Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and I don’t know where they have put him!”

Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see. The other disciple outran Peter and got there first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying to the side.

Was that important? Absolutely! Is it really significant? Yes!

In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant relationship, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition.

When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it. The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating. The servant would not dare touch that table until the master was finished.

Now if the master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table. The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, “I’m done.”

But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because…

The folded napkin meant, “I am coming back!”

You will see Him in Jesus Name!