The Faith of A Little Child

 

A little girl went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet. She poured the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three times, even. The total had to be exactly perfect; no chance here for mistakes.

Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way six blocks to Rexall’s Drug Store with the big Red Indian Chief sign above the door.

She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention, but he was too busy at this moment. Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing! She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good. Finally, she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!

“And what do you want?” the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. “I’m talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven’t seen in ages,” he said without waiting for a reply to his question.

“Well, I want to talk to you about my brother,” Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. “He’s really, really sick and I want to buy a miracle.”

“I beg your pardon?” asked the pharmacist.

“His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?”

“We don’t sell miracles here, little girl. I’m sorry but I can’t help you,” the pharmacist said, softening a little.

“Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn’t enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs.”

The pharmacist’s brother was a well-dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, “What kind of a miracle does your brother need?”

“I don’t know,” Tess replied with her eyes welling up. “I just know he’s really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy can’t pay for it, so I want to use my money.”

“How much do you have?” asked the man from Chicago.

“One dollar and eleven cents,” Tess answered barely audibly. “And it’s all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to.”

“Well, what a coincidence,” smiled the man. “A dollar and eleven cents – the exact price of a miracle for little brothers!”

He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten and said “Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let’s see if I have the miracle you need.”

That well-dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in neuro-surgery. The operation was completed free of charge and it wasn’t long until Andrew was home again and doing well.

Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place. “That surgery,” her mom whispered, “was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?”

Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost…one dollar and eleven cents….plus the faith of a little child.

In our lives, we never know how many miracles we will need. A miracle is not the suspension of natural law, but the operation of a higher law – facilitated by the force of faith in little steps and action. Why not take those steps and back those intentions of yours with some action today? They could be all you need to step into your long-awaited miracle.

–  Author Unknown

Meditation: So Jesus said to them, “…for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” – Matthew 17:20

God Answers Prayers

 

Dr. Abraham, a well-known cancer specialist, was once on his way to an important conference in another city where he was going to receive an award in the field of medical research.

He was excited about the award and so boarded a plane to the venue. However, two hours after the plane took off, it made an emergency landing at the nearest airport due to a technical problem.

Afraid that he would not make it in time at the conference, he immediately went to the reception to make inquiries. He found out that he would have to wait 10 hours for the next flight to his destination! He rented a car and drove himself to the conference city which was four hours away.

Soon after he left, the weather changed and a heavy storm began. The downpour made it difficult for him to see so he missed a turn he was supposed to take.

Driving in the heavy rain on a deserted road, feeling hungry and tired, he frantically began to look for any sign of civilization. He came across a small tattered house and knocked on the door. A beautiful lady opened the door. He explained his situation and wanted to use the lady’s telephone, but she had no telephone. She, however, asked him to come inside and wait till the weather improved. The doctor who was hungry and exhausted accepted the offer. The lady offered him something to eat and drink.

She asked him to join her in prayers, but he declined. According to him, he believed in hard work, not in prayers!

Sitting at the table and sipping his tea, the doctor watched the woman pray many times beside a baby’s crib. Feeling that the woman might be in need of help, the doctor asked her what exactly she needed from God and asked if God ever listened to her prayers.

When he inquired of the child in the crib, the woman explained that her son was down with cancer. And they had been advised to see a doctor named Abraham, who could cure him, but she did not have enough money to afford his fees.

She said that God had not yet answered her prayers, but said that God would create some way out one day. She added that she would not allow her fears to overcome her faith!

Stunned and speechless, Dr. Abraham began to weep! He was forced to say out loud, “GOD IS GREAT” and recounted to the woman, all the sequence of bad events: malfunction on the plane, a thunderstorm, and how he lost his way. All of which had happened because God answers prayers and wanted to give him a chance to come out of his bondage of materialistic career pursuit and give some time to a poor, helpless woman who had nothing but rich prayers!

God may not answer your prayers YOUR WAY but he will always answer HIS way. Behind the scenes, He will move men, the weather, events, circumstances, and so on, in order to work out the best for you!

Do not stop trusting!
Do not stop hoping!
God is busy planning your dancing this year!
Hold on!
Hold out!
Look up daily!

– Author Unknown

Meditation: The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God…” – Psalm 14:1

The Mountain Climber

 

The story is told of a mountain climber who, desperate to conquer the Aconcagua initiated his climb after years of preparation. But he wanted the glory to himself; therefore, he went up alone. He started climbing and it was becoming later and later. He did not prepare for camping, so he decided to keep on going. Soon it became really dark.

Night fell with heaviness at a very high altitude. Visibility was zero. Everything was black. There was no moon, and the stars were covered by clouds. As he was climbing a ridge at about 100 meters from the top, he slipped and fell. Falling rapidly he could only see blotches of darkness that passed. He felt a terrible sensation of being sucked in by gravity.

He kept falling, and in those anguish moments good and bad memories passed through his mind. He thought certainly he would die. But then he felt a jolt that almost tore him in half. Like any good mountain climber he had staked himself with a long rope tied to his waist.

In those moments of stillness, suspended in the air he had no other choice but to shout, “Help! Help me God! Help me!”

All of a sudden he heard a deep voice, “Jack, Jack. Can you hear me? What do you want me to do?”

“Yes, yes! I can hear you. I’m down here!”

“I can see you, Jack. Are you alright?”

“Yes, but who are you, and where are you?

“I am the Lord, Jack. I’m everywhere.”

“The Lord? You mean, God?”

“That’s Me.”

“God, please help me! I promise if, you’ll get me down from here, I’ll stop sinning. I’ll be a really good person. I’ll serve You for the rest of my life.

“Easy on the promises, Jack. Let’s get you off from there first. Now, here’s what I want you to do. Listen carefully.”

“I’ll do anything, Lord. Just tell me what to do.”

“Okay. Cut the rope.”

“What?”

“I said, cut the rope that is holding you.” Just trust Me. Cut it.”

There was a long silence. Finally, Jack yelled, “Help! Help! Is anyone else up there?”

The next day, the rescue team said they found a frozen mountain climber hanging strongly to a rope… HE WAS JUST TWO FEET OFF THE GROUND.

Have you ever felt like Jack? We say that we want to know the will of God, but when we find out what it is, we can’t handle it. It sounds too scary, too difficult. We decide to look elsewhere. When He says, “Let go of the things that stand between you and Me, and trust Me with your life;” it sounds pretty scary. But when we let go, we find freedom and safety in His hands.

You need to cut the rope and simply trust in Him.

– Author Unknown

Meditation: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. – Proverbs 3:5-6

A Little Girl’s Prayer

 

Below is a true-life story about the wonders of prayer. Helen Roseveare, a missionary doctor from England to Zaire Africa, told this as it happened to her in Africa.

Helen Roseveare, a missionary doctor from England to Zaire Africa, told this as it happened to her in Africa.

“One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labour ward; but in spite of all we could do, she died leaving us with a tiny premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive, as we had no incubator. We had no electricity to run an incubator. We also had no special feeding facilities.

Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool the baby would be wrapped in. Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst. Rubber perishes easily in tropical climates. “And it is our last hot water bottle!” the midwife exclaimed.

As in the West, it is no good crying over spilled milk; so, in Central Africa, it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways.

“All right,” I said, “Put the baby as near the fire as you safely can, and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm.”

The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle. The baby could so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died. During the prayer time, one ten-year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African children. “Please, God,” she prayed, “send us a water bottle. It’ll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon.”

While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added by way of a corollary, “And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl, so she’ll know You really love her?”

As often with children’s prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say, “Amen?” I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything. The Bible says so. But there are limits, aren’t there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from the homeland. I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever received a parcel from home. Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator, where the weather is hot. So it makes no sense for someone to send me a hot water bottle!

Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses’ training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the veranda, was a large twenty-two-pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children. Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. The excitement was mounting. Some 30 or 40 pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out brightly coloured, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out.

Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas – that would make a nice batch of buns for the weekend. Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the…..could it really be? I grasped it and pulled it out–yes, a brand-new, rubber hot water bottle!

I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could. Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, “If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly too!”

Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted. Looking up at me, she asked: “Can I go over with you, Mummy, and give this dolly to that little girl, so she’ll know that Jesus really loves her?”

That parcel had been on the way for five whole months! Packed up by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God’s prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child – five months before – and both delivered that day in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it “that afternoon.”

What a mighty God we serve! He can reverse or fast-forward time and events in order to favour those who serve Him and call upon Him in truth. Rest assured, your own situation is not beyond His power. You only need to trust Him and He will do it.

– Author Unknown

Meditation: “It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear.”  – Isaiah 65:24

Appearances can be Deceptive

 

This is a story about human kindness.

Maxwell was standing in a courtroom in Bangkok, waiting for his sentence. The offense was drug trafficking, and if found guilty, the sentence would be life in one of the most horrific prisons in the world. The problem was that Maxwell was innocent. The drugs had been found stashed in a musical instrument he had agreed to carry through the checkpoint for a woman who had appeared to have her hands full with a baby, two young children and a whole lot of hand luggage. Of course, the moment the sniffer dogs singled him out for special attention, the woman and her children evaporated into thin air.

He had tried to explain this to the judge in his super-fast-track case, which had so far lasted less than 45 minutes, but the prosecution had countered by pointing out that it would take a very stupid person indeed to be deceived into carrying anything through a security checkpoint for a stranger – especially in this modern post-9/11 world. They had also pointed out that back home in Nottingham, Maxwell was a police officer. A security expert, who could never be as naïve as he was now pretending to be. Maxwell’s only counter-argument to that had been, “Appearances can be deceptive”. The Judge had given him the strangest look when he said that.

No, things were certainly not going well for him in this case. His only witness had been a British passenger who had seemed a bit drunk during her testimony. She admitted she had seen the woman hand the instrument to Maxwell, but added that they appeared to be travelling together. Again, Maxwell’s defence was, “Appearances can be deceptive”.

He remembered with irony the first time he had actually heard the expression, “Appearances can be deceptive”. It was in the 80s. He was a teenager going through a punk rock phase. He wore nothing but black, had multiple body piercings and was always playing with a scary-looking flip-knife. All the kids in school were afraid of him and steered well clear. One afternoon when he was enjoying some peace and quiet behind the boat shed, listening to the Grateful Dead on his walkman, he heard a commotion. Three kids were bullying a foreign student. They were about to throw the little kid into the river, and the poor boy kept crying, “Please! Please, I can’t swim!”

Maxwell intervened. At first, the three bullies wanted to fight it out, but Maxwell was a good three inches taller than the tallest of them. Plus, he had his knife, and he made them believe he was happy to use it. So they dropped the little foreign boy and went off to find a new victim. Maxwell asked the relieved kid if he was alright. The boy adjusted his glasses, looked at Maxwell for a long moment and said, “Appearances can be deceptive”.

“Why do you say that?” Maxwell asked.

“Well, everybody thinks you’re scary. Some kids even said you stabbed a teacher once. You’re the last person I’d have expected to come to my aid. But thank you for doing so. I would have drowned if you hadn’t. In Thailand, where I come from, you owe the person who saves your life an eternal debt which you spend the rest of your life paying back. My name is Tran Pack, and I will never forget what you did for me.”

With that, he shook Maxwell’s hand and ran off.

Back in the Bangkok courtroom, Maxwell allowed himself a wry smile as he recalled that childhood episode. Thirty years after he saved a Thai kid’s life, he was now a 45-year old policeman, about to spend the rest of his own life in a Thai prison, all because appearances can be deceptive. He snapped out of his reflections as the judge banged his gavel three times. It was time for the verdict.

Judge Tran Pack could not believe his eyes when Maxwell Morrison walked into his courtroom. Thirty-two years had not done much to change his appearance, so Tran recognised him at once. He listened patiently for 45 minutes and then banged his gavel three times before giving the verdict. “Mr Morrison, appearances can indeed be deceptive. Not guilty. You’re free to go.”

As you live your lives, please take every opportunity to do something unforgettable for someone who can’t pay you back today. They’ll pay you back tomorrow with interest.

Kindness is not a debt you pay, but an investment you make.

– Author Unknown

Meditation: “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back.” – Luke 6:32-34

Not Home Yet

 

An old missionary couple had been working in Africa for years and was returning to New York to retire. They had no pension; their health was broken; they were defeated, discouraged and afraid. They discovered they were booked on the same ship as the President, who was returning from one of his big-game hunting expeditions.

No one paid any attention to them. They watched the fanfare that accompanied the President’s entourage, with passengers trying to catch a glimpse of the great man. As the ship moved across the ocean, the old missionary said to his wife, “Something is wrong. Why should we have given our lives in faithful service for God in Africa all these many years and have no one care a thing about us? Here this man comes back from a hunting trip and everybody makes much fuss over him, but nobody gives two hoots about us.”

“Dear, you shouldn’t feel that way” his wife said. “I can’t help it; it doesn’t seem right.” The husband insisted. When the ship docked in New York, a band was waiting to greet the President. The mayor and other dignitaries were there. The press were agog with the President’s arrival.

No one noticed this missionary couple. They slipped off the ship and found a cheap flat on the East Side, hoping the next day to see what they could do to make a living in the city.

That night the man’s spirit broke. He said to his wife, “I can’t take this; God is not treating us fairly.” His wife replied, “Why don’t you go in the bedroom and tell that to the Lord?”

A short time later, he came out from the bedroom, but now his face was completely different. His wife asked, “Dear, what happened?”

“The Lord settled it with me,” he said. “I told him how bitter I was that the President should receive this tremendous homecoming when no one met us as we returned home. And when I finished, it seemed as though the Lord put his hand on my shoulder and simply said, ‘But you’re not home yet.”

Oftentimes, we get worked up by comparing ourselves with other people. But, instead of getting bitter, maybe you can find solace in the knowledge that God is probably telling you that He has something better in store for you when you get home.

– Author Unknown

Meditation: But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. – Psalm 73:2-3

Teacup Story

 

There was a couple who took a trip to England to shop in a beautiful antique store to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. They both liked antiques and pottery, and especially teacups. Spotting an exceptional cup, they asked “May we see that? We’ve never seen a cup quite so beautiful!”

As the lady handed it to them, suddenly the teacup spoke, “You don’t understand. I have not always been a teacup. There was a time when I was just a lump of red clay. My master took me and rolled me pounded and patted me over and over and I yelled out, ‘Don’t do that. I don’t like it! Let me alone.’ But he only smiled, and gently said; ‘Not yet!'”

“Then. WHAM! I was placed on a spinning wheel and suddenly I was spun around and around and around. ‘Stop it! I’m getting so dizzy! I’m going to be sick,’ I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, quietly; ‘Not yet.’

“He spun me and poked and prodded and bent me out of shape to suit himself and then… Then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I yelled and knocked and pounded at the door. Help! Get me out of here! I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips as he shook his head from side to side, ‘Not yet.”

“When I thought I couldn’t bear it another minute, the door opened. He carefully took me out and put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. Oh, that felt so good! Ah, this is much better, I thought. But, after I cooled he picked me up and he brushed and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. ‘Oh, please; Stop it, Stop it!’ I cried. He only shook his head and said. ‘Not yet!’.”

“Then suddenly he put me back into the oven. Only it was not like the first one. This was twice as hot and I just knew I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. I was convinced I would never make it. I was ready to give up. Just then the door opened and he took me out and again placed me on the shelf, where I cooled and waited…and waited, wondering “What’s he going to do to me next?

An hour later he handed me a mirror and said ‘Look at yourself.'” “And I did. I said, ‘That’s not me; that couldn’t be me. It’s beautiful. I’m beautiful!’

Quietly he spoke: ‘I want you to remember, then,’ he said, ‘I know it hurt to be rolled and pounded and patted, but had I just left you alone, you’d have dried up. I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled. I know it hurt and it was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn’t put you there, you would have cracked. I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn’t done that, you never would have hardened. You would not have had any colour in your life. If I hadn’t put you back in that second oven, you wouldn’t have survived for long because the hardness would not have held. Now you are a finished product. Now you are what I had in mind when I first began with you.”

The moral of this story is this: God knows what He’s doing for each of us. He is the potter, and we are His clay. He will mould us and make us, and expose us to just enough pressures of just the right kinds that we may be made into a flawless piece of work to fulfil His good, pleasing and perfect will.

So when life seems hard, and you are being pounded and patted and pushed almost beyond endurance; when your world seems to be spinning out of control; when you feel like you are in a fiery furnace of trials; when life seems to “stink”, try this…Brew a cup of your favourite tea in your prettiest teacup, sit down and think on this story and then, have a little talk with the Potter.

– Author Unknown

Meditation: And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. – Jeremiah 18:4