Get Your Own Dirt!
A scientist approaches God and says to Him: “God, we don’t need You anymore. Science has finally figured out a way to create life out of nothing. We can now do what You did in the beginning.”
“Oh, is that so?” replies God.
“Yes,” says the scientist, “We can take dirt and form it into a human likeness, and breath life into it, thus, creating man.”
“Well, that’s very interesting,” God said. “Show Me.”
So the scientist reaches down, grabs a handful of dirt, and starts to mold the soil into the shape of a man.
“No, no,” interrupts God, “Get your own dirt!”
Improving Creation
There’s a story about a little girl who climbed up on the lap of her great-grandmother and looked at her white hair and wrinkles and then asked, “Did God make you?”
“Yes,” she said.
Then she asked, “Did God make me, too?”
Grandma said, “Yes.”
“Well,” said the little girl, “Don’t you think He’s doing a better job now than he used to?”See: Gen 1:26-27
Methodist Covenant Prayer
Precious Lord, let me be Your servant, under Your command.
I will no longer be my own.
I give myself up to Your will in all things.
Make of me what You will. Rank me with whom You will.
I put myself fully in Your hands.
Put me to doing…or put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for You… or laid aside for You
Exalted for You… or brought low for You.
Let me be full…or let me be empty.
Let me have all things… or let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to Your pleasure and disposal.And now – O glorious and blessed God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – You are mine… and I am Yours. So be it! Let this covenant, which I make here on Earth today, be ratified in Heaven. In Christ’s Name, I pray – Amen.
John Wesley Covenant Prayer
The Bear
A wonderful illustration of the Covenant we have with God drawn from The Bear – a 1980s film. I used this illustration in a sermon on the Armour of God
Two Words And One Faith
A story is told about Rabbi Joseph Schneerson, a Hasidic leader during the early days of Russian Communism. The rabbi spent much time in jail, persecuted for his faith.
One morning in 1927, as he prayed in a Leningrad synagogue, secret police rushed in and arrested him. They took him to a police station and worked him over, demanding that he give up his religious activities. He refused. The interrogator brandished a gun in his face and said, “This little toy has made many a man change his mind.”
Rabbi Schneerson answered, “This little toy can intimidate only that kind of man who has many gods and but one world. Because I have only one God and two worlds, I am not impressed by this little toy.”
Citation: Philip Yancey, in The NIV Student Bible (Zondervan, 1996)
Thank You For My Hurting
David, a 2-year old with leukemia, was taken by his mother, Deborah, to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, to see Dr. John Truman who specializes in treating children with cancer and various blood diseases. Dr. Truman’s prognosis was devastating: “He has a 50-50 chance.” The countless clinic visits, the blood tests, the intravenous drugs, the fear and pain–the mother’s ordeal can be almost as bad as the child’s because she must stand by, unable to bear the pain herself. David never cried in the waiting room, and although his friends in the clinic had to hurt him and stick needles in him, he hustled in ahead of his mother with a smile, sure of the welcome he always got. When he was three, David had to have a spinal tap–a painful procedure at any age. It was explained to him that, because he was sick, Dr. Truman had to do something to make him better. “If it hurts, remember it’s because he loves you,” Deborah said. The procedure was horrendous. It took three nurses to hold David still, while he yelled and sobbed and struggled. When it was almost over, the tiny boy, soaked in sweat and tears, looked up at the doctor and gasped, “Thank you, Dr. Tooman, for my hurting.”
Monica Dickens, Miracles of Courage, 1985
Christmas Morph Countdown
Hawa Ahmed
Hawa Ahmed was a Muslim student in North Africa. One day, she read a Christian tract in her dormitory and decided to become a Christian. Her father was an Emir (Islamic ruler), so she expected to lose her inheritance because of her conversion. She was completely unprepared for what happened. When she told her family she had become a Christian and changed her name to Faith, her father exploded in rage. Her father and brothers stripped her naked and bound her to a chair fixed to a metal plate with which they wanted to electrocute her. Faith asked them to at least lay a Bible in her lap. Her father responded, “If you want to die together with your false religion, so be it.” One of her brothers added, “That will show that your religion is powerless.” Although they had bound her, she was able to touch a corner of the Bible. She felt a strange peace, as though someone were standing beside her. Her father and brothers pushed the plug into the socket–and nothing happened. They tried four times with various cables, but it was as though the electricity refused to flow. Finally her father, angry and frustrated, hit her and screamed, “You are no longer my daughter.”
Then he threw her into the street, naked. She ran through the streets, humiliated and in pain. People looked at her, curious rather than shocked. Shaking and tearful, she ran to a friend. Her friend let her in, clothed her, and gave her shelter. The next day, her friend asked neighbours what they had thought when they had seen Faith running naked through the streets. “What are you talking about?” they asked. “The girl had a wonderful white dress on. We asked ourselves why someone so beautifully clothed had to run through the streets.” God had hidden her nakedness from their eyes, clothing her in a beautiful white dress. Today, Faith is a full-time evangelist with Every Home for Christ.
Guido Kuwas, “Global Revival News” (12-17-01); From the PreachingToday.com email list submitted by Owen Bourgaize, Guernsey, United Kingdom
Beatle George Harrison Searched For God
Following the news of ex-Beatle George Harrison’s death, “Today” show anchor Anne Curry interviewed Anthony DeCurtis, a writer for Rolling Stone magazine. DeCurtis talked at length about Harrison’s search for a meaningful spiritual life. Curry said, “Apparently Harrison was the most spiritual of the group [speaking of the Beatles]; in a recent interview, he said, ‘Everything else in life can wait, but the search for God cannot wait.’”
Dave Slagle, Lawrenceville, Georgia; source: NBC’s “Today” (30-11-2001)
The Wordless Book
I first came to accept Jesus as my personal savior at age 6.
My mom had a doctor’s appointment one morning and left me to be watched by her friend, Pearl.
Pearl was a wonderful Christian woman. She loved the Lord.
She asked me if I would like to hear a story. Naturally I said yes, for entertainment and for much craved attention!
She showed me a “wordless” book with different coloured pages.
“GOLD is for Heaven and God wants us all to go there but…” as she turned to the black page, “we can’t because of our BLACK sins. Turning to the red page she stated, “RED is for the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross for us”. She then turned to the white page and continued with the story, “and when we ask Jesus to forgive our sins and come into our hearts as Lord and Saviour, our BLACK sins are turned WHITE as snow.
She turned back to the gold page and continued on, “When we die we can go to Heaven (GOLD)” and closing the pages, she showed me the cover and said “the color GREEN is for all growing things and we can GROW in the Lord.”
I accepted the Lord as my Saviour right after the plan of salvation was presented to me in The Wordless Book.
From: www.lifestorywriting.com/wordless.htm