One particular day, Sally walked into the seminary and knew they were in for a fun day.

On the wall was a big target and on a nearby table were many
darts. Dr. Smith told the students to draw a picture of someone that
they disliked or someone who had made them angry, and he would allow
them to throw darts at the person’s picture.

Sally’s friend drew a picture of who had stolen her boyfriend.
Another friend drew a picture of his little brother. Sally drew a
picture of a  former friend, putting a great deal of detail into her
drawing, even drawing pimples on the face. Sally was pleased with the
overall effect she had achieved.

The class lined up and began throwing darts. Some of the
students threw their darts with such force that their targets were
ripping apart. Sally looked forward to her turn, and was filled with
disappointment when Dr. Smith, because of time limits, asked the
students to return to their seats. As Sally sat thinking about how angry
she was because she didn’t have a chance to throw any darts at her
target. Dr. Smith began removing the target from the wall.

Underneath the target was a picture of Jesus. A hush fell over
the room as each student viewed the mangled picture of Jesus; holes and
jagged marks covered His face and His eyes were pierced.

Dr. Smith said only these words…. ‘In as much as ye have done
it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto Me.’
Matthew 25:40.

No other words were necessary; the tear filled eyes of the
students focused only on the picture of Christ.

Related posts:

1. Throwing Darts Sure Can Hurt You!
2. A Story – The Devil and The Duck
3. Be Careful When You Open The Door!

There once was a man named George Thomas, pastor in a small New
England town. One Easter Sunday morning he came to the Church carrying a
rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit.

Eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak…

“I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming
toward me swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three
little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright.

I stopped the lad and asked, “What do you have there, son?”
“Just some old birds,” came the reply.

“What are you going to do with them?” I asked.
“Take ‘em home and have fun with ‘em,” he answered. “I’m gonna tease
‘em and pull out their feathers to make ‘em fight. I’m gonna have a real
good time.”

“But you’ll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do
then?”

“Oh, I got some cats,” said the little boy. “They like birds. I’ll take
‘em to them.”

The pastor was silent for a moment. “How much do you want for those
birds, son?”

“Huh?? !!! Why, you don’t want them birds, mister. They’re just plain
old field birds. They don’t sing. They ain’t even pretty!”

“How much?” the pastor asked again. The boy sized up the pastor as if
he were crazy and said, “$10?”

The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He
placed it in the boy’s hand. In a flash, the boy was gone. The pastor
picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where
there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the
door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting
them free. Well, that explained the empty bird cage on the pulpit, and
then the pastor began to tell this story:

One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just
come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. “Yes,
sir, I just caught a world full of people down there. Set me a trap,
used bait I knew they couldn’t resist. Got ‘em all!”

“What are you going to do with them?” Jesus asked.

Satan replied, “Oh, I’m gonna have fun! I’m gonna teach them how to
marry and divorce each other, how to hate and abuse each other, how to
drink and smoke and curse. I’m gonna teach them how to invent guns and
bombs and kill each other. I’m really gonna have fun!”

“And what will you do when you are done with them?” Jesus asked. “Oh,
I’ll kill ‘em,” Satan glared proudly.

“How much do you want for them?” Jesus asked.

“Oh, you don’t want those people. They ain’t no good. Why, you’ll take
them and they’ll just hate you.. They’ll spit on you, curse you and kill
you. You don’t want those people!!”

“How much? He asked again.
Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, “All your blood, tears and your
life.”

Jesus said, “DONE!” Then He paid the price.

The pastor picked up the cage and walked from the pulpit.

Related posts:

1. A Great Story – Jesus and the Mud Puddle
2. Great Story – How Heavy Are Your Burdens?
3. A Touching Story – The Tablecloth

A young lady named Sally, relates an experience she had in a

seminary class, given by her teacher. She says that

Dr. Smith was known for his elaborate object lessons.

One particular day, Sally walked into the seminary and knew they

were in for a fun day. On the wall was a big target and on a nearby table were

many darts. Dr. Smith told the students to draw a picture of someone that

they disliked or someone who had made them angry, and he would allow

them to throw darts at the person’s picture.

Sally’s friend drew a picture of who had stolen her boyfriend.

Another friend drew a picture of his little brother. Sally drew a

picture of a former friend, putting a great deal of detail into her

drawing, even drawing pimples on the face. Sally was pleased with the

overall effect she had achieved.

The class lined up and began throwing darts. Some of the

students threw their darts with such force that their targets were

ripping apart. Sally looked forward to her turn, and was filled with

disappointment when Dr. Smith, because of time limits, asked the

students to return to their seats. As Sally sat thinking about how angry

she was because she didn’t have a chance to throw any darts at her

target. Dr. Smith began removing the target from the wall.

Underneath the target was a picture of Jesus. A hush fell over

the room as each student viewed the mangled picture of Jesus; holes and

jagged marks covered His face and His eyes were pierced.

Dr. Smith said only these words…. ‘In as much as ye have done

it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto Me.’

Matthew 25:40.

No other words were necessary; the tear filled eyes of the

students focused only on the picture of Christ.

**************************************************

It is very easy to let your entire focus be consumed by how someone else has wronged you, or maybe even what they haven’t done that might have been the right thing to do in a situation that concerned you.

Satan knows that if he can make you dwell on the shortcomings of others, you won’t have much time to allow God to use you for furthering His Kingdom Work.

At some point, other people may disappoint you in some way that you might never understand their motive. It is certainly not in our fleshly nature to naturally forgive someone who has wronged us, especially when it was not something we feel we deserved.

Our natural fleshly self wants to dwell on it for hours or even days or months. We don’t want to rest until we have had retribution in some form, but God has a completely different way of doing things.

You must look at things from His perspective. He only desires the very best for your life, and wants to use you in an awesome way to further His Kingdom work. It is for this reason that God gave the Bible to every Christian as an instruction book on how to be able to live the best life possible.

Each Christian is responsible for making sure they follow the guidelines set forth in the Bible. For example, God tells us very clearly that we have no choice but to forgive others if we intend to stay in fellowship with Him. Our flesh speaks very loudly that this could never be the right thing to do because then the other person will never have to pay for what they have done if we don’t make them.

But God comes back and tells us in His Word that a person will always reap what they have sown. They will always pay in some way for what they have done so God wants you to leave all that to Him and concentrate on what He wants you to do.

Living in the flesh makes you a miserable person, but following God’s plan will bring peace, joy, and fulfillment. I know it is hard to believe that the act of forgiveness could cause such a drastic change in your life, but you just have to try it to see the dramatic results.

If you are concentrated on God, you will start to see Him work in ways that will astound you. It will be hard to believe what He can accomplish through your life if you will let Him.

You can’t forgive on your own, but all you have to do is ask Him to help you and truly mean what you say. God will take it from that point on and you can truly be on the road to living a life of peace, joy, and fulfillment no matter where you have been in the past.

Don’t throw darts any longer at the person who hurt you. Make the choice to forgive and let God handle the rest of the story…

No related posts.

***************************************************************

A lady died in January, and Citibank billed her for February & March for their annual service charges on her credit card, and then added late fees & interest on the monthly charge. The balance had been $0.00, now it’s somewhere around $60.00.

A family member placed a call to Citibank:

Family Member: “I’m calling to tell you that she died in January.”

Citibank: “The account was never closed and the late fees & charges still apply.”

Family Member: “Maybe you should turn it over to collections.”

Citibank: “Since it is two months past due, it already has been.”

Family Member: “So, what will they do when they find out she is dead?”

Citibank: “Either report her account to the frauds division or report her to the credit bureau; maybe both!”

Family Member: “Do you think God will be mad at her?”

Citibank: “Excuse me?”

Family Member: “Did you just get what I was telling you . . . the part about her being dead?”

Citibank: “Sir, you’ll have to speak to my supervisor”

Supervisor gets on the phone.

Family Member: “I’m calling to tell you she died in January.”

Citibank: “The account was never closed and the late fees & charges still apply.”

Family Member: “You mean you want to collect from her estate?”

Citibank: (stammer) “Are you her lawyer?”

Family Member: “No, I’m her great nephew.” (lawyer info given)

Citibank: “Could you fax us a certificate of death?”

Family Member: “Sure.” (the fax number is given)

After they get the fax …

Citibank: “Our system just isn’t setup for death. I don’t know what more I can do to help.”

Family Member: “Well, if you figure it out, great! If not, you could just keep billing her. I don’t think she will care.”

Citibank: “Well, the late fees & charges do still apply.”

Family Member: “Would you like her new billing address?”

Citibank: “That might help.”

Family Member: “Odessa Memorial Cemetery, Highway 129, Plot Number 69.”

Citibank: “Sir, that’s a cemetery!”

Family Member: “What do you do with dead people on your planet?”

Check out my other sites:

Handbook for Victorious Christian Living - practical ways to learn to live a victorious Christian life

Blueprint for Victorious Christian Living

Power of the Living Word

Related posts:

1. 2 Funny Stories – Laughter truly makes you feel better!
2. Good Thoughts Lead to Good Character
3. Are You A Good Soldier For God?

Please take the time to read this whole story.

********************************************************************

I had had a very busy day, and experienced a very delightful feeling of restfulness, as I settled myself in a comfortable arm-chair, after having said “Good-night” to my children. Just before going, they had sung their evening hymn. As their sweet childish voices had joined with that of their mother, one verse had made an impression on my mind.

I was familiar with it, but it came to me with a new beauty and force. It was:

Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word,
But as Thou dwell’st with Thy disciples, Lord
Familiar, condescending, patient, free,
Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.”

My wife went away with the little ones to see them to bed, and I was left alone with this verse of the hymn repeating itself in my memory; and the thought came to me, supposing He were to come as He came to his disciples, am I altogether prepared to receive Him into my house, to abide with me? And as I meditated on the subject, I fell asleep, and dreamed, and, lo the door of the room opened, and in walked one whom I knew at once to be the Christ. Not the glorified Redeemer, as seen by John in the Isle of Patmos. No, he had answered the prayer of our hymn, and had come in humble human form:
“Familiar, condescending, patient, free.”

I knelt before Him, but He laid His hand on me and said: “Arise, for I have come to tarry with thee.”

My recollection of my dream here grows somewhat confused; but I remember it again when the next morning seemed to have arrived, and I was gathering my children around me, and telling them that Jesus had come to stay with us in the house. The little ones clapped their hands for joy, and my dear wife’s face beamed with rapture that seemed to transfigure her.

Just then the Lord Himself entered the room, and we took our seats around the breakfast-tablet.   What language can I use to describe the wondrous peace which filled all our souls, or how our hearts burned within us as He talked with us?

But when the meal was over, and we had family worship, which was that day a foretaste of heaven itself. I was ailed with perplexity. What should I do with my strange visitor? It seemed disrespectful to leave Him behind me at home yet it would mean serious loss to me to stay away from my place of business that day. But I could not take him with me, that was certain who ever heard of taking Christ to a counting-house?

The Savior surely knew my thoughts, for he said, “I will go with thee. How didst thou ask me? Was it not:
“Come not to sojourn, but abide with me?”

So whatever thou art doing, henceforth I will be beside thee. Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”

It seemed rather strange to me, but I could not, of course, question what He said, so I started for my office with the dear Lord by my side.

At my counting-house I found a man waiting my coming with a good deal of impatience. He was a stock and share-broker, who transacted considerable business for me. To tell the, truth, I was not greatly pleased to see him there, as I was afraid that he might bring forward matters which I would not feel inclined to go into with Jesus listening to our conversation.

It was as I feared. He had come to tell me of a transaction he had arranged, which, whilst perfectly honorable according to the usual code of morals of the share-market, meant the saving of myself from the fear of loss by placing another person in the danger of it. He laid the whole scheme before me, without taking the slightest notice of the Lord; I knew not if he even saw Him.

I cannot tell the bitter shame I felt. I saw how impossible it was to square such a transaction with the Golden Rule; but I could not hide from myself the fact that the broker told me of it with a manner and tone that meant that he had no doubt whatever that I would applaud him for his cleverness, and eagerly close with the offer. What must that mean to the Christ? Would it not tell him that I was in the habit of dealing with one thought in my mind-how I could benefit myself?

The broker was astonished when I rejected his proposals, on the ground that they would be prejudicial to the interest of the other party in the transaction; and left me abruptly, apparently thinking I had developed a mild species of insanity.

Humbled, I fell at my Savior’s feet, and cried to Him for forgiveness for past sinfulness, and strength for time to come.

“My child,” said He, in tender accents, “thou speakest as if my presence were something strange to thee. But I have always been with thee. I have seen and seen with grief, the way thou hast dealt with thy fellows, in business, and marveled at thy unbelief of My promise that I would ever be with thee. Have I not said to my servants, Abide in Me, and I in thee?

Just as He said these words, another gentleman entered the office. He was a customer whom I could not afford to offend, and I had uniformly shown a cordiality to him which I was far from feeling in my heart. He was vulgar, profane, and often obscene in his talk.

He had not been many minutes in my office before he made use of an expression which brought a hot blush to my cheek. I had heard him speak in a similar way before; and, although I felt repelled by it, I had, for fear of offending him, met it with faint laughter. But now I felt as I should have had it been uttered in the presence of a lady; only this feeling was intensified by the realization of the absolute purity of the Divine One who had been a hearer of the speech.

I gave expression to my feeling in a word of expostulation , and he exclaimed: “You seem to have suddenly grown very prudish,” and left me in a rage.

Again, I turned to the Christ with a cry for pardon; and again, I learned that he had beheld all my former intercourse with this man.

I was now called into the adjoining office, where my clerks were employed, and found that one of them had made a foolish blunder, which would mean a considerable complication, and perhaps loss. I am naturally irritable, and at once lost my temper, and spoke to the delinquent in unmeasured terms. Turning my head, I saw that Jesus had followed me out of my private office, and was standing close beside me.

Again I was humbled, and had to cry for mercy.

Through all that strange day, similar incidents occurred; and the presence of the Master, which I thought would have been a joy, was a rebuke to me. It showed me, as I had never dreamed before, that I had framed my life on the supposition that He had but little to do with it.

But, on the other hand, there were times during the day when my soul was filled with rapture; times when He smiled on me in loving approval, or when He spoke words of pardon and absolution, or when He opened out before my wondering gaze some fresh beauty of His character and person. Such a time was the moment when, on my return to my home, the children came crowding around Him, and wanted to show Him their toys and pigeons, and a brood of newly-hatched chickens, and I rebuked them, and said to them “Run away, children! Trouble not the Master with such trifles.”

And he seated himself and took my curly-headed little boy on His knee, and called my two little girls to His side, and said to me: “Suffer these little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”

I awoke, and lo! It was a dream. — The Ballarat Christian Union.

Reference:————————————————
“Touching Incidents and Remarkable Answers to Prayer”
By S. B. Shaw
Copyrighted by the author 1893

from the blog: Faithful God

Check out my other sites:

Handbook for Victorious Christian Living – practical ways to learn to live a victorious Christian life

Blueprint for Victorious Christian Living

Power of the Living Word

Related posts:

1. A Great Story – Jesus and the Mud Puddle
2. The History of 57 Cents – An Awesome Story
3. What An Awesome Truth!!!

*****************************************************************

Noah’s Ark

Ending his sermon, a preacher announced that he would preach on Noah and the Ark on the following Sunday, and gave the scriptural reference for the congregation to read ahead of time.

A couple of boys noticed something interesting about the placement of the story in the Bible. They slipped into the church and glued two pages of the pulpit Bible together.

The next Sunday, the preacher got up to read his text. “Noah took unto himself a wife,” he began, “and she was” – he turned the page to continue – “three hundred cubits long, fifty wide and thirty high.”

Check out my other sites:

Handbook for Victorious Christian Living – Practical ways to learn to live a victorious Christian life

Blueprint for Victorious Christian Living

Power of the Living Word

Related posts:

1. Working Replica of Noah’s Ark In SCHAGEN, Netherlands.
2. A Story – The Cowboy and the Church
3. Two Funny Stories

*************************************************************************

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.

My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly.

So I asked, “Why did you just do that? That guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!”

This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, “The Law of the Garbage Truck.”

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage — frustration, anger, disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they’ll dump it on you.

Don’t take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on.

Don’t take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don’t.

Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!

Check out my other sites:

Handbook for Victorious Christian Living - Practical ways to learn to live a victorious Christian life

Blueprint for Victorious Christian Living

Power of the Living Word

Related posts:

1. Another Funny Story!

He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods; but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for 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 and grieved! In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile; only to see his Sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.

After lunch the next day Grandma said, “Sally, let’s wash the dishes.”

But Sally said, “Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen.” Then she whispered to him, “Remember the duck?’

So Johnny did the dishes.

Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, “I’m sorry but I need Sally to help make supper.”

Sally just smiled and said, “Well, that’s all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help.”

She whispered again, “Remember the duck?” So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help.

After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally’s; he finally couldn’t stand it any longer. He came to Grandma and 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 Sally make a slave of you.”

Thought for the day and every day thereafter:

Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done, and the devil keeps throwing it up in your face (lying, cheating, debt, fear, bad habits, hatred, anger, bitterness, etc.) whatever it is, you need to know…
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.

God is at the window!

When Jesus died on the cross; He was thinking of you!
Check out my other sites:

Handbook for Victorious Christian Living - Practical ways to learn to live a Christian life
Blueprint for Victorious Christian Living

Power of the Living Word

No related posts.

A man dies and goes to heaven. St. Peter meets him at the Pearly Gates and says, ‘Here’s how it works. You need 100 points to make it into heaven. You tell me all the good things you’ve done, and I give you a certain number of points for each item, depending on how good it was. When you reach 100 points, you get in.’

‘Okay,’ the man says, ‘I was married to the same woman for 50 years and never cheated on her, even in my heart.’

‘That’s wonderful,’ says St.. Peter, ‘that’s worth two points!’

‘Two points?!’ he says.

‘Well, I attended church all my life and supported its ministry with my tithe and service.’

‘Terrific!’ says St. Peter.. ‘That’s certainly worth a point.’

‘One point!?!!’

‘I started a soup kitchen in my city and worked in a shelter for homeless veterans.’

‘Fantastic, that’s good for two more points,’ he says.

‘ Two points!?!!

‘Exasperated, the man cries. ‘At this rate the only way I’ll get into heaven is by the grace of God.’

‘ Bingo ! 100 points ! Come on in!’

We often try to fix problems with WD-40 and duct tape.

God did it with a nail.

Check out my other sites:

Handbook for Victorious Christian Living – Practical ways to learn to live a victorious Christian life

Blueprint for Victorious Christian Living

Power of the Living Word

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2. Told from a Mother’s Point-Of-View
3. A Good Story of God’s Grace

When God tells you to do something it might not be easy, but if you trust Him He will give you everything you need to attain the victory. He will bring to pass what He has already promised to do.

Don’t ever let others talk you into giving up on something God has already promised the victory for. You can’t see through His eyes, so believe in faith that He will bring it to pass when the time is right. Turn a deaf ear to any criticism that might keep you from getting God’s Best.

THE FROG WHO WOULD NOT GIVE UP

Once upon a time there was a bunch of tiny frogs who arranged a running competition.  The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower.

A big crowd gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants.  The race began but no one in the crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower. You heard statements such as:

“Oh, WAY too difficult!!”
“They will NEVER make it to the top.”
“Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!”

The tiny frogs began collapsing. One by one, except for those who, in a fresh tempo, were climbing higher and higher.

The crowd continued to yell, “It is too difficult!!!  No one will make it!”

More tiny frogs got tired and gave up. But one continued higher and higher and higher.  He just wouldn’t give up!

At the end everyone else had given up climbing the tower. Except for the one tiny frog who, after a big effort, was the only one who reached the top!

All of the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it.  A contestant asked the tiny frog how he had found the strength to succeed and reach the goal.

It turned out that the winner was deaf.

Check out my other sites:

Handbook for Victorious Christian Living – Practical ways to learn to live a victorious Christian life

Blueprint for Victorious Christian Living

Power of the Living Word

Related posts:

1. A Good Story of God’s Grace