Tess was a precocious 8-year-old. she heard her mom and dad talking about her little brother, John. all she knew was that he was very sick and they were completely out of money. they were moving into an apartment complex next month because daddy didnt have enough money for the doctor's bills and our house. only a very costly surgery could save him now and it was looking like there was no one to loan them the money. she heard daddy say to her tearful mother with whispered desperation, "only a miracle can save him now."
Tess went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jar from its hiding place in the closet. she poured all the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way 6 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.
finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter and 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 wanted to buy a miracle." "i beg your pardon?" said the pharmacist. "his name is John and he has something bad growing in his head and daddy says only a miracle can save him now. so how much does a miracle cost?" "we dont sell miracles here, little girl. i'm sorry, but i cant help you." the pharmacist said, softening a little. "listen, i have the money to pay for it. if it isnt 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 dont know," Tess replied with her eyes welling up, "i just know that he's really sick and mommy says he needs an operation. but daddy cant 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 audibly. " and that'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 kind of miracle you need."
that well-dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in neuro-surgery. the operation was completed without charge and it wasn't long until John was home again and doing well.
mom and dad were happily talking about the chain of event 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.
WOW lol.. when i first saw this Thread it was 17 pages long.. and i looked at the date and it sort of stayed for around for 2 years so far... lets continue to share our stories.. ill start off with one......
A young man had been to Wednesday night Bible Study.
The Pastor had shared about listening to God and obeying the Lord's voice.
The young man couldn't help but wonder, "Does God still speak to people?"
After service he went out with some friends for coffee and pie and they discussed the message. Several different ones talked about how God had led them in different ways.
It was about ten o'clock when the young man started driving home. Sitting in his car, he just began to pray, "God....If you still speak to people speak to me. I will listen. I will do my best to obey."
As he drove down the main street of his town, he had the strangest thought to stop and buy a gallon of milk. He shook his head and said out loud, "God is that you?" He didn't get a reply and started on toward home. But again, the thought, buy a gallon of milk.
The young man thought about Samuel and how he didn't recognize the voice of God, and how little Samuel ran to Eli. "Okay, God, in case that is you, I will buy the milk." It didn't seem like too hard a test of obedience. He could always use the milk He stopped and purchased the gallon of milk and started off toward home. As he passed Seventh Street , he again felt the urge, "Turn Down that street."
This is crazy he thought and drove on past the intersection.
Again, he felt that he should turn down Seventh Street. At the next intersection, he turned back and headed down Seventh.
Half jokingly, he said out loud, "Okay, God, I will".
He drove several blocks, when suddenly, he felt like he should stop. He pulled over to the curb and looked around. He was in semi commercial area of town. It wasn't the best but it wasn't the worst of neighborhoods either. The businesses were closed and most of the houses looked dark like the people were already in bed. Again, he sensed something, "Go and give the milk to the people in the house across the street" The young man looked at the house. It was dark and it looked like the people were either gone or they were already asleep. He started to open the door and then sat back in the car seat. "Lord, this is insane. Those people are asleep and if I wake them up, they are going to be mad and I will look stupid." Again, he felt like he should go and give the milk.
Finally, he opened the door, "Okay God, if this is you, I will go to the door and I will give them the milk. If you want me to look like a crazy person, okay. I want to be obedient. I guess that will count for something but if they don't answer right away, I am out of here." He walked across the street and rang the bell. He could hear some noise inside. A man's voice yelled out, "Who is it? What do you want?" Then the door opened before the young man could get away. The man was standing there in his jeans and T- shirt. He looked like he just got out of bed. He had a strange look on his face and he didn't seem too happy to have some stranger standing on his doorstep. "What is it?" The young man thrust out the gallon of milk, "Here, I brought this to you." The man took the milk and rushed down a hallway. Then from down the hall came a woman carrying the milk toward the kitchen The man was following her holding a baby. The baby was crying. The man had tears streaming down his face. The man began speaking and half crying, "We were just praying. We had some big bills this month and we ran out of money. We didn't have any milk for our baby. I was just praying and asking God to show me how to get some milk." His wife in the kitchen yelled out, "I ask him to send an Angel with some. Are you an Angel?"
The young man reached into his wallet and pulled out all the money he had on him and put in the man's hand. He turned and walked back toward his car and the tears were streaming down his face. He knew that God still answers prayers.
One night I had a dream-- I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord and across the sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints, one belonged to me and the other to the Lord. When the last scene of my life flashed before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand. I noticed that many times along the path of my life, there was only one set of footprints. I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in my life. This really bothered me and I questioned the Lord about it. "Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you would walk with me all the way, but I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life there is only one set of footprints. "I don't understand why in times when I needed you most, you should leave me." The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child, I love you and I would never, never leave you during your times of trial and suffering. "When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."
this isnt rele a story, but i thought it was really nice... from CHRIS,
-------I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our mobiles?--What if we carried it around in our handbags or pockets? --What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it? --What if we flipped through it several times a day? --What if we used it to receive messages from the text? --What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it? --What if we gave it to kids as gifts? --What if we used it as we travelled? --What if we bought new ones, just to be proud of what it looked like? --What if we used it in case of an emergency? --What if we got it out to show off to someone our skill in knowing how to use it? --What if we groaned when we dropped it? --What if we always had it close for easy access? --This is something to make you go ..hmm... where is my Bible? Oh, and one more thing.... Unlike our mobiles, we don't ever have to worry about our Bible being disconnected, because Jesus already paid the bill!
-Jesus had no servants, yet they called Him Master. -Had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher. -Had no medicines, yet they called Him Healer. -He had no army, yet kings feared him. -He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world. -He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him. -He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today. -Feel honored to serve such a Leader who loves us!
[move] :o!!!This Story is Great !!! :o[/move] U relly are a great person u changed a peson's whole life not onlythat put a smile on his face his parents faces and mostly ur face u made him so happy this story really touched my heart that was a responsible loving thing of u to go and hlp him out and made shure he wasok on the first day u met I never heared such a story likethis :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)[flash=200,200][/flash]
-Jesus had no servants, yet they called Him Master. -Had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher. -Had no medicines, yet they called Him Healer. -He had no army, yet kings feared him. -He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world. -He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him. -He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today. -Feel honored to serve such a Leader who loves us!
A man kept having the same dream. In this dream, God would bring the man to a place where there was a very large rock, bigger than the man himself. God would say, “Your role is to push that rock”. The man would obediently apply his shoulder to the rock and start pushing with all his might. Sometimes he would try different ways to push - higher or lower on the side of the rock, using his hands or lying down and pushing with his feet. Yet however hard he tried, however tired and sore he got, that rock would never move and inch. Night after night he would push as hard and as long as he could without once seeing a reward for his labour. But he was happy, for he was doing what God had asked of him. One night, the dream was different. The devil came to him as he was pushing with all his strength and asked him, “Why are you trying to move that immovable rock?” The man answered, “Because this is the job God has given me, and I must obey him.” “Why do you waste your energy on such a useless exercise? Surely God is sitting up there laughing at you now! And what do you get out all this? Nothing but sore muscles, aches, pains, bruises and scratches. It’s not worth it! If there were any hope you might actually move the thing it might be different, but do you really think you can ever move a rock that size? If I were you, I wouldn’t strain myself on a task that will never succeed. Why don’t you just take life easy and enjoy yourself?” This seemed to make perfect sense to the man, so he took the advice and stopped trying so hard. Every night, he would put less and less effort into trying to move that rock, until at least he would just sit with his back leaning against it and let his thoughts drift aimlessly… And then, one night, God came back. “Why are you not pushing against the rock as I asked you to?” He asked. “Well”, answered the man, “I really can’t see any hope of shifting the thing - it’s far too heavy for me. So I thought I might just rest instead until I got a chance to ask You for another job. I think there must have been some mistake.” “There was no mistake”, said God. “When did I ever ask you to MOVE the rock?” “But … wasn’t that my task?” “I asked you to PUSH the rock - I never said anything about it MOVING.” “Now I’m really confused,” said the man. “What’s the point of pushing against a rock that I have no hope of moving?” “My son, why do you not trust Me? Look now at your arms. Look at your legs and your shoulders and your chest. Were all those muscles there before you began this task? Where did all those strong muscles come from, if not from your efforts in PUSHING against the rock? THAT was the purpose of this job that I gave to you. When you were obedient to Me, you were growing stronger and stronger, but when you decided you knew better, you stopped getting stronger and started to become weak and flabby again. Trust My requests and obey them, even if you don’t know where they will lead. For at least you know this: that I love you and will always do what is best for you. But please trust Me and obey My requests.”
The effect of the Ring on its bearer is a powerful analogy of the effects of lust upon its sufferers:
- The Ring is a beautiful and shiny object that exerts a powerful attraction upon people, far more powerful than it really should.
- Once it is possessed by someone, it holds them as a slave and eventually can even force them to do things against their true nature.
- The longer it is possessed by someone, the greater the power it exerts over them, and the harder it is to escape from it.
- The Ring makes its wearer invisible, allowing him to do shameful acts in secret.
- When its bearer is far from the Ring, he often finds his mind drawn back constantly to it.
- But the Ring gradually destroys its bearer, eating away at their spirit from the inside, until they become a dark, ugly, shrivelled creature.
- There are some who can indeed give up the Ring freely, although it is a great struggle to do so (like Sam Gamgee)
- There others who desire to give up the Ring, but seem to be incapable of doing so (like Frodo Baggins). These need outside help from God.
- There are those who have given in completely to the Ring and accepted it as their ‘Precious’ (like Gollum). These do not even want to be free from the Ring, even though it tortures them.
this is reaaaaaaaaalllllllllllly nice, im sure ull agree here are 2 stories
Have You Got an Empty Chair?! "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.." Matthew 11:28
Brennan Manning tells the following story of an old man who was dying of cancer. The man's daughter had asked the local priest to come and pray with her father. When the priest arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows and an empty chair beside his bed. The priest assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit. Priest- "I guess you were expecting me, " I see the empty chair, I figured you knew I was going to show up." Man- "Oh yeah, the chair ... Would you mind closing the door?" Puzzled, the priest shut the door. Man - "I've never told anyone this, not even my daughter .... But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At the Sunday Mass I used to hear the priest talk about prayer, but it always went right over my head.. I abandoned any attempt at prayer, until one day about four years ago my best friend said to me, 'Joe, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here's what I suggest. Sit down on a chair, place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because he promised, 'I'll be with you always.' Then just speak to him and listen in the same way you're doing with me right now." "So, Father, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I'm careful, though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm. The priest was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old guy to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil, and left him in God's care. Two nights later the daughter called to tell the priest that her daddy had died that afternoon. Priest - "Did he seem to die in peace?" Daughter- "Yes, when I left the house around two o'clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me he loved me, and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. But there was something strange. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on a chair beside the bed. What do you make of that?" The priest wiped a tear from his eye and said, "I wish we could all go like that"
The Gossiper
A woman repeated a bit of gossip about a neighbour. Within a few days the whole community knew the story. The person it concerned was deeply hurt and offended. Later, the woman responsible for spreading the rumor learned that it was completely untrue. She was very sorry and went to a wise old sage to find out what she could do to repair the damage.
"Go to the marketplace." He said, "and purchase a chicken, and have it killed. Then on your way home, pluck it's feathers and drop them one by one along the road." Although surprised by this advice, the woman did what she was told.
The next day the wise man said, "Now, go and collect all those feathers you dropped yesterday and bring them back to me."
The woman followed the same road, but to her dismay the wind had blown all the feathers away. After searching for hours, she returned with only three in her hand. "You see," said the old sage, "it's easy to drop them, but it's impossible to get them back. So it is with gossip. It doesn't take much to spread a rumor, but once you do, you can never completely undo the wrong."
Comments
So much for a miracle
Tess was a precocious 8-year-old. she heard her mom and dad talking about her little brother, John. all she knew was that he was very sick and they were completely out of money. they were moving into an apartment complex next month because daddy didnt have enough money for the doctor's bills and our house. only a very costly surgery could save him now and it was looking like there was no one to loan them the money. she heard daddy say to her tearful mother with whispered desperation, "only a miracle can save him now."
Tess went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jar from its hiding place in the closet. she poured all the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way 6 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.
finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter and 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 wanted to buy a miracle."
"i beg your pardon?" said the pharmacist.
"his name is John and he has something bad growing in his head and daddy says only a miracle can save him now. so how much does a miracle cost?"
"we dont sell miracles here, little girl. i'm sorry, but i cant help you." the pharmacist said, softening a little.
"listen, i have the money to pay for it. if it isnt 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 dont know," Tess replied with her eyes welling up, "i just know that he's really sick and mommy says he needs an operation. but daddy cant 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 audibly. " and that'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 kind of miracle you need."
that well-dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in neuro-surgery. the operation was completed without charge and it wasn't long until John was home again and doing well.
mom and dad were happily talking about the chain of event 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.
i hope you liked it!
I love this story. I remember getting it in an email and getting goosebumps when I read it. Thanks for sharing.
Please pray for me.
A young man had been to Wednesday night Bible Study.
The Pastor had shared about listening to God and obeying the Lord's voice.
The young man couldn't help but wonder, "Does God still speak to people?"
After service he went out with some friends for coffee and pie and they discussed the message. Several different ones talked about how God had led them in different
ways.
It was about ten o'clock when the young man started driving home. Sitting in his car, he just began to pray, "God....If you still speak to people speak to me. I will listen. I will do my best to obey."
As he drove down the main street of his town, he had the strangest thought to stop and buy a gallon of milk. He shook his head and said out loud, "God is that you?" He didn't get a reply and started on toward home. But again, the thought, buy a gallon of milk.
The young man thought about Samuel and how he didn't recognize the voice of God, and how little Samuel ran to Eli. "Okay, God, in case that is you, I will buy the milk." It didn't seem like too hard a test of obedience. He could always use the milk He
stopped and purchased the gallon of milk and started off toward home. As he passed Seventh Street , he again felt the urge, "Turn Down that street."
This is crazy he thought and drove on past the intersection.
Again, he felt that he should turn down Seventh Street. At the next intersection, he turned back and headed down Seventh.
Half jokingly, he said out loud, "Okay, God, I will".
He drove several blocks, when suddenly, he felt like he should stop. He pulled over to the curb and looked around. He was in semi commercial area of town. It wasn't the best but it wasn't the worst of neighborhoods either. The businesses were closed and most of the houses looked dark like the people were already in bed. Again, he sensed something, "Go and give the milk to the people in the house across the street" The young man looked at the house. It was dark and it looked like the people were either gone or they were already asleep. He started to open the door and then sat back in the car seat. "Lord, this is insane. Those people are asleep and if I wake them up,
they are going to be mad and I will look stupid." Again, he felt like he should go and give the milk.
Finally, he opened the door, "Okay God, if this is you, I will go to the door and I will give them the milk. If you want me to look like a crazy person, okay. I want to be obedient. I guess that will count for something but if they don't answer right away, I am out of here." He walked across the street and rang the bell. He could hear some noise inside. A man's voice yelled out, "Who is it? What do you want?" Then the door opened before the young man could get away. The man was standing there in his jeans and T- shirt. He looked like he just got out of bed. He had a strange look on his face and he didn't seem too happy to have some stranger standing on his doorstep. "What is it?" The young man thrust out the gallon of milk, "Here, I brought this to you." The man took the milk and rushed down a hallway. Then from down the hall came a woman carrying the milk toward the kitchen The man was following her holding a baby. The baby was crying. The man had tears streaming down his face. The man began speaking and half crying, "We were just praying. We had some big bills this month and we ran out of money. We didn't have any milk for our baby. I was just praying and asking God to show me how to get some milk." His wife in the kitchen yelled out, "I ask him to send an Angel with some. Are you an Angel?"
The young man reached into his wallet and pulled out all the money he had on him and put in the man's hand. He turned and walked back toward his car and the tears were streaming down his face. He knew that God still answers prayers.
however if i always follow my urges//TRUST ME THAT ALWAYS gEt ME IN TROUBLE!
One night I had a dream--
I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord
and across the sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints,
one belonged to me and the other to the Lord.
When the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that many times along the path of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest
and saddest times in my life.
This really bothered me and I questioned the Lord about it.
"Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you,
you would walk with me all the way,
but I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life
there is only one set of footprints.
"I don't understand why in times when I needed you most,
you should leave me."
The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child,
I love you and I would never, never leave you
during your times of trial and suffering.
"When you saw only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."
-------I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our
mobiles?--What if we carried it around in our handbags or pockets?
--What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
--What if we flipped through it several times a day?
--What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
--What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
--What if we gave it to kids as gifts?
--What if we used it as we travelled?
--What if we bought new ones, just to be proud of what it looked like?
--What if we used it in case of an emergency?
--What if we got it out to show off to someone our skill in knowing how to
use it?
--What if we groaned when we dropped it?
--What if we always had it close for easy access?
--This is something to make you go ..hmm... where is my Bible?
Oh, and one more thing....
Unlike our mobiles, we don't ever have to worry about our Bible
being disconnected, because Jesus already paid the bill!
thanks for that mind opener!
http://home.att.net/~mcp3_2000/_classics/002/angel.htm
-Jesus had no servants, yet they called Him Master.
-Had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher.
-Had no medicines, yet they called Him Healer.
-He had no army, yet kings feared him.
-He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world.
-He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him.
-He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today.
-Feel honored to serve such a Leader who loves us!
U relly are a great person u changed a peson's whole life not onlythat put a smile on his face his parents faces and mostly ur face u made him so happy this story really touched my heart that was a responsible loving thing of u to go and hlp him out and made shure he wasok on the first day u met I never heared such a story likethis :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)[flash=200,200][/flash]
-Jesus had no servants, yet they called Him Master.
-Had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher.
-Had no medicines, yet they called Him Healer.
-He had no army, yet kings feared him.
-He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world.
-He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him.
-He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today.
-Feel honored to serve such a Leader who loves us!
i like this alot!!!
A man kept having the same dream. In this dream, God would bring the man to a place where there was a very large rock, bigger than the man himself. God would say, “Your role is to push that rock”. The man would obediently apply his shoulder to the rock and start pushing with all his might. Sometimes he would try different ways to push - higher or lower on the side of the rock, using his hands or lying down and pushing with his feet. Yet however hard he tried, however tired and sore he got, that rock would never move and inch. Night after night he would push as hard and as long as he could without once seeing a reward for his labour. But he was happy, for he was doing what God had asked of him.
One night, the dream was different. The devil came to him as he was pushing with all his strength and asked him, “Why are you trying to move that immovable rock?” The man answered, “Because this is the job God has given me, and I must obey him.”
“Why do you waste your energy on such a useless exercise? Surely God is sitting up there laughing at you now! And what do you get out all this? Nothing but sore muscles, aches, pains, bruises and scratches. It’s not worth it! If there were any hope you might actually move the thing it might be different, but do you really think you can ever move a rock that size? If I were you, I wouldn’t strain myself on a task that will never succeed. Why don’t you just take life easy and enjoy yourself?”
This seemed to make perfect sense to the man, so he took the advice and stopped trying so hard. Every night, he would put less and less effort into trying to move that rock, until at least he would just sit with his back leaning against it and let his thoughts drift aimlessly…
And then, one night, God came back.
“Why are you not pushing against the rock as I asked you to?” He asked.
“Well”, answered the man, “I really can’t see any hope of shifting the thing - it’s far too heavy for me. So I thought I might just rest instead until I got a chance to ask You for another job. I think there must have been some mistake.”
“There was no mistake”, said God. “When did I ever ask you to MOVE the rock?”
“But … wasn’t that my task?”
“I asked you to PUSH the rock - I never said anything about it MOVING.”
“Now I’m really confused,” said the man. “What’s the point of pushing against a rock that I have no hope of moving?”
“My son, why do you not trust Me? Look now at your arms. Look at your legs and your shoulders and your chest. Were all those muscles there before you began this task? Where did all those strong muscles come from, if not from your efforts in PUSHING against the rock? THAT was the purpose of this job that I gave to you. When you were obedient to Me, you were growing stronger and stronger, but when you decided you knew better, you stopped getting stronger and started to become weak and flabby again. Trust My requests and obey them, even if you don’t know where they will lead. For at least you know this: that I love you and will always do what is best for you. But please trust Me and obey My requests.”
So if you skipped it go back please.
God Bless
JRR Tolkein: The Lord of the Rings
The effect of the Ring on its bearer is a powerful analogy of the effects of lust upon its sufferers:
- The Ring is a beautiful and shiny object that exerts a powerful attraction upon people, far more powerful than it really should.
- Once it is possessed by someone, it holds them as a slave and eventually can even force them to do things against their true nature.
- The longer it is possessed by someone, the greater the power it exerts over them, and the harder it is to escape from it.
- The Ring makes its wearer invisible, allowing him to do shameful acts in secret.
- When its bearer is far from the Ring, he often finds his mind drawn back constantly to it.
- But the Ring gradually destroys its bearer, eating away at their spirit from the inside, until they become a dark, ugly, shrivelled
creature.
- There are some who can indeed give up the Ring freely, although it is a great struggle to do so (like Sam Gamgee)
- There others who desire to give up the Ring, but seem to be incapable of doing so (like Frodo Baggins). These need outside help from God.
- There are those who have given in completely to the Ring and accepted it as their ‘Precious’ (like Gollum). These do not even want to be free from the Ring, even though it tortures them.
i really liked the 'pushing the rock' one!!!! thanks for sharing it!!!! :D
same here
here are 2 stories
Have You Got an Empty Chair?!
"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.." Matthew 11:28
Brennan Manning tells the following story of an old man who was dying of cancer. The man's daughter had asked the local priest to come and pray with her father. When the priest arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows and an empty chair beside his bed. The priest assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit.
Priest- "I guess you were expecting me, " I see the empty chair, I figured you knew I was going to show up."
Man- "Oh yeah, the chair ... Would you mind closing the door?"
Puzzled, the priest shut the door.
Man - "I've never told anyone this, not even my daughter .... But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At the Sunday Mass I used to hear the priest talk about prayer, but it always went right over my head.. I abandoned any attempt at prayer, until one day about four years ago my best friend said to me, 'Joe, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here's what I suggest. Sit down on a chair, place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because he promised, 'I'll be with you always.' Then just speak to him and listen in the same way you're doing with me right now." "So, Father, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I'm careful, though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm.
The priest was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old guy to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil, and left him in God's care. Two nights later the daughter called to tell the priest that her daddy had died that afternoon.
Priest - "Did he seem to die in peace?"
Daughter- "Yes, when I left the house around two o'clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me he loved me, and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. But there was something strange. Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on a chair beside the bed. What do you make of that?"
The priest wiped a tear from his eye and said, "I wish we could all go like that"
The Gossiper
A woman repeated a bit of gossip about a neighbour. Within a few days the whole community knew the story. The person it concerned was deeply hurt and offended. Later, the woman responsible for spreading the rumor learned that it was completely untrue. She was very sorry and went to a wise old sage to find out what she could do to repair the damage.
"Go to the marketplace." He said, "and purchase a chicken, and have it killed. Then on your way home, pluck it's feathers and drop them one by one along the road." Although surprised by this advice, the woman did what she was told.
The next day the wise man said, "Now, go and collect all those feathers you dropped yesterday and bring them back to me."
The woman followed the same road, but to her dismay the wind had blown all the feathers away. After searching for hours, she returned with only three in her hand. "You see," said the old sage, "it's easy to drop them, but it's impossible to get them back. So it is with gossip. It doesn't take much to spread a rumor, but once you do, you can never completely undo the wrong."
Author Unknown