WORTH READING

You are in your car driving home. Thoughts wander to
          the game you want to see or meal you want to eat, when
          suddenly a sound unlike any you've ever heard fills the air.
          The sound is high above you.
          A trumpet?
          A choir?
          A choir of trumpets?
          You don't know, but you want to know.

          So you pull over, get out of your car, and look up. As
          you do, you see you aren't the only curious one. The
          roadside has become a parking lot. Car doors are open,
          and people are staring at the sky. Shoppers are racing
          out of the grocery store.
          The Little League baseball game across the street has
          come to a halt. Players and parents are searching the
          clouds. And what they see, and what you see, has never
          before been seen.

          As if the sky were a curtain, the drapes of the
          atmosphere part. A brilliant light spills onto the
          earth. There are no shadows. None. From whence came
          the light begins to tumble a river of color spiking
          crystals of every hue ever seen and a million more
          never seen. Riding on the flow is an endless fleet of
          angels. They pass through the curtains one myriad at a
          time, until they occupy every square inch of the sky.

          North.
          South.
          East.
          West.

          Thousands of silvery wings rise and fall in unison,
          and over the sound of the trumpets, you can hear the
          cherubim and seraphim chanting, Holy, holy, holy.
          The final flank of angels is followed by twenty-four silver-bearded
          elders and a multitude of souls who join the angels in worship.

          Presently the movement stops and the trumpets are
          silent, leaving only the triumphant triplet: Holy,
          holy, holy. Between each word is a pause. With each
          word, a profound reverence. You hear your voice join
          in the chorus. You don't know why you say the words,
          but you know you must.

          Suddenly, the heavens are quiet. All is quiet.

          The angels turn, you turn, the entire world turns and
          there He is.

          Jesus.

          Through waves of light you see the silhouetted figure
          of Christ the King.

          He is atop a great stallion, and the stallion is atop
          a billowing cloud.

          He opens his mouth, and you are surrounded by his
          declaration:

          I am the Alpha and the Omega.

          The angels bow their heads.
          The elders remove their crowns.
          And before you is a Figure so consuming that you know,
          instantly you know:
          Nothing else matters.
          Forget stock markets and school reports.
          Sales meetings and football games.
          Nothing is newsworthy.
          All that mattered, matters no more....
          for Christ has come. .

          Are you ready for Jesus to come back for his children??   If He were to return today, where would you spend eternity?  If your answer isn't  "Heaven", then  this is the perfect time to be saved and know for sure that when Jesus comes on that white horse you will be ready to meet him in the air to be with Him forever.  Please don't delete  this and forget about it.  Think about it and send it to some others that may not be ready to meet God.

          The love of God is like the ocean, you can see its beginnings but Not its end.

 

The Coal Basket Bible

The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains of

Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning, Grandpa was up early

sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out Bible.

His grandson who wanted to be just like him tried to imitate him in any

way he could.

One day the grandson asked, "Papa, I try to read the Bible just like

you but I don't understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon

as I close the book. What good does reading the Bible do?"

The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said,

"Take this coal basket down to the river and bring back a basket of

water."

The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked out before

he could get back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, "You

will have to move a little faster next time," and sent him back to the

river with the basket to try again.

This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he

returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was

"impossible to carry water in a basket," and he went to get a bucket

instead. The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a

basket of water. You can do this. You're just not trying hard

enough," and he went out the door to watch the boy try again. At this

point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his

grandfather that, even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would

leak out before he got far at all.

The boy scooped the water and ran hard, but when he reached his

grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, "See

Papa, it's useless!"

"So you think it is useless?" The old man said, "Look at the basket."

The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that the

basket looked different. Instead of a dirty old coal basket, it was

clean.

"Son, that's what happens when you read the Bible. You might not

understand or remember everything, but when you read it, it will change

you from the inside out. That is the work of God in our lives. To change

us from the inside out and to slowly transform us into the image of His

son."

 

 

 

You go girl

One day a 6 year old girl was sitting in a classroom. The teacher was going
to explain evolution to the children. The teacher asked a little
B oy: Tommy do you see the tree outside?
TOMMY: Yes.
TEACHER: Tommy, do you see the grass outside?
TOMMY: Yes.
TEACHER: Go outside and look up and see if you can see the sky.
TOMMY: Okay. (He returned a few minutes later) Yes, I saw the sky.
TEACHER: Did you see God up there?
TOMMY: No.
TEACHER: That's my point. We can't see God because he isn't there. 
Possibly he just doesn't exist.
 
A little girl spoke up and wanted to ask the boy some questions. The teacher
agreed and the little girl asked the boy: Tommy, do you see the tree
outside?
> > > > TOMMY: Yes.
LITTLE GIRL: Tommy do you see the grass outside?
TOMMY: Yessssss!
LITTLE GIRL: Did you see the sky?
TOMMY: Yessssss!
LITTLE GIRL: Tommy, do you see the teacher?
TOMMY: Yes
LITTLE GIRL: Do you see her brain?
TOMMY: No
LITTLE GIRL: Then according to what we were taught today in school, > she
possibly may not even have one!
(You Go Girl!)

John 3:16

A little boy was selling newspapers on the corner,
the people were in and out of the cold.

The little boy was so cold that he wasn't trying to sell
many papers.

He walked up to a policeman and said,
"Mister, you wouldn't happen to know where a poor boy could
find a warm place to sleep tonight would you?

You see, I sleep in a box up around the corner there and
down the alley and it's awful cold in there for tonight.

Sure would be nice to have a warm place to stay."

 

The policeman looked down at the little boy and said, "You
go down the street to that big white house and you knock
on the door. When they come out the door you just say
John 3:16, and they will let you in."

So he did. He walked up the steps and knocked on the
door, and a lady answered. He looked up and said,
"John 3:16." The lady said, "Come on in, Son."

She took him in and she sat him down in a split bottom
rocker in front of a great big old fireplace, and she went
off. The boy sat there for a while and thought to himself:
John 3:16...I don't understand it, but it sure makes
a cold boy warm.

 

Later she came back and asked him "Are you hungry?"
He said, "Well, just a little. I haven't eaten in a couple of
days, and I guess I could stand a little bit of food,"

The lady took him in the kitchen and sat him down to a table
full of wonderful food. He ate and ate until he couldn't eat
any more. Then he thought to himself:
John 3:16...Boy, I sure don't understand it but it sure
makes a hungry boy full.

 

She took him upstairs to a bathroom to a huge bathtub
filled with warm water, and he sat there and soaked for a
while. As he soaked, he thought to himself: John 3:16...
I sure don't understand it, but it sure makes a dirty boy
clean. You know, I've not had a bath, a real bath, in my
whole life. The only bath I ever had was when I stood in
front of that big old fire hydrant as they flushed it out.
The lady came in and got him. She took him to a room,
tucked him into a big old feather bed, pulled the covers
up around his neck, kissed him goodnight and turned out
the lights. As he lay in the darkness and looked out the
window at the snow coming down on that cold night,
he thought to himself: John 3:16...I don't understand it but
it sure makes a tired boy rested.

 

The next morning the lady came back up and took him
down again to that same big table full of food. After he
ate, she took him back to that same big old split bottom
rocker in front of the fireplace and picked up a big old Bible.

She sat down in front of him and looked into his young face.
"Do you understand John 3:16?" she asked gently. He
replied, "No, Ma'am, I don't. The first time I ever heard it
was last night when the policeman told me to use it,"
She opened the Bible to John 3:16 and began to explain
to him about Jesus. Right there, in front of that big old fireplace, he gave his heart and life to Jesus. He sat there
and thought: John 3:16 -- don't understand it, but it sure
makes a lost boy feel safe.

 

You know, I have to confess I don't understand it either,
how God was willing to send His Son to die for me, and how
Jesus would agree to do such a thing. I don't understand
the agony of the Father and every angel in heaven as
they watched Jesus suffer and die. I don't understand the intense love for ME that kept Jesus on the cross till the end.
I don't understand it, but it sure does make life worth living.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should
not perish, but have everlasting life.

 

I do Love God. He is my source of existence.. He keeps
me functioning each and every day. Phil 4:13
Jesus said, "If you are ashamed of me, I will be ashamed
of you before my Father."
 

 

From a strictly mathematical viewpoint:

What Equals 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%? Ever wonder
about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all
been in situations where someone wants you to give over 100%. How about
achieving 101%?

What equals 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these

Questions:

If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

Then:
H-A-R-D-W-O-R- K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

And
K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

;But,
A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

AND, look how far the love of God will take you
L- O- V- E-O-F-G-O-D
12+15+22+5+15+6+7+15+4 = 101 %

Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:
While Hard work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get
you there, it's the Love of God that will put you over the top!

 

26 Beautiful One-liners

1. Give God what's right -- not what's left.
2. Man's way leads to a hopeless end -- God's way leads to an endless hope.
3. A lot of kneeling will keep you in good standing.
4. He who kneels before God can stand before anyone.
5. In the sentence of life, the devil may be a comma--but never let him be the period.
6. Don't put a question mark where God puts a period.
7. Are you wrinkled with burden? Come to the church for a face-lift.
8. When praying, don't give God instructions - just report for duty.
9. Don't wait for six strong men to take you to church.
10. We don't change God's message -- His message changes us.
11. The church is prayer-conditioned.
12. When God ordains, He sustains.
13. WARNING: Exposure to the Son may prevent burning.
14. Plan ahead -- It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.
15. Most people want to serve God! But only in an advisory position.
16. Suffering from truth decay? Brush up on your Bible.
17. Exercise daily -- walk with the Lord.
18. Never give the devil a ride -- he will always want to drive.
19. Nothing else ruins the truth like stretching it.
20. Compassion is difficult to give away because it keeps coming back.
21. He who angers you controls you.
22. Worry is the darkroom in which negatives can develop.
23. Give Satan an inch & he'll be a ruler.
24. Be ye fishers of men -- you catch them & He'll clean them.
25. God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called...
26. Read the Bible -- It will scare the hell out of you.

What we do in life echoes in eternity....

GOD AND THE GEESE

 

There was once a man who didn't believe in God, and he didn't hesitate to let others know how he felt about religion and religious holidays. His wife, however, did believe, and she raised their children to also have faith in God and Jesus, despite his disparaging comments. One snowy eve, his wife was taking their children to service in the farm community in which they lived. They were to talk about Jesus' birth. She asked him to come, but he refused.

 

"That story is nonsense!" he said. "Why would God lower Himself to come to Earth as a man? That's ridiculous!" So she and the children left, and he stayed home. A while later, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blizzard. As the man looked out the window, all he saw was a blinding snowstorm.

 

He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening. Then he heard a loud thump.

Something had hit the window. He looked out, but couldn't see more than a few feet. When the snow let up a little, he ventured outside to see what could have been beating on his window. In the field near his house he saw a flock of wild geese.

 

Apparently they had been flying south for the winter when they got caught in the snowstorm and couldn't go on. They were lost and stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter. They just flapped their wings and flew around the field in low circles, blindly and aimlessly. A couple of them had flown into his window, it seemed.

 

The man felt sorry for the geese and wanted to help them. The barn would be a great place for them to stay, he thought.

 

It's warm and safe; surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm. So he walked over to the barn and opened the doors wide, then watched and waited, hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside.

 

But the geese just fluttered around aimlessly and didn't seem to notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them. The man tried to get their attention, but that just seemed to scare them, and they moved further away.

 

He went into the house and came with some bread, broke it up, and made a bread crumb trail leading to the barn. They still didn't catch on.

 

Now he was getting frustrated. He got behind them and tried to shoo them toward the barn, but they only got more scared and scattered in every direction except toward the barn. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where they would be warm and safe. "Why don't they follow me?!" he exclaimed. "Can't they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm?" He thought for a moment and realized that they just wouldn't follow a human. "If only I were a goose, then I could save them," he said out loud. Then he had an idea. He went into the barn, got one of his own geese, and carried it in his arms as he circled around behind the flock of wild geese.

 

He then released it. His goose flew through the flock and straight into the barn -- and one-by-one, the other geese followed it to safety.

 

He stood silently for a moment as the words he had spoken a few minutes earlier replayed in his mind: "If only I were a goose, then I could save them!" Then he thought about what he had said to his wife earlier. "Why would God want to be like us? That's ridiculous!" Suddenly it all made sense. That is what God had done. We were like the geese--blind, lost, perishing. God had His Son become like us so He could show us the way and save us. As the winds and blinding snow died down, his soul became quiet and pondered this wonderful thought. Suddenly he understood why Christ had come. Years of doubt and disbelief vanished with the passing storm. He fell to his knees in the snow, and prayed his first prayer: "Thank You, God, for coming in human form to get me out of the storm!"

~author unknown~

To view this story with pictures go to the following link.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/singingman7/GATG.htm

 

New Pledge of Allegiance (TOTALLY AWESOME).




New Pledge of Allegiance! 




Since the Pledge of Allegiance and The Lord's Prayer
are not allowed in most public schools anymore
Because the word "God" is mentioned....

A kid in Arizona wrote the attached NEW  School prayer.


I liked it.


               


Now I sit me down in school

Where praying is against the rule

For this great nation under God

Finds mention of Him very odd.

  


If Scripture now the class recites,

It violates the Bill of Rights.

And anytime my head I bow

Becomes a Federal matter now.




Our hair can be purple, orange or green,

That's no offense; it's a freedom scene.

The law is specific, the law is precise.

Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.




For praying in a public hall

Might offend someone with no faith at all.

In silence alone we must meditate,

God's name is prohibited by the state.






We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,

And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks.

They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.

To quote the Good Book makes me liable.
     



We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,

And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King.

It's "inappropriate" to teach right from wrong,

We're taught that such "judgments" do not belong. 

    




We can get our condoms and birth controls,

Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles.

But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,

No word of God must reach this crowd.

 !       




It's scary here I must confess,

When chaos reigns the school's a mess.

So, Lord, this silent plea I make:

Should I be shot; My soul please take!

Amen

 

Making Pancakes

  Six -year-old Brandon decided one Saturday morning to fix his parents pancakes He found a big bowl and spoon, pulled a chair to the counter, opened the cupboard and pulled out the heavy flour canister, spilling it on the floor.

  He scooped some of the flour into the bowl with his hands, mixed in most of a cup of milk and added some sugar, leaving a floury trail on the floor which by now had a few tracks left by his kitten.

  Brandon was covered with flour and getting frustrated. He wanted this to be something very good for Mom and Dad, but it was getting very bad.

  He didn't know what to do next, whether to put it all into the oven or on the stove and he didn't know how the stove worked!. Suddenly he saw his kitten licking from the bowl of mix and reached to push her away, knocking the egg carton to the floor. Frantically he tried to clean up this monumental mess but slipped on the eggs, getting his pajamas white and sticky.

  And just then he saw Dad standing at the door. Big crocodile tears welled up in Brandon's eyes. All he'd wanted to do was something good, but he'd made a terrible mess. He was sure a scolding was coming, maybe even a spanking. But his father just watched him.

  Then, walking through the mess, he picked up his crying son, hugged him and loved him, getting his own pajamas white and sticky in the process!

  That's how God deals with us.. We try to do something good in life, but it turns into a mess. Our marriage gets all sticky or we insult a friend, or we can't stand our job, or our health goes sour.

  Sometimes we just stand there in tears because we can't think of anything else to do. That's when God picks us up and loves us and forgives us, even though some of our mess gets all over Him.

  But just because we might mess up, we can't stop trying to "make pancakes" for God or for others. Sooner or later we'll get it right, and then they'll be glad we tried...