LIFE Stories

“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” – 1 Corinthians  1:27 . My dear sisters and brothers, God uses what the world deems useless and past its shelf life to accomplish amazing feats. That’s just His style. So if people have written you off, called you “useless” or “dumb” and treated you as insignificant, GET READY! God can and is about to use you to do the impossible. He’ll transform and empower you to do what you and your critics never dreamed possible! +++ There was once an old donkey that decided to go somewhere deserted to spend its last days. It found a suitable place, laid down and died after a few days. God looked down at the donkey and said, “I can’t use this donkey.” Along came the vultures and foxes, picking off chunks of flesh from the donkey. It was a sorry sight. God looked down at the donkey and said, “I still can’t use this donkey.” Then, the ants and other critters of the wilder...

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." – Colossians  3:12 . +++ A man often bought oranges from an old lady. After they were weighed, paid for and put in his bag, he would always pick one from his bag, peel it, put a segment in his mouth, complain it's sour and pass on the orange to the seller. The old lady would put one segment in her mouth and retort, "Why, it's sweet." But by then he was gone with his bag. His wife, always with him, asked, "The oranges are always sweet, then why this drama every time?" He smiled, "The old mother sells sweet oranges but never eats them herself. This way I get her to eat one, without losing her money. That's all." The vegetable seller next to the old lady, saw this every day. She chided, "Every time this man fusses over your oranges, and I see that you always weigh a few extra for him. Why?...

If you have a personal relationship with Christ you will understand this if not, it may be confusing... I encourage you to take the time to find out more, you may be missing more than you can even imagine... Blessings. This is a true story of something that happened just a many years ago at University of Southern California. +++ There was a professor of philosophy there who was a deeply Committed Atheist. His primary goal for one required class was to spend the entire semester attempting to prove that God couldn't exist. His students were always afraid to argue with him because of his impeccable logic. For twenty years, no one had ever had the courage to go against him. Sure, some had argued in class at times, but no one would win because he would say to his class of 300 students, “If there is anyone here who still believes in Jesus, stand up!" In twenty years, no one had ever stood up. They knew what he was going to do next. He would say, "Because anyone who believes in ...

“By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.” – Hebrews 11:7. A lot of people say they have faith, but in tough times they fall apart, they feel like God has disappointed them, they are not going to be happy until the storm is over. You have to realize that God is in control of that storm, nothing is happening without God's permission. If that storm is going to keep you from your destiny, God would have never allowed it. When you trust God, keep your faith, and believe that God can calm the storm because we serve a God who walks on water. +++ Once upon a time, an elephant and a dog fell pregnant at same time. Three months down the line the dog gave birth to six puppies. Six months later the dog was pregnant again, and nine months on it gave birth to another dozen puppies. The pattern continued. On the eighteenth month the do...

Psalm 121:1-2 “I will lift up my eyes to the hills — From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.” A father is someone who takes the place of all others, but whose place no one else can take. A father is a person who's around, participating in a child's life. He's a teacher who helps to guide and shape and mould that young person. One Father is more than a hundred schoolmasters. +++ When the God was creating Fathers, he started with a tall frame. A female angel nearby said, "What kind of a Father is that? If you're going to make children so close to the ground, why have you put the Father up so high? He won't be able to shoot marbles without kneeling, tuck a child in bed without bending, or even kiss a child without stooping" God smiled and said, "Yes, but if I make him child size, who would children have to look up to?" And when God made a Father's hands, they were large. The angel shook her head and sai...

A short true story- ********  There was an old man at our church who had loved God all of his life. This man John, walked around saying "God is Good". He said it all the time, whenever and wherever he was. When John got married he said, "God is Good". When John lost his job he said, "God is Good". When John's father died he said, "God is Good". When Johns wallet got stolen he said, "God is Good". Well, you get the idea, no matter what John did, or what happened to him, we would always hear him say, "God is Good". A few months ago, John was diagnosed with cancer. The disease had spread rapidly and he was told by his doctor he'd have only a few weeks to live. Still, even on his death bed, John could be heard by everyone in the hospital repeating his famous line, "God is Good". Our pastor Charles was Johns best friend. Charles went every day to visit John in the hospital. And every night before Charles left John...

Prayer needs to be an essential part of each of our lives. Many times we become lazy in our commitment to the Lord concerning our prayer time and whether we realize it or not, we are opening a door for the enemy to attack our life either spiritually or physically. It is important that we never forget that God is the sustainer of our lives and as such we are to continually be in communication with Him. +++ An old mountaineer and his wife were sitting in front of the fireplace one evening taking life easy. After a long silence, the wife said: "Jed, I think it's raining. Why don't you get up and go outside and see?" The old mountaineer continued to gaze into the fire for a while, sighed and then said, "Aw, Ma, why don't we just call in the dog and see if he's wet." +++ That's what you call the height of laziness. And I wouldn't want to say that we are downright lazy, but we all have a lazy streak in us. And laziness is a faith killer. Laziness i...

It is easy to get discouraged when things are going bad. But we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering. Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” +++ Heavy rains remind us of challenges in life.  Never ask for a lighter rain, just pray to God for a better umbrella. - That is the attitude! Life is not about finding the right person, but creating the right relationship. It's not how we care in the beginning, but how much we care till the very end. Some people always throw stones in your path. It depends on what you make with them; a Wall or a Bridge? - Remember you are the architect of your life. Search for a good heart, but don't search for a beautiful face, coz beautiful things are not always good, but good things are always beautiful. It’s not important to hold all the good cards in life, but it’s importan...

Many times we try to do things our way and do not seek God's will for a particular situation. The benefit of first seeking the Lord is that He promises to direct your life in the best possible direction as we read in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” +++ Unaware that his patient arrived in his office, a famous surgeon was caught reading a book intensely while waiting for an important patient. Curious. The patient asked his doctor what book he was reading. “Was it a new medical journal? Was it a new scientific finding? “ No. “It is a Bible.”, he exclaimed. His patient asked, “Will your Bible help you before my operation or after?” His reply. “During.” +++ The surgeon knew that his skill and intellect are nothing without God’s power and favour. He understands that only God has the power to guide him while he does surgery on the operating table. Imagine him ...

I believe it is important that we realize and always keep in mind that it is by the strength and power of Almighty God that we are successful in the things He has called us to do. If we depend on our own strength and will, then we will eventually burn out and fail. This story illustrates how we can be successful in life on our own strength but sooner or later we will get dull and need to be sharpened and this can only take place by spending time with the Lord and allowing Him to refresh us. +++ A young man approached the foreman of a logging crew and asked for a job. "That depends," replied the foreman. "Let's see you fell this tree." The young man stepped forward and skilfully felled a great tree. Impressed, the foreman exclaimed, "You can  start Monday ." Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday rolled by - and  Thursday afternoon  the foreman approached the young man and said, "You can pick up your pay check on the way out today." Startled, th...

Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy” meditate on these things. +++ In a recent NCAA cross-country championship held in Riverside, California, 123 of the 128 runners missed a turn. One competitor, Mike Delcavo, stayed on the 10,000 meter course and began waving for fellow runners to follow him. Delcavo was able to convince only four other runners to go with him. Asked what his competitors thought of his mid-race decision not to follow the crowd, Delcavo responded, "They thought it was funny that I went the Right Way." Delcavo was one who ran correctly. +++ In the same way, our goal is to run correctly; to finish the race marked out for us by Christ. For Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. We can rejoice over those who have courage to follow, ig...

"What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." – James 4:14b. That verse in the book of James is a true statement and it points, like a flaming arrow, at the futility of living our lives with selfish motives. James points out the folly of making all kinds of plans and schemes just to make money, just to make our lives more comfortable. He urges us, instead, to seek God's will and do the good laid out for us to do. That, in effect, is a life of consequence, a life that will reach into eternity. +++ An executive in a huge company in the United States, was making thousands of dollars and continually planned how to make more. His boss loved him. His colleagues envied him. Some of them hated him. His wife left him and his children barely know him. He has no place for God in his life until he is sent to China to develop business relationships for the company. He meets an old college friend, a brilliant man who was sent to study in the Uni...

“Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.” – Colossians  3:20 . Honouring your father and mother is being respectful in word and action and having an inward attitude of esteem for their position. God exhorts us to honour father and mother. He values honouring parents enough to include it in the Ten Commandments. +++ A son took his old father to a restaurant for an evening dinner.  Father being very old and weak, while eating, dropped food on his shirt and trousers.  Other diners watched him in disgust while his son was calm. After he finished eating, his son who was not at all embarrassed, quietly took him to the wash room, wiped the food particles, removed the stains, combed his hair and fitted his spectacles firmly.  When they came out, the entire restaurant was watching them in dead silence, not able to grasp how someone could embarrass themselves publicly like that. The son settled the bill and started walking out with ...

Many times we try to do things our way and do not seek God's will for a particular situation. The benefit of first seeking the Lord is that He promises to direct your life in the best possible direction as we read in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” +++ Unaware that his patient arrived in his office, a famous surgeon was caught reading a book intensely while waiting for an important patient. Curious. The patient asked his doctor what book he was reading. “Was it a new medical journal? Was it a new scientific finding? “ No. “It is a Bible.”, he exclaimed. His patient asked, “Will your Bible help you before my operation or after?” His reply. “During.” +++ The surgeon knew that his skill and intellect are nothing without God’s power and favour. He understands that only God has the power to guide him while he does surgery on the operating table. Imagine him ...

“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” – 2 Corinthians  4:16 . Even life's many irritations and problems have their place. They may cause us to change directions. Or prod us to greater achievement. Or keep us moving along when it's easier to go nowhere. Are you simply making the best of a bad situation, or will it make the best of you? +++ A story is told of one of America's greatest leaders. It is actually a story of repeated failures and dogged persistence: In 1831 he failed in business. In 1832 he was defeated for the state legislature. In 1833 he failed again in business. In 1834 he was elected to the state legislature. In 1835 his sweetheart died. In 1836 he had a nervous breakdown. In 1838 he was defeated for Speaker. In 1840 he was defeated for Elector. In 1843 he was defeated for Congress. In 1846 he was elected for one term to Congress. In 1848 he was defeated again for Congress. In 185...

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” – Luke  6:31 . "Namaste" is a polite Indian gesture of greeting or farewell. From Hindi, the word literally means "bowing to you." Namaste has also been used to mean "I honour the sacred that is within you." What a remarkable thing it would be to actually honour the sacred that is within each person we meet! Even strangers. Nobody would go unnoticed and everybody would count. Has this ever happened to you? +++ One day after we had moved to a new town, my wife Judith did grocery shopping. We moved few food items with us so she filled four grocery carts full. She asked if she could pay with an out of state currency. "We just moved here," she explained, "and don't have local currency as yet." They said, "Yes, no problem." But when she began looking for her currencies, she discovered that she had left it at home. All of the groceries had been checked and sacked. "I'm so...