LIFE Stories

“God replied to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." – Exodus 3:14. We see the eternity of God in the name He revealed to Moses: "I AM WHO I AM." What does this mean? At the very least it means that God is self-existent. He is original, the cause, the root, the great mover, the well-spring of all that there is. Many people, especially children, have trouble understanding this. You will probably recognize the following conversation as sounding like one in your own home: +++ "Mommy, who made me?" "God made you, darling." "Well, Mommy, who made the sky and the trees?" "God made the sky and the trees. God made everything." "Mommy, who made God?" One mother who was approached about this dropped what she was doing and sat down with her youngster for a little talk. Pointing to her wedding band, she said, "This is a 'love ring,' which your daddy gave to me when we were married. Look at it closely and tell me where it begins

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his [Jesus Christ's] appearing.” +++ Arthur Berry was a charming man who loved only the finest things life had to offer. During the Roaring 1920s he was a master thief who stole from only the wealthiest people. Berry was eventually caught and spent the next 18 years in prison. After serving his sentence he moved to a small town in New England where he led a quiet life. Some years later word got out who he was and his true identity was revealed and a horde of reporters came to interview the notorious thief. One reporter asked him, "Do you remember who it was that you stole the most from?" Berry replied, "The person that I stole the most from was Myself. I could have made a contribution to society. I could hav

“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 the 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 th

God is able to bring us forth victorious even when our problems seem to be impossible to solve. Be encouraged and confident in the Lord always and never doubt His abilities. Even though you may go through tough times and think there is no help; God is your helper and comforter and is well able to deliver you from every trap of the enemy. Take refuge in His Word and know that if God is for you, who can dare to be against you? (Romans 8:31). +++ During the US civil war Abraham Lincoln met with a group of ministers for a prayer breakfast. Lincoln was not a church-goer but was a man of deep, if at times unorthodox, faith. At one point one of the ministers said, “Mr. President, let us pray that God is on our side”. Lincoln’s response showed far greater insight, “No, gentlemen, let us pray that we are on God’s side.” +++ Lincoln reminded those ministers that religion is not a tool by which we get God to do what we want but an invitation to open ourselves to being and doing what God wants. Jo

"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 [make straight] your paths." – Proverbs 3:5-6. No matter what the circumstances may look like, no matter how bad or difficult the situation may seem, just know and remember that there is One who is greater than any problem you may have today. Jesus Christ is the problem solver. He will bring you out! Just know that Jesus is always on time, and He will never fail you. +++ Mary, an English nurse, was working in a mission clinic in an Arab country. "One morning she and her assistant, Fatima, needed to travel eight miles to another village. They caught a bus that was going in their direction. But after a few miles, the bus driver passed their stop and kept on driving. The bus driver ignored the women's pleas to return to the road that led to their village. Mary became upset, but Fatima remained calm, recalling their morning prayers asking

This is how it happened...I just finished the household chores for the night and was preparing to go to bed, when I heard a noise in the front of the house. I opened the door to the front room and to my surprise, Santa himself stepped out from behind the Christmas Tree. He placed his finger over his mouth so I would not cry out. "What are you doing?" I started to ask. The words choked up in my throat, and I saw he had tears in his eyes. His usual jolly manner was gone. Gone was the eager, boisterous soul we all know.  He then answered me with a simple statement. "TEACH THE CHILDREN!" I was puzzled; what did he mean? He anticipated my question, and with one quick movement brought forth a miniature toy bag from behind the tree. As I stood bewildered, Santa said, "Teach the children! Teach them the old meaning of Christmas. The meaning that now-a-days Christmas has been forgotten." Santa then reached in his bag and pulled out a FIR TREE and placed it before t

We should always be willing to help others and be quick to lend a helping no matter who the person is. That’s what Jesus meant by saying, “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples; that you love one another even as I have loved you.” If we want people to come to know the Lord, then we should spend more time encouraging them and not be critical or judgmental because they are not living according to our qualifications. +++ The young people at Shively Christian Church were fiercely competitive with their neighbor Church, Shively Baptist, in all things.  They were also serious about their Christianity, faithfully attending the summer Bible camp led by the youth pastor. One week, the Bible lesson was about Jesus washing His disciples’ feet, from John 13.  To make the servanthood lesson stick. Their pastor divided the kids into groups and told them to go out and find a practical way to be servants. "I want you to be Jesus in the city for the next two hours," he said. &q

“…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith...” – Hebrews 12:1-2. +++ He brushed his teeth twice a day. He went through the clinic twice a year. He wore his overshoes when it rained. He slept with the windows open. He ate lots of vegetables. He got at least eight hours of sleep. He never smoked, or drank, or lost his temper. He always rested all day Sunday. He was all set to live to be a hundred. He is survived by 18 specialists, 4 health institutions, 6 gymnasiums, and a great host of makers of body-building equipment and antiseptics. He made just one mistake...He forgot God! +++ "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." –  Matthew 6:33. Heavenly Father, today, the day may you draw those that feel lost, without hope, without love, and are searching for the

God's Divine Mercy is always obtainable in however small of huge mistakes we make. “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” – Ephesians 4:32. +++ There was a king who had ten wild dogs. He used them to torture and kill any of his servants who made a mistake. One of the servants gave an opinion which was wrong, and the king didn’t like it at all. So, he ordered that the servant be thrown to the dogs. The servant said, “I served you for ten years, and you do this to me? Please give me ten days before throwing me to those dogs!” The king agreed. In those ten days, the servant went to the guard who looks after the dogs and told him he would like to serve the dogs for the next ten days. The guard was baffled but agreed, and the servant started feeding the dogs, cleaning them, bathing them and providing all sorts of comfort for them. When the ten days were over, the king ordered that the servant be thrown to the dogs for his pun

"And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” – 1 John 5:11-14. +++ "Max Lucado, in one of his books, tells of his boyhood days when he and his friends would gather on the street each afternoon to play football. One Dad in the neighborhood, a die-hard football buff, would sometimes join them. This Dad always played for whichever team was losing that day. Max Lucado writes, 'His appearance in the huddle changed the whole ball game. He was confident, strong, and most of all, he had a plan.' The kids, fired up by his leadership and emboldened by his plan, played with new determination. +++ Lucado makes the point that Jesus did the same thing for us. He came to join the losing team, and His appearance in the game changed everythi

"Be kind and compassionate to one another..." – Ephesians 4:32. +++ Oliver Campbell, a long-time member of the Catholic Worker community in Washington, DC, and highly respected  for his work feeding and caring for the homeless in that city once told the story of how he began his work. "One night as I brought down a large gallon jug of split pea soup and set it down on the cement block near the heating vent where they gathered, a rather rough looking fellow picked up the jar of soup and, in one motion, broke the jar over my head.... "Instead of running away, I asked the man why he had done that. These were probably the first words I had ever spoken to any of them. He told me I was doing nothing more than bringing food to the dogs. I was bringing food, setting it down like I was feeding them out of a pet dish and then just walking away.  He said, 'Talk to us.  Visit us. We don't bite.'" "What happened that night, said Oliver, 'was that a firs

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16. +++ A powerful story is told about a mountain school that had a hard time keeping a teacher. It seems there was a group of big, rough boys who took pride in running the teacher off. The biggest and roughest of them all was named Jim. A new young teacher won over the boys, however, by letting them write the rules for the school—which were very strictly enforced with a rod. For example, cheating would be punished with five strokes of the rod, and stealing with ten strokes, both to be given with the offender's coat off. Everything went well until one day Jim's lunch was stolen. A frail little boy in hand-me-down clothes that were too big for him admitted his guilt. The school rules demanded that he be whipped. When the teacher called the little fellow up front, he came whimpering and begging to leave his coat on because he had no sh

“I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things.” – Isaiah 25:1. +++ The discovery of penicillin revolutionized health care. Prior to the 1940s, bacterial infections were often fatal. Since then, penicillin has saved countless lives by killing harmful bacteria. The men who recognized its potential and developed it for widespread use won a Nobel Prize in 1945. Long before the discovery of penicillin, other silent killers were at work saving lives by destroying bacteria. These silent killers are white blood cells. +++ These hard workers are God’s way of protecting us from disease. No one knows how many invasions they have stopped or how many lives they have saved. They receive little recognition for all the good they do. The Lord gets similar treatment. He often gets blamed when something goes wrong, but He seldom gets credit for all the things that go right. Every day people get up, get dressed, drive to work or school or the grocery store, and return safely to their famili

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13. +++ One day all the employees reached the office and they saw a big advice on the door on which it was written: “Yesterday the person who has been hindering your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym”. In the beginning, they all got sad for the death of one of their colleagues, but after a while they started getting curious to know who that man was who hindered the growth of his colleagues and the company itself. The excitement in the gym was such that security agents were ordered to control the crowd within the room. The more people reached the coffin, the more the excitement heated up. Everyone thought: “Who is this guy who was hindering my progress? Well, at least he died!” One by one the thrilled employees got closer to the coffin, and when they looked inside it they suddenly became speechless. They stood nearby the coffin, shock

  “We are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ if indeed we suffer with Him.” —Romans 8:17.   +++   Ben-Hur tells the story of a Jewish aristocrat betrayed by his best friend and condemned to serve as a galley slave in the Roman navy. On a forced march to the ship, Judah Ben-Hur meets Jesus of Nazareth, whose compassion fills him with hope.   Eventually, Ben-Hur saves the Roman commander during battle. In gratitude, the commander adopts Ben-Hur as his son, instantly elevating him from slave to heir.   +++   We all know the rest of the story.   That’s what happens to us when God adopts us into His family. But great privilege brings great responsibility. Paul said that we become “heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer from Him” (Rom. 8:17).   The gospel does not say, “Come to Jesus and live happily ever after.” God’s syllabus for His children’s education includes training through hardships.   Ben-Hur’s years of enduring hardship as a Roman slave

“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 wil

“Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.” – Ephesians 4:2. +++ Once there lived a brave king. He fought many battles and won many of them. Unfortunately, in one of the most important battles for his country, he was badly wounded. The king lived to relish the victory of the battle but lost an eye and a leg. One day the king saw the paintings of some brave kings from the past. “I should have one for myself too, then I will be remembered for my bravery for years to come” thought the king. He called for all the great painters in the country and asked them to paint a beautiful portrait of him. “Who will paint my portrait?”, asked the king. But none of the painters dared to accept the task of painting the king’s portrait. They couldn’t think of any way they could make the one eye and one-legged king look beautiful. “How could we include such defects of the king in the painting and make him look beautiful”, they a

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” – 2 Corinthians 5:17. +++ British businessman Lindsay Clegg told a story about a London warehouse property he was selling. The building had been empty for months, and vandals had badly damaged the doors, smashed the windows, and thrown trash all over the interior. As Clegg showed the property to a prospective buyer, he repeated incessantly that he would have the structure repaired. “Don’t worry about the repairs,” the buyer told him. “When I buy this place, I’m tearing down the building and constructing something completely new. I don’t want the building; I want the site.” +++ It’s very much the same with all of us. When we come to Christ, we’re much like that lot with an old warehouse on it. Because of our sins, we’re in a dire spiritual condition. And often our temptation is to make all the right repairs before we give ourselves over to God by placing our faith in Christ. But the truth

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. Laziness is a faith killer.  - If we'r

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." – Acts 1:8. +++ During the Cold War, a Christian from the U.S. was visiting Romania. It was a gray, cold day, and all the faces around him reflected that gray, cold atmosphere. But in the midst of the gloom, the Christian man heard someone whistling a tune. It was an old hymn, 'The Great Physician now is here, the sympathizing Jesus.' "The Christian man spotted the whistler and began walking alongside him. Because Christians were persecuted by the government, he took care not to publicly identify his allegiance. He simply began whistling the same tune. The Romanian man stopped, a big smile spreading over his face. He pointed to heaven. So did the American man. He pointed to his heart. The American did too. Then he reached out and grabbed the American in a big bear hug. Neither man could speak the ot

“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 washroom, 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 his father. At that time, an old man