LIFE Stories

+++ "The Easter story is nothing but a myth," Jimmy's high school science teacher announced to his class a few days before Easter break. "Jesus not only didn't rise from the grave," he continued, "but there's no God in heaven who would allow his son to be crucified in the first place." "Sir, I believe in God," Jimmy protested. "And I believe in the resurrection! "Jimmy, you can believe what you wish to, of course," the teacher replied. "However, the real world excludes the possibility of miraculous events such as the resurrection. The resurrection is a scientific impossibility. No one who believes in miracles can also respect science." "God isn't limited by science," Jimmy responded. "He created science!" Engaged! by Jimmy's outspoken faith, the teacher proposed a scientific experiment. Reaching into his refrigerator, he produced a raw egg and held it up. "I'm going to drop

“Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.” – Psalm 119:105. There is power in God’s Word to alter your life. The only way to navigate life’s twists and turns is through God’s Word. +++  Just before the 1988 Winter Olympics, a television program aired that featured blind skiers being trained for slalom skiing. The blind skiers were paired with sighted skiers and were taught how to make right and left turns. Once they mastered that, they were taken to the slalom slope, where their sighted partners skied beside them shouting, “Left!” and “Right!” As they obeyed the commands, the blind skiers were able to navigate the course and cross the finish line depending solely on the skiers’ words. Throughout the course, they were left with the choice of either complete trust or catastrophe. +++ This is a great picture of the Christian life where this world blinds us to how we are to live. But when we, who are blinded by the world, begin to rely on God’s Word to guide our every step,

“And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, approached, rolled back the stone...Then the angel said to the women..."He is not here, for He has been raised just as He said..." – Matthew 28:2-6. +++ A man was going down a street when in a store window he saw a very beautiful picture of the crucifixion. He gazed spellbound at the vividly pictured story. Suddenly became conscious that at his side stood a young boy. The boy, too, was gazing at the picture, and his tense expression made the man know that "The Crucifixion" had really gripped the eager little soul. Touching the boy on the shoulder, the man said, "Sonny, what does it mean?" "Don’t you know?" he answered, his face full of the marvel of the man's ignorance. "That man is Jesus, and the others are Roman soldiers and the woman who is crying is His mother, and he added, "they killed him!" The man did not want to move from in fron

“We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.” – 1 John 3:16. +++ A Spanish father tells a story about how he wanted to reconcile with his son who had run away to Madrid. In order to locate his son, he takes out this advertisement in the El Liberal newspaper: “Paco, meet me at the Hotel Montana at noon on Tuesday. All is forgiven. Love, Papa.” Paco is a common name in Spain, and when the father goes to the square, he finds almost 800 young men named Paco waiting for their fathers. What drew them to the hotel? It was the words “All is forgiven.” Notice that the father did not say, “All WILL BE forgiven IF you do this or that.” Not, “All WILL BE forgiven WHEN you do such and such a thing.” He simply says, “All is forgiven.” No strings attached. +++ How important is it to offer our love, especially to those closest to us, with no strings attached? Jesus did that for you and me when He said, “It is finished.” – John 19:30. All

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." – John 13:34. The day before Good Friday is called "Maundy Thursday." It comes from the Latin mandatum (commandment). It was that day, after Jesus had washed his disciples' feet, that he said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another." +++ King Theodore of Abyssinia once took a British subject named Cameron prisoner and incarcerated him in the high fortress of Magdala. No cause was stated for his confinement. When Great Britain found out, she demanded an immediate release of her citizen. King Theodore refused. Within days Great Britain sent several thousand soldiers by ship to Magdala. After marching across an unfriendly country for many miles, they attacked the fortress and rescued that one British subject. This expedition took several months and cost the English government twenty-five million dollars. The entire resources of the governm

Jesus said He would not leave us alone but would give us a Helper to be with us forever. (John 14: 16-18).  Jesus also taught us that the Holy Spirit would be our Counselor (John 14: 26).  +++  Two sisters from China came to Christ in a house church meeting. Twenty months later a friend from Hong Kong visited them and asked what they had been doing since their conversion. “Starting home meetings,” was their timid response. “How many home meetings?” The friend asked. “Only thirty,” was their halting reply. “How many attend your meetings?” was the next nonchalant question. “Well, at the smallest one about two hundred and eighty!”  Now the questioner was totally involved and quickly continued, “How many attend your largest meeting?” “Not even 5000, only about four thousand nine hundred!” The Hong Kong Christian was flabbergasted. And in his excitement quickly asked, “How do you ladies, both new Christians, know what to do?” They simply replied, “We pray. And after we pray, the Holy Spirit

“All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:28. 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 amid pain and suffering. +++ John was the only survivor of a shipwreck washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions. But then one day, after scavenging for food, John arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. Worst happened; everything was lost. John was stunned with grief and anger. "God," he cried, "how could you do this to me!" Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had

“One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing…” – 2 Samuel 11:2. Like David, we are open and vulnerable to temptation. Call upon the Lord in the hour or even the moment of temptation, and He will give the strength to resist the devil so that he will flee from us. +++ In December 1985 an enormous sinkhole swallowed a house, a two car sized garage and forced the evacuation of four homes in a retirement community in Florida. The hole was about the size of a pickup truck when it was discovered. Within three hours it had grown to 30 by 40 feet and had swallowed half of a small house. Two hours later it had expanded to more than 70 feet, and the house with its garage was gone. Authorities were grateful that it finally stopped growing without doing even more damage. +++ David discovered that sin is like an ever-expanding sinkhole. As he was walking on the flat roof of his palace, he saw a beautiful woman bathing. Inste

Jesus said, “For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.” – Matthew 25:29. Use the gifts and talents God has given us to serve Him by serving others in the endless opportunities He gives us every day. And when we come to the end of life's journey let us not be among those who have nothing to offer God. +++ The Roman Aqueduct at Segovia in Spain was built in A.D.109. For eighteen hundred years it carried cool water from the mountains to the hot and thirsty city. Nearly sixty generations of men drank from its flow. Then came another generation, a recent one, who said, 'This Aqueduct is so great a marvel that it ought to be preserved for our children as a museum piece. We shall relieve it of its centuries-long labor.' They did and they ruined it. They laid modern iron pipes to carry the water. They gave the ancient bricks and mortar a rest. And the Aqueduct began to fal

“...unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air." – 1 Corinthians 14:9. We should communicate God’s love in some way to every life we intend to touch. Speak the right words, at the right time and in the right manner so that we will be Christ witnesses and draw people to Him. +++ A seminary student turned in his copy of a sermon he had written to his preaching professor for grading. At a later conference the professor told the student how impressed he was with his sermon, how well it was written but that he was giving him a D. Confused, the student asked, "Why a ‘D’ if it's as good as you say it is?" "It's because of your title," the professor remarked. "Nobody will want to hear a sermon entitled: 'The Pericopes of Jesus in Relationship to the Eschatology of the Apostle Paul.' I'll tell you what I'll do. You see if you can come up with a better

"Then, leaving her water jar, the Samaritan woman went back to the town and said to the people, 'Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?'" – John 4:28-29. +++ The Trinity College in Cambridge, England, has a long-held tradition of sending students to the slums of South London. The students sleep in the parish hall and spend a week each year working among the parishioners. Some years ago a student was helping do some home repairs when the occupant, a bed-ridden elderly lady, asked him, “Has anyone told you that you bore a remarkable likeness to Prince Charles? You have a spitting image of him.” The student replied quite truthfully, “No one has ever told me that before.” "Strange" she replied, “even with my poor eyes, you look just like him.” She was spot on. To her dying day she probably never realized that her drains were being cleaned by the heir to the throne of England, who was indeed Prince Charles. +++ Some 2,000 yea

“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” – 2 Corinthians 9:7. My dear it is good to spread happiness with other people; it comes back to you. A good person who gives love and happiness will surely receive good, love and happiness. +++ Once a group of 500 people were attending a seminar and suddenly the speaker stopped and decided to do a group activity. He started giving each person a balloon. Each person was then asked to write their name on it using a marker pen. Then all the balloons were collected and put in another room. The people were then let into that room and asked to find the balloon which had their name written on it within 5 minutes. Everyone was frantically searching for their name, colliding with each other, pushing around others and there was utter chaos. At the end of 5 minutes no one could find their own balloon. Then, the speaker asked each person to randomly collect a

"From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that last day.." – 2 Timothy 4:8. +++ I love the story of the old missionary couple. A couple went to Africa to serve as missionaries right after they were married. They had planned to serve only a couple of years and then return home. They soon fell in love, however, with the kind people they had come to help. They stayed on year after year setting up a clinic and a school helping the people build a sanitation system so they could have clean water, teaching children to read and learn, and sharing their faith and love daily with the villagers that they cared so deeply about.                                               Finally, after over 50 years of faithful work, failing health caused the couple to decide to come home again. They wrote to their hometown community and church to let them know when they were coming. After sailing several days, they arrived in the port c

For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more." - Hebrews 8:12. Forgive and forget, just as our Heavenly Father removes our transgressions as far as the east is from the west. (Psalm 103:12). +++ A woman boarded the bus and sat down beside a man, hitting him with her numerous bags. He whimpered but said nothing. The man remained silent. The woman was surprised when the man did not grumble or complain although erroneously the bags hit him. So, she asked him as to why he was silent. The man replied with a Smile: "There is no need to be upset about something so insignificant, as our journey together is so short, because I'm getting off at the next stop " This answer disturbed the woman so much, she asked the man to excuse her and thought the words needed to be written in gold. +++ Each of us must understand that our time in this world is so short, that darkening it with useless arguments, jealousy, not forgiving others, disconten