The boy bundled up in his warmest and driest clothes and said, ‘OK, dad, I’m ready.’  

 His Pastor dad asked, ‘Ready for what?’

‘Dad, it’s time we gather our tracts together and go out.’

Dad responds, ‘Son, it’s very cold outside and it’s pouring down rain.’

The boy gives his dad a surprised look, asking, ‘But Dad, aren’t    people   still going to Hell, even though it’s raining?’

Dad answers, ‘Son, I am not going out in this weather.’

Despondently, the boy asks, ?Dad, can I go? Please?’

His father hesitated for a moment then said, ‘Son, you can go. Here
are the tracts, be careful son.’

‘Thanks Dad!’

And with that, he was off and out into the rain This eleven year old   boy walked the streets of the town going door to door and handing
everybody he met in the street a Gospel Tract.

After two hours of walking in the rain, he was soaking, bone-chilled wet and down to his VERY LAST TRACT.  
 
 He stopped on a corner and looked    for someone to hand a tract to, but the streets were totally deserted.

Then he turned toward the first home he saw and started up the   sidewalk   to the front door and rang the door bell.

 He rang the bell, but nobody answered. He rang it again and again, but    still no one answered. He waited but still no answer.

Finally, this eleven year old trooper turned to leave, but something   stopped him. Again, he turned to the door and rang the bell and
knocked   loudly on the door with his fist.  
 
 He waited, something holding him    there on the front porch. He rang again and this time the door slowly   opened.

Standing in the doorway was a very sad-looking elderly lady.

 She softly asked, ‘What can I do for you, son?’    With radiant eyes   and a smile that lit up her world, this little boy said, ‘Ma’am, I’m   sorry if I disturbed you, but I just want to tell you that *JESUS   REALLY DOES LOVE YOU* and I came to give you my very last Gospel Tract   which will tell you all about JESUS and His great LOVE.’

With that, he handed her his last tract and turned to leave.

 She called to him as he departed. ‘Thank you, son! And God Bless You!’

 Well, the following Sunday morning in church Pastor Dad was in the
pulpit. As the service began, he asked, ‘Does anybody have     t estimony   or   want to say anything?’

Slowly, in the back row of the church, an elderly lady stood to her
feet.  
 
 As she began to speak, a look of glorious radiance came from    her   face, ‘No one in this church knows me. I’ve never been here before.

 You    see, before last Sunday I was not a Christian. My husband passed on   some time ago, leaving me totally alone in this world.  
 
 Last Sunday,  being a particularly cold and rainy day, it was even more so in my   heart that I came to the end of the line where I no longer had any   hope   or will to live.  
 
 So I took a rope and a chair and ascended the    stairway   into the attic of my home. I fastened the rope securely to a rafter in   the roof, then stood on the chair and fastened the other end of the   rope around my neck.  
 
 Standing on that chair, so lonely and    broken-hearted I was about to leap off, when suddenly the loud ringing of my doorbell downstairs startled me.

 I thought, ‘I’ll wait a minute  ,  and whoever it is will go  away.’

I waited and waited, but the ringing doorbell seemed to get louder and  more insistent, and then the person ringing also started knocking loudly. I thought to myself again, ‘Who on earth could this be?

 Nobody ever rings my bell or comes to see me.’ I loosened the rope   from my neck and started for the front door, all the while the bell rang louder and louder.

When I opened the door and looked I could hardly believe my eyes, for there on my front porch was the most radiant and angelic little boy I had ever seen in my life.  
 
His SMILE, oh, I could never describe it to   you! The words that came from his mouth caused my heart that had long   been dead, TO LEAP TO LIFE as he exclaimed with   a cherub-like voice, ‘ Ma’am, I just came to tell you that JESUS   REALLY   DOES LOVE YOU .’ Then he gave me this Gospel Tract that I now hold in     my hand.  
 
 As the little angel disappeared back out into the cold and   rain, I closed my door and read slowly every word of this Gospel   Tract.  
 
Then I went up to my attic to get my rope and chair. I wouldn’t be
needing them any more. You see—I am now a Happy Child of the KING.

 Since the address of your church was on the back of this Gospel Tract,   I have come here to personally say THANK YOU to God’s little angel who   came just in the nick of time and by so doing, spared my soul from an   eternity in hell.’  
 
There was not a dry eye in the church. And as shouts of praise And   honor to THE KING resounded off the very rafters of the building,     Pastor Dad descended from the pulpit to the front pew where the little     angel was seated.  
 
He took his son in his arms and sobbed   uncontrollably.    

 Probably no church has had a more glorious moment, and probably this   universe has never seen a Papa that was more filled with love & honor for his son… Except for One. This Father also allowed His Son to go out into a cold and dark world.  
 
 He received His Son back with joy unspeakable, and as all of heaven shouted praises and honor to The King, the Father sat His beloved Son on a throne far above all principality and power and every name that is named.

Blessed are your eyes for reading this message. Don’t let this message   die, read it again and pass it to others. Heaven is for His people!

Remember, God’s message CAN make the difference in the life of someone   close to you. Do not be too shy to share that wonderful message.

First Samuel 20 focuses on the friendship of David and Jonathan. These two men truly cared for each other and had great trust and confidence in one another. David was running for his life from Jonathan’s father, Saul. Jonathan recognized that David was innocent. Because of the true friendship they shared, David survived Saul’s assassination attempts and went on to become one of Israel’s greatest kings. 

Real and true friendship involves freedom of choice, accountability, truth, and forgiveness. Peter and Jesus give us this example: Peter, afraid for his life after Jesus is led away from the Garden of Gethsemane, denies knowing Jesus (John 18). As He is led away by His accusers, Jesus casts a look toward Peter that says, “I knew you would deny Me, and I forgive you” (John 21). 

God is always with you (Hebrews 13:5). He calls us to be His hands and feet in a world starving for true friendship

]]> http://lisa1299.wordpress.com/2008/01/22/christian-ways-to-reduce-stress/feed/ 0 lisa1299 http://lisa1299.wordpress.com/2008/01/18/5-finger-prayer/ http://lisa1299.wordpress.com/2008/01/18/5-finger-prayer/#comments Fri, 18 Jan 2008 16:51:22 +0000 Lisa Smith http://lisa1299.wordpress.com/2008/01/18/5-finger-prayer/ ]]> 1. Your thumb is nearest you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C. S. Lewis once said, a “sweet duty.”

2. The next finger is the pointing finger. Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.

3. The next finger is the tallest finger It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for t h e president, leaders in business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion They need God’s guidance.

4. The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger, as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.

5. And lastly comes our little finger – the smallest finger of all which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, “The least shall be the greatest among you.” Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.

The Lord led the holy man to two doors.

He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the holy man’s mouth water.

The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful.

But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.

The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.

The Lord said, “You have seen Hell.”

They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man’s mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The holy man said, “I don’t understand.”

It is simple,” said the Lord. “It requires but one skill. You see they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.”

When Jesus died on the cross, he was thinking of you.

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