3 Trees
Once upon a mountain top, three little trees stood and dreamed of what they wanted to
become when they grew up.The first little tree looked up at the stars and said: "I want to
hold treasure. It want to be covered with gold and filled with precious stones. I'll be the
most beautiful treasure chest in the world!" The second little tree looked out at the small
stream trickling by on it's way to the ocean. "I want to be traveling mighty waters and
carrying powerful kings. I'll be the strongest ship in the world!" The third little tree
looked down into the valley below where busy men and women worked in a busy town.
"I don't want to leave the mountain top at all. I want to grow so tall that when people
stop to look at me, they'll raise their eyes to heaven and think of God. I will be the
tallest tree in the world." Years passed. The rain came, the sun shone, and the little
trees grew tall. One day three woodcutters climbed the mountain. The first woodcutter
looked at the first tree and said, "This tree is beautiful. It is perfect for me." With a
swoop of his shining axe, the first tree fell. "Now I shall be made into a beautiful chest, I
shall hold wonderful treasure!" The first tree said. The second woodcutter looked at the
second tree and said, "This tree is strong. It is perfect for me." With a swoop of his
shining axe, the second tree fell. "Now I shall sail mighty waters!" thought the second
tree. "I shall be a strong ship for mighty kings!" The third tree felt her heart sink when
the last woodcutter looked her way. She stood straight and tall and pointed bravely to
heaven. But the woodcutter never even looked up. "Any kind of tree will do for me."
He muttered. With a swoop of his shining axe, the third tree fell. The first tree rejoiced
when the woodcutter brought her to a carpenter's shop. But the carpenter fashioned the
tree into a feedbox for animals. The once beautiful tree was not covered with gold, nor
with treasure. She was coated with saw dust and filled with hay for hungry farm animals.
The second tree smiled when the woodcutter took her to a shipyard, but no mighty
sailing ship was made that day. Instead the once strong tree was hammered and sawed
into a simple fishing boat. She was too small and too weak to sail to an ocean, or even
a river; instead she was taken to a little lake. The third tree was confused when the
woodcutter cut her into strong beams and left her in a lumberyard. "What happened?"
The once tall tree wondered. "All I ever wanted was to stay on the mountain top and
point to God..." Many many days and night passed. The three trees nearly forgot their
dreams. But one night, golden starlight poured over the first tree as a young woman
placed her newborn baby in the feedbox. "I wish I could make a cradle for him." her
husband whispered. The mother squeezed his hand and smiled as the starlight shone
on the smooth and the sturdy wood. "This manger is beautiful." she said. And
suddenly the first tree knew he was holding the greatest treasure in the world. One
evening a tired traveler and his friends crowded into the old fishing boat. The traveler
fell asleep as the second tree quietly sailed out into the lake. Soon a thundering and
thrashing storm arose. The little tree shuddered. She knew she did not have the
strength to carry so many passengers safely through with the wind and the rain. The
tired man awakened. He stood up, stretched out his hand, and said, "Peace." The
storm stopped as quickly as it had begun. And suddenly the second tree knew he
was carrying the king of heaven and earth. One Friday morning, the third tree was
startled when her beams were yanked from the forgotten woodpile. She flinched as
she was carried through an angry jeering crowd. She shuddered when soldiers nailed
a man's hands to her. She felt ugly and harsh and cruel. But on Sunday morning, when
the sun rose and the earth tremble with joy beneath her, the third tree knew that
God's love had changed everything. It had made the third tree strong. And every time
people thought of the third tree, they would think of God. That was better than being
the tallest tree in the world. So next time you feel down because you didn't get what
you want, just sit tight and be happy because God is thinking of something better to
give you.
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WHITE ROSE & DOLL
I hurried into the local department store to grab some last minute
Christmas gifts. I looked at all the people and grumbled to myself. I
would be in here forever and I just had so much to do. Christmas was
beginning to become such a drag. I kinda wished that I could just
sleep through Christmas. But I hurried the best I could through all
the people to the toy department. Once again I kind of mumbled to
myself at the prices of all these toys. And wondered if the grandkids
would even play with them.
I found myself in the doll aisle. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a
little boy about 5 holding a lovely doll. He kept touching her hair
and he held her so gently. I could not seem to help myself. I just
kept looking over at the little boy and wondered who the doll was
for. I watched him turn to a woman and he called his aunt by name and
said, "Are you sure I don't have enough money?"
She replied a bit impatiently, "You know that you don't have enough
money for it." The aunt told the little boy not to go anywhere, that
she had to go get some other things and would be back in a few
minutes. And then she left the aisle.
The boy continued to hold the dollie. After a little bit, I asked
the boy who the doll was for. He said, "It is the doll my sister
wanted so badly for Christmas. She just knew that Santa would bring
it." I told him that maybe Santa was going to bring it. He said, "No,
Santa can't go where my sister is. I have to give the doll to my
Momma to take to her." I asked him where his sister was. He looked
at me with the saddest eyes and said, "She has gone to be with
Jesus. My Daddy says that Momma is going to have to go be with her."
My heart nearly stopped beating. Then the boy looked at me again and
said, "I told my Daddy to tell Momma not to go yet. I told him to
tell her to wait till I got back from the store." Then he asked me
if I wanted to see his picture. I told him I would love to. He pulled
out some pictures he'd had taken at the front of the store. He said,
"I want my Momma to take this with her so she doesn't ever forget me.
I love my Momma so very much and I wish she did not have to leave
me. But Daddy says she will need to be with my sister."
I saw that the little boy had lowered his head and had grown so very
quiet. While he was not looking I reached into my purse and pulled
out a handful of bills. I ask the little boy, "Shall we count that
money one more time?"
He grew excited and said, "Yes, I just know it has to be enough," so
I slipped my money in with his and we began to count it. And of
course it was plenty for the doll. He softly said, "Thank you Jesus
for giving me enough money."
Then the boy said, "I just asked Jesus to give me enough money to buy
this doll so Momma can take it with her to give to my sister. And he
heard my prayer. I wanted to ask him for enough to buy my Momma a
white rose, but I didn't ask him, but he gave me enough to buy the
doll and a rose for my Momma. She loves white roses so very very
much."
In a few minutes the aunt came back and I wheeled my cart away. I
could not keep from thinking about the little boy as I finished my
shopping in a totally different spirit than when I had started. And I
kept remembering a story I had seen in the newspaper several days
earlier about a drunk driver hitting a car and killing a little girl.
The Mother was in serious condition. The family was deciding on
whether to remove the life support that kept her alive. Now surely
this little boy did not belong with that story.
Two days later I read in the paper where the family had disconnected
the life support and the young woman had died. I could not forget the
little boy and just kept wondering if the two were somehow connected.
Later that day, I could not help myself and I went out and bought
some white roses and took them to the funeral home where the young
woman was. And there she was holding a lovely white rose, the
beautiful doll, and the picture of the little boy in the store.
I left there in tears, my life changed forever. The love that little
boy had for his little sister and his mother was overwhelming. And in
a split second a drunk driver had ripped the life of that little boy
to pieces.
Written by: V.A.Bailey
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Would you consider abortion in the following 4 situations ?
1. There's a preacher and wife who arevery, very poor. They already have
14 kids. Now she finds out she's pregnant with 15th. They're living in
tremendous poverty. Considering their poverty the excessive world
population, would you consider recommending she get an abortion?
2. The father is sick with sniffles, the mother has TB. They have 4
children. 1st is blind, 2nd is dead, 3rd is deaf, 4th has TB. She finds
she's pregnant again. Given the extreme situation, would you consider
recommending abortion?
3. A white man raped a 13 year old black girl and she got pregnant. If
you were her parents, would you consider recommending abortion?
4. A teenage girl is pregnant. She's not married. Her fiance is not the
father of the baby, and he's very upset. Would you consider recommending
abortion?
............................
In the first case, you have just killed John Wesley. One of the great
evangelists in the 19th century.
In the second case, you have killed Beethoven.
In the third case, you have killed Ethel Waters, the great black gospel singer.
If you said yes to the fourth case, you have just declared the murder of
Jesus Christ !!
Many children are innocently slaughtered everyday because their parents are
too afraid of their consequences. If you make a mistake, you must take the
responsibility. Everyone grows up to be something, especially in God's eyes.
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Heaven's Grocery Store
I was walking down life's highway a long time ago. One day I saw a
sign that read, "Heaven's Grocery Store". As I got a little closer the door came
open and when I came to myself I was standing inside. I saw a host of ANGELS.
They were standing everywhere. One handed me a basket and said, "My child
shop with care." Everything a Christian needed was in that grocery store. And
all you couldn't carry, you could come back the next day for more.
First, I got some PATIENCE. LOVE was in the same row. Further down
was UNDERSTANDING you need that everywhere you go. I got a box or
two of WISDOM, a bag or two of FAITH. I just couldn't miss the HOLY
GHOST, for it was all over the place. I stopped by to get some STRENGTH and
COURAGE to help me run this race. By then, my basket was getting full, but I
remembered I needed some GRACE. I didn't forget SALVATION, for
SALVATION was free, so I tried to get enough of that to save both you and me.
Then, I started up to the counter to pay my grocery bill, for I thought I had
everything to do the MASTER's will. As I went up the aisle, I saw PRAYER and
I just had to put that in, for I knew when I stepped outside I would run into sin.
PEACE and JOY were plentiful; they were last on the shelf. SONG and PRAISE
were hanging near, so I helped myself. Then I said to the angel, "Now, how much
do I owe?"
He smiled and said, "Just take them everywhere you go." Again, I smiled and
said, "How much do I really owe?"He smiled again and said, "MY CHILD, JESUS
PAID YOUR BILL A LONG, LONG TIME AGO." "ALL things WHATSOEVER
YOU shall ASK in PRAYER, BELIEVING, YOU SHALL RECEIVE." Matthew 21:22
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Card File Room
In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in
the room. There were no distinguishing features except for the one wall
covered with small index card files. They were like the ones in libraries
that list titles by author or subject in alphabetical order. But these
files, which stretched from floor to ceiling and seemingly endlessly in
either direction, had very different headings. As I drew near the wall of
files, the first to catch my attention was one that read "Girls I Have
Liked." I opened it and began flipping through the cards. I quickly shut
it, shocked to realize that I recognized the names written on each one.
And then without being told, I knew exactly where I was. This
lifeless room with its small files was a crude catalog system for my life.
Here were written the actions of my every moment, big and small, in a
detail my memory couldn't match.
A sense of wonder and curiosity, coupled with horror, stirred
within me as I began randomly opening files and exploring their content.
Some brought joy and sweet memories; others a sense of shame and regret so
intense that I would look over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching.
A file named "Friends" was next to one marked "Friends I Have Betrayed."
The titles ranged from the mundane to outright weird. "Books I
Have Read," "Lies I Have Told," "Comfort I Have Given," "Jokes I Have
Laughed At." Some were almost hilarious in their exactness: "Things I've
Yelled At My Brothers." Others I couldn't laugh at "Things I Have Done in
My Anger." Things I Have Muttered Under My Breath At My Parents." I
never ceased To be surprised by the contents. Often there were many more
cards than I expected. Sometimes fewer than I hoped.
I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the life I had lived.
Could it be possible that I had the time in my 20 years to write each of these
thousands of even millions of cards? But each card confirmed this truth.
Each was written in my own handwriting. Each signed with my signature.
When I pulled out the file marked "Songs I Have Listened To," I
realized the files grew to contain their contents. The cards were packed
tightly, and yet after two or three yards, I hadn't found the end of the
file. I shut it, shamed, not so much by quality of music, but more by the
vast amount of time I knew that file represented.
When I came to a file marked "Lustful Thoughts," I felt a chill
Run through my body. I pulled the file out only an inch, not willing to
test its size, and drew out a card. I shuddered at its detailed content.
I felt sick to think that such a moment had been recorded.
An almost animal rage broke on me. One thought dominated my mind:
"no one must ever see these cards! No one must ever see this room! I
have to destroy them!" In an insane frenzy I yanked the file out. Its
size didn't matter now. I had to empty it and burn the cards. But as I
took it at one end and began pounding it on the floor, I could not
dislodge a single card. I became desperate and pulled out a card, only to
find it as strong as steel when I tried to tear it.
Defeated and utterly helpless, I returned the file to its slot.
Leaning my forhead against the wall, I let out a long, self-pitying sigh.
And then I saw it. The title bore "People I Have Shared the Gospel With."
The handle was brighter than those around it, newer, almost unused. I
pulled on its handle and a small box not more than three inches long fell
into my hands. I could count the cards it contained on one hand.
And then the tears came. I began to weep. Sobs so deep that the
hurt started in my stomach and shook through me. I fell on my knees and
cried. I cried out of shame, from the overwhelming shame of it all. The
rows of file shelves swirled in my tear-filled eyes. No one must ever,
ever know of this room. I must lock it up and hide the key.
But then as I pushed away the tears, I saw Him. No, please not
Him. Not here. Oh, anyone but Jesus. I watched helplessly as He began
to Open the files and read the cards. I couldn't bear to watch His
response. And in the moments I could bring myself to look at his face, I
saw a sorrow deeper than my own. He seemed to intuitively go to the worst
boxes. Why did He have to read every one?
Finally He turned and looked at me from across the room. He
Looked at me with pity in His eyes. But this was a pity that didn't anger
me. I dropped me head, covered my face with my hands and began to cry
again. He walked over and put His arm around me. He could have said so
many things. But He didn't say a work. He just cried with me.
Then He got up and walked back to the wall of files. Starting at
one end of the room, He took out a file and, one by one, began to sign His
name over mine on each card.
"No!" I shouted rushing to Him. All I could find to say was "No,
no," as I pulled the card from Him. His name shouldn't be on these cards.
But there it was, written in red so rich, so dark, so alive. The name of
Jesus covered mine. It was written with His blood.
He gently took the card back. He smiled a sad smile and began to
sign the cards. I don't think I'll ever understand how He did it so
quickly, but the next instant it seemed I heard Him close the last file
and walk back to my side. He placed His hand on my shoulder and said, "It
is finished." I stood up, and He led me out of the room. There
was no lock on Its door. There were still cards to be written.
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Dear Lord:
So far today, God, I've done all right. I haven't gossiped, haven't lost my temper,
haven't been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or over-indulgent.
I'm very thankful for that. But in a few minutes, God, I'm going to get out of bed.
And from then on, I'm probably going to need a lot more help. Amen.
_______________________________________________________
* A LOVE STORY *
One day, I woke early in the morning to watch the sunrise.
Ah the beauty of God's creation is beyond description.
As I watched, I praised God for His beautiful work.
As I sat there, I felt the Lord's presence with me.
He asked me, "Do you love me?"
I answered, "Of course, God! You are my Lord and Saviour!"
Then He asked, "If you were physically handicapped, would you still Love me?"
I was perplexed. I looked down upon my arms, legs and the rest of my
body and wondered how many things I wouldn't; be able to do, the
things that I took for granted.
And I answered, "It would be tough Lord, but I would still love You."
Then the Lord said, "If you were blind, would you still love my creation?"
How could I love something without being able to see it? Then I thought of
all the blind people in the world and how many of them still loved God and
His creation.So I answered, "Its hard to think of it, but I would still love you."
The Lord then asked me, "If you were deaf, would you still listen to my word?"
How could I listen to anything being deaf? Then I understood.
Listening to God's Word is not merely using our ears, but our hearts.
I answered, "It would be tough, but I would still listen to Your word."
The Lord then asked, "If you were mute, would you still praise My Name?"
How could I praise without a voice?
Then it occurred to me: God wants us to sing from our very heart and soul.
It never matters what we sound like. And praising God is not always with a song,
but when we are persecuted, we give God praise with our words of thanks.
So I answered, "Though I could not physically sing, I would still praise Your Name.
And the Lord asked, "Do you really love Me?"
With courage and a strong conviction, I answered boldly,
"Yes Lord! I love You because You are the one and true God!"
I thought I had answered well, but God asked, "THEN WHY DO YOU SIN?"
I answered, "Because I am only human. I am not perfect."
"THEN WHY IN TIMES OF PEACE DO YOU STRAY THE FURTHEST?
WHY ONLY IN TIMES OF TROUBLE DO YOU PRAY THE EARNEST?"
No answers. Only tears.
The Lord continued: "Why only sing at fellowships and retreats? Why seek Me only
in times of worship? Why ask things so selfishly? Why ask things so unfaithfully?"
The tears continued to roll down my cheeks.
"Why are you ashamed of Me? Why are you not spreading the good news? Why
in times of persecution, you cry to others when I offer My shoulder to
cry on? Why make excuses when I give you opportunities to serve in My Name?"
I tried to answer, but there was no answer to give.
"You are blessed with life. I made you not to throw this gift away. I have blessed
you with talents to serve Me, but you continue to turn away.
I have revealed My Word to you, but you do not gain in knowledge. I have spoken
to you but your ears were closed. I have shown My blessings to you, but your eyes
were turned away. I have sent you servants, but you sat idly by as they were pushed
away. I have heard your prayers and I have answered them all."
"DO YOU TRULY LOVE ME ?"
I could not answer. How could I? I was embarrassed beyond belief. I had no excuse.
What could I say to this? When I my heart had cried out and the tears had flowed,
I said, Please forgive me Lord. I am unworthy to be Your child."
The Lord answered, " That is My Grace, My child."
I asked, " Then why do you continue to forgive me? Why do You love me so?"
The Lord answered,
" Because you are My creation. You are my child.
I will never abandon you.
When you cry, I will have compassion and cry with you.
When you shout with joy, I will laugh with you.
When you are down, I will encourage you.
When you fall, I will raise you up.
When you are tired, I will carry you.
I will be with you till the end of days, and I will love you forever."
Never had I cried so hard before. How could I have been so cold? How could I
have hurt God as I had done? I asked God, "How much do You love me?"
The Lord stretched out His arms, and I saw His nail-pierced hands.
bowed down at the feet of Christ, my Saviour.
And for the first time, I truly prayed.
Author Unknown.
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Birdcage
A man was on the side of the road with a large birdcage. A boy noticed that the
cage was full of birds of many kinds. "Where did you get those birds?" he asked.
"Oh, all over the place," the man replied. "I lure them with crumbs,
pretend I'm their friend then when they are close, I net them
and shove them into my cage."
"And what are you going to do with them now ?"
The man grinned, "I'm going to prod them with sticks, and get them
Really mad so they fight and kill each other. Those that survive, I will
kill. "None will escape".
The boy looked steadily at the man. What made him do such things? He
looked into the cruel, hard eyes. Then he looked at the birds, defenseless,
without hope. "Can I buy those birds?" the boy asked. The man hid a
smile, aware that he could be on to a good thing if he played his cards right.
"Well," he said hesitantly, "The cage is pretty expensive, and I spent
a lot of time collecting these birds, I'll tell you what I'll do, I'll let you have
the lot, birds, cage and all for ten pounds and that jacket you're wearing."
The boy paused, ten pounds was all he had, and the jacket was new and
very special, in fact it was his prized possession. Slowly, he took
out the ten pounds and handed it over, then even more slowly he took off
his jacket, gave it one last look then handed that over too...
then (well, you've guessed it) he opened the door and let the birds go free.
The Enemy of the world, Satan, was on the side of life's road with a very
large cage. The man coming towards him noticed that it was crammed
full of people of every kind, young, old, from every race and nation.
"Where did you get these people?" the man asked.
"Oh, from all over the world," Satan replied. "I lure them with drink, drugs,
lust, lies, anger, hate, love of money and all manner of things. I
pretend I'm their friend, out to give them a good time, then when I've hooked
them, into the cage they go."
"And what are you going to do with them now?" asked the man.
Satan grinned. "I'm going to prod them, provoke them, get them to hate
And destroy ach other; I'll stir up racial hatred, defiance of law and
order; I'll make people bored, lonely, dissatisfied, confused and restless.
It's easy. People will always listen to what I offer them and (what's better)
blame God for the outcome !". "And then what?" the man asked.
"Those who do not destroy themselves, I will destroy. None will escape me."
The man stepped forward. "Can I buy these people from you?" he asked.
Satan snarled, "Yes, but it will cost you your life." So Jesus Christ, the Son
of God, paid for your release, your freedom from Satan's trap, with His own
life, on the cross at Calvary.
The door is open, and anyone, whom Satan has deceived and caged, can
be set free.
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Just Checking In
A minister passing through his church in the middle of the day,
decided to pause by the altar and see who had come to pray.
Just then the back door opened, a man came down the aisle,
the minister frowned as he saw that the man hadn't shaved in awhile
His shirt was kinda' shabby and his coat was worn and frayed.
The man knelt, bowed his head, then arose and walked away.
In the days that followed each noon time came this chap
and each time he knelt just for a moment, a lunch pail in his lap.
Well, the minister's suspicions grew, and robbery was his main fear.
He decided to stop the man and ask him, "Watcha' doing' here?"
The old man worked down the road. Lunch was half an hour.
Lunch time was his prayer time, for finding strength and power.
"I stay only moments, see, 'cause the factory is so far away;
As I kneel here talking' to the Lord, this is kinda' what I say:
"I just came again to tell you, Lord, how happy I've been,
since we found each other's friendship and you took away my Sin.
I don't know much of how to Pray, but I think about you every day.
So, Jesus, this is Jim checking in."
The minister feeling foolish, told Jim, that was fine.
He told the man he was welcome to come and pray just anytime.
Time to go, Jim smiled, said "Thanks." He hurried to the door.
The minister knelt at the altar, he'd never done it before.
His cold heart melted, warmed with love, met with Jesus there.
As the tears flowed, in his heart, he repeated old Jim's prayer:
"I just came again to tell you, Lord, how happy I've been,
since we found each other's friendship and you took away my Sin.
I don't know much of how to Pray, but I think about you every day.
So, Jesus, this is me checking in."
It was past noon one day, the minister noticed that old Jim hadn't come.
As more days passed without Jim, he began to worry.
He went to the factory and asked about Jim and found out he was ill.
The hospital staff was worried, but he'd given them a thrill.
The week that Jim was with them, brought changes in the ward.
His smiles, a joy contagious. Changed people, his reward.
The head nurse couldn't understand why Jim was so glad,
When no flowers, calls or cards came, not a visitor he had.
The minister stayed by his bed, he voiced the nurse's concern:
No friends came to show they cared. He had nowhere to turn.
Looking surprised, old Jim spoke up and with a winsome smile;
"The nurse is wrong, she couldn't know, that all the while
everyday at noon He's here, a dear friend of mine, you see,
He sits right down, takes my hand, leans over and says to me:
"I just came again to tell you, Jim, how happy I have been,
since we found this friendship, and I took away your Sin.
I always love to hear you Pray, I think about you each day,
and so Jim, this is Jesus checking in."
