Church of God

Church of God

Sharjah, UAE.

YPE News Bulletin – 09-03-2004

Vol. 2

Story

The Good Samaritan Revisited

One day, a priest was walking down a country lane when he heard cries coming from a ditch on the other side of the road.

"Help me! Help me, please!"

The priest stopped and strained his neck to see into the ditch. Then he called across the road, "What happened to you?"

"I was travelling to town when I was attacked, beaten, and robbed. Please help me, I can't move," the voice responded.

The priest paused for a moment. Then he yelled back to the voice in the ditch. "Listen, there's this guy called the Good Samaritan who always helps people in need. He should be coming down the road any time now. He'll help you. I don't know anything about first aid and I wouldn't want to make things worse."

"Wait, you don't understand, I'm..."

But the priest had already gone on his way.

Soon, another man came walking along the road. This man was a Levite.

"Help me! Help me, please!"

The Levite stopped in the road and looked from side to side. "Who was that? Who said that?"

"I did, over here!" called the voice from the ditch on the other side of the road.

"You talkin' to me?" asked the Levite.

"Yes, you! I was travelling to town when I was attacked, beaten, and robbed. I need your help!"

"Oh," said the Levite, gazing into the ditch. "You do sound like someone who could use some help. Wait a minute! Attacked? Beaten? Robbed? What a coincidence. That reminds me of a story a fellow named Jesus told! Ever heard of him?"

"Yeah, I know the story. Now, can you help me?"

"Actually, I'm in quite a rush. But I'm sure that someone else will be along shortly to help you. Someone called...um...the Good Samaritan! That's it! He'll be along soon. This is a busy road, you know."

"Couldn't you help me? I'm feeling very weak, I can't..."

"I'm sorry, but I'm not the Good Samaritan. I'm the Levite. If I helped you, it would ruin the story. You wouldn't want me to do that, now, would you?"

"No, I wouldn't want you to do that, but I think it's already... Wait! Come back!"

Cont…….

Pray without ceasing.

Today’s Quote.

“Most of us have much trouble praying when we are in little trouble, but we have little trouble praying when we are in much trouble”.

Today’s Scripture

Psalms Chapter 119

9 Wherewith shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word.

10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: Oh let me not wander from thy commandments.

11 Thy word have I laid up in my heart, That I might not sin against thee.

12 Blessed art thou, O Jehovah: Teach me thy statutes.

13 With my lips have I declared all the ordinances of thy mouth.

14 I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, As much as in all riches.

15 I will meditate on thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.

16 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word. GIMEL.

Do You Have Time?

I knelt to pray but not for long, I had too much to do.

I had to hurry and get to work for bills would soon be due.

So I knelt and said a hurried prayer, and jumped up off my knees.

My Christian duty was now done my soul could rest at ease.

All day long I had no time to spread a word of cheer.

No time to speak of Christ to friends, they’d laugh at me I'd fear.

No time, no time, too much to do, that was my constant cry,

No time to give to souls in need but at last the time, the time to die.

I went before the Lord, I came, I stood with downcast eyes.

For in his hands God held a book; it was the book of life.

God looked into his book and said

"Your name I cannot find. I once was going to write it down.

But never found the time".

“If you judge people, you have no time to love them”

Story Cont…..

"Patience there, chap! I'm sure the Good Samaritan will be along shortly," the Levite said as he went on his way.

"Ohhhh...I can't last much longer," the wounded man said softly.

Soon another man came walking along the same road. He ran over to the ditch when he heard the man crying.

"Oh my goodness! What happened?"

"I was travelling to town when I was attacked, beaten, and robbed. Two other men have walked by and haven't helped me. Please help me. I can't move."

The traveller peered in at the wounded figure lying on the ground in front of him. Finally he said, "Wait a minute...you look familiar. Where are you from?"

"Samaria."

"Do you by any chance have a nickname?" he asked, suddenly excited.

"Me? Oh, some people call me the Good Samaritan because I helped an injured man on this road a while back."

"Yes! Yes! Well, sir, I was the man you helped! All this time I have been looking for you because I wanted to pay you back! Wow, this is great! I can't wait until I find my friends and tell them that I actually met up with you again! And now I can finally pay you back! Look, here are two silver coins--exactly what you gave that innkeeper. I feel so much better having finally repaid you. This is wonderful!"

The grateful man, who had himself once been attacked, beaten, and robbed, laid the two silver coins in the dust next to the wounded man and then cheerfully went on his way, whistling a happy tune.

"Wait, wait! I don't want your money..." whispered the man from Samaria. But it was too late. The other man was already gone.

And so, the Good Samaritan died quietly in a ditch by the side of the road.

Jesus told the original story of the Good Samaritan to teach us how to love. But like the grateful man in this take on the parable, we sometimes miss the point. Love is more than words; it's more than a feeling; more than doing what's easy and convenient. Love means getting down in the ditch with someone to give them what they really need. It means getting dirty and being inconvenienced. Sometimes it means laying down your life for a friend (John 15:13). Jesus did that for us.

Rejoice evermore.

Today’s Thought

Power of Prayer

Here's a message that will bring you chills. Have you ever felt the urge to pray for someone and then just put it on a list and said, "I'll pray for them later?" Or has anyone ever called you and said, “I need you to pray for me, I have this need."? Read the following story that was sent to me and may it change the way that you may think about prayer and also the way you pray. You will be blessed by this.

A missionary on furlough told this true story while visiting his home church in Michigan..... "While serving at a small field hospital in Africa, every two weeks I travelled by bicycle through the jungle to a nearby city for supplies. This was a journey of two days and required camping overnight at the halfway point. On one of these journeys, I arrived in the city where I planned to collect money from a bank, purchase medicine and supplies, and then begin my two-day journey back to the field hospital. Upon arrival in the city, I observed two men fighting, one of whom had been seriously injured. I treated him for his injuries and at the same time talked to him about the Lord. I then travelled two days, camping overnight, and arrived home without incident.

Two weeks later I repeated my journey. Upon arriving in the city, I was approached by the young man I had treated. He told me that he had known I carried money and medicines. He said, 'Some friends and I followed you into the jungle, knowing you would camp overnight. We planned to kill you and take your money and drugs. But just as we were about to move into your camp, we saw that you were surrounded by 26 armed guards. At this, I laughed and said that I was certainly all alone in that jungle campsite. The young man pressed the point, however, and said, 'No sir, I was not the only person to see the guards. My five friends also saw them, and we all counted them. It was because of those guards that we were afraid and left you alone. "At this point in the sermon, one of the men in the congregation jumped to his feet and interrupted the missionary and asked if he could tell him the exact day this happened. The missionary told the congregation the date and the man who interrupted told him this story: "On the night of your incident in Africa, it was morning here and I was preparing to go

play golf. I was about to putt when I felt the urge to pray for you. In fact, the urging of the Lord was so strong; I called men in this church to meet with me here in the sanctuary to pray for you. Would all of those men who met with me on that day stand up?" The men who had met together to pray that day stood up. The missionary wasn't concerned with who they were, he was too busy counting how many men he saw. There were 26. This story is an incredible example of how the Spirit of the Lord moves in mysterious ways. If you ever hear such prodding, go along with it. Nothing is ever hurt by prayer except the gates of hell. I encourage you to forward this to as many people as you know. If we all take it to heart, we can turn this world toward God once again. As the above true story clearly illustrates, "with God all things are possible" and more importantly, how God hears and answers the prayers of the faithful.

Give thanks to God for the beautiful gift of your faith, for the powerful gift of prayer, and for the many miracles He works, & will work in your own daily life

Isn't it Funny?

Funny how a Dhs.10.00 note looks so big when you take it to church, but so small when you take it to the shopping mall.

Funny how big an hour serving God looks and how small 60 minutes are when spent watching television, playing sports, sleeping or taking a lunch break.

Funny howlong a couple of hours spent at church are but how short they are when watching a good movie.

Funny how we get thrilled when a football game goes into overtime, but we complain when a sermon is longer than the regular time.

Funny how laborious it is to read a chapter in the Bible and how easy it is to read 200-300 pages of a best selling novel.

Funny how we believe what newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.

Funny how people scramble to get a front seat at a concert, but scramble to get a back seat at the church service.

Funny how we cannot fit a gospel meeting into our schedule with our yearly planner but we can schedule for other events at a moment's notice.

Funny how we look forward to that big date on Thursday evening , but complain about getting up for church on Friday/Sunday morning.

Funny how we are rarely late to work, but always late to church.

Funny how we call God our Father and Jesus our brother, but find it hard to introduce them to our family.

Funny how small our sins seem, but how big their sins are.

Funny how we demand justice for others, but expect mercy from God.

Funny how much difficulty some have learning the gospel well enough to tell others, but how simple it is to understand and explain the latest gossip about someone else.

Funny how we can't think of anything to say when we pray, but don't have any difficulty thinking of things to talk about to a friend.

Funny how we are so quick to take directions from a total stranger when we are lost, but are hesitant to take God's direction for our lives.

Funny how so many church goers sing "Standing on the promises" but all they do is sit on the premises.

Funny how people want God to answer their prayers, but refuse to listen to His counsel.

Funny how we sing about heaven, but live only for today.

Funny how people think they are going to Heaven but don't think there is a Hell. Funny how it is okay to blame God for evil and suffering in the world, but it is not necessary to thank Him for what is good and pleasant.

Funny how when something goes wrong, we cry, "Lord, why me?" but when something goes right, we think, "Hey, it must be me!"

Or wait...maybe all this isn't so " Funny " after all.