This is a true story of something that happened just a few years ago at USC.

There was a professor of philosophy, who was deeply committed atheist.

His primary goal for one required class was to spend the entire semester attempting to prove that God couldn't exist.

His students were always afraid to argue with him because of his impeccable logic.

for twenty years, he had taught this class and no one had ever had the courage to go against him.

Sure, some had argued in class at times, but no one had ever really gone against him because of his reputation.

at the end of every semester on the last day, he says to the class of 300 students, "If there is anyone here who still believes in Jesus, stand up!"

in the twenty years, no one has ever stood up. They knew what e was going to do next.

He would say, "Because anyone who believes in God is a fool. If God existed, he could stop this piece of chalk from hitting the ground and breaking.

such a simple task to prove that He is God, and yet He can't do it." And every year, he would drop the chalk onto the tile floor of the classroom, and it would shatter into a hundred pieces.

All of the students would do nothing but stop and stare. Most of the students thought that God couldn't exist.

Certainly, a number of Christians had slipped through, but for twenty years, they had been too afraid to stand up.

well, a few years, there was a freshman that happened to enroll. He was a Christian and had heard the story about his professor.

He was required to take the class for his major, and he was afraid. But for months that semester, he prayed every mourning that he would have the courage to stand up no matter what the professor said,

or what the class thought. Nothing they said could ever shatter his faith... he hoped. Finally, the day came. The professor said,� If there is anyone here who still believes in God,

stand up!" The professor and the class of 300 people looked at him, shocked, as he stood up at the back of the classroom. The professor shouted,

"You Fool!! If God existed, he would keep this piece

of chalk from breaking when it hits the ground!!"

He proceeded to drop the chalk, but as he did, it slipped out of his fingers, off of his shirt cuff, unto the pleat of his pants,

down his leg, and of his shoe. As it hit the ground, it simply rolled away unbroken. The professor's jaw dropped as he stared at the chalk.

He looked up at the young man, and then ran out of the lecture hall. The young man who had stood up, proceeded to walk to the front of the room and

shared his faith in Jesus for the next half an hour. 300 students stayed to listen as he told of God's love for them and of His power through Jesus.

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Your Actions May change a Life

One day, when I was a freshman in high school. I saw a kid from my class walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself,

�Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd.� I had quite a weekend planed (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon),

so I shrugged my shoulders and went on. As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.

His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes. My heart went out to him, So, I jogged over to him and as

he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said, �Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives.� He looked at me and said;

�Hey Thanks!� there was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude. I helped him pick up his books and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me,

so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to a private school before now. I would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home,

and I carried his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play football on Saturday with my friends and me. He said yes. We hung all weekend and the more I got to know

Kyle, the more I liked him. And my friends thought the same of him Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, �Boy, you are gonna build some

serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!� He just laughed and handed me half the books. Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we were seniors, began to think about

college. Kyle decided on Georgetown, and was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on

a football scholarship. Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn�t me having to get up and speak.

Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than me and all

the girls loved him Boy, sometimes I was jealous. Today was one of those days. I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, �Hey, big guy, you�ll be great!�

He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled. �Thanks,� he said, as he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began: �Graduation is a time to thank those who

helped you make it through those tough years, Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach� but, mostly your friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best

gift you can give him or her. I am going to tell you a story. �I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.

He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so, his mom wouldn�t have to do it later, and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. �Thankfully, I was saved.

My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable.� I heard gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his mom and dad looking at me smiling that

same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize its depth. Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person�s life. For better or worse. God puts

us all in each other�s lives to impact one another in some way.

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