In his opening address he said,

“We can’t keep Christians from going to church.”

“We can’t keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth.”

“We can’t even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with their saviour.”

“Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken.”

“So let them go to their churches; let them have their covered dish dinners, BUT steal their time, so they don’t have time to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ..”

“This is what I want you to do,” said the devil: (read more…)

In Phoenix, Arizona, a 26-year-old mother stared down at her 6 year old
son, who was dying of terminal leukaemia.

Although her heart was filled with sadness,
she also had a strong feeling of determination.
Like any parent, she wanted her son to grow up & fulfill all his dreams.
Now that was no longer possible. The leukaemia would see to that. But
she still wanted her son’s dream to come true.

She took her son’s hand and asked, “Billy, did you ever think about what
you wanted to be once you grew up?

Did you ever dream and wish what you would do with your life?”

Mommy, “I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up.” (read more…)

The violent grinding of brakes suddenly applied, and the harsh creaking of skidding wheels gradually died away as the big car came to a stop. Eddie quickly picked himself up from the dusty pavement where he had been thrown, and looked around wildly.

Agnes! Where was his little sister he had been holding by the hand when they had started to cross the street? The next moment he saw her under the big car that had run them down, her eyes closed, a dark stain slowly spreading on her white face.

With one bound the boy was under the car, trying to lift the child.

“You’d better not try, son,” said a man gently. “Someone has gone to telephone for an ambulance.”

“She’s not…dead, is she, Mister?” Eddie begged in a husky voice.

The man stooped and felt the limp little pulse. “No, my boy,” he said slowly. (read more…)

Christmas is for love. It is for joy, for giving and sharing, for laughter, for reuniting with family and friends, for tinsel and brightly decorated packages. But mostly, Christmas is for love. I had not believed this until a small elf-like student with wide-eyed innocent eyes and soft rosy cheeks gave me a wondrous gift one Christmas.

Mark was an 11 year old orphan who lived with his aunt, a bitter middle aged woman greatly annoyed with the burden of caring for her dead sister’s son. She never failed to remind young Mark, if it hadn’t been for her generosity, he would be a vagrant, homeless waif. Still, with all the scolding and chilliness at home, he was a sweet and gentle child. (read more…)

It happened one day at the year’s white end,
Two neighbors called on an old-time friend

And they found his shop so meager and mean,
Made gay with a thousand boughs of green,

And Conrad was sitting with face a-shine
When he suddenly stopped as he stitched a twine

And said, “Old friends, at dawn today,
When the cock was crowing the night away,

The Lord appeared in a dream to me
And said, ‘I am coming your guest to be’.

So I’ve been busy with feet astir,
Strewing my shop with branches of fir,

The table is spread and the kettle is shined
And over the rafters the holly is twined,

And now I will wait for my Lord to appear
And listen closely so I will hear

His step as He nears my humble place,
And I open the door and look in His face. . .” (read more…)

“Do you really expect me to go to Bethlehem?” Joseph banged down his chisel on the scarred bench.

Ephraim, his cousin, had just entered the low workshop. “You don’t have a choice, Joseph. If you don’t go the Romans will confiscate your house and your precious tools. Just try to carve a yoke with your fingernails.”

“What are we, cowards?” the carpenter retorted. “Mark my words, Ephraim, this ‘Enroll-in-your-ancestral-city’ business is nothing more than a way to squeeze more taxes out of us. If we give into those foreign tyrants now they’ll just be back for more money.”

“What’s more,” Joseph continued, “you’re crazy if you think I’d take Mary on a trip this month. She’d probably have the baby on the way!”

“Couldn’t you just leave her with your mother for a couple of weeks? She’d be all right. Nobody says the women have to go. It’s the heads of households who have to register.”

“Register, hah! Be taxed, you mean.”

“So why not leave her at home?” (read more…)

T’was the night Before Christmas, he lived all alone,

In a one bedroom house made of plaster and stone,

I had come down the chimney with presents to give

And to see just who in this home did live,

I looked all about, a strange site did I see,

No tinsel, no presents, not even a tree,

No stockings by the mantle, Just boots filled with sand,

On the wall hung pictures of far distance lands. (read more…)

Far away in Bethlehem, a Baby Boy was born;
Born with neither riches nor with fame,
Yet Wise Men came from all around to bring to Him their gifts,
And peace was felt by all who heard His name.
Angels watched Him as He slept, and gently rocked His bed;
Their voices singing softly in His ear;
His Mother and His Father both gave thanks to God above
For the greatest gift of all, their Son, so dear
They knew His life upon this earth would not be filled with wealth,
They also knew He would encounter strife;
But most of all, they knew that He would be a loving Child,
And teach the love of God throughout His life.
At Christmas, as we celebrate this Birth of Jesus Christ,
Let’s keep in mind the truth of Christmas Day;
For it’s not the Christmas wrappings, nor the gifts that lie within,
But our gift of love to others in every way..

A drunk man in an Oldsmobile
They said had run the light
That caused the six-car pileup
On 109 that night.

When broken bodies lay about
And blood was everywhere,
The sirens screamed out eulogies,
For death was in the air.

A mother, trapped inside her car,
Was heard above the noise;
Her plaintive plea near split the air:
“Oh, God, please spare my boys!” (read more…)

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “yes.”

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed. (read more…)

Dear Son,
I saw you yesterday as you began your daily chores. You awoke without kneeling to pray. As a matter of fact, you didn’t even bless your meals, or pray before going to bed last night. You are so unthankful, I like that about you. I cannot tell you how glad I am that you have not changed your way of living, you are mine.
Remember, you and I have been going steady for years. And I still don’t love you yet. He kicked me out of heaven, and I’m going to use you as long as possible to pay him back.
(read more…)

My friend has a website “Beer, Barbecue and Bible study” at http://paulythebull.blogspot.com and he is an awesome Christian writer. This article comes from his web site.

Pete came to JC and asked, “Lord, how much slack do I cut my brother and let him backstab me over and over? The dude’s pushed my buttons seven times already, ain’t that enough?” JC took a breath and told him, “You ain’t even close, little bro, try it another 500 times. Let me tell you what it’s like, man, if you’re gonna walk this walk. There was a man named Jimmy the Boss and he was out collecting his accounts. Guido had a meeting with the Boss, and he was nervous, because he owed the Boss some serious coin: close to 100 grand, and he couldn’t pay.
(read more…)