I hired a carpenter to help me restore an old farmhouse. He had a rough first day on the job. A flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit, and now his ancient pickup truck refused to start. While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence.

On arriving, he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of some branches with both hands. As he opened the door, he underwent an amazing
transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.

Afterward he walked me to the car. We passed the tree and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier. “Oh, that’s my trouble tree,” he replied. “I know I can’t help having troubles on the job, but one thing’s for sure, troubles don’t belong in the house with my wife and the children. So, I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning I pick them up again.” Then he smiled and said, “Funny thing is, when I come out in the morning to pick ’em up, there aren’t nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before.”

Author Unknown

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I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone.

• What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
• What if we referred to it several times a day?
• What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
• What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
• What if we treated it like we couldn’t live without it?
• What if we gave it to kids as gifts?
• What if we used it when we traveled?
• What if we used it in case of emergency?

But, unlike our cell phone, we don’t have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill. And no dropped calls!

Adapted. Original author unknown

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ATTENTION

Jesus, Son of Joseph,
Woodcrafters Carpenter Shop
Nazareth 91365

Dear Sir,

Thank you for submitting the names of the twelve men you have chosen for management positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our series of tests; and we have not only run the results through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant.

The profiles of all tests are included and you will want to study each of them carefully.

As part of our service, and for your guidance, we make some general comments, much as an auditor will include general statements. This is given as a result of staff consultation and comes without any additional fee.

It is the staff opinion, that most of your nominees are lacking in the background, education, and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability.

Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership and would surely stay in the background. The two brothers, James and John, Sons of Zebedee, place personal interests above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale. We feel that it is our duty to tell you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau. James the Son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus definitely have radical leanings, and they both registered high on the manic-depressive scale.

One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind, and has contact in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious, and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your accountant and right hand man. All of the other profiles are self-explanatory and will follow.

We wish you every success in your new venture.

Sincerely yours,
The Jordan Management Consulting Company

Jordan Management
Consulting Company
123 Money Changer’s Court
Nazareth 91365

Sometimes our Human evaluation of a person’s suitability to ministry and God’s evaluation are quite different

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“Years ago I got a sermon from a salmon.

Here’s how it happened. While riding on a ferryboat to Galiano Island in British Columbia, I struck up a conversation with Mr. Thompson, a dignified and friendly gentleman who served as the Chief Clerk for the City of Vancouver.

I said, ‘I’ve heard that after a salmon is spawned, it will swim out into the ocean, and that after an extended time something happens inside the brain of the salmon, and it will then have the overwhelming urge to return to the place where it was spawned. The salmon will swim along the coast, find the right harbor, the right river, the right stream; and finally it will get back to the very spot where it started out. How in the world does the salmon do all that?’ I added, hoping it would taken as a joke, ‘After all, the salmon is underwater all the way, and it has no periscope.’

Mr. Thompson chuckled, thought a bit, then replied, ‘Yes, that is true, but it is even more remarkable than that. An experiment was recently carried out in which salmon eggs were removed from the stream where they had been laid and were put into another stream some distance away.’ Thompson then added with a questioning grin, ‘When the salmon grows up and swims out to the ocean and finally swims back home, which location will it swim to? Will it swim to the place where the eggs were laid–or to the place where they had been moved to?’

I paused for a moment, then I gave what I thought was the only sensible answer, ‘The salmon will swim back to the place where the eggs had been transported, of course. That’s where the salmon actually turned into a fish and got to know its environment.’

‘Wrong!’ said Mr. Thompson. ‘The salmon will swim back to the original place where the eggs were laid.’

I was dumbfounded then, and I still am, by the uncanny built-in guidance system of the salmon.

What a sermon on the guidance of God! If God provides such a marvelous guidance for a fish, there is certainly nothing fishy about believing that He can provide guidance for us. We are far more important to God than any fish. We are created in God’s own image.

God only knows how much we need His wise and loving guidance as we try to find our way through the jungle of ‘this world.’ And, thank God, He has personally promised His guidance.”

Donald Russell Robertson- “Dear You” 1989, Word, Inc.

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May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

May God be with you and bless you:
May you see your children’s children.
May you be poor in misfortune,
Rich in blessings.
May you know nothing but happiness
From this day forward.

May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home
And may the hand of a friend always be near.

May green be the grass you walk on,
May blue be the skies above you,
May pure be the joys that surround you,
May true be the hearts that love you.

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A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.” 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.”

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(c) Copyright 2007 by Ken Sapp

Broken, incomplete,
shattered, rough edges,
cutting, scattered.

Different shapes,
reflecting different colors.

But the Master takes them,
fits them together according to His pattern and vision,
and from the broken pieces,
creates a masterpiece of color and light.

And when the Son shines through,
the colors reflect on the faces,
of those inside.

Bound together,
the brokenness is forgotten
as each contributes to the whole.

Together they reveal the stories of God’s love
and give us a beautiful image of our Redeemer who lives among us.

Vivid reds, yellows, oranges,
combine with muted browns and grays,
each in its place,
even the smallest sliver
a sparkle in the Savior’s eye.

Stained glassed windows,
a simple reminder of who we were
and a promise of what we can become
in the church of the loving Redeemer.

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Dear Sir,

I am writing in response for your request for additional information in Block #3 of the accident report form. I put “trying to do the job alone” as the cause of my accident.

You said in your letter that I should explain more fully and I trust that the following details should be sufficient:

I’m a brick layer by trade. On the day of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a six story building. When I completed my work, I discovered that I had approximately 500 lbs of brick left over. Rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley that was attached to the side of the building at the sixth floor.

Securing the rope at ground level, I went up to the roof. I swung the barrel out and loaded the bricks into it. I then went down to the ground and untied the rope, holding it tightly to insure a slow decent of the brick. You will note in Block #2 of the accident report form that I weigh 135 lbs.

Due to my surprise in being jerked off the ground, I lost my presence of mind and did not let go of the rope. Needless to say I proceeded at a rather rapid rate up the side of the building.

In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming down. This explains my broken collar bone. Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent up the side of the building until the fingers on my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley six floors up. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to hold on to the rope in spite of my pain.

At approximately the same time however, the barrel hit the ground, and the bottom came out of the barrel. Without the weight of the bricks, the barrel weighed approximately 50lbs. I refer you again to my weight in Block #2.

As you might imagine, I began a rapid decent down the side of the building. In the vicinity of the third floor, I again met the barrel coming up. This accounts for my fractured ankles and the lacerations on my lower body.

The encounter with the barrel slowed me down enough to lessen my injuries when I landed on the pile of bricks. As I lay there on the bricks in pain and unable to move, I let go of the rope. I was helpless to lay there and watch as the barrel came back down and broke my legs.

I hope I have furnished enough information to explain how the accident occurred.

It occurred because I was trying to do the job alone.

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An old Christian woman whose age began to tell on her had once known much of the bible off by heart. Eventually only one precious bit stayed with her, ‘I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day’ (2 Tim. 1:12). By and by, part of that slipped its hold and she would quietly repeat, “That which I have committed unto Him.’ At last, as she hovered on the borderline between this world and heaven, her loved ones noticed her lips moving. They bent down to see if she needed anything. She was repeating over and over again to herself the one word of the text, ‘Him, Him, Him.’

She had lost the whole Bible but one word. But she had the whole Bible in that one word.

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Paraphrased for youth workers

Though I lecture with eloquence and use big words, but have not love, I am a discordant sound whom youth will not hear.

If I am extremely wise and have an answer for each youth’s problems, but do not listen, I am of little help.

If I give all I possess to aid the youth group and use varied learning techniques, yet do not give of myself or my time, I am nothing.

Love for youth is patient; it allows a youth to grow at his own pace. Love for youth is kind, it remembers the frailty of young self-esteem. It does not envy — another worker’s popularity or that of a youth leader. It does not boast of spirituality, but is consistent in its practice. It is not proud of accomplishments, but ever seeks to learn better ways to reach youth and better methods to teach youth.

It is not rude; it does not interrupt when a youth is sharing. It is not self-seeking; it does not want to be noticed or praised for a job well done. It is not easily angered when youth do not sit down or settle down to study. It keeps no record of the times youth say and do things to hurt, or of times youth stray.

Love does not delight when youth gossip about another, or get into trouble, but rejoices when a youth grasps the meaning of a lesson being taught.

Love always trusts the youth with assignments given and truths revealed. Love always hopes for the potential to be reached in youth. Love always perseveres even when working with youth is hard and seemingly fruitless.

Love for youth never fails; if it does, it was not fed by God’s unconditional love. Remember all our teaching will cease, our activities will be stilled, our knowledge will pass away.

We are incomplete in our abilities as workers with youth; but when Christ comes, we will all be complete.

When I was a child, I acted childishly and needed guidance. When I became an adult I put away childish behavior and chose to guide youth.

Now we are clouded in our attempts of leadership, nor do we always see results, but one day we will see, face to face, the one who called us, and the fruit of our labors. And we shall know our youth as we cannot know them now.

Of all we do for youth–teaching, guiding, loving; it is the love they will remember.

Sharon Gresham – Source Unknown

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