Christian - THE LIVING BIBLE

His name is Bill. He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans, and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for his entire four years of college. He is brilliant, kind of profound and very, very bright. He became a Christian while attending college.

Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed, very conservative church. They want to develop a ministry to the students but are not sure how to go about it.

One day, Bill decides to go there. He walks in with no shoes, jeans, his T-shirt, and wild hair. The service has already started and so Bill starts down the aisle looking for a seat.

The church is completely packed and he can't find a seat. By now, people are really looking a bit uncomfortable, but no one says anything.

Bill gets closer and closer and closer to the pulpit, and when he realizes there are no seats, he just squats down right on the carpet. By now, the people are really uptight, and the tension in the air is thick.

About this time, the minister realizes that from way at the back of the church, a deacon is slowly making his way toward Bill. Now the deacon is in his eighties, has silver-gray hair, and a three-piece suit, a godly man, very elegant, very dignified, very courtly.

He walks with a cane and, as he starts walking toward this boy, everyone is saying to themselves that you can't blame him for what he's going to do. How can you expect a man of his age and of his background to understand some college kid on the floor?

It takes a long time for the man to reach the boy. The church is utterly silent except for the clicking of the man's cane. All eyes are focused on him. You can't even hear anyone breathing. The minister can't even preach the sermon until the deacon does what he has to do.

And now they see this elderly man drop his cane on the floor.

With great difficulty, he lowers himself and sits down next to Bill and worships with him so he won't be alone.

Everyone chokes up with emotion. When the minister regains control, he says, "What I'm about to preach, you will never remember. What you have just seen, you will never forget"

"Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some people will ever read!"

Christian - THE POWER OF POSITIVE JOY by Dr. Charles F. Stanley

Contrary to secular thought, "joy" and "happiness" stand in stark contrast.

Perhaps no one realized this more than nineteenth-century Chicago lawyer Horacio Spafford.

Spafford took a fierce financial blow when his real estate holdings were mostly destroyed in the Chicago fire of 1871. Just a short time earlier, he had suffered the loss of his only son.

Desperately needing a rest, Spafford and his family planned a vacation to Europe.

Detained by business, Spafford sent his wife and four daughters ahead of him.

During their voyage, however, their ship crashed and sank into the ocean depths. Upon safely reaching shore, Mrs. Spafford wired the somber news, "Saved alone."

The Spafford's four daughters, like their son, were now lost.

En route to joining his grieving wife, Spafford's ship crossed over the exact patch of water where his children had been lost.

There, Spafford penned the words to a soulful hymn that has since become an enduring source of comfort, "It is Well with My Soul".

At this time, Spafford was certainly not happy. He was suffering as a grieving father. However, his hardship did not overshadow his faith in God and joy in Christ Jesus.

Happiness is determined by circumstances, but true joy is a gift from God at all times. If you are reeling from life's pain, bring your suffering to the Cross. There, God will turn your sorrow into dancing (Psalm 30:11).

Christian - Are you waiting to be called

Back when the telegraph was the fastest method of long-distance communication, a young man applied for a job as a Morse code operator. Answering an ad in the newspaper, he went to the office address that was listed.

When he arrived, he entered a large, busy office filled with noise and clatter, including the sound of the telegraph in the background. A sign on the receptionist' s counter instructed job applicants to fill out a form and wait until they were summoned to enter the inner office. The young man filled out his form and sat down with the seven other applicants in the waiting area.

After a few minutes, the young man stood up, crossed the room to the door of the inner office, and walked right in. Naturally the other applicants perked up, wondering what was going on.
They muttered among them that they hadn't heard any summons yet. They assumed that the young man who went into the office made a mistake and would be disqualified.

Within a few minutes, however, the employer escorted the young man out of the office and said to the other applicants, "Gentlemen, thank you very much for coming, but the job has just been filled." The other applicants began grumbling to each other, and one spoke up saying, "Wait a minute, I don't understand. He was the last to come in, and we never even got a chance to be interviewed. Yet he got the job. That's not fair!"

The employer said, "I'm sorry, but the last several minutes while you've been sitting here, the telegraph has been ticking out the following message in Morse Code: 'If you understand this message, then come right in. The job is yours.' None of you heard it or understood it. This young man did. The job is his."

We are so busy living in a world that is full of noise and clatter, like that office. People are distracted and unable to hear the still, small voice of God as He speaks in creation, in the Scriptures, and in the life and work of Jesus Christ.

So I ask you, as I ask myself, "Are you listening, or are you waiting to be called? Do you hear the Lord when he speaks to you?