Righteous Judge

Once upon a time, there was a righteous judge. He always made fair judgments. He was also a father to a wonderful boy named Buddy. The judge was a very good father and loved his son very much. Buddy was a good boy. He adored his father and always tried to please him. Buddy also loved playing baseball with his friends.

One day his friends told him there was a great game going on in the empty lot behind old Wilson’s place. Buddy knew he wasn’t supposed to play in that lot, because old Wilson was a mean stingy old man who was very wealthy. He hated Buddy’s father because the Judge had made him pay for a ticket. Old Wilson thought he shouldn’t have to pay, because he was rich and powerful. Now Old Wilson had a stained glass window that was very valuable and could never be replaced. It was one of a kind. That’s why the judge had asked Buddy not to play on the lot, because he was afraid Buddy would break the window. But Buddy had never hit a ball that far before and besides his dad was at work and wouldn’t find out.

When Buddy got to the lot, the game had just started and he was very excited because he had received a new baseball bat for his birthday. Everything was going fine and the game was almost over. His team was about to win. It was Buddy’s turn at bat and the bases were loaded. He stepped up to the plate with his brand new bat in his hand when the pitcher threw the perfect pitch. Buddy watched the ball until it was in the perfect spot, then… he swung with all his might. He felt the ball crack against the bat and he knew right away that he had hit a home run. No sooner when he hit the ball that the realization of what was about to happen hit him! The other kids gasped and Buddy could only watch in horror as he heard and saw the beautiful window crash and all the colorful pieces fall to the ground. Almost as soon as the window broke, Old Wilson burst out of his house. Buddy felt frozen to the spot as he watched all his friends run away, and he was left to himself on the field to face Old Wilson’s wrath.

“Oh, its you, the Judges’ son,” Old Wilson spat. “Let’s see if he makes his own son pay the price for his crime. That window was worth a million dollars and we all know you don’t have that kind of money,” he said pointing his bony finger in Buddy’s face.

Old Wilson seemed almost joyful as he pulled Buddy into his fathers’ court room by the arm later that evening. Buddy felt mortified as he looked into his fathers’ eyes. They looked back at him with such sadness and love. Although Buddy was ashamed of himself, he was much relieved that his papa was the judge. He would never send his own child to juvenile detention. Although Buddy knew in his heart it was the punishment he deserved. But Buddy’s relief was short lived when he heard his father, the Judge say guilty as charged! I order Buddy to pay one million dollars to Mr. Wilson or spend a year in juvenile detention.

“But Poppa,” Buddy wailed. “You’re my father. Can’t you let me off because I am your child? I am sorry for what I did. I know I deserve the punishment, but you know I don’t have a million dollars and if I go to juvenile detention we will be separated for a whole year!”

”So be it,” said the judge. “Your sentence is pronounced.” Even Old Wilson looked as if the wind was knocked out of him as the gavel came down on the pulpit. The officers started toward Buddy with the handcuffs. Just then, the Judge said, “wait!” Every one watched as the Judge took of his robes and folded them, then laid them neatly on his chair. He came down off the bench and stood next to Buddy. He said, “I am no longer the Judge, I am now your father. I will sell everything I own to pay the price to keep you out of jail and so we won’t be separated.”

We are like Buddy. We have all sinned. Heaven is perfect, and if God allowed us as sinners to go to heaven, it would no longer be perfect. It would be defiled. The Bible says, “the wages (or price) for sin is death—separation from God.” God, being perfect, judges all of us righteously, and like Old Wilson, Satan accuses us. However, Jesus is like the father in this story. He chose to be born a man and he was perfect. He paid the wage or price for our sin if we accept the gift.

Christmas

Once upon a time, there was a man who looked upon Christmas as a lot of humbug.
He wasn't a Scrooge. He was a very kind and decent person, generous to his family, upright in all his dealings with other men. But he didn't believe all that stuff about an incarnation which churches proclaim at Christmas. And he was too honest to pretend that he did.

"I am truly sorry to distress you," he told his wife, who was a faithful churchgoer, "but I simply cannot understand this claim that God became man. It doesn't make any sense to me."

On Christmas Eve, his wife and children went to church for the midnight service. He declined to accompany them. "I'd feel like a hypocrite," he explained. "I'd much rather stay at home. But I'll wait up for you."

Shortly after his family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window and watched the flurries getting heavier and heavier.

"If we must have a Christmas," he reflected, "it's nice to have a white one."

He went back to his chair by the fireside and began to read his newspaper. A few minutes later, he was startled by a thudding sound. It was quickly followed by another, then another. He thought that someone must be throwing snow balls at his living room window.

When he went to the front door to investigate, he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They had been caught in the storm, and in a desperate search for shelter had tried to fly through his window.

I can't let those poor creatures lie there and freeze, he thought. But how can I help them?

Then he remembered the barn where the children's pony was stabled. It would provide a warm shelter. He quickly put on his coat and galoshes and tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the doors wide and turned on the light. But the birds didn't come in.

Food will bring them in, he thought. So he hurried back to the house for bread crumbs, which he sprinkled on the snow to make a trail into the barn. To his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs and continued to flop around helplessly in the snow. He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around and waving his arms. They scattered in every direction - except into the warm, lighted barn.

"They find me a strange and terrifying creature," he said to himself, "and I can't seem to think of any way to let them know they can trust me. If only I could be a bird myself for a few minutes, perhaps I could lead them to safety."

Just at that moment, the church bells began to ring. He stood silently for a while, listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas. Then he sank to his knees in the snow.

"Now I understand," he whispered. "Now I see why you had to do it."

Whoever takes the Son gets everything

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art. When the Viet Nam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.

About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands. He said, "Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art.

The young man held out his package. "I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this." The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. "Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift."

The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected. The man died a few months later.

There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection. On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. "We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?"

There was silence. Then a voice in the back of the room shouted. "We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one." But the auctioneer persisted. "Will someone bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?" Another voice shouted angrily. "We didn't come to see this painting.. We came to see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!" But still the auctioneer continued. "The son! The son! Who'll take the son?"

Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. "I'll give $10 for the painting." Being a poor man, it was all he could afford. "We have $10, who will bid $20?"

"Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters." "$10 is the bid, won't someone bid $20?" The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son. They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections. The auctioneer pounded the gavel. "Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!"

A man sitting on the second row shouted. "Now let's get on with the collection!" The auctioneer laid down his gavel. "I'm sorry, the auction is over." "What about the paintings?" "I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The man who took the son gets every thing!"

God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on a cruel cross. How many of us have sought after what we thought were true riches only to find out later that our Father was prepared to give us His entire estate if we had only sought after His Son alone?

Whoever takes the Son gets everything.

The Treasure

The cheerful girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them: a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box. "Oh please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, mommy, please!"

Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl's upturned face. "A dollar ninety-five. That's almost $2.00 If you really want them, I'll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday's only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma."

As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.

Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere--Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.

Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night when he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?"

"Oh yes, Daddy. You know that I love you."

"Then give me your pearls."

"Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess--the white horse from my collection. The one with the pink tail. Remember, Daddy? The one you gave me. She's my favorite."

"That's okay, Honey. Daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.

About a week later, after the story time, Jenny's daddy asked again, "Do you love me?"

"Daddy, you know I love you."

"Then give me your pearls."

"Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my babydoll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is so beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper."

"That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you." And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.

A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian-style. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek.

"What is it, Jenny? What's the matter?"

Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, "Here, Daddy. It's for you."

With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's kind daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime-store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny. He had had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her genuine treasure.

So like our heavenly Father

What are you hanging on to?

Don't Get Hooked!

Don't Get Hooked!

By Mike

Finney swam slowly past the enticing morsel dangling just inches away; he could almost taste the scrumptious delicacy. The young fish wanted to gobble up the worm, but all the warnings that were drilled into his head, by the older fish in the school kept him from doing so. 

Finney had his doubts about the advice the older fish continued to give him; he did not see how something so delicious could be dangerous. The older fish probably told the younger fish those horror stories so there would not be as much competition for the food.

Were the stories true, Finney decided that he would have to find out for himself? 

He turned and swam back to the worm. He did not see any steel or sharp barbed hooks; all he saw was the worm. He opened his mouth wide and then felt a dull thud in his side. 

Finney's Uncle had rammed into him and pushed him away from the worm. "What in the deep blue waters is wrong with you!" demanded Uncle Corky. "Do you think we warn you about the hook just for the fun of it?" 

Finney stammered, "I don't know, sometimes I wonder if the stories are true."

Uncle Corky closed his eyes and said with a broken voice "Follow me; it is time you see what the hook can do." Finney followed his uncle to the shallows, which were close to the shoreline. Before them were countless fish, many of which were swimming on their sides, barely alive. Others had gaping rips in their jaws and were unable to eat. It was a brutal site, one that Finney would not soon forget. Just then, a bird swooped down and scooped up one of the fish that had been swimming on its side. 

Uncle Corky explained that the hook had caused all this carnage. You see the stories are true, I wish you would have believed without being brought to the shallows.

Even as they swam away, Finney recalled the stories that some clever fish were able to take the worm without being hooked. A prideful thought entered his mind; maybe these broken fish had not been as smart or as fast as he was.

Day after day Finney continued to see enticing morsels floating in the water, they came in all kinds of shapes and colors. Finney would swim closer and closer to the bait, slowing down with each pass he took. One fateful day the temptation got the better of Finney and he swallowed the bait. Why it wasn’t tasty at all, but tasted like plastic!
Before Finney could spit out the bait, he felt a sharp pain in his jaw and was being pulled through the water. The young fish put up a good fight but his strength was gone, he knew that he had lost the fight for another day.

Dear boys and girls, Satan tries to tempt us to sin each day. The devil wants to drag us away from God. Satan never grows weary of putting new types of bait or temptation before us. Satan doesn’t care what he uses or abuses for bait, he is the father of lies and wants to destroy those whom God loves. Put on the full armor of God so that you can resist the devil and all his schemes. 

Bible:

 He who obeys instructions guards his life, but he who is contemptuous of his ways will die.

                                                                 Proverbs 19:16

Prayer:

Dear Lord,
I ask for your strength to stand up under the temptation whenever I encounter it.Lord, please give me the wisdom to walk away when I am tempted, and the clarity to see the way out that you will provide. Thank you, God, that you are a faithful deliverer and that I can count on your help in my time of need.
Amen

The Owners Manual

The Owners Manual
by Mike

Once upon a time there was a man named Michael. One particular day Michael was very
excited, this was the day his brand new car was being delivered. Michael had never owned
a car before but he knew that owning a car would help him in many ways. Michael had
worked hard to get this car. He saved his money for several years so that he could buy the car.

The moment finally arrived. The delivery man from the car dealership pulled into the
driveway with Michael's brand new shiny car. Michael was so excited!

The delivery man asked, "Would you like me to go over some of the car's features with you?"

Michael replied, "No that's okay I'm sure I can figure it out by myself, thanks anyway."

The delivery man said, "Okay, if you do find you need help, the owners manual is in the
glove department." The delivery man handed Michael the keys, wished him luck and left.

Michael excitedly ran to the car and pulled on the door, but it wouldn't open. Michael
thought, that's odd, the car at the dealership doors would open. Michael walked around
the car looking into the windows thinking how soft the seats looked. At that time Michael's
friend Scott came over.

Scott said, "Nice car Michael, but why are you walking around the outside looking in?"

Michael said, "I just got this car and the doors are stuck."

Scott laughed and said, "Stuck? Did you try unlocking the doors?"

Michael sheepishly replied, "Well no, not yet, I was just getting ready to."

Michael put one of the keys into the door lock, but it wouldn't open the door no matter
how hard Michael tried to turn it.

Scott said, "Better be careful or you'll break that key off in the lock. That key is to the car's
trunk. Try the other key."

Michael quickly replied, "I was just getting ready to try that."

Michael finally unlocked the car doors and sat behind the wheel. Michael breathed in
deeply and said, "Don't you just love that new car smell?"

Scott said, "Yes, its a great smell. Let's see how the radio sounds."

After several attempts and some guidance from Scott, Michael finally got the radio turned
on. Michael said, "Oh great, I got a radio that plays the wrong radio station and the sound
is much too low!"

Scott groaned and said, "Michael, you push these buttons to change the radio station and
turn that knob to adjust the volume level. Haven't you read the owners manual yet? That's
the first thing I did when I bought my new car."

Michael replied, "No not yet, I've been too busy, but I'll get around to it sometime soon.
Right now I want to take this beauty out for a little drive!"

Scott cautioned, "Be careful Michael and please wear your seat belt."

Michael asked, "Hey Scott, think you could give me a hand with the seat belt?"

Scott walked over and helped Michael get the seat belt adjusted and warned, "I hope
you know what your doing."

With that Michael backed out of the driveway.

Much to Michael's surprise the car kept going backwards, Michael turned the wheel and
pushed buttons but the car kept going backwards. With great horror Scott watched as
Michael backed the brand new car right into a tree. The car was ruined.

Scott ran over to Michael and asked, "Why didn't you stop?"

Michael stammered, "I didn't know how..."

Many people go through life without referring to the owners manual God gave us.
This owner manual, the Bible, can help us have a richer, more fulfilled life in so many
ways. It is wise to read the Bible often and follow the guidelines God has laid out for us.
So many people are on the outside trying to find a way in, just like Michael when he was
trying to unlock the car doors. People may try different keys or methods to get to Heaven,
but Jesus told us that He is the only way. We must trust Jesus and ask Him to forgive us
for the bad things we have done. After that we should read the Bible and pray to God, if
we do we will have a much happier life!