After a few of the usual Sunday evening hymns, the church's pastor slowly stood up, walked over to the pulpit and, before he gave his sermon for the evening, briefly introduced a guest minister who was in the service that evening. In the introduction, the pastor told the congregation that the guest minister was one of his dearest childhood friends and that he wanted him to have a few moments to greet the church and share whatever he felt would be appropriate for the service. With that, an elderly man stepped up to the pulpit and began to speak.

"A father, his son, and a friend of his son were sailing off the pacific coast," he began, "when a fast approaching storm blocked any attempt to get back to the shore. The waves were so high, that even though the father was an experienced sailor, he could not keep the boat upright and the three were swept into the ocean as the boat capsized."

The old man hesitated for a moment, making eye contact with two teenagers who were, for the first time since the service began, looking somewhat interested in his story. The aged minister continued with his story, "grabbing a rescue line, the father had to make the most excruciating decision of his life: to which boy he would throw the other end of the life line. He only had seconds to make the decision. The father knew that his son was a Christian and he also knew that his son's friend was not. The agony of his decision could not be matched by the torrent of waves. "As the father yelled out, 'I love you, son!' he threw out the life line to his son's friend.

By the time the father had pulled the friend back to the capsized boat, his son had disappeared beneath the raging swells into the black of night. His body was never recovered."

By this time, the two teenagers were sitting up straight in the pew, anxiously waiting for the next words to come out of the old minister's mouth. "The father," he continued, "knew his son would step into eternity with Jesus and he could not bear the thought of his son's friend stepping into an eternity without Jesus. Therefore, he sacrificed his son to save the son's friend. How great is the love of god that he should do the same for us.

Our heavenly father sacrificed his only begotten son that we could be saved. I urge you to accept his offer to rescue you and take a hold of the life line he is throwing out to you in this service." With that, the old man turned and sat back down in his chair as silence filled the room. The pastor again walked slowly to the pulpit and delivered a brief sermon with an invitation at the end. However, no one responded to the appeal. Within minutes after the service ended, the two teenagers were at the old man's side.

"That was a nice story," politely stated one of the boys, "but I don't think it was very realistic for a father to give up his only son's life in hopes that the other boy would become a Christian."

"Well, you've got a point there," the old man replied, glancing down at his worn bible. A big smile broadened his narrow face, he once again looked up at the boys and said, "it sure isn't very realistic, is it? But I’m standing here today to tell you that story gives me a glimpse of what it must have been like for god to give up his son for me.

You see --- I was that father and your pastor is my son's friend."

A Piece of Cake

A little boy is telling his Grandma how everything is going wrong -- school, family problems, severe health problems, etc. Meanwhile, Grandma is baking a cake. She asks her grandson if he would like a snack, which, of course, he does.
"Here, have some cooking oil."
"Yuck" says the boy.
"How about a couple raw eggs?"
"Gross, Grandma!"
"Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?"
"Grandma, those are all yucky!"
To which Grandma replies: "Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! God works the same way. Many times we wonder why he would let us go through such bad and difficult times! But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!

God is crazy about you. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart.

PROVERBS 18:20-21 NKJ
20 A man's stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth, and from the produce of his lips he shall be filled.
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Proverbs 18:20 says what your lips produce will fill your life. Your lips produce -- words.

Words determine the course and the outcome of your life. You now have, and will continue to have, the fruit your tongue produces.

To change your life you need to change your words.

JAMES 3:2,8 NIV
2 We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
8 but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

To change the words you speak you need God's help.

As Jesus said, out of the abundance of your heart your mouth will speak. So, you need a new heart and you need it filled with God's Word. Only in that way can your tongue be brought under complete control.

SAY THIS: Lord, because your Word teaches that words control my life, please help me to control my words.

Yes. But it's always an open-Book test. With the help of God's instruction Book -- the Bible -- you can always pass the test.

1 THESSALONIANS 2:4 NKJ
4 . . . even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.

God doesn't test you to hurt you, but so you can experience victory. He walks in faith and believes you will win every test. He is like a proud parent who tells their child to "Go out there and show them what you can do," expecting them to win.

In all schooling there is testing to determine whether the material taught has been mastered.

Testing is necessary and even beneficial for the one being tested. You may think you're ready to graduate -- but testing confronts you with reality.

Testing lets you know how you're doing. If you're not doing so well, turn to God, asking for His help. Spend more time in God's Word and in prayer.

Remember that God's tests are different than the temptations of the devil. God's test is whether you will act on His Word.

God never tempts you to do wrong! He never uses evil to test you (James 1:13). God just allows you to overcome evil by acting on His Word -- which is more than enough to put you over.

PSALM 105:19 NKJ
19 Until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the Lord tested him.

You should always stand in faith, resisting the devil. God's Word always works -- but not always instantly. From when you take your stand on God's Word to when the answer manifests, constitutes the test.

Remember, God is for you -- He's on your side. He sent His Word, His Holy Spirit, His angels, and His ministers to help you.

SAY THIS: I can pass God's tests by acting on His Word.

JOHN 14:18 NIV
18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

You are not facing life all alone -- no matter how you feel.

Jesus is with you. He promised to never forsake you.

Our enemy loves to make us think we have no help, that God does not care, and we have no hope. But the devil is a liar.

"But why does God allow things to look so bleak? Why doesn't He help me sooner?"

God desires faith and trust from us. Without testing times we would have no opportunity to show our faith. Without obstacles we would have nothing to overcome.

We must always remember that God is raising a family, preparing us for eternity with Him. It can be a great error to judge everything by "the bottom line" today.

We must trust our Father God, because only He really knows what the "true bottom line" is. And we can trust Him, because He is good and trustworthy.

SAY THIS: Thank you Father God that I am not facing life all alone -- as an orphan. You are my Father and are taking good care of me. I trust You -- for time and eternity.