The Parable of the Ten Rooms

This is how my parable begins. Let me call him John. John had a double story house, five plus five rooms. One day there was a gentle knock on the front door. When John opened it was the Lord Jesus. “Please come in”, John pleaded, “I will give you the best room in my house – it is upstairs. Well, Jesus is a gentleman and said “thank you”. 

The next morning someone hammered against the front door. When John opened it who was there? The devil. “No” shouted John, “I don’t want you here” But the devil said “I’m already in” – and a big fight started. Satan poured filthy temptation on him, it was horrible. By the evening John somehow got the victory and threw the devil out. Then he said “wait a minute”. I gave Jesus the best room in the house, why didn’t he come to my rescue?” 

Jesus said to John “Look, you gave me one of the ten rooms…” John was on his knees and said “I can see my mistake. Sorry, Lord. Let’s make 50/50.” Jesus is a gentleman and accepted. 

The next day was a repeat of the day before. Somehow the devil got in and out and John was totally exhausted. “Why didn’t Jesus come to my rescue today? I need to go and ask.” 

The Lord said “My son, why don’t you give me all 10 rooms and then, instead of me staying with you, you stay with me?” 

John broke down. He pulled the key of the front-door from his pocket and handed it to Jesus. Now, he had given it all. 

The next morning, it was still dark, when someone was knocking at the front door so hard that the whole building shook. John jumped frightened and shaken out of bed crying “O, it’s the devil again”, when suddenly he heard footsteps – but this time inside the house. 

Jesus was marching in majesty and power towards the front door. He had the key. It now was His duty to answer the door. John was wondering what would happen and stood right behind Jesus when the Lord opened the door wide. 

Who was it? The devil of course. But when the devil saw Jesus standing in the door he bowed low, very low indeed, and said “Sorry Sir, I knocked on the wrong door!”

Some have given 9 rooms to Jesus and on the door of room number 10 they have written “Strictly Private”. It is there where they have their secret sins and live their double life. But Jesus cannot be cheated. 

C’mon. Let’s sing it together from the bottom of our hearts “Unto Jesus I surrender, unto Him I freely give….I surrender ALL, unto thee my God and Savior, I surrender all.” This is my foolproof recipe for victory! God bless you. 

REINHARD BONNKE.

Why Did God Make Me As I Am?”

A happily married woman with two children lost both of them. They were buried in the same grave. After that, she suffered a deep emotional collapse. For years her family fed and cared for her as though she was as weak and helpless as a little child.

One day her aunt, a joyful Christian, took her turn at feeding her. The distraught and despondent woman said, “Auntie, you keep on saying that God loves us. I used to think so too; but if He loves us, why did He make me as I am?”

The aunt kissed her gently, said with the wisdom of years, “Dear, He hasn’t made you yet. He’s making you now!”

“When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply; The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.”

Eddie and Alice Smith

The Man and the Small Candle

I'm really interested in story about a small candle carried by a man who was climbing the stairs of a lighthouse.

In their way up to the top, the candle asked the man, "Where are we going?"

"We're going to the top of this lighthouse and give signals to the big ships on the ocean," the man answered.

"What? How could it be possible for me with my small light to give signals to those big ships?"

"They will never be able to see my light", replied the candle weakly.

"That's your part. If your light is small, let it be. All you have to do is keep burning and leave the rest to me", said the man.

A little later, they arrived at the top of the lighthouse where there was a big lamp with a loop behind it. Then the man lit the lamp with the light of the candle and instantly, the place shone so brightly that the ships on the ocean could see its light.

---

With our being and our limitations, we're hardly able to do any meaningful things. Yet, one thing you should bear in mind is that your life is like a small candle in God's powerful hand. All your abilities and expertise will remain as a small light if you don't put your life in God's hand. On the contrary, even if your light is so small or dim, if you entrust all your life to God, he is able to make your small light into a big one that brings blessings to many people.

A Handful of Candy

A little boy and his father visited the country store, upon leaving the store the owner of the store offered the little boy some free candy. "get a hand full of candy", the merchant said to the boy. 

The boy just stood there looking up at his father. The owner repeated himself, "Son get a hand full of candy, it's free." 

Again the boy did not move continuing to look up in the face of his father. Finally, the father reached into the candy jar and got a hand full of candy and gave it to his son. 

As they walked back home, the father stopped and asked his son why he did not grab a hand full of the free candy. 

The boy with a big smile on his face looked into the face of his father and said "Because I know that your hand is bigger than mine." 

Needless to say, in your time of sorrow and grief, place it in your Father's hand because His hand is bigger than yours. 

You just have to learn to trust Him. 

I have to admit that sometimes trusting Him isn't easy because our sinful nature would like to take over. 

But letting go and letting God is the sure way to victory. 

Burn the Bush, Collapse the Walls and Still the Waves

Once there was a man who dared God to speak.

“Burn the bush like you did for Moses, God and I will follow. 

Collapse the walls like you did for Joshua, God and I will fight.
 

Still the waves like you did on Galilee, God and I will listen.”

And so the man went and sat by a bush, near a wall close to the sea and waited for God to speak.

And God heard the man , So God answered.
 

He sent fire, not for the bush, but for a church.
 

He brought down a wall, not of brick, but of sin.
 

He stilled a storm, not of the sea, but of a soul.

And God waited for the man to respond.
 

And he waited …
 

And waited …
 

And waited…

But because the man was looking at bushes, not hearts; bricks, not lives; seas and not souls, he decided that God had done nothing.
 

Finally he looked at God and asked, “Have you lost your power?”
 

And God looked at him and said, “Have you lost your hearing?”

A story by Max Lucado, from A Gentle Thunder : Hearing God Through the Storm

This Glass of Water Can Kill You

Once a professor began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it. He held it up for all to see and asked the students, “how much do you think this glass weighs? Maybe it's 50gms,100gms or 125gms?".

The students answered, “I really don’t know unless I weigh it.”

The professor said, "Now, my question is: 'What would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?’"

‘Nothing’ the students said.

“Okay, what would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?” the professor asked.

“Your arm would begin to ache” said one of the students.

“You’re right, now what would happen if I held it for a day?”

“Your arm could go numb! 

"You might have severe muscle stress and even paralysis! You'll then have to go to hospital for sure!" Ventured another student. All the students laughed.

“Very good. But during all this, did the weight of the glass of water change?” Asked the professor.

“No” was the reply of all the students.

“Then what caused the arm to ache and the muscle to become stressed?” 

After a pause the professor asked “Before my arm aches, what should I do?”

The students were puzzled.

“Put the glass down!” said one of the students.

“Exactly!” said the professor, “Life’s problems are exactly like this. Hold it for a few minutes in your head; they seem all right. Think of them for a long time and they begin to ache. Hold it even longer and they will begin to paralyze you. You will not be able to do anything.”

It’s important to think of the challenges or problems in your life, but EVEN MORE IMPORTANTLY, you have to learn how to ‘put them down’. At the end of every day before you go to sleep, commit every care and stress of the day to the Lord. You will be surprise that many of the so-called 'problems' may look different after a good night rest.

By the grace of God, you will wake up refreshed, energized and ready to face another day!

Remember to put the glass down at the end of every day!

God Will Make A Way

Don Moen was awakened in the middle of the night by a phone call from his mother-in-law; a tragic car accident had just occurred. Don’s sister-in-law, Susan, her husband, and their four little boys were on an automobile trip when tragedy struck. They all were seriously injured, and their eight-year-old son was dying from his injuries. 

As Don and his wife grieved and poured out their hearts to the Lord, they felt helpless to communicate any hope to Susan and Craig. Don recalls asking the Lord to help him express hope to the family members. In a very short time, Don scribbled some lyrics and composed the music for a chorus that, to this day, gives believers a deep sense of hope in the midst of difficult times. The lyrics read:

God will make a way,

where there seems to be no way;

He works in ways we cannot see,

He will make a way for me.

He will be my guide,

hold me closely to His side;

With love and strength for each new day,

He will make a way. He will make a way!

 

To put it simply, the only way to have hope is to have Him. The only way to have peace is to have Him.

Wisdom for the Heart with Dr. Stephen Davey

God's Discipline

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."¹

Billy Graham commented how, "When a ship's carpenter needed timber to make a mast for a sailing vessel, he did not cut it in the valley, but up on the mountainside where the trees have been buffeted by the winds. These trees, he knew, were the strongest of all. Hardship is not our choice; but if we face it bravely, it can toughen the fiber of our souls."

And that's exactly why God disciplines us and allows us to go through trials. They are designed to strengthen us and help us to grow healthy and strong. And while "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful," what we always need to remember is that "the Lord disciplines those he loves."²

 
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you that you love me as I am, but love me too much to leave me as I am. Thank you, too, that you allow trials to come into my life to help me grow, mature and become strong. Help me to accept your discipline and use it to fulfill your purpose for my life. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name. Amen."

1. Hebrews 12:11 (NIV).
2. Hebrews 12:11,6 (NIV).

<:))))><

By Dick Innes

Batteries Included!

You know when you buy toys for your kids or grand-kids often times on the package in fine print are these words: “Batteries not included.” 

Do you know what that means? 

It means that you get the toy, but the power to make it work is not included. That is not the kind of gift that God gives. 

God’s gift of holiness includes the power of the fullness of the Holy Spirit - the power to make it work. 

For God, the Batteries Are Included!

(Steven Dow - Sermon Central).

Too Much Temptation Out There!

Karine and her two sons, Jaeden (right) and Gareth(left)

Six-year old Jaeden had found video games to be addictive and needed his mother's help to break the addiction. (During my time, which six-year old ever thought of doing that?)  For almost two weeks, the little boy was doing fine with his abstinence until the final day which was on a Sunday. 

 

After Sunday School, Jaeden could not be found playing with his usual group of friends. He was with eight-year old Chantel, the pastor's daughter, in a classroom far away from where most of the kids were playing. Lynda, the pastor's wife, found only two of them together and was curious. She was surprised by the answer that Jaeden gave. 

 

He said, "I am not joining the rest of the kids because there is too much temptation out there!" 

 

What Jaeden meant was that many of the children were playing with hand-held video games and he was afraid to be tempted by them. 

 

Two weeks prior to the abstinence, Jaeden had prayed to the Lord with his mother, "lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil." According to Karine, her eldest son was really determined to fight this temptation. Whenever Jaeden scored victories over the temptation, she reminded him to cherish the victorious moments. 

 

After the two-week self-discipline rigor was over, little Jaeden broke out in a loud song and worshiped  the Lord with gusto, "Thru YOU, I can do Anything; I can do All things, cos it's You who gives me strength - Nothing is Impossible!"

Faith in the Father

During the terrible days of the Blitz, a father, holding his small son by the hand, ran from a building that had been struck by a bomb. In the front yard was a shell hole. Seeking shelter as quickly as possible, the father jumped into the hole and held up his arms for his son to follow. Terrified, yet hearing his father's voice telling him to jump, the boy replied, "I can't see you!"

The father, looking up against the sky tinted red by the burning buildings, called to the silhouette of his son, "But I can see you. Jump!" The boy jumped, because he trusted his father. The Christian faith enables us to face life or meet death, not because we can see, but with the certainty that we are seen; not that we know all the answers, but that we are known.

Donner Atwood

Our Weakness And His Strength

The folklore surrounding Poland's famous concert pianist and prime minister, Ignace Paderewski, includes this story:

A mother, wishing to encourage her young son's progress at the piano, bought tickets for a Paderewski performance. When the night arrived, they found their seats near the front of the hall and eyed the majestic Steinway waiting on the stage.

Soon the mother found a friend to talk to, and the boy slipped away. When 8pm arrived, the spotlights came on, the audience quieted, and only then did they notice the boy up on stage sitting at the bench, innocently picking out, "Twinkle, twinkle little star."

His mother gasped, but before she could retrieve her son, the master appeared on the stage and quickly moved to the keyboard. 

"Don't quit - keep playing," he whispered to the boy. 

Leaning over, the master reached down with his left hand and began filling in the bass part. Soon his right arm reached around the other side, encircling the child, to add a running obligato. Together, the old master and the young novice held the crowd mesmerized.

In our lives, unpolished though they may be, it is the Master who surrounds us and whispers in our ear, time and time again,"Don't quit, keep playing." And as we do,he augments and supplements until a work of amazing beauty is created.