Putting Out The Fire

A man slaughtered a large cow to celebrate his birthday, lit the grill, and said to his son, "Son", call our loved ones and neighbors to eat with us. let us feast!"

His son took to the street and started shouting: "Please help us put out a fire at our house!"

After a few moments, a small group of people came out, and the rest acted like they didn't hear the cry for help. 

Those who came ate and celebrated.

After the feast, the confused father turned to his son and said to him:

"Who were those people who came to celebrate with us? I hardly knew a single one of them. Where were our friends, relatives, and loved ones?"

The son said, "Those who celebrated were the people who quickly responded to my cry for help. I shouted that there was a fire at our house but said nothing about the celebration. So, those who came to help were also surprised that the fire was your barbeque fire. They deserved to enjoy a great feast and new friendship. 

Moral of the story: Not all your friends and relatives are true friends and relatives. 

The Star Thrower

Early one morning, at the breaking of dawn, a young tourist took a walk by the beach that was near to his hotel. As he walked, he noticed that there was a human figure, moving like a dancer, far down the beach. He smiled to himself wondering who would dance at this time of the day. 

As he got closer, he realised that it was an elderly gentleman and he wasn't dancing. The elderly man was doing something far weirder than dancing - he was picking up something from the beach and throwing it far into the ocean.

As the tourist got closer, he called out, "Good morning! What are you doing?"

The elderly man paused, looked up and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

The tourist corrected himself, "I guess I should have asked, ‘Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?’"

The man pointed to the waking sky and said, "The sun is coming up fast and the tide is going out. And if I don't throw them back into the ocean, they'll die."

"But Sir, don't you realise that there are miles and miles of beach with countless stranded starfish. You can't possibly make a difference!"

The elderly man did not stop but picked up another starfish, threw it past the breaking waves, and said, "It made a difference for that one!"

Suddenly, it dawned on the young tourist that for that moment, while on the beach, he could make a difference for some starfish. With strong arms, the young man was able to gather and throw more starfish into the ocean. For the few days the young tourist was staying at the hotel, every early morning, he joined the elderly gentleman in throwing back starfish. He felt good that he could make a difference.

And that is our challenge today. There are many souls that need to know Jesus Christ as their Saviour. The number of people with such need is staggering. The only danger for us is when we throw up our hands and say that we cannot make a difference in helping these people into the Kingdom of God. Our only assignment is to find our starfish and throw them wisely back into the ocean of God’s love and forgiveness.

Yes, you can make a difference! Be a Star-thrower and Christ-witness for the Kingdom of God.



Adapted from Loren Eiseley’s book, ‘The Star Thrower’.

The "YES" Face!

During Thomas Jefferson's presidency he and a group of travelers were crossing a river that had overflowed its banks. Each man crossed on horseback fighting for his life. 

A lone traveler watched the group traverse the treacherous river and then asked President Jefferson to take him across. The president agreed without hesitation, the man climbed on, and the two made it safely to the other side of the river where somebody asked him: "Why did you select the President to ask this favor?" 

The man was shocked, admitting he had no idea it was the President of the United States who had carried him safely across. 

"All I know," he said, "is that on some of your faces was written the answer 'No' and on some of them was the answer 'Yes.' His was a 'Yes' face."


"The most significant decision I make each day is my choice of an attitude. When my attitudes are right there's no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme and no challenge too great." - Charles Swindoll

The Secret to Living is Giving

A young man who was graduating from college told the story about how Oral Lee Brown was his "Real Life Angel." In 1987, Brown, a real estate agent in Northern California, saw a young girl in her neighborhood begging for money.

When she went to the school the girl had claimed to attend, Brown couldn't find her, but that day she made a decision that would change the lives of many other children forever. She adopted an entire first-grade class in one of Oakland's lowest performing schools, and she pledged that she personally would pay for anyone who wanted to attend college.

This would be a great story even if Oral Lee was independently wealthy; however, it is a much greater story considering she was a former cotton picker from Mississippi, making $45,000 a year and raising two children of her own.
Brown lived up to her pledge. Since 1987, she's personally saved $10,000 a year while raising donations for her "adopted first-grade kids." And because of her tremendous act of unselfish love, children who could have been "swallowed by the streets" are now graduating from college to pursue their dreams.

Oral Lee Brown

We all seek our purpose in life. Most of us wonder how we can make a positive difference during our brief time on this earth. But Oral Lee Brown discovered the simple secret...GIVING. Arthur Ashe said it best,
"From what we get, we can make a living. What we give, however, makes a life."
There's an amazing paradox of giving...you can never help another person without helping yourself.