The day the sun danced - the true story of Fatima

Have a look at the video below and also read the wikipedia page on the subject.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_of_the_Sun

Pray about Everything

The four-year-old son of a missionary family in Africa spotted a picture of a little pink dinosaur in a magazine and set his heart on having one.

 His mum knew it was impossible (the magazine was three years old), but her son never doubted God would come through for him.

On Christmas Eve, a box packed ten months earlier arrived from home.

At first glance it seemed to contain something special for everyone - except a four-year-old boy.

 Then they reached the bottom - and they were stunned.

The lady who sent the box had no way of knowing God would use her to answer a little boy's prayer.

 Before taping up the box, at the last minute, she tossed in the one item impossible for his parents to provide - something so insignificant no rational adult would ever have been foolish enough to ask God for...a pink plastic brontosaurus from a fast-food restaurant promotion!

Sometimes we feel foolish bothering God with little things, but we shouldn't.

 

 The Bible says: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

(Philippians 4:6 NIV)

 

God is interested in every detail of your life; if something is important to you, it's important to Him.

 

 In Bible times two sparrows were sold for a penny (on sale you could buy five for two pennies!) yet Jesus said,

 

"29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care.³⁰ And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. " (Matthew 10:29-30 NIV)

 

When you learn to trust God in little things, you'll be able to trust Him in big ones.

 

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St Thomas Day

Happy St. Thomas day everybody!

The following excerpt is from http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=410
Please go to the page to read more...

St. Thomas was a Jew, called to be one of the twelve Apostles. He was a dedicated but impetuous follower of Christ. WhenJesus said He was returning to Judea to visit His sick friend Lazarus, Thomas immediately exhorted the other Apostles to accompany Him on the trip which involved certain danger and possible death because of the mounting hostility of the authorities. At the Last Supper, when Christ told His Apostlesthat He was going to prepare a place for them to which they also might come because they knew both the place and the way, Thomas pleaded that they did not understand and received the beautiful assurance that Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. But St. Thomas is best known for his role in verifying the Resurrection of his Master. Thomas' unwillingness to believe that the other Apostles had seen their risen Lord on the first Easter Sunday merited for him the title of "doubting Thomas." Eight days later, on Christ's second apparition, Thomas was gently rebuked for his scepticism and furnished with the evidence he had demanded - seeing in Christ's hands the point of the nails and putting his fingers in the place of the nails and his hand into His side. At this, St. Thomas became convinced of the truth of the Resurrection and exclaimed: "My Lord and My God," thus making a public Profession of Faith in the Divinity of Jesus.St. Thomas is also mentioned as being present at another Resurrection appearance of Jesus - at Lake Tiberias when amiraculous catch of fish occurred. This is all that we know about St. Thomas from the New Testament. Tradition says that at the dispersal of the Apostles after Pentecost this saint was sent to evangelize the Parthians, Medes, and Persians; he ultimately reached India, carrying the Faith to the Malabarcoast, which still boasts a large native population calling themselves "Christians of St. Thomas." He capped his left by shedding his blood for his Master, speared to death at a place called Calamine. His feast day is July 3rd and he is the patron of architects.

The Bridge

- Max Lucado

There was once a bridge which spanned a large river.

 During most of the day the bridge sat with its length running up and down the river paralleled with the banks, allowing ships to pass through freely on both sides of the bridge. But at certain times each day, a train would come along and the bridge would be turned sideways across the river, allowing a train to cross it.

A switchman sat in a small shack on one side of the river where he operated the controls to turn the bridge and lock it into place as the train crossed.

 One evening as the switchman was waiting for the last train of the day to come, he looked off into the distance through the dimming twilight and caught sight of the train lights. He stepped to the control and waited until the train was within a prescribed distance when he was to turn the bridge.

He turned the bridge into position, but, to his horror, he found the locking control did not work.

If the bridge was not securely in position it would wobble back and forth at the ends when the train came onto it, causing the train to jump the track and go crashing into the river. This would be a passenger train with many people aboard.

 

He left the bridge turned across the river, and hurried across the bridge to the other side of the river where there was a lever switch he could hold to operate the lock manually. He would have to hold the lever back firmly as the train crossed. He could hear the rumble of the train now, and he took hold of the lever and leaned backward to apply his weight to it, locking the bridge. He kept applying the pressure to keep the mechanism locked.

 Many lives depended on this man's strength.

Then, coming across the bridge from the direction of his control shack, he heard a sound that made his blood run cold.

"Daddy, where are you?"

His four-year-old son was crossing the bridge to look for him. His first impulse was to cry out to the child, "Run! Run!" But the train was too close; the tiny legs would never make it across the bridge in time. The man almost left his lever to run and snatch up his son and carry him to safety.

But he realized that he could not get back to the lever. Either the people on the train or his little son must die.

He took a moment to make his decision.

The train sped safely and swiftly on its way, and no one aboard was even aware of the tiny broken body thrown mercilessly into the river by the onrushing train. Nor were they aware of the pitiful figure of the sobbing man, still clinging tightly to the locking lever long after the train had passed.

They did not see him walking home more slowly than he had ever walked: to tell his wife how their son had brutally died.

Now if you comprehend the emotions which went this man's heart, you can begin to understand the feelings of our Father in Heaven when He sacrificed His Son to bridge the gap between us and eternal life.

 Can there be any wonder that He caused the earth to tremble and the skies to darken when His Son died?

How does He feel when we speed along through life without giving a thought to what was done for us through Jesus Christ?

When was the last time you thanked Him for the sacrifice of His Son?

 

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Don't Be An Older Brother

- Anonymous

 

 

In the parable of the prodigal son Jesus is talking to two different groups:

Regular people, and religious leaders who complain that Jesus 'receives sinners' (Luke 15:2 NKJV).

 

 We all know the story.

 

The Prodigal Son 'blew it' and ended up in a pigsty.

Later, when he returned home, his father threw a big party. But his older brother wouldn't attend.

 

Here was his reason: 

 

 

"…These many years I have been serving you…yet you never gave me a young goat that I might make merry with my friends.

But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him."

 

" 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' "

Luke 15:31

(Luke 15:29-31 NKJV)

 

It's the kind of thing you hear in church from people who lift themselves up by putting others down.

Both sons spent time in the pigsty: one in the pigsty of rebellion, the other in the pigsty of resentment.

 

 One came home to a welcome, the other stayed home and wallowed in self-righteousness.

Because of his judgmentalism, the older son ended up losing more than the younger son:

 

1) He forfeited the joy of knowing how much he was loved by his father.

2) As the oldest son he was entitled to twice as much of his father's estate, yet he wasn't able to enjoy a moment of it.

3) His younger brother was lost and hurting. What an opportunity to forgive, show grace, help to restore him and have a life-enriching relationship with him. But he forfeited it all because he was judgmental.

 

Don't be an older brother!

 

 

www.thewordfortoday.com.au

 

Learning from a Flock of Geese

Geoff Wilson

 

 

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. Romans 12:6-8 (NIV)

 

You have probably heard someone call another person who has done something foolish, "A silly goose!"

 Well, I can tell you that geese are not silly! We can learn a lot from the goose.

 

For example, I am sure that most of you probably know that when geese fly, they fly in a "V" formation.

Have you ever wondered why the geese fly in a "V" formation?

 

 

Recent scientific studies have given us the answer. It has been learned that as each goose flaps its wings, it gives a lift to the one immediately following.

It has been determined that flying this way gives the geese about 70% more flying range.

 

Of course, that means that the lead goose is working harder.

When the lead goose gets tired, he falls back into the formation and another takes his place. Now, that's team work!

 

If you have ever seen a flock of geese flying, you have also noticed that all the time they are flying, the geese are "honking."

They do this to encourage one another. It is always easier to do something difficult when you know you aren't flying alone, isn't it?

 

 

Sometimes, a goose becomes sick or is injured and falls to the ground.

When that happens, two other geese go down and stay with it until it is well. If it dies, they join another formation and continue on their journey.

 

Do you think the geese are silly?

It sounds to me like they are pretty smart!

 

 

What lessons do you think we could learn from the geese?

 

We could learn that it is important for all church members to share the responsibility within the church rather than letting the same loyal ones work until they drop!

 

We could learn that it is important to "honk" encouragement to other workers in the church.

We could learn that it is important for us to look after those who are sick or in need.

 

There is a lot that we can learn from the goose, isn't there?

Dear Jesus, help us to use the gifts that you have given us to serve and encourage others.

Amen.

 

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Few Quotes Many Pastors Won't Preach

 

 

Jesus was crucified, not in a cathedral between two candles, but on a cross between two thieves.

George F. MacLeod

 

The Cross cannot be defeated, for it is defeat.

Gilbert K. Chesterton

 

There are no Crown-wearers in Heaven who were not Cross-bearers here below.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

 

We need Men of the Cross, with the Message of the Cross, bearing the Marks of the Cross.

Vance Havner

 

Christ's Cross is such a burden as sails are to a ship or wings to a bird.

Samuel Rutherford

 

He came to pay a debt He didn't owe because we owed a debt we couldn't pay.

Anonymous

 

All heaven is interested in the cross of Christ, all hell is terribly afraid of it, while men are the only beings who more or less ignore its meaning.

Oswald Chambers

 

The Cross: God's way of uniting suffering with love.

Georgia Harkness

 

The figure of the Crucified invalidates all thought which takes success for its standard.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

 

The Cross is the lightning rod of grace that short-circuits God's wrath to Christ so that only the light of His love remains for believers.

A.   W. Tozer in "The Old Cross and the New."

 

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