A LOVE STORY:

One day, I woke early in the morning to watch the sunrise.
Ah the beauty of God's creation is beyond description.
As I watched, I praised God for His beautiful work.
As I sat there, I felt the Lord's presence with me.

He asked me, "Do you love me?"
I answered,"Of course, God! You are my Lord and Saviour!"

Then He asked, "If you were physically handicapped, would
you still love me?"

I was perplexed. I looked down upon my arms, legs and the
rest of my body and wondered how many things I wouldn't be
able to do, the things that I took for granted.

And I answered, "It would be tough Lord, but I would
still love You."

Then the Lord said, "If you were blind, would you still love
my creation?"

How could I love something without being able to see it?
Then I thought of all the blind people in the world and how
many of them still loved God and His creation.

So I answered, "It's hard to think of it, but I would still
love you."

The Lord then asked me, "If you were deaf, would you
still listen to my word?"

How could I listen to anything being deaf?
Then I understood.
Listening to God's Word is not merely using our ears,
but our hearts.

I answered, "It would be tough, but I would still listen to
Your word."

The Lord then asked, "If you were mute, would you
still praise My Name?"

How could I praise without a voice?
Then it occurred to me:
God wants us to sing from our very heart and soul.
It never matters what we sound like.
And praising God is not always with a song, but when we
are persecuted, we give God praise with our words of
thanks.

So I answered, "Though I could not physically sing, I would
still praise Your Name."

And the Lord asked, "Do you really love Me?"

With courage and a strong conviction, I answered boldly,
"Yes Lord! I love You because You are the one and
true God!"

I thought I had answered well, but God asked,
"Then why do you sin?"

I answered, "Because I am only human. I am not perfect."

And God asked, "Then why in times of peace do you stray
the furthest?
Why only in times of trouble do you pray the earnest?"

No answers. Only tears.

The Lord continued: "Why only sing at fellowships and retreats?
Why seek Me only in times of worship?
Why ask things so selfishly?
Why ask things so unfaithfully?"

The tears continued to roll down my cheeks.

"Why are you ashamed of Me?
Why are you not spreading the good news?
Why in times of persecution, you cry to others when I
offer My shoulder to cry on?
Why make excuses when I give you opportunities to serve in
My Name?"

"You are blessed with life. I made you not to throw
this gift away.
I have blessed you with talents to serve Me, but you continue
to turn away.
I have revealed My Word to you, but you do not gain
in knowledge.
I have spoken to you but your ears were closed.
I have shown My blessings to you, but your eyes were
turned away.
I have sent you servants, but you sat idly by as they were
pushed away.
I have heard your prayers and I have answered them all."
"Do you truly love Me?"

I could not answer. How could I? I was embarrassed beyond
belief. I had no excuse.
What could I say to this?
When my heart had cried out and the tears had flowed, I said,
"Please forgive me Lord. I am unworthy to be Your child."

The Lord answered, "That is My Grace, My child."

I asked, "Then why do you continue to forgive me?
Why do You love me so?"

The Lord answered, "Because you are My creation.
You are my child. I will never abandon you.
When you cry, I will have compassion and cry with you.
When you shout with joy, I will laugh with you.
When you are down, I will encourage you.
When you fall, I will raise you up. When you are tired,
I will carry you.
I will be with you till the end of days, and I will love
you forever."

Never had I cried so hard before.
How could I have been so cold?
How could I have hurt God as I had done?
I asked God, "How much do You love me?"

The Lord stretched out His arms, and I saw His
nail-pierced hands.
I bowed down at the feet of Christ, my Saviour.
And for the first time, I truly prayed.

Author Unknown



God's Chair:

A man's daughter had asked the local pastor to come
and pray with her father.
When the pastor arrived, he found the man lying in bed with
his head propped up on two pillows and an empty chair
beside his bed.

The pastor assumed that the fellow had been informed of his
visit.
"I guess you were expecting me," he said.
"No, who are you?" "I'm the new associate at your local church,"
the pastor replied.
"When I saw the empty chair, I figured you knew I was going to
show up."

"Oh yeah, the chair," said the bedridden man.
"Would you mind closing the door?" Puzzled, the pastor
shut the door.

I've never told anyone this, not even my daughter," said the man,
"But all of my life I have never known how to pray.
At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer,
but it always went right over my head.
I abandoned any attempt at prayer," the man continued,
"until one day about four years ago my best friend
said to me, ....

"Joe, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation
with Jesus.
Here's what I suggest: Sit down on a chair; place an empty
chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair.
It's not spooky because he promised, "I'll be with you always.
Then just speak to him and listen in the same way you're
doing with me right now."

So, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of
hours every day. I'm careful, though.
If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either
have a nervous breakdown or think I was crazy."

The pastor was deeply moved by the story and encouraged
the man to continue on the journey.
Then he prayed with him, and returned to the church.
Two nights later the daughter called to tell the pastor that
her daddy had died that afternoon.
"Did he seem to die in peace?" he asked.

"Yes, when I left the house around two o'clock, he called
me over to his bedside, told me one of his corny jokes, and
kissed me on the cheek.
When I got back from the store an hour later, I found he had
passed away.
But there was something strange, in fact, beyond strange,
really weird.
Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested
his head on a chair beside the bed."

Author Unknown