Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Matt. 7:13-14

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Things That Make You Go Hmmm....

Daddy's Empty Chair

The Sin of Pride

Who will take the Son?

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art. When the Viet Nam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and was grieved deeply for his only son. About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands. He said, "Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and our love for art. The young man held out his package. "I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this." The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. "Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift. "The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected. The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection. On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. "We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?" There was silence. Then a voice in the back of the room shouted. "We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one." But the auctioneer persisted. "Will someone bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?" Another voice shouted angrily. "We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Gogh's, the Rembrandt's. Get on with the real bids!" But still the auctioneer continued. "The son! The son! Who'll take the son?"

Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. "I'll give $10 for the painting. "Being a poor man, it was all he could afford. "We have $10, who will bid $20?" "Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters." "$10 is the bid, won't someone bid $20?" The crowd was becoming angry.

They didn't want the picture of the son. They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections. The auctioneer pounded the gavel. "Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!" A man sitting on the second row shouted. "Now let's get on with the collection!" The auctioneer laid down his gavel. "I'm sorry, the auction is over." "What about the paintings?" "I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Who ever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The man who took the son gets every thing!"

God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on a cruel cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is, "The son, the son, who'll take the son?" Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.

~author unknown~

What is poor?

One day, a wealthy family man took his son on a trip to the country so he could have his son see how poor country people were. They stayed one day and one night at the farm of a very humble farm family.

When they got back home the father asked the son, "What did you think of the trip"? The son replied, "Very nice Dad." Dad said, "Did you notice how poor they were?" "Yes". "So, what did you learn from this trip?"

"I've learned that we have one dog in the house, and they had four. We have a fountain and imported lamps in our garden, they have a stream with no end and the stars in the sky. Our garden goes to the edge of our property, they have the entire horizon as their back yard."

At the end of the son's reply the father was speechless and then his son said, "Thank you Dad, for showing me how poor we really are."

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From Fear To Gratitude

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Read Proverbs 3:5-8

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight."

- Proverbs 3:5 (NIV)

TWO years ago my 17-year-old daughter left home. She "went out for coffee" one night and did not come home. I remember looking in all-night coffee shops in sections of the city that were unfamiliar to me. My daughter had been struggling for years. As we returned home in the early morning hours, I dropped to my knees and prayed that God would care for her. I slept soundly that night.

In the ensuing two years we have sometimes known her whereabouts and sometimes not. Nevertheless, God has been faithful to us. One night when my fear became bigger than my faith, a knotted stomach drove me from bed. I felt

compelled to read Proverbs 3:5. Once I grasped that there would be things I would never understand about my beautiful, troubled child, I moved from fear to gratitude for God's care for both of us.

Today we continue to give thanks for the lessons God is teaching our daughter that she could not learn at home. I have entrusted her to God, and daily we are being restored to wholeness.

Prayer: Thank you, God, that you know exactly what we need. Help us today to trust you to take care of what we cannot understand. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We can entrust to God the people and situations we do not understand.  By Alyson Frankfurt

Dishwashing Without Groans

Thank God for dirty dishes.

They have a tale to tell.

While other folks go hungry,

We're eating very well.

With home and health and happiness,

We shouldn't want to fuss.

For by this stack of evidence

 God's been very good to us!   Author Unknown

WWJD???

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Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.

(Hebrews 13:2)

 The LORD does not look at the things man looks at.

Man looks at the outward appearance,

but the LORD looks on the heart."

(1 Samuel 16:7b)

"WILL YOU GIVE IT TO ME?"

The cheerful girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them: a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box. "Oh please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please,Mommy, please!"

Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl's upturned face.

"A dollar ninety-five. That's almost $2.00 If you really want them, I'll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday's only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma."

As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at

last she had enough money to buy the necklace. ?Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere--Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother said if,they got wet, they might turn her neck green.

Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night when he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?"

"Oh yes, Daddy. You know that I love you."

"Then give me your pearls."

"Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess--the white horse from my collection. The one with the pink tail. Remember, Daddy? The one you gave me. She's my favorite."

"That's okay, Honey. Daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.

About a week later, after the story time, Jenny's daddy asked again, "Do you love me?"

"Daddy, you know I love you."

"Then give me your pearls."

"Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is so beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper."

"That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you." And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss. ?

A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with?her legs crossed Indian-style. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek.

"What is it, Jenny? What's the matter?"

Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, "Here, Daddy. It's for you."

With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's kind daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime-store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny. He had had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her genuine treasure.

So like our Heavenly Father............ what are you hanging on to, or holding back from Him?

Matthew 25:41-45 "Then He will also say to those on His left, "Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and your gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and your gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite me in; naked and you did not clothe Me; sick and in prison and you did not visit Me. Then they themselves also will answer, saying, "Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You? Then He will answer them, saying, "Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me."