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    Devotionals and Poems

Gift of God

From Linda... super story.

A young man was getting ready to graduate from
college. For many months he had admired a beautiful
sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his
father could well afford it, he told him that was all
he wanted. As Graduation Day approached, the young
man awaited signs that his father had purchased the
car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his
father called him into his private study. His father
told him how proud he was to have such a fine son,
and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son
a beautifully wrapped gift box. Curious, and somewhat
disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a
lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the young man's name
embossed in gold. Angry, he rose his voice to his
father and said "with all your money, you give me a
Bible?" and stormed out of the house. Many years
passed and the young man was very successful in
business. He had a beautiful home and wonderful
family, but realized his father was very old, and
thought perhaps he should go to him. He had not seen
him since that graduation day. Before he could make
arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his
father had passed away, and willed all of his
possessions to his son. He needed to come home
immediately and take care of things. When he arrived
at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret
filled his heart. He began to search through his
father's important papers and saw the still
gift-wrapped Bible, just as he had left it years ago.
With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the
pages. His father had carefully underlined a verse,
Matt.7:11, "And if ye, being evil, know how to give
good gifts to your children, how much more shall your
Heavenly Father which is in Heaven, give [good things]
to those who ask Him?" As he read those words, a car
key dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a tag
with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the
sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of
his graduation, and the words PAID IN FULL. How
many times do we miss God's blessings because we can't
see past our own desires???






"Stopped by a Brick"

submitted from Mary Shearing in California

About ten years ago, a young and very successful executive named Josh
was traveling down a Chicago neighborhood street. He was going a bit too
fast in his sleek, black, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE, which was only two months
old.

He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed
down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no child darted
out, but a brick sailed out and-WHUMP! -- it smashed into the Jag's shiny
black side door! SCREECH...!!!!

Brakes slammed! Gears ground into reverse, and tires madly spun the
Jaguar back to the spot from where the brick had been thrown. Josh jumped
out of the car, grabbed the kid and pushed him up against a parked car.
He shouted at the kid, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what
the heck are you doing?!" Building up a head of steam, he went on. "That's
my new Jag, that brick you threw is gonna cost you a lot of money. Why did
you throw it?"

"Please, mister, please...I'm sorry! I didn't know what else to do!"
Pleaded the youngster. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop!"
Tears were dripping down the boy's chin as he pointed around the parked
car. "It's my brother, mister," he said. "He rolled off the curb and fell
out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up." Sobbing, the boy asked the
executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair?
He's hurt and he's too heavy for me."

Moved beyond words, the young executive tried desperately to swallow the
rapidly swelling lump in his throat. Straining, he lifted the young man
back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the
scrapes and cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be OK. He
then watched the younger brother push him down the sidewalk
toward their home.

It was a long walk back to the sleek, black, shining, 12 cylinder Jaguar
XKE-a long and slow walk. Josh never did fix the side door of his Jaguar.
He kept the dent to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone
has to throw a brick at him to get his attention...

Some bricks are softer than others. Feel for the bricks of life coming
at you.

1 Peter 1:18-19 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible
things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition
from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without
blemish and without spot:

"What we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God!"






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