GROCERY LIST

Louise Redden, a poorly dressed lady with a look of defeat on her face, walked into a grocery store. She approached the owner of the store in a most humble manner and asked if he would let her charge a few groceries. She softly explained that her husband was very ill and unable to work, they had seven children and they needed food.

John Longhouse, the grocer, scoffed at her and requested that she leave his store at once. Visualizing the family needs, she said: 'Please, sir! I will bring you the money just as soon as I can.' John told her he could not give her credit, since she did not have a charge account at his store.

Standing beside the counter was a customer who overheard the conversation between the two. The customer walked forward and told the grocer that he would stand good for whatever she needed for her family. The grocer said in a very reluctant voice, 'Do you have a grocery list?' Louise replied, 'Yes sire.''Ok' he said,'put your grocery list on the scales and whatever your grocery list weighs, I will give you that amount in groceries.'

Louise hesitated a moment with a bowed head, then she reached into her purse and took out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. She then laid the piece of paper on the scale carefully with her head still bowed. The eyes of the grocer and the customer showed amazement when the scales went down and stayed down...

The grocer, staring at the scales, turned slowly to the customer and said begrudgingly, 'I can't believe it.'  The customer smiled and the grocer started putting the groceries on the other side of the scales. The scale did not balance so he continued to put more and more groceries on them until the scales would hold no more.  The grocer stood there in utter disgust. Finally, he grabbed the piece of paper from the scales and looked at it with greater amazement...

It was not a grocery list, it was a prayer, which said:
'Dear Lord, you know my needs and I am leaving this in your hands.'

The grocer gave her the groceries that he had gathered and stood in stunned silence.

 Louise thanked him and left the store. The other customer handed a fifty-dollar bill to the grocer and said; 'It was worth every penny of it. Only God Knows how much a prayer weighs.'

Remember God always listened to us! Psalms 66: 19-20 But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!

What do I do with my Anger??!!

Handling anger is an important topic. Christian counselors report that 50 percent of people who come in for counseling have problems dealing with anger. Anger can shatter communication and tear apart relationships, and it ruins both the joy and health of many. Sadly, people tend to justify their anger instead of accepting responsibility for it. Everyone struggles, to varying degrees, with anger. Thankfully, God’s Word contains principles regarding how to handle anger in a godly manner, and how to overcome sinful anger.

Anger is not always sin. There is a type of anger of which the Bible approves, often called “righteous indignation.” God is angry (Psalm 7:11; Mark 3:5), and believers are commanded to be angry (Ephesians 4:26). Two Greek words are used in the New Testament for our English word “anger.” One means “passion, energy” and the other means “agitated, boiling.” Biblically, anger is God-given energy intended to help us solve problems. Examples of biblical anger include Paul’s confronting Peter because of his wrong example in Galatians 2:11-14, David’s being upset over hearing Nathan the prophet sharing an injustice (2 Samuel 12), and Jesus’ anger over how some of the Jews had defiled worship at God’s temple in Jerusalem (John 2:13-18). Notice that none of these examples of anger involved self-defense, but a defense of others or of a principle.

Anger turns to sin when it is selfishly motivated (James 1:20), when God’s goal is distorted (1 Corinthians 10:31), or when anger is allowed to linger (Ephesians 4:26-27). Instead of using the energy generated by anger to attack the problem at hand, it is the person who is attacked. Ephesians 4:15-19 says we are to

Adversity is God's University

I was picking up some dry cleaning this week and Ann Wade shared this quotable quote. It got me thinking.

Adversity is God's University

What was my GPA at this university?

Romans 5:3-5 says, "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that sufferings produces perseverance; perseverance, character, and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us."

If it is true that we learn more out of our adversities than our blessings, why do I resent adversities so much? Because it's HARD!! and usually, it HURTS!! But one thing that I have learned through the adversities in my life is that when I walk through the walls of that university, I usually come out a better person; more

Where do babies go when they die?

Safe in the arms of GOD!!

Question: What happens to babies and young children when they die? Where do I find the age of accountability in the Bible?

Answer: The Bible tells us that even if an infant or child has not committed personal sin, all people, including infants and children, are guilty before God because of inherited and imputed sin. Inherited sin is that which is passed on from our parents. In Psalm 51:5, David wrote, "I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me." David recognized that even at conception, he was a sinner. The very sad fact that infants sometimes die demonstrates that even infants are impacted by Adam’s sin, since physical and spiritual death were the results of Adam's original sin.

Each person, infant or adult, stands guilty before God; each person has offended the holiness of God. The

Cell Phones vs. Bible

Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?
What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
What if we flipped through it several time a day?
What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
What if we gave it to Kids as gifts?
What if we used it when we traveled?
What if we used it in case of emergency?
This is something to make you go....hmm...where is my Bible?
Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don’t have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill. Makes you stop and think - where are my priorities? And no dropped calls!

Is Speaking in Tongues a Witness or a Prayer Language or What?

Wow! Great Question!! One that scholars have debated for centuries!!However, the Bible does make it pretty clear.

When our Lord predicted the gift of tongues (the only mention of tongues in the four Gospel records) He said, "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues" (Mark 16:17). The adjective "new" (Gr. kainos) can only mean they were going to speak in languages new to them, that is, languages they had not learned or used until that time. If I say the Russian language is "new" to me, I do not mean that I never

A Man asks for help and understanding...

I received a letter this week from a man who loves the Lord with all his heart and is committed to and leading other men in recognizing God's plan for Biblical sexual purity in their lives. The struggle is with the way women dress in church. It is sad that as sisters in Christ, we would so carelessly cause our brothers to be distracted from worship. This was my response to him:

As the mother of two boys, I have become more aware of the effects of what a woman wears and how she carries herself. I am convinced that most women have little notion as to what she is doing to be a stumbling block to her brothers in Christ! Let me try to explain. A woman desires to look young and attractive. We allow our culture to define attractive, which is driven by the evil one. Therefore, what is called "attractive" often screams of "sexual". However, because most women are not stimulated sexually by

What does the Bible say about Piercing and Tats

Two Interesting Verses

The Bible's teaching concerning this issue is complex, not because it is somehow difficult to understand, but rather because it is a "side issue" that the Bible really does not address head on. There is one passage that seems to teach against such things, Leviticus Chapter 19, verse 28, which says:

You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the LORD.

However, only nine verses earlier in the same chapter (Lev. 19:19) the people of Israel were also commanded to avoid mixing fibers in garments:

Nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you.

Therefore, if someone chose to consider a tattoo sinful, then they would have to toss all their cotton/polyester clothing too! So WHAT DO WE DO?

It helps to know that God originally set aside the Jewish people as a "higher standard" among the pagan nations, through whom the Messiah would come. As a result, many of their laws were given to wean them