Shaved by Grace

After twenty years of shaving himself every morning, a man in a small Southern town decided he had enough. He told his wife that he intended to let the local barber shave him each day. He put on his hat and coat and went to the barber shop, which was owned by the pastor of the town's Baptist Church. The barber's wife, Grace, was working that day, so she performed the task.

Grace shaved him and sprayed him with lilac water, and said,
"That will be $20."

The man thought the price was a bit high, but he paid the bill and went to work. The next morning the man looked in the mirror, and his face was as smooth as it had been when he left the barber shop the day before. Not bad, he thought. At least I don't need to get a shave every day.

The next morning, the man's face was still smooth. Two weeks later, the man was still unable to find any trace of whiskers on his face. It was more than he could take, so he returned to the barber shop.

"I thought $20 was high for a shave", he told the barber's wife, "but you must have done a great job. It's been two weeks and my whiskers still haven't started growing back."

The expression on her face didn't even change, expecting his comment. She responded, "You were shaved by Grace. Once shaved, always shaved."

God the Saviour or Judge

I am the Lord, exercising loving, kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. —Jeremiah 9:24

Some say that theology is only for "professionals." But the situation in the days of the prophet Jeremiah illustrates why it's important for everyone to know what God says about Himself.

The religious experts in Jeremiah's day were misrepresenting God by prophesying "the delusions of their own minds" (Jer. 23:26 NIV) and leading people astray with their lies (v.32). Due to their dishonesty, the people did not know the true nature of God.

Today there are people who portray God as angry, vengeful, and eager to punish people for every minor offense. God, however, describes Himself as "merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth" (Ex. 34:6). Others show the world a picture of a loving God who is too kind to punish wrongdoing. But God describes Himself as one who exercises judgment and righteousness (Jer. 9:24). He is both a just Judge and a loving Father. If we emphasize one over the other, we paint a false picture of God.

The most important thing we can know about God and proclaim to the world is that God does not want to punish people; He wants them to repent so that He can forgive (2 Peter 3:9). But to be truly loving, He must also be absolutely just.

— Julie Ackerman Link

Though love for God should always move
My heart to do what's good and right,
It's wise to fear His judgments true
And stand in awe of His great might.

— D. De Haan

Grandma’s Heavenly Cake

Two little boys are telling their Grandma how "everything" is going wrong: the bully at school, theirGrandma's Boys parents grounded them, and they have colds.

Meanwhile, Grandma is baking a cake. She asks the boys if they would like a snack, which of course they do.

"Here. Have some cooking oil."
"Yuck," says one boy."
"How about a couple raw eggs?"
"Gross, Grandma," says the other.
"Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?"
"Grandma, those are all yucky!" they said in unison.
To which Grandma replies:

"Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves, but when they are put together in the right way they make a wonderfully delicious cake!  God works the same way.  Many times we wonder why he would let us go through such bad and difficult times.  But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good!  We just have to trust Him and eventually they will all make something wonderful!"

On My Fathers Side

JUST A YOUNG BOY IN THE TEMPLE ONE DAY SHARED WITH THE DOCTOR'S,
THEY WERE SO AMAZED NEVER HAD THEY SEEN ONE SO YOUNG SPEAK SO SWIFT

THEY ASKED HIM MANY QUESTIONS, THE CONVERSATION WENT LIKE THIS

WHAT'S YOUR NAME SON?

ON MY MOTHER'S SIDE MY NAME IS JESUS
BUT ON MY FATHER'S SIDE THEY CALL ME EMMANUEL

HOW OLD ARE YOU?

ON MY MOTHER'S SIDE NOW I'M 12 YEARS
BUT ON MY FATHER'S SIDE I'VE JUST ALWAYS BEEN

WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

ON MY MOTHER'S SIDE I'M FROM BETHLEHEM
BUT ON MY FATHER'S SIDE IT'S THE NEW JERUSALEM

WHAT'S YOUR PLAN?

ON MY MOTHER'S SIDE I'LL BE CRUCIFIED
BUT ON MY FATHER'S SIDE IN 3 DAYS I WILL RISE
AND I'LL SIT AT MY FATHER'S SIDE

HE WAS THE SON OF GOD YET THE SON OF MAN
AND I CAN'T HELP BUT WONDER HOW JOSEPH MUST HAVE FELT
THROUGH AN OLD THIN DOOR THAT DAY HE HEARD HIS SON REPLY
HE SAID "YOU SEE I'M THE KING OF KINGS, THAT'S ON MY FATHER'S SIDE"

Inspirational Easter Story

Jeremy was born with a twisted body and a slow mind.

At the age of 12 he was still in second grade, seemingly unable to learn. His teacher, Doris Miller, often became exasperated with him. He would squirm in his seat, drool, and make grunting noises.

At other times, he spoke clearly and distinctly, as if a spot of light had penetrated the darkness of his brain.

Most of the time, however, Jeremy just irritated his teacher.

One day she called his parents and asked them to come in for a consultation. As the Forresters entered the empty classroom, Doris said to them, "Jeremy really belongs in a special school. It isn't fair to him to be with younger children who don't have learning problems. Why, there is a five year gap between his age and that of the other students."

Mrs. Forrester cried softly into a tissue, while her husband spoke. "Miss Miller," he said, "there is no school of that kind nearby. It would be a terrible shock for Jeremy if we had to take him out of this school. We know he really likes it here." Doris sat for a long time after they had left, staring at the snow outside the window. Its coldness seemed to seep into her soul. She wanted to sympathize with the Forresters. After all, their only child had a terminal illness. But it wasn't fair to keep him in her class. She had 18 other youngsters to teach, and Jeremy was a distraction. Furthermore, he would never learn to read and write. Why waste any more time trying?

As she pondered the situation, guilt washed over her. Here I am complaining when my problems are nothing compared to that poor family, she thought. Lord, please help me to be more patient with Jeremy.

From that day on, she tried hard to ignore Jeremy's noises and his blank stares. Then one day, he limped to her desk, dragging his bad leg behind him.

"I love you, Miss Miller," he exclaimed, loud enough for the whole class to hear. The other students snickered, and Doris' face turned red. She stammered … "Wh-why that's very nice, Jeremy. N-now please take your seat."

Spring came, and the children talked excitedly about the coming of Easter. Doris told them the story of Jesus, and then to emphasize the idea of new life springing forth, she gave each of the children a large plastic egg. "Now," she said to them, "I want you to take this home and bring it back tomorrow with something inside that shows new life. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Miss Miller," the children responded enthusiastically … all except for Jeremy. He listened intently; his eyes never left her face. He did not even make his usual noises. Had he understood what she had said about Jesus' death and resurrection? Did he understand the assignment? Perhaps she should call his parents and explain the project to them.

That evening, Doris' kitchen sink stopped up. She called the landlord and waited an hour for him to come by and unclog it. After that, she still had to shop for groceries, iron a blouse, and prepare a vocabulary test for the next day. She completely forgot about phoning Jeremy's parents.

The next morning, 19 children came to school, laughing and talking as they placed their eggs in the large wicker basket on Miss Miller's desk.

After they completed their math lesson, it was time to open the eggs. In the first egg, Doris found a flower.

"Oh yes, a flower is certainly a sign of new life," she said.
"When plants peek through the ground, we know that spring is here."

A small girl in the first row waved her arm.
"That's my egg, Miss Miller," she called out.

The next egg contained a plastic butterfly which looked very real.

Doris held it up. "We all know that a caterpillar changes and grows into a beautiful butterfly.
Yes, that's new life, too."

Little Judy smiled proudly and said,
"Miss Miller, that one is mine."

Next, Doris found a rock with moss on it.

She explained that moss, too, showed life.

Billy spoke up from the back of the classroom "My daddy
helped me," he beamed.

Then Doris opened the fourth egg.
She gasped.

The egg was empty.

Surely it must be Jeremy's she thought, and of course, he did not understand her instructions. If only she had not forgotten to phone his parents.

Because she did not want to embarrass him,
she quietly set the egg aside and reached for another.

Suddenly, Jeremy spoke up.
"Miss Miller, aren't you going to talk about my egg?"

Flustered, Doris replied, "But Jeremy, your egg is empty."

He looked into her eyes and said softly …
"Yes, but Jesus' tomb was empty, too."

Time stopped.

When she could speak again, Doris asked him,
"Do you know why the tomb was empty?"

"Oh, yes," Jeremy said, "Jesus was killed and put in there.
Then His Father raised Him up."

The recess bell rang.
While the children excitedly ran out to the school yard …
Doris cried.
The cold inside her melted completely away.

Three months later, Jeremy died.
Those who paid their respects at the mortuary were surprised to see 19 eggs on top of his casket … all of them empty.