Country Preacher

A country preacher decided to skip services one Sunday to spend the day hiking in the wilderness. Rounding a sharp bend in the trail, he collided with a bear and was sent tumbling down a steep grade. He landed on a rock and broke both legs.
      With the ferocious bear charging at him from a distance, the preacher prayed, "O Lord, I'm so sorry for skipping services today. Please forgive me and grant me just one wish—make a Christian out of that bear that's coming at me!"
      At that very instant, the bear skidded to a halt, fell to his knees, clasped his paws together, and began to pray aloud at the preacher's feet: "Dear God, please bless this food I am about to receive."

Bragging Rights

  Three boys are in the school yard bragging about their fathers. The first boy says, "My Dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a poem, and they give him $25."
      The second boy says, "That's nothing. My Dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a song, and they give him $200."
      The third boy says, "I got you both beat. My Dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a sermon, and it takes eight men to collect all the money!"

Sunday School Humor

The Sunday School teacher was describing that when Lot's wife looked back at Sodom she turned into a pillar of salt, when Bobby interrupted. "My mommy looked back once while she was driving," he announced, "and she turned into a telephone pole."

Another Sunday School teacher said to her children, "We have been learning about how powerful the kings and queens were in Biblical times. But there is a higher power. Who can tell me what it is?" Tommy blurted out, "I know, Aces."

After explaining the commandment to honor your father and mother, a Sunday School teacher asked her class if there was a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters.
      One boy, the oldest in his family, immediately answered, "Thou shalt not kill."

Lot again... A father was reading Bible stories to his young son. He read, "The man named Lot was warned to take his wife and flee out of the city, but his wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt."
      His son asked, "What happened to the flea?"

Palm Sunday

  It was Palm Sunday but because of a sore throat, 5-year-old Johnny stayed home from church with a sitter. When the family returned home, they were carrying several palm fronds. Johnny asked them what they were for.
      "People held them over Jesus' head as he walked by," his father told him.
      "Wouldn't you know it," Johnny fumed, "the one Sunday I don't go and he shows up."

A Little Humor

  At Sunday School they were learning how God created everything, including human beings. Johnny was especially intent when the teacher told him how Eve was created out of one of Adam's ribs.

      Later in the week his mother noticed him lying down as though he were ill, and said, "Johnny, what is the matter?"

      Johnny responded, "I have pain in my side. I think I'm going to have a wife."

Mercy

“God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matt. 5:7).

 

In Christ’s parable of the Good Samaritan, we have three people with contrasting views of life. The robbers say, “Everything that is yours, is mine - I take it.” The priest argues, “Everything that is mine is mine - I keep it.” The Samaritan’s outlook on life is, “Everything that is mine, is yours - I share it.”

 

Mercy or compassion comes from God and is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. He takes a sinful, self-centered person and gives him a new heart - a heart like God’s that truly cares, feels and loves. God would like to see that we are merciful, like Him. According to Antonie Ruler, mercy is generosity, compassion and a forgiving nature. It means that God’s children feel for others because they love a God who does the same.

 

This beatitude (see Matt. 5:7), one of eight statements made by Christ about people who are blessed, teaches us that in the kingdom of God it is all about people. Christ laid sown His life because He cared for people and He also expects it from His followers. He even expects that we should love our enemies, because, “If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much” (Matt. 5:46). It is a demand unique to Christianity that we must love our enemies.

 

Mercy or compassion is to look through other people’s eyes, think with their minds, and feel with their feelings. It is identifying with them and having compassion for them.

The Folly of an Unforgiving Heart

"If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins" (Matthew 6:14-15).

There are some people who stubbornly and willfully refuse to forgive if they have been wronged. Yet, forgiveness is one of the essential qualities of a true Christian. When Peter asked Jesus how many times a person should forgive, Jesus answered, "Seventy times seven!" (Matthew 18:22). He wanted to point out to Peter how extensive this virtue is. Forgiveness should be a perfectly normal attitude for the Christian disciple.

The tragedy of people who are unforgiving is that they cause themselves more harm than anyone else. Withholding forgiveness from someone is breaking down the bridge you have to cross yourself. You rob yourself of God's forgiveness. If you are serious about demonstrating Jesus Christ's attitude, you dare not have any unforgiving thoughts in your heart.

You can't love Christ, and nurse bitterness toward someone at the same time. Then strife and frustration are etched on your being instead of the pureness of Jesus.

Refusing to let go of an unforgiving spirit proves that your pride and hurt feelings are more important than a happy and healthy relationship with the Lord. Then it is impossible to confess, "I believe in the forgiveness of sin." Forgiveness is the death knell of vengeance and bitterness.