The Room

Author - Unknown
In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in the room. There were no distinguishing features
save for one wall covered with small index card files, which stretched from floor to ceiling and seemingly endlessly
in either direction, had very different headings.

As I drew near the wall of files, the first to catch my attention was one that read “People I Have Liked.” I opened it
and began flipping cards. I quickly shut it, shocked to realize that I recognized the names written on each one.

And then without being told, I knew exactly where I was. This lifeless room with its small files was a crude catalog
system for my life. Here were written the actions of every moment, big and small, in a detail my memory couldn’t
match.

A sense of wonder and curiosity, coupled with horror, stirred within me as I began randomly opening files and
exploring their content. Some brought joy and sweet memories; others a sense of shame and regret so intense
that I would look over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching. A file named “Friends” was next to one marked
“Friends I have Betrayed.”

The titles ranged from the mundane to the outright weird. “Books I Have Read,” “Lies I Have Told,” “Comfort I
Have Given,” “Jokes I Have Laughed At.” Some were almost hilarious in their exactness: “Things I’ve Yelled at My
Brothers.” Others I couldn’t laugh at: “Things I Have Done in My Anger,” “Things I Have Muttered Under My Breath
at My Parents.” I never ceased to be surprised by the contents. Often there were many more cards than I
expected. Sometimes fewer than I hoped.

I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the life I had lived. Could it be possible that I had the time in my short
life to write each of these thousands or even millions of cards? But each card confirmed this truth. Each was
written in my own handwriting. Each signed with my own signature.

When I came to a file marked “Lustful Thoughts,” I felt a chill run through my body. I pulled the file out only an
inch, not willing to test its size, and drew out a card. I shuddered at its detailed content. I felt sick to think that such
a moment had been recorded.

An almost animal rage broke on me. One thought dominated my mind: No one must ever see these cards! No one
must ever see this room! I have to destroy them! In an insane frenzy I yanked the file out. Its size didn’t matter
now. I had to empty it and burn the cards.

But as I took it at one end and began pounding it on the floor, I could not dislodge a single card. I became
desperate and pulled out a card, only to find it as strong as steel when I tried to tear it.

Defeated and utterly helpless, I returned the file to its slot. Leaning my forehead against the wall, I let out a long,
self-pitying sigh. And then I saw it. The title bore “People I Have Shared the Gospel With.” The handle was brighter
than those around it, newer, almost unused. I pulled on its handle and a small box not more than 3 inches long fell
into my hands. I could count the cards it contained on one hand.

And then the tears came. I began to weep. Sobs so deep that the hurt started in my stomach and shook through
me. I fell on my knees and cried. I cried out of shame, from the overwhelming shame of it all. The rows of file
shelves swirled in my tear-filled eyes. No one must ever, ever know of this room. I must lock it up and hide the key.

But then as I pushed away the tears, I saw Him. No, please not Him. Not here. Oh, anyone but Jesus. I watched
helplessly as He began to open the files and read the cards. I couldn’t bear to watch His response. And in the
moments I could bring myself to look at His face, I saw a sorrow deeper than my own. He seemed to intuitively go
to the worst boxes. Why did He have to read every one?
Finally He turned and looked at me from across the room. He looked at me with pity in His eyes. But this was a pity
that didn’t anger me. I dropped my head, covered my face with my hands and began to cry again. He walked over
and put His arm around me. He could have said so many things. But He didn’t say a word. He just cried with me.

Then He got up and walked back to the wall of files. Starting at one end of the room, He took out a file and, one by
one, began to sign His name over mine on each card.

“No!” I shouted rushing to Him. All I could find to say was “No, no,” as I pulled the card from Him. His name
shouldn’t be on these cards. But there it was, written in red so rich, so dark, so alive. The name of Jesus covered
mine. It was written with His blood.

He gently took the card back. He smiled a sad smile and began to sign the cards. I don’t think I’ll ever understand
how He did it so quickly, but the next instant it seemed I heard Him close the last file and walk back to my side. He
placed His hand on my shoulder and said, “It is finished.”

I stood up, and He led me out of the room. There was no lock on its door. There were still cards to be written.
 Jesus Wants All of You
Author - Unknown
Once there was this very wealthy young man. He lived in a great, elaborate house with dozens of rooms. Each
room was more comfortable and more beautiful than the one before it. There were paintings and sculptures.
Crystal chandeliers, golden, ornate railings on the stairs. More beauty that most have ever seen. One day he
decided to invite the Lord to come and stay with him. When the Lord arrived, this young man offered him the very
best room in the house. The room was upstairs and at the end of the hall. “This room is yours, Jesus! Stay as long
as you like and you can do whatever you want to in this room, remember Jesus, it’s all yours.” “Thank you” the
Lord replied, and with that the man shut the door and went about his daily business.

That evening after he had retired for the night there came a loud knocking at the front door. The young man pulled
on his robe and made his way downstairs. When he opened the door he found that the devil had sent three of his
demons to attack the man. He quickly tried to close the door but one of the demons kept sticking his foot in.
Sometime later, after a great struggle, he managed to slam the door shut and returned to his room totally
exhausted. “Can you believe that!” the man thought, “Jesus is upstairs in my very best room sleeping while I am
down here battling demons. Oh, well, maybe he just didn’t hear.” He slept fitfully that night. The next day things
went along as normal and, being as tired as he was, the young man retired early that evening.

Along about midnight, there came such a terrible ruckus at the front door that the young man was sure that
whatever it was would tear the door down. He stumbled down the stairs once again and opened the door to find
that there were dozens of demons now trying to get into his beautiful home. For more than three hours he fought
and struggled against the demons from hell and finally overpowered them enough to shut the door against their
attack. All energy seemed to fail him. “I really don’t understand this at all. Why won’t the Lord come to my rescue?
Why does he allow me to fight all by myself? I feel so alone.” Troubled he found his way to the sofa and fell
exhausted into a restless sleep.

The next morning he decided to inquire of the Lord about the happenings of the last two evenings. Quietly he
made his way to the elegant bedroom where he had left Jesus. “Jesus,” he called as he tapped at the door. “Lord, I
don’t understand what is happening. For the last two nights I have had to fight the demons away from my door
while you laid up here sleeping. Don’t you care about me? Did I not give you the very best room in house?” He
could see the tears building in Jesus’ eyes but continued on, “I just don’t understand. I really thought that once I
invited you in to live with me that you would take care of me and I gave you the best room in my house and
everything. What more can I do?”

“My precious child,” Jesus spoke so softly. ” I do love and care for you. I protect all that you have released into my
care. But when you invited me to come here and stay, you brought me to this lovely room and you shut the door
to the rest of your house. I am Lord of this room but I am not Master of this house. I have protected this room and
no demon may enter here.

“Oh, Lord, please forgive me. Take all of my house – it is yours – I am so sorry that I never offered you all to begin
with. I want you to have control of everything.” With this he flung open the bedroom door and knelt at Jesus’ feet.
“Please forgive me Lord for being so selfish.” Jesus smiled and told him that He had already forgiven him and that
He would take care of things from now on. That night as the young man prepared for bed he thought to himself, ” I
wonder if those demons will return. I am so tired of fighting them each and every night.” But he knew that Jesus
said that he would take care of things from now on.

Along about midnight the banging on the door was frightening. The young man slipped out of his room in time to
see Jesus going down the stairs. He watched in awe as Jesus swung open the door, no need to be afraid. Satan
stood at the door this time demanding to be let in. “What do you want, Satan?” the Lord asked. The devil bowed
low in the presence of the Lord, “So sorry, I seem to have gotten the wrong address.” And with that, he and the
demons all ran away.

There is a moral to this tale. Jesus wants all of you, not just a part. He will give you victory over all that you give
Him. How much of your heart have you given to the Lord? Are you keeping a portion of it away from Him? Perhaps
the attacks are coming more and more each day. Why not let the Lord fight the battles for you? He is always
victorious.

“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you [Jesus] is greater than
the one who is in the world [Satan]” 1 John 4:4.
 Why God Allows Pain
Author - Unknown
A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began
to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually
touched on the subject of God, the barber said: “I don’t believe that God exists.”

“Why do you say that?” asked the customer. “Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn’t
exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children?

If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can’t imagine a loving God who would allow all of
these things.” The customer thought for a moment, but didn’t respond because he didn’t want to start an
argument.. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop.

Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard.
He looked dirty and unkempt.. The customer turned back and entered the barbershop again and he said to the
barber: “You know what? Barbers do not exist.”

“How can you say that?” asked the surprised barber. “I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!”

“No!” the customer exclaimed. “Barbers don’t exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long
hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.”

“Ah, but barbers DO exist! That’s what happens when people do not come to me.”

“Exactly!” affirmed the customer. “That’s the point! God, too, DOES exist! That’s what happens when people do
not go to Him and don’t look to Him for help. That’s why there’s so much pain and suffering in the world.”
 True Royalty
Author - Unknown
A beggar lived near the king's palace. One day he saw a proclamation posted outside the palace gate. The king was
giving a great dinner. Anyone dressed in royal garments was invited to the party.

The beggar went on his way. He looked at the rags he was wearing and sighed. Surely only kings and their families
wore royal robes, he thought.

Slowly an idea crept into his mind. The audacity of it made him tremble. Would he dare?

He made his way back to the palace. He approached the guard at the gate. "Please, sire, I would like to speak to
the king."

"Wait here," the guard replied.

In a few minutes, he was back. "His majesty will see you," he said, and led the beggar in.

"You wish to see me?" asked the king.

"Yes, your majesty. I want so much to attend the banquet, but I have no royal robes to wear. Please, sir, if I may be
so bold, may I have one of your old garments so that I, too, may come to the banquet?"

The beggar shook so hard that he could not see the faint smile that was on the king's face.

"You have been wise in coming to me," the king said. He called to his son, the young prince. "Take this man to your
room and array him in some of your clothes."

The prince did as he was told and soon the beggar was standing before a mirror, clothed in garments that he had
never dared hope for.

"You are now eligible to attend the king's banquet tomorrow night," said the prince. "But even more important,
you will never need any other clothes. These garments will last forever."

The beggar dropped to his knees. "Oh, thank you," he cried. But as he started to leave, he looked back at his pile of
dirty rags on the floor. He hesitated. What if the prince was wrong? What if he would need his old clothes again.
Quickly he gathered them up.

The banquet was far greater than he had ever imagined, but he could not enjoy himself as he should. He had made
a small bundle of his old rags and it kept falling off his lap. The food was passed quickly and the beggar missed
some of the greatest delicacies.

Time proved that the prince was right. The clothes lasted forever. Still the poor beggar grew fonder and fonder of
his old rags.

As time passed people seemed to forget the royal robes he was wearing. They 
saw only the little bundle of filthy rags that he clung to wherever he went. They even spoke of him as the old man
with the rags.

One day as he lay dying, the king visited him. The beggar saw the sad look on the king's face when he looked at the
small bundle of rags by the bed.

Suddenly the beggar remembered the prince's words and he realized that his bundle of rags had cost him a
lifetime of true royalty. He wept bitterly at his folly.
 And the king wept with him.

We have been invited into a royal family--the family of God. To feast at God's dinner table, all we have to do is
shed our old rags and put on the "new clothes" of faith which is provided by God's Son, Jesus Christ.

But we cannot hold onto our old rags. When we put our faith in Christ, we must let go of the sin in our life, and our
old ways of living. Those things must be discarded if we are to experience true royalty and abundant life in Christ.

"Behold, the old is passed away; the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17)
 The Potter and The Clay
Author - Unknown
There was a couple who used to go to England to shop in the beautiful stores. They both liked antiques and pottery
and especially teacups. This was their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.

One day in this beautiful shop they saw a beautiful teacup. They said, "May we see that? We've never seen one
quite so beautiful."

As the lady handed it to them, suddenly the teacup spoke. "You don't understand," it said. "I haven't always been a
teacup."

"There was a time when I was red and I was clay. My master took me and rolled me and patted me over and over
and I yelled out, 'Let me alone,' but he only smiled, 'Not yet.'"

"Then I was placed on a spinning wheel," the teacup said, "and suddenly I was spun around and around and
around. 'Stop it! I'm getting dizzy!' I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, 'Not yet.'"

"Then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I wondered why he wanted to burn me, and I yelled and
knocked at the door. I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips as He shook his head, 'Not yet.'"

"Finally the door opened, he put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. 'There, that's better,' I said. And he brushed
and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. 'Stop it, stop it!' I cried. He only nodded,
'Not yet.'"
"Then suddenly he put me back into the oven, not like the first one."

"This was twice as hot and I knew I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. All the time I could see
him through the opening nodding his head saying, 'Not yet.'"
"Then I knew there wasn't any hope. I would never make it. I was ready to give up. But the door opened and he
took me out and placed me on the shelf. One hour later he handed me a mirror and said, 'Look at yourself.' And I
did. I said, 'That's not me; that couldn't be me. It's beautiful. I'm beautiful.'"

"'I want you to remember, then,' he said, 'I know it hurts to be rolled and patted, but if I had left you alone, you'd
have dried up.'"

"'I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled. I knew it
hurt and was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you would have cracked.'"
"'I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn't done that, you never would
have hardened; you would not have had any color in your life. And if I hadn't put you back in that second oven, you
wouldn't survive for very long because the hardness would not have held. Now you are a finished product. You are
what I had in mind when I first began with you.'"

God knows what He's doing (for all of us). He is the Potter, and we are His clay. He will mold us and make us, so
that we may be made into a flawless piece of work to fulfill His good, pleasing, and perfect will.

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not allow you to be
tempted beyond what you can bear, but with that temptation will provide a way of escape, so that you may be
able to endure." (1 Corinthians 10:13)
 God: The Perfect Father
Author - Unknown

A king who did not believe in the goodness of God, had a slave who, in all circumstances, said: “My king, do not be
discouraged, because everything God does is perfect, no mistakes!”

One day they went hunting and along the way a wild animal attacked the king. His slave managed to kill the animal,
but could not prevent his majesty losing a finger.

Furious and without showing his gratitude for being saved, the nobleman said “Is God good? If He was good, I
would not have been attacked and lost my finger.” The slave replied: “My king, despite all these things, I can only
tell you that God is good, and he knows “why” of all these things. What God does is perfect. He is never wrong!”
Outraged by the response, the king ordered the arrest of his slave.

Later, he left for another hunt and was captured by savages who made human sacrifices. In the altar, ready to
sacrifice the nobleman, the savages found that the victim had not one of his fingers, so he was released. According
to them, it was not so complete to be offered to the gods.

Upon his return to the palace, he authorized the release of his slave that he received very affectionately. “My dear,
God was really good to me! I was almost killed by the wild men, but for lack of a single finger, I was let go! But I
have a question: if God is so good, why did he allow me to put you in jail?”

The slave replied: ”My King, if I had gone with you in this hunt, I would have been sacrificed for you, because I have
no missing finger, therefore, remember everything God does is perfect. He is never wrong.”

************************************************************************************ 
Often we complain about life, and negative things that happen to us, forgetting that nothing is random and that
everything has a purpose. Every morning, offer your day to God, don’t be in a rush. God is the perfect father.

Ask God to inspire your thoughts, guide your actions, and ease your feelings. And do not be afraid. God is never
wrong! You know why this message is for you? I do not know, but God knows, because he never makes mistakes.
He is the perfect father and He uses imperfect people.

The path of God and his word is perfect, without impurities. He is the way of all those who trust in Him.
 Two Wolves
Author - Unknown

One evening an old Cherokee Indian told his grandson about a "battle" that goes on inside people.

He said, "My son, the battle is between two 'wolves' inside us all.  One is Evil.  It is angry, envy, sorrow, regret,
greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.  The other is Good.
Is is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and
faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather:  "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."