This page is dedicated to all those who have witnessed
the awesome power of God.
We will bring these to you in the hopes that you may
see a glimpse
Their stories are abundant and they amaze, mistify, and inspire us.
Every time we hear these stories, we say to ourselves, WOW!
Hence the name of this page!!
On the most basic level, they teach us that "with God,
all things are possible."
of the miraculous power of our Lord.
But remember this.... to truly see the wonderous
miracles of God,
look no further than your own mirror!
There was once a man who didn't believe in the incarnation of Christ or the spiritual meaning of Christmas, and was skeptical about God. He and his family lived in a farm community. His wife was a devout believer and diligently raised her children in her faith. He sometimes gave her a hard time about her faith and mocked her religious observance of Christmas. "It's all nonsense - why would God lower himself and become a human like us?! It's such a ridiculous story!" he said.
One snowy day, she and the children left for church while he stayed home. After they had left, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blinding snowstorm. He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening. Then he heard a loud thump, something hitting against the window. And another thump. He looked outside but couldn't see. So he ventured outside to see. In the field near his house he saw, of all the strangest things, a flock of geese! They were apparently flying to look for a warmer area down south, but had been caught in the snow storm. The storm had became too blinding and violent for the geese to fly or see their way. They were stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter, unable to do more than flutter their wings and fly in aimless circles.
He had compassion for them and wanted to help them. He thought to himself, "The barn would be a great place for them to stay! It's warm and safe surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm." So he opened the barn doors for them. He waited, watching them, hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside. But they didn't notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them. He moved closer toward them to get their attention, but they just moved away from him out of fear. He went into the house and came back out with some bread, broke it up, and made a bread trail to the barn. They still didn't catch on. Starting to get frustrated, he went over and tried to shoo them toward the barn. They panicked and scattered into every direction except toward the barn.
Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where there was warmth, safety and shelter. Feeling totally frustrated, he exclaimed, "Why don't they follow me? Can't they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm? How can I possibly get them into the one place to save them?" He thought for a moment and realized that they just wouldn't follow a human. He said to himself, "How can I possibly save them? The only way would be for me to become like those geese. If only I could become like one of them! Then I could save them! They would follow me and I would lead them to safety.
At that moment, he stopped and considered what he had said. The words reverberated in his mind: "If only I could become like one of them - then I could save them." And then, at last, he understood God's heart towards mankind, and he fell on his knees in the snow and worshipped Him.-Know God, then love and worship him.
Barbara was driving her six-year-old son, Benjamin, to his piano lesson. Barbara, a night-duty nurse at the local hospital, had recently worked extra shifts. She was tired and the sleet storm and icy roads added to her tension. Maybe she should turn the car around. "Mom!" Ben cried. "Look!"
Just ahead, a car had lost control on a patch of ice. It spun wildly, rolled over, then crashed sideways into a telephone pole. Barbara pulled over, skidded to a stop and threw open her door. Thank goodness she was a nurse, she might be able to help. Then she paused. What about Ben? She couldn't take him with her!
But was it safe to leave him alone? What if their car were hit from behind?
"Ben, honey, promise me you'll stay in the car!"
"I will, Mommy," he said as she ran, slipping and sliding, toward the crash site.
It was worse than she'd feared. Two high school age girls were in the car. One, the blonde on the passenger side, was dead, killed on impact. The driver, however was still breathing. She was unconscious and pinned in the wreckage. Barbara quickly applied pressure to the wound in the teenager's head while her practiced eye catalogued the other injuries. A broken leg, maybe two, along with probable internal bleeding.
But if help came soon, the girl would live.
A trucker had pulled up and was calling for help on his cell phone. Soon Barbara heard the ambulance sirens.
A few moments later she surrendered her lonely post to rescue workers.
"Good job," one said as he examined the driver's wounds. "You probably saved her life, ma'am."
Perhaps. But as Barbara walked back to her car a feeling of sadness overwhelmed her, especially for the family of the girl who had died. Their lives would never be the same. Oh God, why do such things have to happen?
Barbara returned to her car and opened the door. "Mom," her son whispered, "did you see it?"
"See what, Honey?" she asked.
"The angel, Mom! He came down from the sky while you were running to the car. And he opened the door,
and he took that girl out."
Barbara's eyes filled with tears. "Which door, Ben?"
"The passenger side. He took the girl's hand, and they floated up to Heaven together."
"What about the driver?"
Ben shrugged. "I didn't see anyone else."
There was no way he could have known-by ordinary means-who was in the car or what had happened to either of the passengers. Nor could the passenger door have been opened; Barbara had seen it's tangle of immovable steel herself! Later Barbara was able to meet the families of the victims. They expressed their gratitude for the help she had provided. Barbara was able to give them something more; Ben's vision. Ben's account brought consolation to the grieving family as they knew their daughter was safe in Heaven. And they would see her again.
An article in National Geographic several years ago provided a penetrating picture of God's wings.After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno's damage. One ranger found a bird, literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground
at the base of a tree.
Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, the ranger knocked over the bird with a stick. When he gently struck it,
three tiny chicks scurried from under their dead mother's wings.
The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise. She could have flown to safety but refused to abandon her babies.
When the blaze had arrived and the heat had scorched her small body, the mother had remained steadfast.
Because she had been willing to die, those under the cover of her wings would live."He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge."(Psalm 91:4)
Being loved this much should make a difference in your life. Remember the One who loves you
and then be different because of it.
There was an atheist couple who had a child. The couple never told their daughter anything about the Lord.
One night when the little girl was 5 years old, the parents fought with each other and the father shot the mother,
right in front of the child. Then, the dad shot himself.
The little girl watched it all.
She then was sent to a foster home. The foster mother was a Christian and took the child to church. On the first day of Sunday School, the foster mother told the teacher that the girl had never heard of Jesus, and to have patience with her. The teacher held up a picture of Jesus and said, "Does anyone know who this is?"
The little girl said, "I do, that's the man who was holding me the night my parents died."
A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 dollar bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 dollar bill?" Everyones hand started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you,
but first, let me do this...."
He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still, all the hands were up in the air. "Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe, so the $20 dollar bill became torn, crumpled and dirty.
"And now, who still wants it?" he asked. Still, the hands went up into the air.
"My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it, because it did not decrease in value.... It was still worth $20.
Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened, or what will happen, you will NEVER lose your value in God's eyes. To Him, dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to Him.
Psalm 17:8 states that God will keep us...."as the apple of His eye."
A THOUGHT....
The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we are,
but by WHOSE we are!
You are special - Don't ever forget that!
A missionary on furlough told this true story while visiting his home church in Michigan.... "While serving at a small field hospital in Africa, every two weeks I traveled by bicycle, through the jungle, to a nearby city for supplies. This was a journey of two days that required camping overnight at the halfway point. On one of these journeys, I arrived in the city where I planned to collect money from the bank, purchase medicine and supplies, and then begin my two-day journey back to the field hospital.
Upon arrival in the city, I observed two men fighting, one of whom had been seriously injured. I treated him for his injuries and at the same time talked to him about the Lord Jesus Christ. I then traveled two days, camping overnight, and arrived home without incident.
Two weeks later I repeated my journey and upon arrival, was approached by the young man I had treated. He told me that he had known that I carried money and medicines. He said to me, "Some friends and I followed you into the jungle, knowing you would camp overnight. We planned to kill you and take your money and drugs. But just as we were about to move into your camp, we saw that you were surrounded by 26 armed gaurds." At this I laughed and said that I was certainly all alone out in that jungle campsite. The young man pressed the point, however, and said, "No sir, I was not the only person to see the gaurds. My five friends also saw them, and we all counted them. It was because of those armed gaurds that we were afraid and left you alone."
At this point in his story, one of the men in the congregation jumped up and asked the missionary to tell him the exact day of this incident. The missionary told the congregation the date, and the man who had interrupted told him this story: "On the night of your incident in Africa, it was morning here and I was preparing to go play golf. I was on the green, about to putt, when I felt the urge to pray for you. In fact, the urging of the Lord was so strong, I called men in this church to meet with me here in the sanctuary to pray for you. Would all of those men who met with me on that day stand up?"
The men who had met together to pray that day stood up. The missionary wasn't concerned with who they were. He was too busy counting how many men he saw standing. There were 26!
This story is an incredible example of how the Spirit of the Lord moves in mysterious ways. If you ever hear such prodding, go along with it. Nothing is ever hurt by prayer, except the gates of hell. As the above true story illustrates , "with God, all things ARE possible" and more importantly, how God hears and answers the prayers of the faithful. After you read this, please pause and give God thanks for the beautiful gift of your faith, for the powerful gift of prayer, and for the many miracles He works in you own daily life.
Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed or an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in military service, and where they had been on vacation.
And every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window. The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.
The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.
As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.
One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn't hear the band - he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with his descriptive words.
Days and weeks passed. One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it for himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall.
The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate, who had described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."
Epilogue.... There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations. Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness, when shared, is doubled. If you want to feel rich, just count all of the things you have that money can't buy. "Today is a gift, that's why it's called the present."
We will add more of these inspirational and amazing stories as we come upon them. If you know of any stories that you would like us to consider including on this page of our Web site, please send them to us at our E-mail address, rhop@hbeark.com, with our heart-felt gratitude and thanks.
