A young soldier was in his bunkhouse all alone one Saturday morning over in Afghanistan. It was quiet that day, the guns and the mortars, and land mines for some reason hadn't made a noise.
The young soldier knew it was Saturday, the holiest day of the week. As he was sitting there, he got out an old deck of cards and laid them out across his bunk. Just then an army sergeant came in and said, "Why aren't you with the rest of the platoon?"
The soldier replied, "I thought I would stay behind and spend some Time with the Lord."
The sergeant said, "Looks like you're going to play cards."
The soldier said, "No sir, you see, since we are not allowed to have Bibles or other spiritual books in this country, I've decided to talk to the Lord by studying this deck of cards."
The sergeant asked in disbelief, "How will you do that?"
"You see the Ace, Sergeant, it reminds that there is only one God.
The Two represents the two parts of the Bible, Old and New Testaments.
The Three represents the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
The Four stands for the Four Apostles: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
The Five is for the five virgins that were ten but only five of them
were glorified.
The Six is for the six days it took God to create the Heavens and
Earth.
The Seven is for the day God rested after working the six days.
The Eight is for the family of Noah and his wife, their three sons and
their wives, in which God saved the eight people from the flood that
destroyed the earth for the first time.
The Nine is for the lepers that Jesus cleansed of leprosy. He cleansed
ten but nine never thanked Him.
The Ten represents the Ten Commandments that God handed down to Moses
on
tablets made of stone.
The Jack is a reminder of Satan. One of God's first angels, but he got
kicked out of heaven for his sly and wicked ways and is now the joker
of
eternal hell.
The Queen stands for the Virgin Mary.
The King stands for Jesus, for he is the King of all kings.
When I count the dots on all the cards, I come up with 365 total, one
for every day of the year.
There are a total of 52 cards in a deck,
each is a week, 52 weeks in a year.
The four suits represents the four
seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.
Each suit has thirteen
cards, there are exactly thirteen weeks in a quarter.
So when I want to talk to God and thank Him, I just pull out this old deck of cards and they remind me of all that I have to be thankful for."
The sergeant just stood there and after a minute, with tears in his eyes and pain in his heart, he said, "Soldier, can I borrow that deck of cards?"
He was aghast to discover that it was a mouse trap!
Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning, "There is a mouse trap in the house, there is a mouse trap in the house."
The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell you this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me; I cannot be bothered by it."
The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mouse trap in the house."
"I am so very sorry Mr. Mouse," sympathized the pig, "but there is nothing I can do about it but pray; be assured that you are in my prayers."
The mouse turned to the cow, who replied, "Like wow, Mr. Mouse, a mouse trap; am I in grave danger, Duh?"
So the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected to face the farmer's mouse trap alone.
That very night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a mouse trap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see that it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife.
The farmer rushed her to the hospital.
She returned home with a fever. Now everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient.
His wife's sickness continued so that friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.
The farmer's wife did not get well, in fact, she died, and so many people came for her funeral the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide meat for all of them to eat.
So the next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that it does not concern you, remember that when the least of us is threatened, we are all at risk.
Don't say you're not important,
It simply isn't true,
The fact that you were born,
Is proof, God has a plan for you.
The path may seem unclear right now,
But one day you will see,
That all that came before,
Was truly meant to be.
God wrote the book that is your life,
That's all you need to know.
Each day that you are living,
Was written long ago.
God only writes best sellers,
So be proud of who you are,
Your character is important,
In this book you are the "Star."
Enjoy the novel as it reads,
It will stand throughout the ages,
Savor each chapter as you go,
Taking time to turn the pages.
Author Unknown
One day I woke early in the morning to watch the sunrise.
Ah, the beauty of God's creation is beyond description.
As I watched, I praised God for His beautiful work.
As I sat there the Lord brought His presence on me.
He asked me,
"Do you love Me?"
I answered,
"Of course God! You are my Lord and my Savior!"
Then He asked,
"If you were physically handicapped, would you still love me?"
I was perplexed. I looked down upon my arms, legs, and the rest of my body
and wondered how many things I wouldn't be able to do. The things that I
took for granted.
And I answered.
"It would be tough, Lord, but I would still love You."
Then the Lord said,
"If you were blind, would you still love my creation?"
How could I love something without being able to see it?
Then I thought of all the blind people in the world and
how many of them still loved God and His creation. So I answered,
"It's hard to think of it, but I would still love you."
The Lord then asked me,
"If you were deaf, would you still listen to my word?"
How could I listen to anything being deaf?
Then I understood. Listening to God's Word is not
merely using our ears, but our hearts. I anwered,
"It would be tough, but I would still listen to Your Word."
The Lord then asked,
"If you were mute, would you still praise My Name?"
How could I praise without a voice?
Then it occurred to me, God wants us to sing from our very heart and soul.
It never matters what we sound like.
And praising God is not always with a song, but when we are persecuted.
We give God praise with our words of thanks. So I answered,
"Though I could not physically sing, I would still praise Your Name."
And the Lord asked,
"Do you really Love Me?"
With courage and a strong conviction, I answered boldly,
"Yes Lord! I love you because You are the one and true God!"
I thought that I had answered well, but God asked,
"Then why do you sin?"
I answered,
"Because I am only human. I am not perfect."
"Then why in times of peace do you stray the furthest?
Why only in times of trouble do you pray the earnest?"
No answer. Only tears.
The Lord continued.
"Why only sing at fellowships and retreats?
Why seek Me only in times of worship?
Why ask things so selfishly?
Why ask things so unfaithfully?"
The tears continued to roll down my cheek.
"Why are you ashamed of Me?
Why are you not spreading the good news?
Why in times of persecution, you cry to others
When I offer My shoulder to cry on?
Why make excuses when I give you opportunities to serve in My name?"
I tried to answer, but there was no answer to give.
"You are blessed with life.
I made you not to throw this gift away.
I have blessed you with talents to serve Me, but you continue to turn away.
I have stretched My word to you, but you do not gain in knowledge.
I have spoken to you, but your ears were closed.
I have shown my
blessings to you, but your eyes were turned away.
I have sent you servants,
but you sat idly by as they were pushed away.
I have heard your prayers,
and I have answered them all."
"Do you truly love Me?"
I could not answer. How could I?
I was embarrassed beyond belief. I had no excuse.
What could I say to this?
When my heart had cried out, and the tears had flowed, I said,
"Please forgive me Lord. I am unworthy to be Your child."
The Lord anwered,
"That is My grace My child."
I asked,
"Then why do you continue to forgive me?
Why do you Love me so?"
The Lord answered,
"Because you are My creation. You are My child.
I will never abandon you.
When you cry, I will have compassion and cry with you.
When you scream in joy, I will laugh with you.
When you are down,
I will encourage you.
When you fall, I will raise you up.
When you are tired I will carry you.
I will be with you 'til the end of the days, and I will love you forever."
Never had I cried so hard before.
How could I have been so cold?
How could I have hurt God as I had done? I asked God,
"How much do You Love me?"
And the Lord stretched out His arms,
As they were nailed to the cross.
I bowed down at the feet of Christ, my Savior.
And for the first time,
I truly prayed.
Author Unknown
