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- Thread starter littleredkiss484
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Grace
The boy stood with back arched, head cocked back and hands clenched defiantly. "Go ahead, give it to me." The principal looked down at the young rebe. "How many times have you been here?"
The child sneered rebelliously, "apparently not enough." The principal gave the boy a strange look. "And you have been punished each time have you not?" "Yeah, I been punished, if that's what you want to call it."
He threw out his small chest, "Go ahead I can take whatever you dish out. I always have."
And not thought of your punishment enters your head the next time you decide to break the rules does it?" "Nope, I do whatever I want to do. Ain't nothin you people gonna do to stop me either."
The principal looked over at the teacher who stood nearby. "What did he do this time?" "Fighting. He took little Tommy and shoved his face in the sandbox."
The principal turned to look at the boy, "Why? What did little Tommy do to you?"
"Nothin, I didn't like the way he was lookin at me, just like I don't like the way your lookin at me! And if I thought I could do it, I'd shove your face into something."
The teacher stiffened and started to rise but a quick look from the principal stopped him. He contemplated the child for a moment and then quietly said,
"Today my young student, is the day you learn about grace."
"Grace? Isn't that what you old people do before you sit down to eat? I don't need none of your stinkin grace."
"Oh but you do." The principal studied the young man's face and whispered. "Oh yes, you truly do . . . "
The boy continued to glare as the principal continued, "Grace, in its short definition is unmerited favor. You cannot earn it, it is a gift and is always freely given. It means that you will not be getting what you richly deserve."
The boy looked puzzled. "Your not gonna whup me? You just gonna let me walk?" The principal looked down at the unyielding child. "Yes, I am going to let you walk."
The boy studied the face of the principal, "No punishment at all? Even though I socked Tommy and shoved his face in the sandbox?"
"Oh, there has to be a punishment. What you did was wrong and there are always consequences to our actions. There will be punishment. Grace is not an excuse for doing wrong."
"I knew it," Sneered the boy as he held out his hands. "Let's get on with it." The principal nodded toward the teacher. "Bring me the belt."
The teacher presented the belt to the principal. He carefully folded it in two and then handed it back to the teacher.
He looked at the child and said, "I want you to count the blows." He slid out from behind his desk and walked over to stand directly in front of the young man.
He gently reached out and folded the child's outstretched, expentant hand together with his own hands outstretched. One quiet word came forth from his mouth.
"Begin."
The belt whipped down on the outstretched hands of the principal. Crack!
The young man jumped ten feet in the air. Shock registered across his face, "One" he whispered. Crack! "Two." His voice raised an octave. Crack! "Three..." He couldn't believe this. Crack! "Four." Big tears welled up in the eyes of the rebel.
"Ok stop! That's enough. Stop!" Crack! Came the belt down on the callused hands of the principal. Crack! The child flinched with each blow, tears beginning to stream down his face.
Crack! Crack! "No please", the former rebel begged, "Stop, I did it, I'm the one who deserves it. Stop! Please. Stop..." Still the blows came, Crack! Crack! One after another.
Finally it was over. The principal stood with sweat glistening across his forehead and beads trickling down his face. Slowly he knelt down. He studied the young man for a second and then his swollen hands reached out to cradle the face of the weeping child.
"Grace . . ."
Finally it was over. The principal stood with sweat glistening across his forehead and beads trickling down his face. Slowly he knelt down. He studied the young man for a second and then his swollen hands reached out to cradle the face of the weeping child.
"Grace . . ."
Author Unknown
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Just Say, John 3:16
In the city of Chicago, one cold, dark night, a blizzard was setting in. A little boy was selling newspapers on the corner, the people were in and out of the cold. The little boy was so cold that he wasn't trying to sell manypapers. He walked up to a policeman and said, "Mister, you wouldn't happen to know where a poor boy could find a warm place to sleep tonight would you?
You see, I sleep in a box up around the corner There and down the alley and it's awful cold in there, of a night. Sure would be nice to have a warm place to stay." The policeman looked down at the little boy and said, "You go down the street to that big white house and you knock on the door. When they come to the door, just say John 3:16 and they will let you in." So he did.
He walked up the steps to the door and knocked and a lady answered. He looked up and said, "John 3:16." The lady said "Come on in, Son." She took him
in And she sat him down in a split bottom rocker in front of a great big old fireplace and she went off. He
sat there for a while, and thought to himself "John 3:16...I don't understand it, but it sure makes a cold boy warm."
in And she sat him down in a split bottom rocker in front of a great big old fireplace and she went off. He
sat there for a while, and thought to himself "John 3:16...I don't understand it, but it sure makes a cold boy warm."
Later she came back and asked him "Are you hungry?" He said, "Well, just a little. I haven't eaten in a couple of days and I guess I could stand a little bit of food." The lady took him in the kitchen and sat him down to a table full of wonderful food. He ate and ate until he couldn't eat any more. Then he thought to himself "John 3:16...Boy, I sure don't understan it, but it sure makes a hungry boy full."
She took him upstairs to a bathroom to a huge bathtub filled with warm water and he sat there and soaked for a while. As he soaked, he thought to himself, "John 3:16...I sure don't understand it, but it sure makes a dirty boy clean. You know, I've not had a bath, a real bath, in my whole life. The only bath I ever had was when I stood in front of that big old fire hydrant as they flushed it out."
The lady came in and got him, and took him to a room and tucked him into a big old feather bed and pulled the covers up around his neck and kissed him goodnight and turned out the lights. As he laid in the
darkness and looked out the window at the snow coming down on that cold night he thought to himself, "John 3:16...I don't understand it, but it sure makes a tired boy rested."
darkness and looked out the window at the snow coming down on that cold night he thought to himself, "John 3:16...I don't understand it, but it sure makes a tired boy rested."
The next morning she came back up and took him down again to that same big table full of food. After he ate she took him back to that same big old split bottom rocker in front of the fireplace and she took a
big old Bible and sat down in front of him and she looked up at him and asked, "Do you understand John 3:16?" He said, "No, Ma'am, I don't. The first time I ever heard it was last night when the policeman told me to use it."
big old Bible and sat down in front of him and she looked up at him and asked, "Do you understand John 3:16?" He said, "No, Ma'am, I don't. The first time I ever heard it was last night when the policeman told me to use it."
She opened the Bible to John 3:16 , and she began to explain to him about Jesus. Right there in front of that big old fireplace he gave his heart and life to Jesus. He sat there and thought, "John 3:16 ...I don't understand it, but it but it sure makes a lost boy feel safe."
You know, I have to confess I don't understand it either, how God would be willing to send His Son to die for me, and how Jesus would agree to do such a
thing. I don't understand it either, but it sure does make life worth living.
thing. I don't understand it either, but it sure does make life worth living.
Author Unknown
John 3:16... For God so loved the world, that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
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Always There...
We can't foresee the turning of the tide
When problems beset us and tears are cried.
Sometimes life deals from the bottom of the deck
Filling us with worry and leaving us a wreck.
The enemy seeks to devour and destroy,
Using deceptions to eliminate our joy.
While walking through the valley, our heads hung low,
The mountain top seems so high, our footsteps slow.
How many times have we traveled this road
To battle the frustrations of troubles bestowed?
Yet when we come to our darkest hour
God demonstrates His infinite power.
It doesn't matter how bad things might seem,
He always comes through, our faith to redeem.
God will not fail us in our times of pain.
He'll never forsake us, by our side He'll remain.
So when we find ourselves at a total loss
Or when the valley seems too wide to cross,
Just remember you're in His love and care,
Look over your shoulder, He's always there!
Author Unknown
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Romans 5:1-11
1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
4perseverance, character; and character, hope.
5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
6You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.
8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!
10For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
11Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
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