Topic(s): Faith

AmSouth. SouthTrust. Compass Bank. Drive-through ATMs. Direct deposit. Anytime tellers. Telephone banking. Checkcards. Options galore. Every bank wants our business.

There is one bank that has all the competition beat hands down. It guarantees its customers against loss. No fire has ever destroyed a dollar. No thief has ever succeeded in lifting a dime. No account has ever suffered a shortage. Interest has never fluctuated. Bankruptcy has never been mentioned. It’s retirement plan is “out of this world.”

Jesus said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).

Are you making any deposits? - Allen Webster

A Big Mistake

Topic(s): Humor

Talk about a big mistake? A bride asked a cake decorator to inscribe 1 John 4:18 on a wedding cake. Unfortunately, the decorator didn’t know the Bible very well. So, instead of putting on the words, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear…” on the cake, the decorator wrote the words from John 4:18: “You have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband.” The bride and groom did not see the cake until their reception, as they were getting ready to cut it. It pays to double-check the important things (cf. 2 Peter 1:10).

Shake It Off!

Topic(s): Pain & Suffering

A mule fell into a well. The farmer heard the mule braying—or whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together and told them what had happened, and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery. Initially, the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back...he should shake it off and step up!

This he did, blow after blow. “Shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up ..shake it off and step up!” he repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or distressing the situation seemed the old mule fought “panic” and just kept right on shaking it off and stepping up. You’re right! It wasn’t long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepping triumphantly over the wall of that well!

What seemed like it would bury him, actually blessed him...all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity. That's life! If we face our problems and respond to them positively, and refuse to give in, we can triumph over troubles.

"Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" - Philippians 4:11-13

Where Did I Get All That Money?

Topic(s): Blessing

Andrew Carnegie is considered by most historians to be one of the richest and most ruthless of the “robber barons” who flourished at the beginning of the twentieth century. His lasting legacy, however, is as a man who gave. Some 2,505 libraries bear his name, and they are only a small part of his philanthropic effort. In his later years, Carnegie once demanded of his accountants, “How much have I given away so far?” The accountants knew down to the last dollar: “$324,657,399 to be exact.” Carnegie blinked and gulped when he heard the figure. And then he recovered from his own astonishment to exclaim, “Where did I get all that money?” Statues are not sculpted in honor of misers. Monuments are not erected in memory of those who have a reputation for stinginess. Names of honor are not given to those who hoard. One of the best ways to make it into the annals of history, as well as into the goodwill of others, it to be a person noted for generosity.

“...remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive” - Acts 20:35

What It Means to Be Adopted

Topic(s): Love

Debbie Moon’s first graders were discussing a picture of a family. One little boy in the picture had a different color hair than the others. One child suggested he was adopted and a little girl named Jocelynn Jay said, “I know all about adoptions because I was adopted.” “What does it mean to be adopted?” asked another child. “It means,” said Jocelynn, “that you grew in your mommy’s heart instead of her tummy” (1 Corinthians 13).