"Un-Steal"

"Character is what you do in the dark"

Mom and Dad often spoke about being honest. Good words but their actions spoke louder.

I thought I was doing Mom a favor by giving her a gift
card to Walmart. But I didn't explain that you had to spend a certain amount. She starts to check out and the clerk tells her that her total must be at least $15. Everything was sacked but it didn''t total that much. You would have thought they told her that her check bounced. She was so embarrassed and just said never-mind and walked out. When she got home she realized they had given her the gum and she had put it in her purse.

So what does she do?--
1. Reason that somewhere down the line they probably overcharged her
2. Next time I am in there....
3. I will give a $1 to the church....
No, when my hard working Dad came in tired, she made him drive the 10 miles back to Walmart. They walked around the store with him having the gum in his pocket. She asked one time "Have you done it yet". "Not yet" he replied. Finally he slipped the gum back on the shelf and they left.
Can you imagine the security cameras catching someone un-stealing?
Matthew 6:1 "Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men to be seen by them, if you do will have no reward from your Father in Heaven."

EASTER

Then came the morning, night turned into day. The stone was rolled away, hope rose with the dawn. Then came the morning, shadows vanished before the sun. Death had lost and Life had won, for morning had come

Acts 2:23 “This man was handed over to by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing Him to the cross. But God raised Him from the dead freeing Him for the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him.”

HE GREW THE TREE

HE MOLDED AND BUILT A SMALL LONELY HILL

THAT HE KNEW WOULD BE CALLED CALVARY.

THEN HE MADE THE SEED THAT WOULD GROW TO BE

THORNS THAT WOULD MAKE HIS SON BLEED.

THEN HE MADE A GREEN STEM

GAVE IT LEAVES AND THEN GAVE IT SUNSHINE AND RAIN AND

SHELTERED IT WITH MOSS.

HE GREW THE TREE HE KNEW WOULD BE

USED TO MAKE THE OLD RUGGED CROSS.

WITH TEARS IN HIS EYES GOD LOOKED DOWN THROUGH TIME

SAW HIM SPAT UPON REJECTED AND MOCKED.

STILL HE KNEW THE TREE HE KNEW WOULD BE

USED TO MAKE THE OLD RUGGED CROSS.

NOTHING TOOK HIS LIFE WITH LOVE HE GAVE IT.

HE WAS CRUCIFIED ON A TREE THAT HE CREATED.

WITH GREAT LOVE FOR MAN

GOD GAVE WITH HIS PLAN.

HE GREW THE TREE SO THAT WE MIGHT GO FREE.

STILL HE GREW THE TREE HE KNEW WOULD BE

USED TO MAKE THE OLD RUGGED CROSS.
Lyrics to song  He Grew the Tree by Calvin Clark

To the Cross

Our church usually has a musical program during the Easter season. One year my son-in-law was asked to portrayed Jesus in the program. Such an honor. 
We always put on such a big production for a church our size. There are always some issues we have to work out during production. One--How can we portray Jesus ascending into Heaven?  The Fisherville answer-- You run a rope through some pulleys to the baptistry and get several strong men to stand out in the hall holding the rope. At the signal, these men run to the next marked spot down the hall (straight out of "Little Rascals"). Too far and he will ascend into the roof; too close and his feet will stick out at the bottom. Only in Fisherville.
But this presentation was hard for me to watch. I watched men put a crown of thorns on my son-in-law's head, men acting out driving nails in his hands and feet, the blood (not real) flowing freely and then these men raised him up on a cross.  I don't cry easy but a sob escaped from me and tears ran down my face. I wanted to cry "Stop, take him down. He doesn't deserve this. He is innocent."
How many thousand times more did Mary feel the pain of watching her innocent son die on the cross. What pain my Heavenly Father must have felt as real men nailed real nails in His Son's hands and feet.
"Thank you Jesus for bearing the cross for my sins"
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotton Son that whosoever believes in Him shall be saved." John 3:16

"Good Catch"

Wonder if they will let me keep her?

You can't keep someone you love in a cage.

Where would you get this idea?

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