Only By Grace



A man dies and goes to heaven. Of course, St. Peter meets him at the pearly gates. St. Peter says, “Here’s how it works. You need 100 points to make it into heaven. You tell me all the good things you’ve done, and I give you a certain number of points for each item, depending on how good it was. When you reach 100 points, you get in.”

“Okay,” the man says, “I was married to the same woman for 50 years and never cheated on her, even in my heart.”

“That’s wonderful,” says St. Peter, “that’s worth three points!”

“Three points?” he says. “Well, I attended church all my life and supported its ministry with my tithe and service.”

“Terrific!” says St. Peter, “that’s certainly worth a point.”

“One point? Golly. How about this: I started a soup kitchen in my city and worked in a shelter for homeless veterans.”

“Fantasic, that’s good for two more points,” he says.

“TWO POINTS!!” the man cries, “At this rate the only way I get into heaven is by the grace of God!”
“Come on in!”

-Unknown

 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:6

 

Do A Good Deed; Meet A Need



Once, a young orphan girl, despondent and lonely, walked through a meadow and saw a small butterfly caught in a thorn bush.  The more the butterfly struggled to free itself, the deeper the thorns cut into its fragile body.

Filled with compassion, the girl released the butterfly.  But, instead of flying away, the butterfly transformed into an angel and said gently, "To reward you for your kindness, I will do whatever you would like."

The girl thought for a moment, then replied, "I want to be happy!"

"Very well," the angel said.  Then the heavenly creature leaned close to the girl and whispered something in her ear.

Many years later, as the orphan lay on her deathbed after a full and happy life, her friends gathered around her.  "Won't you tell us your secret now," they pleaded.  With a labored smile, the woman answered, "An angel told me that no matter where I went in life, I would find people who needed me--people rich or poor, young or old, meek or self-assured--and meeting those needs would bring me happiness and satisfaction."

Somewhere in your life there is someone who needs you.  Are you willing to be an angel and meet that need?

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.  Honor one another above yourselves.

Romans 12:10

The Smallest Deed is Better Than the Greatest Intention



A missionary was sailing home one furlough when she heard a cry one night--a cry that is perhaps the most difficult to hear when at sea:  "Man overboard!"  She arose quickly from her berth, lit the lamp on the bracket in her cabin, and then held the lamp at the window of her cabin in hopes of seeing some sign of life in the murky dark waters outside.

Seeing nothing she hung the lamp back on its bracket, snuffed it out, and returned to her berth with prayers for the man lost at sea.  In the morning, to her surprise she discovered the man had been rescued.  Not only that, but she learned it was the flash of her lamp through the porthole that showed those on deck the location of the missing man, who was clinging desperately to a rope still attached to the deck.  He was pulled from the cold waters in the nick of time.  Such a small deed as shining a lamp at the right time had saved a man's life.

It isn't the size of the deed you do that counts.  It's the fact that you do it for good and not for evil, and with a trust that God can take every deed we perform and use it for His purposes, in our lives and in the lives of others.

Let us not love in theory or in speech but in deed and in truth-in practice and in sincerity.

1 John 3:18