THE TWO BROTHERS

There were two evil brothers. They were rich, and used their money to keep their evil ways from the public eye. They even attended the same church, and appeared to be perfect Christians. Then, their pastor retired, and a new one was hired. Not only could the new pastor see right through the brothers' deception, but he also spoke well and true, and the church membership grew in numbers. A fund-raising campaign was started to build a new assembly.

All of a sudden, one of the brothers died. The remaining brother sought out the new pastor the day before the funeral and handed him a check for the amount needed to finish paying for the new building. "I have only one condition," he said. "At the funeral, you must say my brother was a saint." The pastor gave his word, and deposited the check.

The next day, at the funeral, the pastor did not hold back. "He was an evil man," he said. "He cheated on his wife and abused his family." After going on like this, he finally concluded, "But, compared to his brother, he was a SAINT."

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES FOR TODAY

Nothing can sabotage your life mission faster than a wrong relationship || Rick Warren

Hide yourself in Christ; in Him alone is your safety; abide thus in Him; he has promised to abide in you || Andrew Murray

The strength of patience hangs on our capacity to believe that God is up to something good for using all our delays and detours || J. Piper

Nothing under His control can ever be out of control || Charles Swindoll

Trying to be happy without a sense of God's presence is like trying to have a bright day without the sun || AW Tozer

Nothing can cure us of fear till God cures us of unbelief || Francis Burkitt

Wise sayings often fall on barren ground; but a kind word is never thrown away || Arthur Helps

Always and never are two words you should always remember to use || Wendell Johnson

We shouldn't deny the pain of what happens in our lives. We should just refuse to focus only on the valleys || Charles Swindoll

We cannot always trace God's hands, but we can always trust God's heart || Charles H. Spurgeon

We are unshaken! God's everlasting arms sustain us through every storm || David Jeremiah

You need to make a commitment, and once you make it, then life will give you some answers || Les Brown

Be assured if you walk with Him and look to Him, and expect help from Him, he will never fail you || George Mueller

Do I pray more out of panic in response to my circumstances or out of faith in response to God's promises? || Oswald Chamber

When you do what you love, nothing can contain you || Brad Meltzer

Determine what special goal you want to achieve. Then dedicate to yourself to its attainment || Paul J. Meyer

People see God everyday, they just don't recognize Him || Pearl Bailey

You may be waiting on God a long time to be revived, but try looking at God's delays as delays for the right time to show you He's working! || Unknown

Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it by the handle of anxiety or by the handle of faith || Henry Ward Beecher

In Christ we can move out of our past into a meaningful present and a breathtaking future || Erwin Lutzer

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WHY I NEVER WASH!

A pastor, apparently disgusted with the excuses parishioners offered as to why they didn’t attend worship services, included “Reasons Why I Never Wash” in the Sunday bulletin:

I was forced to as a child.

People who wash are hypocrites - they think they are cleaner than everybody else.

There are so many different kinds of soap; I can’t decide which one is best.

I used to wash, but I got bored and stopped.

I wash only on special occasions, like Christmas and Easter.

None of my friends wash.

I’ll start washing when I get older and dirtier.

I can’t spare the time.

The bathroom is never warm enough in the winter or cool enough in the summer.

People who make soap are only after your money.

I don’t like the songs people sing in the bathroom.

I can clean myself perfectly well whenever I pass a sink, so I don’t need a bathtub.

I know how to stay clean without washing.

The last time I washed, someone was rude to me.

What I do doesn’t affect anybody but me.

I know someone who washes every day and still smells bad.

I don’t believe in soap. I sat beside a whole case of it for an hour once, and nothing happened.

Washing was invented by people who knew nothing about science.

If people saw me without my makeup, they would laugh at me.

I’m so dirty now that if I washed, the drain would clog.

Cats, dogs, and chickens never wash, and they are happy all the time.

Pre-historic humans were happy all the time until the first soap salesman made them feel guilty.

If I start washing again, my friends will think I am trying to conform to middle-class standards.

Washing is for women and children.

Washing is for people much dirtier than I am.

I will wash when I find the bathroom that is exactly right for me.

I only believe in things I can see, and I can’t see bacteria.

Children need to see that it is OK to be different.

Children need to see a few bad examples.

Washing may have been OK in my grandfather’s day, but it’s not practical in today’s world. I need to look dirty, talk dirty, and fight dirty to survive.

I watch other people washing on TV.

There are lots of clean people who never wash.

We’ve just moved here six years ago and haven’t had a chance.

I bought a bad bar of soap once, so I swore I would never wash again!

I feel as close to washing on the golf course as I do in the bathroom.

I never wash when I have company.

Washday is the only day I have to sleep in.

My wife washes enough for the whole family.

I know people who wash but don’t act very clean.

Washing is the opiate of the masses.

HUITHIANG'S MOST INSPIRING QUOTES

If we cannot believe God when circumstances seem to be against us, we do not believe Him at all || Charles H Spurgeon

God doesn't always give you the people you want. Instead, He gives you the people you need - to teach you, to love you, to hurt you and to make you exactly the way you should be - the best!

Prayer is an anti-virus that protects the windows of your life from life-threatening viruses - the viruses of sorrow, gloom, sin, envy, hopelessness and many countless others. Update your anti-virus regularly!

Grace does not grant permission to live in the flesh; it supplies power to live in the Spirit || John MacArthur

You never so touch the ocean of God's love as when you forgive and love your enemies || Corrie Ten Boom

Courage is the discovery that you may not win, and trying when you know you can lose || Tom Krause

Concentrate on counting your blessings, and you'll have little time to count anything else || Woodrow Kroll

You don't really hold a grudge; it holds you. It's self-inflicted pain || Rick Warren

The prayer of faith is a prayer willing to believe and prevail for God's answer in a situation that is utterly impossible || Unknown

ONLY FOR A QUARTER

Several years ago a preacher moved to Houston, Texas. Some weeks after he arrived, he had occasion to ride the bus from his home to the downtown area. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him a quarter too much change. As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, you better give the quarter back. It would be wrong to keep it. Then he thought, “Oh, forget it, it’s only a quarter. Who would worry about this little amount? Anyway, the bus company already gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a gift from God and keep quiet.”

                             

When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, then he handed the quarter to the driver and said, “Here, you gave me too much change.” The driver with a smile, replied, “Aren’t you the new preacher in town? I have been thinking lately about going to worship somewhere. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change.”

When the preacher stepped off the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole, and held on, and said, “O God, I almost sold your Son for a quarter.”

THE SOLDIER & THE GIRL

One day, a young guy and a young girl fell in love.

But the guy came from a poor family. The girl’s parents weren’t too happy.

So the young man decided not only to court the girl but to court her parents as well. In time, the parents saw that he was a good man and was worthy of their daughter’s hand.

But there was another problem: The man was a soldier. Soon, war broke out and he was being sent overseas for a year.

The week before he left, the man knelt on his knee and asked his lady love, “Will you marry me?” She wiped a tear, said yes, and they were engaged. They agreed that when he got back in one year, they would get married.

But tragedy struck. A few days after he left, the girl had a major vehicular accident. It was a head-on collision.

When she woke up in the hospital, she saw her father and mother crying. Immediately, she knew there was something wrong.

She later found out that she suffered brain injury. The part of her brain that controlled her face muscles was damaged. Her once lovely face was now disfigured. She cried as she saw herself in the mirror. “Yesterday, I was beautiful. Today, I’m a monster.” Her body was also covered with so many ugly wounds.

Right there and then, she decided to release her fiancé from their promise. She knew he wouldn’t want her anymore. She would forget about him and never see him again.

For one year, the soldier wrote many letters—but she wouldn’t answer. He phoned her many times but she wouldn’t return her calls.

But after one year, the mother walked into her room and announced, “He’s back from the war.”

The girl shouted, “No! Please don’t tell him about me. Don’t tell him I’m here!”

The mother said, “He’s getting married,” and handed her a wedding invitation.

The girl’s heart sank. She knew she still loved him—but she had to forget him now.

With great sadness, she opened the wedding invitation.

And then she saw her name on it!

Confused, she asked, “What is this?”

That was when the young man entered her room with a bouquet of flowers. He knelt beside her and asked, “Will you marry me?”

The girl covered her face with her hands and said, “I’m ugly!”

The man said, “Without your permission, your mother sent me your photos. When I saw your photos, I realized that nothing has changed. You’re still the person I fell in love. You’re still as beautiful as ever. Because I love you!”

THE NOTES IN THE BOOK

John Blanchard was a soldier.

One day, in a library, he found an old book with a lot of writing in the margins. He read her handwritten notes in the book and admired their deep insights. At the front cover, he saw that the book was previously owned by a certain Hollis Maynell.

With much effort, he located her address. He wrote to her and told her about her old book and how he liked her written notes.

And she responded, thanking him for his kind words.

But that day, he was shipped overseas to fight in a war.

Still, they kept writing to each other. During the difficult times at the battlefield, her words inspired him and gave him hope.

Little by little, John was falling in love with her.

He requested for a photo, but she replied that if he really cared for her, it won’t matter how she looked.

Finally, he was going home.

They decided to meet at the Grand Central Station at 7pm.

He said he’d be in his soldier’s uniform bringing her old book.

And she said, “You’ll know me by the red rose I’ll wear on my lapel.”

When the train arrived at 7pm, John was there, wearing his neatly pressed military uniform, with her old book in his hand.

The first woman to step off the train was a beautiful woman in a green suit. But there was no red rose on her blouse.

John was disappointed. But she was so lovely, he kept looking at her. She walked in front of him, glanced at him with a smile, and asked, “Are you following me, soldier?”

A part of him wanted to follow.

But no, he had to wait for Hollis Maynell.

The next woman who stepped off the train had a red rose on her lapel. She was perhaps 45 years old. She had graying hair beneath her hat. And she was very overweight. Meantime, the beautiful woman in the green suit was walking away.

John was torn.

Yet he looked again at the woman who was wearing the red rose. He remembered her letters and what a fascinating a person she was. He remembered how wonderful her words made him feel. He told himself, “This may not be love. But this may be more than love. This will be a beautiful friendship with a lovely person.”

He walked up to her, straightened himself, handed the book to her and said, “My name is Lieutenant John Blanchard. You must be Ms. Hollis Maynell. I’m so glad you could meet me. May I have dinner with you tonight?”

The woman smiled. “I don’t know what this is about, son,” she answered, “but the young lady in the green suit asked me to wear this red rose on my coat. She also said that if you asked me out for dinner, she said she’d be waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test!”

THE HOUSE-KEEPER

Maricel is our house helper.

She shared to me a very touching story.

Last month, she went home to her province in Dumaguete. She borrowed money from us to buy the little plot of land that her family house was standing on. She also brought home her savings, buying a sack of rice for her family.

She also went home to spend time with her siblings and their children—her little nephews and nieces. So one bright morning, from the barrio - small province, they travelled to Dumaguete City. Maricel paid for all their jeepney fares.

Everyone was excited, she said. Because for some of them, it was the first time to visit the city.

She brought her family to a mall - and the kids were beside themselves with joy.

What they loved most was the escalators. They shrieked with delight, “Ate, yung hagdan, tumatakbo!” (The stairs are running!)

When they went home, everyone was so happy.

One of her little nieces hugged Maricel and asked, “Tita, sa susunod na taon, ipasyal mo kami ulit, ha?” (Auntie, bring us out next year, okay?) Clearly, it was the high point of their year.

Casually, I asked Maricel, “What did you eat in the mall?”

“Hindi po kami kumain, Kuya Bo. Walang budget, eh.” (We didn’t eat. I had no budget.)

Her answer brought me to tears. Those kids went to the mall and went home without eating, and yet they were so happy.

Sometimes, I forget how blessed I am.

Sometimes, we have food in front of us, and we even have the gall to complain that it isn’t our favorite.

No wonder we lack happiness in our lives.

And no wonder our bodies are sick!

Learn to be more grateful for life.

Live in gratitude.

Celebrate God’s goodness, even in the smallest blessings!

THE PRIEST & HIS LIE

One day, a priest saw a group of kids surrounding a dog.

Curious, he came over and asked, “What are you doing?”

One kid said, “Father, we’re arguing as to who would own this stray dog. We all want him. So we decided that the one who can say the biggest lie would take home the dog.”

The priest shook his head and said, “That’s wrong! Do you know that lying is bad? It’s against the commandments of God. Do you know that when I was your age, I never told a single lie?”

For a moment, there was silence. All the kids looked very sad. The priest was happy. He felt his message hit home.

Finally, the smallest boy said, “Okay, no one can beat that. Give him the dog.”