The Table Cloth

* Thanks Monica E. for this e-mail

The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry, to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn, arrived in early October excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve.

They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc., and on December 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished. On December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.

On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high.

The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home. On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover up the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.

By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.

Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor," she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?" The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria.

The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just gotten the Tablecloth. The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria. When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next week. He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her husband or her home again.

The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the church. The pastor insisted on driving her home that was the least he could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job.

What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the spirit were great. At the end of the service, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they would return. One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn't leaving.

The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike.

He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a prison. He never saw his wife or his home again all the 35 years in between.

The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier.

He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.

True Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid Who says God does not work in mysterious ways. I asked the Lord t! o bless you as I prayed for you today, to guide you and protect you as you go along your way. His love is always with you, His promises are true, and when we give Him all our cares you know He will see us through. So when the road you're traveling on seems difficult at best. Just remember I'm here praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on to those you want God to bless and don't forget to send it back to the one who asked God to bless you first.

When there is nothing left but God that is when you find out that God is all you need. Take 60 seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply say the following small prayer for the person who sent you this.

Father, God, bless all my friends and family in what ever it is that You know they may be needing this day! May their life be full of your peace, prosperity and power as he/she seeks to have a closer relationship with you. Amen.

Very cool video made by macromedia....

* Thanks Yoli G. for this video site.

Fighting stick figures

Don't Stay Under the Water....

*This message is from Greg Laurie w/ Harvest Ministries

Finding Forgiveness

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

— 1 John 1:9

I heard about a man who wasn't a good swimmer, so he went down to a dock and asked a fisherman, "Excuse me sir, if I were to fall into this water, would I drown?" The fisherman said, "No. Falling into the water doesn't drown anybody. It's staying under the water that drowns them."

You may stumble and fall spiritually, but you don't have to stay under the water. You don't have to stay under the control of sin. You can be free from it, and forgiven of it.

How do you find forgiveness? Remember the words of 1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." That is a wonderful promise.

What does the word "confess" mean? A more literal rendering of that word would be "agree with God." If you agree with God about your sin, He is faithful and just to forgive you. How does God look at sin? It is abhorrent to Him. It is offensive to Him. Is that how we look at our sin when we confess it?

A lot of people will merely acknowledge their sin, thinking they are confessing it. But confession is seeing sin the way God sees it, and feeling sorry for it—sorry enough to change. The Bible says, "Godly sorrow produces repentance" (2 Corinthians 7:10). So it means that we say, "Lord, I realize what this is. God, I am sorry. Help me." Now we are getting somewhere. If you will confess your sin, see it as God sees it, be sorry for it, and turn from it, then He is faithful and just to forgive you of your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness.

Don't stay under that ocean of sin! Grab hold of the lifeline of forgiveness.

So you want God out do you?... Think about it a world with out God...

* Thanks Lizzy for this e-mail

In light of the many perversions and jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke, it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this happen?" (regarding the attacks on Sept. 11).

Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives.

And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?"

In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.

Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school the Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW."

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.

Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.

Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing?

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it.. no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in!

No one is perfect, no not one.....

*This message is from Greg Laurie w/ Harvest Ministries

Flawless Perfection

Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.

— Colossians 1:28


God is looking for perfection! Yes—absolute, flawless perfection. Jesus said, "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). But who among us can claim to be perfect? No one.
The apostle Paul reminded us there is no one who is righteous, no one who does good (Romans 3:10–12). We all stand judged before a holy God, no matter how good we are. Some people struggle with this. What does it mean? What is the Bible saying?

Let's understand the context of what Paul is saying. He is not saying there are no good people out there who do good things. He is talking about our goodness before God. I think there are good people in this world. I think there are good people who are not believers. But the issue is whether there are any people who are good enough in their own goodness to please God, good enough to meet God's standards. And the answer is a resounding no.

This is the bad news: your heart is dark. You are separated from God. All of us have sinned out of ignorance, but also intentionally and willfully. The good news is that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). He went to Calvary and took the full weight of our sins upon himself and paid that price. The flawless, perfect Lamb of God paid our price, and He presents us to God, perfect in Him.

PASTOR EDDIE MONARREZ..... I like that

*** I want to thank you for being an example to my wife & I. You will never know how much your walk with Christ has impacted our lives. I thank God for brothers like you. Take Monterey, Mexico for Jesus. You truely showed first hand someone who is willing to lay it all down for the Kingdom of God and answer the call of God. You have brought more light to the verse in Isaiah 6:8

I placed this on my blog to give God all the glory for what He is doing in your lives. We will miss both of you.

God Bless

If you were to die today, Where would your soul go?

I ask this question, because many people go through life busy worrying about house, car, medical, dental, vision & life insurance, but never sit back and think about Eternal insurance. You may ask what Eternal insurance is. Well let me tell you: it is insurance assuring you will make Heaven your home. Though all other insurances will cost you money to have, Eternal insurance does not cost you a dime. The way you get it is by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. There is only one way to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and that is saying a simple prayer from your heart, one as simple as this: Lord Jesus, I come to you a sinner. I know that you died on the cross for my sins, went to the grave and arose in three days. I ask you Lord, to come into my heart as my Lord and Savior. I promise to live my life from this day forward for You Lord Jesus and I thank you for all that you are going to do in my life, AMEN. I want to tell you my friend, that if you said that simple prayer and meant it with all your heart, the Bible says that you will be saved. Rom. 10:9-13.