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IT'S ONLY 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 my friend 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."
Our lives are the only Bible some people will ever read.
I hope this little story is able to show you just how important your actions are. We all blunder from time to time and even fall flat on our face, but we don't have to stay down...hold yourself accountable for the words and deeds you do to one another.
Be cautious of the words you speak, they could be breaking another person's heart. Be aware of the friends you keep, they could be dragging you down. People are constantly changing and I for one don't want to stay in the place I was yesterday...I want to progress forward with the Lord as my guide.
How anyone could become offended by sharing the Lord's joy or love with them is beyond me. I just pray that someday they will open their hearts to Him and receive the most wonderful gift imaginable....salvation. Some may mock this, but others will embrace it.
There are those people that have never accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and for them I feel such a loss and hurt. I want for everyone to have inner peace, regardless of what the circumstances are that are going on around them.
How do you conduct yourself when you are with your friends? Do you reach out in love or sit and talk gossip about others? Just know that the words you spoke behind other's back will be opened up for others to see and you won't be able to take them back, the damage will be done. And you might want to consider if you would like for others to pick you apart like you have some people.
So my prayer for all of you is that the Lord will open your ears to the words you speak and open your eyes to the reaction of those words upon others as well as how "true" are you really when it comes to being such a good person or a true friend.
Do you
want to fit in with the crowd or are you bold enough to stand up and be
yourself even if that means standing out or possibly even alone? Just
remember that whatever choices you make, the consequences are also
yours!
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