One day, I woke early in the morning to watch the sunrise, Ah the beauty of God's creation is beyond
description. As I watched, I praised God for His beautiful work. As I sat there, I felt the Lord's presence with
me.

He asked me, "Do you love me?" I answered, "Of course, God! You are my Lord and Saviour!" Then He
asked, "If you were physically handicapped, would you still love me?" I was perplexed. I looked down upon
my arms, legs and the rest of my body and wondered how many things I wouldn't be able to do, the things that I
took for granted. And I answered, "It would be tough Lord, but I would still love you."

Then the Lord said, "If you were blind, would you still love my creation?" How could I love something
without being able to see it.? Then I thought of all the blind people in the world and how many of them still loved
God and His creation. So I answered, "Its hard to think of it, but I would still love you."

The Lord then asked me, "If you were deaf, would you still listen to my word?" How could I listen to
anything being deaf? Then I understood. Listening to God's word is not merely using our ears, but our hearts. I
answered, "It would be tough, but I would still listen to your word."

The Lord then asked, "If you were mute, would you still praise MY Name?" How could I praise without a
voice? Then it occurred to me: "God wants us to sing from our very hearts and soul. It never matters what we
sound like. And Praising God is not always with a song, but when we are persecuted, we give God praise with
our words of thanks." So I answered, "Though I could not physically sing, I would still praise YOUR Name."

And the Lord asked, "Do you really love me?" With courage and a strong conviction, I answered boldy, "Yes
Lord! I love You because You are the one and true God!" I thought I had answered well, but..... God asked,
"THEN WHY DO YOU SIN?" I answered, "Because I am only human. I am not perfect." God replied, "Then
Why in times of peace do you stray the furthest? Why only in times of trouble do you pray in earnest?" No
answers. Only tears.

The Lord continued "Why only sing at fellowships and retreats? Why seek Me only in times of worship?
Why ask things so selfishly? Why ask things so unfaithfully?" The tears continued to roll down my cheeks.
"Why are you ashamed of Me? Why are you not spreading the good news? Why in times of persecution, you
cry to others when I offer My shoulder to cry on? Why make excuses when I give you opportunities to serve in
My Name?" I tried to answer, but there was no answer to give.

God continued, "You are blessed with life. I made you not to throw this gift away. I have blessed you with
talents to serve Me, but you continue to turn away. I have revealed My Word to you, but you do not gain in
knowledge. I have spoken to you but your ears were closed. I have shown My blessings to you, but your eyes
were turned away. I have sent you servants, but you sat idly by as they were pushed away. I have heard your
prayers and I have answered them all." "DO YOU TRULY LOVE ME?"

I could not answer. How could I? I was embarrassed beyond belief. I had no excuse. What could I say
to this? When my heart had cried out and the tears had flowed, I said, "Please forgive me Lord. I am unworthy
to be Your child." The Lord answered, "That is my Grace, My child."

I asked, "Then why do you continue to forgive me? Why do You love me so?" The Lord answered,
"BECAUSE YOU ARE MY CREATION. YOU ARE MY CHILD. I WILL NEVER ABANDON YOU.
WHEN YOU CRY, I WILL HAVE COMPASSION AND CRY WITH YOU. WHEN YOU SHOUT
WITH JOY, I WILL LAUGH WITH YOU. WHEN YOU ARE DOWN, I WILL ENCOURAGE YOU.
WHEN YOU FALL, I WILL RAISE YOU UP. WHEN YOU ARE TIRED, I WILL CARRY YOU. I
WILL BE WITH YOU TILL THE END OF DAYS, AND I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER."

Years ago, there was a very wealthy man who, with his devoted young son, shared a passion for art
collecting, Together they traveled aroundd the world, adding only the finest art treasures to their collection.
Priceless works by Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet and many others adorned the walls of the family estate. The
widowed elderman looked on with satisfaction as his only child became an experienced art collector. The son's
trained eye and the sharp business mind caused his father to beam with pride as they dealt with art collectors
around the world.

As winter approached, war engulfed the nation, and the young man left to serve his country. After only a
few short weeks, his father received a telegram. His beloved son was missing in action. The art collector
anxiously awaited more news, fearing he would never see his son again. Within days, his fears were confirmed.
The young man had died while rushing a fellow soldier to a medic.

Distraught and lonely, the old man faced the upcoming Christmas holidays with anguish and sadness. The
joy of the season, a season that he and his son had so looked forward to, would visit his house no longer. On
Christmas morning, a knock on the door awakened the depressed old man. As he walked to the door, the
masterpieces of art on the walls only reminded him that his son was not coming home.

As he opened the door, he was greeted by a soldier with a large package in his hand. He introduced himself
to the man by saying, "I was a friend of your son. I was the one he was rescuing when he died. May I come in
for a few moments? I have something to show you." As the two began to talk, the soldier told of how the man's
son had told everyone of his, not to to mention his father's, love of fine art. "I'm an artist," said the soldier, "and
I want to give you this." As the old man unwrapped the package, the paper gave way to reveal a portrait of the
man's son. Though the world would never consider it the work of a genius, the painting featured the young
man's face in striking detail. Overcome with emotion, the man thanked the soldier, promising to hang the picture
above the fireplace.

A few hours later, after the soldier had departed, the old man set about his task. True to his word, the
painting went above the fireplace, pushing aside thousands of dollars of paintings. And then the man sat in his
chair and spent Christmas gazing at the gift he had been given. During the days and weeks that followed, the
man realized that even though his son was no longer with him, the boy's life would live on because of those he
had touched. He would soon learn that his son had rescued dozens of wounded soldiers before a bullet stilled
his caring heart.

As the stories of his son's gallantry continued to reach him, fatherly pride and satisfaction began to ease the
grief. The painting of his son soon became his most prized possession, far eclipsing any interest in the pieces for
which museums around the world clamored. He told his neighbors it was the greatest gift he had ever received.
The following spring, the old man became ill and passed away.

The art world was in anticipation! Unmindful of the story of the man's only son, but in his honor, those
paintings would be sold at auction. According to the will of the old man, all of the art works would be auctioned
on Christmas Day, the day he had received his greatest gift. The day soon arrived and art collectors from
around the world gathered to bid on some of the world's most spectacular paintings. Dreams would be fulfilled
this day, greatness would be achieved as many would claim "I have the greatest collection."

The auction began with a painting that was not on any museum's list. It was the painting of the man's son.
The auctioneer asked for an opening bid. The room was silent. "Who will open the bidding with $100? he
asked. Minutes passed. No one spoke. From the back of the room came, "Who cares about that painting?
It's just a picture of his son. Let's forget it and go on to the good stuff." More voiced echoed in agreement.
"No, we have to sell this one first," replied the auctioneer. "Now, who will take the son?" Finally, a friend of the
old man spoke, "Will you take ten dollars for the painting? That's all I have. I knew the boy, so I'd like to have
it."

"I have ten dollars. Will anyone go higher?" called the auctioneer. After more silence, the auctioneer said,
"Going once, going twice. Gone." The gavel fell. Cheers filled the room and someone exclaimed, "now we can
get on with it and we can bid on these treasures!" The auctioneer looked at the audience and announced the
auction was over. Stunned disbelief quieted the room. Someone spoke up and asked, "Wheat do you mean it's
over? We didn't come here for a picture of some old guy's son. What about all of these painting? There are
millions of dollars of art here! I demand that you explain what's going on here!"

The auctioneer replied, "It's very simple. According to the will of the father, whoever takes the son...gets it
all.

The message is still the same: "The love of a Father, a Father whose greatest joy came from His Son, who
went away and gave His life rescuing others. And because of that Father's love, whoever takes the Son, gets it
all."

A small congregation in the foothills of the Great Smokies built a new sanctuary on a piece of land willed to them by a church member. Ten days before the new church was to open, the local building inspector informed pastor that the parking lot was inadequate for the size of the building. Until the church doubled the size of the parking lot, they would not be able to use the new sanctuary.

Unfortunately, the church with its undersized lot had used every inch of their land except for the mountain against which it had been built. In order to build more parking spaces, they would have to move the mountain out of the back yard. Undaunted, the pastor announced the next Sunday morning that he would meet that evening with all members who had "mountain moving faith." They would hold a prayer session asking God to remove the mountain from the back yard and to somehow provide enough money to have it paved and painted before the scheduled opening dedication service the following week.

At the appointed time, 24 of the congregation's 300 members assembled for prayer. They prayed for nearly three hours. At ten o'clock the pastor said the final "Amen." "We'll open next Sunday as scheduled," he assured everyone. "God has never let us down before, and I believe He will be faithful this time too."

The next morning as he was working in his study there came a loud knock at his door. When he called "come in," a rough looking construction foreman appeared, removing his hard hat as he entered. "Excuse me, Reverend. I'm from Acme Construction Company over in the next county. We're building a huge new shopping mall over there and we need some fill dirt. Would you be willing to sell us a chunk of that mountain behind the church? We'll pay you for the dirt we remove and pave all the exposed area free of charge, if we can have it right away. We can't do anything else until we get the dirt in and allow it to settle properly."

The little church was dedicated the next Sunday as originally planned and there were far more members with "mountain moving faith" on opening Sunday than there had been the previous week!

Some people say faith comes from miracles. But others know: MIRACLES COME FROM FAITH!