Category Archives: Grandma’s Stories

Grandma's Stories, Stories for Teens

Why do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

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  People often ask this question….it just seems that life isn’t fair!! We do the best we can and then things go wrong for us!

The Bible tells us about a man like this, a good man who did the best he could and then he lost everything. It also gives us a picture of why this happened which will help us to see things differently when things go wrong or us too.

If we turn to the Bible and look at Job chapter one, verse one, we read….”there was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was perfect and upright, one who feared (respected and reverenced) God and who hated evil.”

So we see that Job always did his best and as we read down the chapter, we see the things that he did for himself and for his family. Let’s turn it into a story……

One day, God’s team of angels came to report to Him. God noticed a shiny, glistening, sneaky looking one among them who  didn’t usually come, and recognised him instantly.

“Where have you come from, Satan?” He asked.

“I’ve been walking up and down all over the place,” Satan replied shiftily.

“Have you seen any person as good as My servant Job is?”, God asked, “No-one else is as good in the whole world as he is….he loves Me and hates everything evil! He makes me an offering every day, not only for himself but also for his family.”

“Ho”, sneered Satan looking at God, ” No wonder he is so good! You look after him on every side, and have given him all he’s got! I bet if you took it all away from him it’d be a different story! He would curse You to Your face if that happened!!”

God knew His man, and He knew He could trust Job to do the right thing.

“OK,” He said to Satan, “We’ll see. I’m allowing you to take away everything that he has. I know he will stand firm for Me.”

Satan chuckled gleefully. ” I’ll make him sorry for following God’s ways. I can beat him!”

So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.                                  The next day, Job got up early as he usually did, and made the morning sacrifice for himself and his wife. Then he made another sacrifice to cover each of his children. As he did this, he prayed for each of them, as he did every day. “Lord”, he said, “Please help the boys to stand firm for you; help them to resist temptations, and always be helpful  to their mother and sisters. I pray for the girls, Lord that they will not be vain with how they look, but that they will try their best to be beautiful with their minds and their speech.”

Job knew that his eldest son was putting on a party that day for his brothers and sisters, and he hoped that everything would go well for them all. While he was sitting there after breakfast thinking about them, he saw one of his servants rushing up the path. He could tell something was wrong.

“What’s the matter?” he called out as the man got close enough to hear.

“We were out in the field ploughing with the bullocks and the donkeys were there beside them when a marauding tribe from over the hill came and rounded them up, killing all the herdsmen, and I’m the only one who got away!”

With that, he fell down on the ground panting with the run, and fright at what he had seen.

The man had hardly finished telling Job this when another servant came panting up. “Oh!,” he said, “There was a massive lightning storm over the paddock where the sheep were, and they have all been struck dead as well as the other servants there. I’m the only one who managed to get away to tell you!”

A third servant came panting in from another direction and said, “The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yes, and killed the servants with swords; and I only am escaped alone to tell you.”

Job hardly had time to take all this in when another servant came rushing in from the direction of the oldest boy’s house.

“Oh, oh,” he wailed when he saw Job, “Your sons and your daughters were eating their meal and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house when there was a terrific gust of wind rushing in from the desert like a tornado, and the roof was lifted off and the whole thing collapsed on everyone else in the house, and they are all dead! I’m the only one to  escape and tell you!”

Job had been sitting down all this time, and now he stood up and tore his long robe off his shoulders. He went inside and shaved the hair all off his head to show how upset he was.

His wife and servants wondered how he would cope with all this bad news and the disasters that had happened. But he didn’t curse or swear, or even complain. It didn’t even enter his head to ask God why this had all happened.

Instead, he got down on his knees and prayed in front of everyone left in his house, and said, ” I was born naked with nothing, and I will go back to God the same way, with nothing. The LORD gave me these things, and the LORD has taken them away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

In all these disasters Job didn’t sin or complain and blame God foolishly. I wonder how we would act if this happened to us?

 

 

Grandma's Stories, Stories for Littlies

Feeding the Birds

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 Bobby was watching while Mum put some bread in the bird feeder. He always loved watching how the little birds tried to take their bit of bread while the bigger ones were scrapping among themselves. There were the bigger mynahs that strutted around on the lawn, trying to grab some of the crumbs that fell from the sparrows’ beaks. They looked important as the puffed their chests out and strutted along. Then there were the small silver eyes that hopped here and there, quickly grabbing a piece of bread while the other birds were fighting amongst themselves. He laughed as he watched a cheeky sparrow chasing the other birds and then quickly hopping back to his spot by the feeder. Meantime, some of the other birds were spending all their time chasing the others away.

“Look Mum,” he called out to his mother as she came inside again, “Some of those birds are so greedy! They spend all their time chasing the others away and then miss out themselves!”

“That’s right Bobby,” Mum said, “What does that remind you of?”

“Well”, he said slowly, “I s’pose it shows that when we are too mean to share our things, we are the ones who miss out in the long run!”

“That’s exactly it”, Mum said, “Do you remember when Sarah wouldn’t let you others play with her new skates when she first got them? She was so busy hanging onto them, that she ended up having a really miserable day. If she had only shared them with everyone, you would all have soon found out that they only fitted her feet properly, and it was no use wanting to play with them. But she didn’t let you, and so you all still wanted to play with them. It was all for nothing!”

“Ye-e-es, I remember,” Bobby said, “Even Betty wanted to play with them and they were miles too big for her to put on.”

He started watching the birds again. “Look Mum!” he cried out, “There’s a different one there, it’s got a bit of red on its head!”

“That’s a chaffinch” Mum said, “You don’t see many of them around the place. See how pretty it is. They are all so beautiful, it’s amazing how God has made them all different and they stay that way. A sparrow always baby sparrows and a blackbird always has baby blackbirds. Everything that God makes is perfect and they all do as he says.”

“Yes, Mum,” Bobby said thoughtfully, “I guess that’s how God wants us to all be too isn’t it. “

    Betty ran down the path just then and the birds all scattered. “Mum, Mum,” she cried as she came inside puffing, “I just saw  a great big bird up on the power lines. It had a white chest and dark green on its back, and it didn’t take any notice of me when I came under it!”

“That’s a wood pigeon,” Mum said, “There aren’t many left around here now, and they are very special birds that God has given us to enjoy. Make sure you don’t frighten them. See the little birds here that are eating out of the bird feeder!”

Betty turned around and looked out the window. Sure enough, the little sparrows and silver eyes were back again.

“They are cute, but that big one was just something!” she said as she went to the frig to get a drink.

Stories for Teens

Who Will Win?

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Bobby groaned, and rolled over in bed sleepily. Something was going to happen, he thought groggily, What was it?

Suddenly he remembered and getting out of bed was no problem then. It was the big yacht race on the other side of the world, and if he wanted to see it begin, he would have to wake up now and turn the TV on. Bobby had always loved sailing boats as long as he could remember. He just loved going out with his Uncle Jeff in his yacht, every chance he got, and his ambition was to join a junior yacht club one day soon.

Bobby thought it seemed odd that there were three major sporting competitions going on at the same time this year…. there were the national yacht races in the Caribbean, the country’s rugby team playing for a world cup against a visiting team, and Bobby’s Dad was involved in the local golf club tournaments. Not that that was of any national importance, but it was to Bobby. He was pleased that the rugby games didn’t clash with the yacht races, at least he could watch each of them on TV at different times.

Bobby wasn’t all that keen on actually playing in sports, but he sure loved watching them on TV. It was a lot easier than actually getting out and doing all that practice, he thought lazily.

He remembered what his school teacher had said about training for competitive sport, and thought that although sport was something that interested most people it was a lot easier to just watch it from a sideline. The TV programme of the yacht race was soon over with his country’s side winning by quite a margin. Bobby yawned and went to make himself a hot drink before going back to bed for a last minute snooze. He wasn’t used to waking up so early and he had had to do it for two mornings in a row now.

Bobby thought how so many sports involved a ball of some sort, or else it could involve some piece of equipment, maybe even a large and expensive thing like a sailing boat or motor car. Whatever it was, the most important thing in any sport, was the effort and preparation  that the competitor had to make and train for, to be successful.

This is something that we all have to realise….there is no gain without some pain. Bobby hadn’t realised that yet, but if he wanted to get into competitive yacht racing in the club, he was going to have to learn to start regular training. It would be no use just standing on the side line and  cheering his side, he would have to get out there and do his bit. So too, we must make up our mind what we want to go in for, and then give it our best shot. As one old gentleman used to say, “If you aim high, you’ll hit the gooseberry bush!” So let us each one “aim high” and then work our hardest to get there!

Stories for Teens

What is Easter About?

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  LILY It was Easter Sunday at lunch time, and all the family were gathered around the dinner table. Mum had made everyone’s favourite meal of roast lamb with peas, potatoes and carrots, and they were sitting around talking, letting the first course settle down before the pudding came.

   Uncle Jeff was there too as he often was, and he said, “Well Bobby, what did the preacher tell us about in church this morning?”

“I know,” said Betty without waiting to see what Bobby said, “It was about Jesus dying on the cross.”

“Very good, it was too,” said Uncle Jeff, “What else can you remember?”

“He used some big words all starting with the letter ‘v’ ” Bobby said, “One word was violent, and he said that meant that Jesus had some horrid things done to Him before He was put on the cross.”

“That’s right”, Uncle Jeff said, “What were some of those violent things that were done to Him?”

“He was whipped”, Bobby said.

“He had a crown of thorns with long spikes on it jammed onto His head”, said Sarah, “and the blood all ran down His face.”

“Yes, that’s right. What was another ‘v’ word then?” asked Uncle Jeff.

“He said it was a vicious death”, said Sarah, “and that means that they were really trying to hurt Him a lot.”

“They hated Him,” piped up Betty.

“They did too”, said Dad who was listening to all this, “They were really vindictive the way they treated Him. That means that they were trying to be as mean to Him as they could be because they hadn’t liked what He was saying about being God’s special Sent One.”

“Just like Emma was mean to me,” Betty said, “when she hit me the other day for nothing!”

“What was another ‘v’ word?” Uncle Jeff asked, “Those are three ‘v’ words about how the people were treating the Lord Jesus. What was another word that shows us how He felt?”

There was silence for a moment while everyone stopped to think.

“I know,” said Sarah, “It was voluntary. That means that He did it because He wanted to help people.”

“Oooh,” said Betty, “How could Him being hurt so badly help people?”

“It was something to do with Him paying for our sins wasn’t it?” asked Sarah.

“Yes,” said Uncle Jeff, “That was part of it. He did it because He wanted to, no-one was making Him do it.”

“I remember another word,” Bobby said, “He said it was valid for today. What exactly does that mean?”

“That means that what He did all those years ago on the cross still counts for today,” Uncle Jeff said.

“I remember another one,” Betty said, “He said it was val…valable. What does that mean?”

“You mean valuable,” Sarah said, “That means that it was worth a lot then and even  for us today.”

“Yes, that’s right”, said Dad, “We wouldn’t be able to pray to God at all if Jesus hadn’t died on the cross for us.”

“I’m so glad He did,” said Betty with a sigh, “I like praying to God when things go wrong. It just seems to make things better straight away.”

“Well, are you all ready for your pudding?” Mum called out from the kitchen, “Sarah, come and help carry it in! I’m so glad you were all listening so well to the sermon this morning! The main thing now is to remember it!”

Stories for Teens

Do You Really Listen?

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                                                       Luke 8: 10-18

  PECHI092How much do we REALLY listen when people are talking to us? Or when the preacher is speaking at church? Sarah had the same problem……

    “This is awfully hard to understand”, said Sarah one Saturday afternoon  while her mother was getting tea ready.

“How do you mean?” asked Mum.

“Well, our lesson for this week is about listening, and how to not lose what we’ve been given”.

“It sounds like a bit of a puzzle”, Mum said, only half listening. “Why don’t you ask Uncle Jeff tonight when he comes round for tea?”

“Oh, that’s a good idea” said Sarah, “Is he coming round then?”

“Yes”, said Mum, “Didn’t you hear me telling you all this morning that he was coming?”

“Well, I was busy texting Emma and didn’t hear what you were saying!” Sarah said.

Mum smiled. She thought that Uncle Jeff would be able to explain very easily what Sarah wanted to know.

     After tea was over and everyone was settled down for the evening, Uncle Jeff came over to where Sarah was curled up on the couch in her favourite position.

“Well Sarah,” he said, “What is your lesson for tomorrow about?”

“Oh Uncle Jeff”, Sarah said, “I was going to ask you about that! It’s from Luke chapter eight and it’s about listening. It’s the sower’s parable, and it keeps saying to hear what is being explained. Then later on, it says that we have to be careful we don’t lose what we’ve been given. What’s that all about?”

“Well”, said Uncle Jeff, “We have to remember that Jesus was explaining about the seed that was sown and the crop that came from it. That is about all that we remember about that story. But Jesus was actually saying a lot more than that. Let’s look at those verses and see what He was really saying. What does verse ten say?”

Sarah read it slowly. “It says that He was explaining it to the disciples so that they could understand it”.

“That’s right”, said Uncle Jeff, “What does verse twelve say?”

“It says that the first lot of people hear God’s Word, and then the Devil comes along and takes it away. I suppose that means that it goes in one ear and out the other”.

“Yes, that is exactly what it is saying”, Uncle Jeff said, “What does verse thirteen say about hearing?”

“It says that the next lot of people that hear God’s Word think it’s a great idea but it doesn’t last. It’s like sleeping on a good idea and seeing what you think the next morning  and then changing your mind about it I s’pose”.

“You’re getting the picture Sarah,” said Uncle Jeff. “What do you see about the next lot of people who hear God’s Word?”

“It seems as though they get too busy with work or things like sport to be able to fit church in”, Sarah said.

“That’s exactly right Sarah. We’ve seen all the people now who heard God’s Word but they never did anything much about it”, Uncle Jeff said, “So what conclusion do you come to about these people?”

“I s’pose it means that they should have listened and then done something about it” Sarah said slowly, “Is that how that verse about losing what we’ve been given ties in with all this?”

“What do you think Sarah?” Uncle Jeff asked, “Let’s look at verse fifteen and see what it says. What do the people who grow a good crop do about listening?”

Sarah read it through and then said, “It says that when they really HEAR what God is saying, they KEEP it, and then DO it! “

“Now read verse eighteen and tell me what you see there”, Uncle Jeff said.

Sarah read it and then said, “That’s what was puzzling me before!  But now I can see that people who hear what the Bible says and do it will get a lot more blessings, while those who only half listen won’t do what it says and after a bit they’ll think it’s not worth bothering with any more. They’ve lost it!”

“Good girl!” said Uncle Jeff, “I’ll give you top marks for that! Now you’ll be able to explain it to the others tomorrow”.

.

 

 

Stories for Teens

Books!

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Sarah was curled up on the couch doing chld259what she liked best…. reading!  It didn’t matter to her if all her Christmas presents were square parcels, every book she got was a friend! It didn’t matter if it was an old fashioned book like Anne of Green Gables or if it was a modern one written by Rosie Boom. She loved them all and would read them over and over again.

Bobby couldn’t have cared less about books. “Books!” he would say scornfully, “Who wants to read a book!  We have enough of them at school!”

Uncle Jeff came into the room one day in time to hear him say this. “What’s this you are saying Bobby?” he asked, “What do you think is better than a book, hey?”

“I like doing things,” Bobby said, “Things like pressing buttons and watching a screen. There are so many things you can do with an I-Pad!”  He heaved a big sigh.

“But you are allowed to use Mum’s I-Pad for a bit every day, aren’t you?” asked Uncle Jeff, “What’s wrong with that?”                                  “But that’s only if we have earned good points”, said Bobby, “It’s so hard to earn good points. You have to be good ALL the time or you lose some! If I had my own I-Pad, I could play with it all the time!”

“Do you think that playing with the I-Pad all the time would make you good?” asked Uncle Jeff.                                                                              “Well, I wouldn’t have time to be naughty”, said Bobby, “I’d be too busy playing with it. Bang,bang, shoot ‘em all dead!”

“Do you think that it’s a good idea to fill your mind with those sort of things?” asked Uncle Jeff.

Bobby wriggled uncomfortably. “Well, no, I s’pose not”, he said.

“You know it wouldn’t hurt you to read a book now and then”, said Uncle Jeff, “It’s surprising what you learn from reading a good story!  Did you know that God has books too?”

“No, does He really?” asked Bobby.

“Yes, He does, and everything we say, do, or think is written down in one of His books!”

“Ooh, that’s scary!” Bobby said, “You mean EVERYTHING that we say or think is written down?”

“Yes, and there’s another book called the Book of Life that God has written in too…He writes in the names of everyone who loves the Lord Jesus”.   (Revelation 20:12)

“I love Jesus!” Betty piped up.

Sarah stirred herself on the couch, and sat up. “Yes”, she said, “and that book was written before the world was made wasn’t it Uncle Jeff!”

“That is true Sarah,” Uncle Jeff said, “So you see Bobby, books are very  important, not only to read, but also to write. We each one have to make sure  that our names are written in God’s book. Just being good  isn’t enough.  We have to tell God we are sorry for the naughty things we’ve done, and then we’ll know our names are there. So you see  Bobby, books are very important!”

Grandma's Stories, Stories for Teens

Taking Verses out of Context.

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kids008“Brrrm, brrrm, bang, bang”, Bobby cried as he ran through the living room waving his arms as though he were flying.

“Bobby! Whatever are you doing that for?” Mum called out over Bobby’s noise.

“I can do anything!” Bobby said as he flopped down on the couch.

“What do you mean, you can do anything?” Mum asked, “I can tell you one thing, you aren’t to make so much noise when you come flying in here like that!”

“Well, that’s what the preacher told us about yesterday at church….he said we could do anything through Christ who give us strength”, Bobby said picking up a cushion and using it as a shield.

“Did not!” Sarah said, “It just shows how much you weren’t listening to what he DID say!”

“Well, what did he say then?” Bobby said a little sulkily.

“He said we weren’t to take a verse out of its context and make a rule about it like you did just then,” Sarah said, “He said that that verse you just said, has to be read with all the. other verses ahead and behind it”.      

“Oh!” said Bobby somewhat crestfallen, “Well, what does ‘contect’ mean anyway?”

“Context!” Sarah corrected, “It means you have to read all the verses around the one you like, and then see what makes sense!”

Mum was listening and smiling as Sarah went on with her explanation. She knew that Sarah had got the real sense of what the preacher had been talking about.

“All the verses before that one are talking about being content with what we have got”, Sarah went on. “We are not to want what other people have, and it’s not always easy to be like that!”

“Ho, ho,” said Bobby, “What about that latest model phone like the one that Michaela has that you were wanting? Huh?”

“Well, I know that,” Sarah said, “I know I have to be satisfied with the one I’ve got, and it is only the Lord Jesus who can give me the strength to be like that! That’s right, isn’t it Mum?”

“Yes, that is exactly what the preacher was saying”, Mum said, “And I’m glad that you’ve made sense out of what he was saying Sarah, because you will find lots of times you will need to remember that or you will be unhappy or jealous of other people if they have things that you haven’t got. Now Bobby, ” she went on, “You just pick up your wings and fly outside to do your chores….you will have plenty of strength to do that!”

“Brrm, brrm”, said Bobby as he got up and ran outside still making aeroplane noises as he went.

Stories for Teens

Why Do Bad things Happen to Good People?

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pefam022                               (Read Luke 7:11-29)

“Well”, said Dad as the family sat down around the lunch table, “What did you learn at church today?”

“The preacher told us about John the Baptist being in prison”, Bobby said munching his lettuce and ham.

“Yes, and it was all because he told the king he shouldn’t be doing wrong things”, said Sarah, “Everyone knew about it so I don’t see why John should have been put in prison.”

“That’s right”, said Bobby, “Why DO bad things happen to good people anyway? Can’t God stop them happening?””.

“What do you think Uncle Jeff?” Sarah said, turning to him.

“Well, it’s like this”, Uncle Jeff said, “John was given a special job to do by God….can you remember what it was?”

“I remember”, Betty piped up, “Our teacher told us about John. It was his job to tell people that Jesus was coming wasn’t it?”

“That’s right” said Uncle Jeff, “And now that job was finished. Jesus was there, going around teaching the people and doing miracles for them, and they could see and hear Him for themselves”.

“I know that”, Bobby said, “But it still doesn’t seem fair for John to be put in prison”.

“John was a strong man”, Dad said, “And God knew He could depend on him, even in prison”.

“Yes, but he did wonder what had gone wrong”, Sarah said thoughtfully, “Because he sent that message to Jesus asking if he had been mistaken.”

“Can you remember what happened to the messengers then?” Uncle Jeff asked.

“Yes, Jesus didn’t answer them straight away. Instead He took them with Him while He was healing the sick people, and making blind people see and deaf people hear. And all the time He was preaching to people around Him”, said Bobby.

“Then He told them to go back to John and tell him what they had seen Him doing. He specially said to not be offended by Jesus because he was in prison…he wasn’t to blame God for what had happened”, said Sarah. “I DID notice one thing though”, she carried on, “Jesus didn’t growl at him for wondering these things.”

“No, that’s right” Dad said, “What do you think that shows us about Jesus?”

“How understanding He is”, Sarah said.

“Yes, and then He went on to tell the people what a great man John was and how strong he was for God”, Bobby said.

“I heard that too”, said Betty, “John did what God told him to”.

“That’s right Betty”, said Uncle Jeff, “Jesus told the people that John had been a special announcer telling people that God’s Messenger was right there with them. John was a tough man, one who wouldn’t change his mind, and he never did. But he DID want to make sure he was right. Once his friends returned and told him what Jesus had been doing, he knew for sure that Jesus was the real Messiah”.

“Yes,” said Bobby, “But you still haven’t said why God allowed all this to happen and then didn’t the king chop his head off in the end?”

“Well, like I said before, John’s job was done. He had done all that God asked him to do, and now God was ready to take him to be with Him. We can’t argue with God….when it is His time to take us, it will happen. John was obedient to what God had asked him to do and we must be the same, and then we will be ready to meet Him, no matter when”.

“Mmmm”, said Bobby thoughtfully, “That’s a hard ask.”

“It sure is”, agreed Sarah, “But after all God has the last say for all of us doesn’t He?”

“I want to be ready”, said Betty as she reached for a piece of apple pie.

“Now, now”, said Mum, “That’s the second piece you’ve had Betty!”

Betty quickly began to eat it.

“I guess that life isn’t always about being fair”, Sarah said thoughtfully.

“That’s right”, said Dad, “That is what makes us strong Christians and better for God rather than being bitter against Him. Big  winds make plants grow stronger. Without that they stay soft and weak”.

“I don’t want to be soft and weak”, Betty said.

Mum looked across at Dad and smiled. She knew only too well  how little anyone knows about what lies ahead in life’s journey.