My prized possession and it’s free.

I was 12 and very alone. No one was with me. My world had been turned upside down in a few seconds. I was freezing cold from the icy wind that blew over the water. It was pitch dark sitting on the roof. Where I used to see lights from the surrounding houses I now saw none. In the dark I could see the shapes of some of the structures still standing. Most had been washed away by the force of the water that had come pummelling through with no mercy or warning. I had been one of the lucky ones. My bedroom was on the second floor when it all started. I had heard the sound of trees crashing and water roaring from my room. When I got to the bedroom window I saw a glimpse of my Dad as he was swept away by the raging waters that had caught him unawares with the sudden surge as he was cutting the lawn. I could only assume something similar had happened to my Mom and sister.

At first I had panicked. I had screamed for help. None had arrived. I had sat and watched the water rising for hours. I had seen many things float by. Cars, houses, boats, cows, horses and yes…..what bothered me was the amount of people that had gone by. I knew they were dead. It scared me. I thought the police would rescue me, until I saw what must have been one wash past. I realised that I was only going to survive if I did it myself.

I watched the water rise and realised I needed to get to higher ground. I needed a ladder so I could get on the roof and knew there was no way I was going to get one here. I ran to my parent’s room and tried to drag a cabinet into the passage way so I could get to the roof hatch. It was too heavy. I was starting to panic. Water was coming in the doors leading downstairs. I heard my bedroom window glass smash and knew something floating past had hit the window. I needed a plan fast. I grabbed the draws on the cabinet and threw them out one by one. I knew there was no way I would get in trouble for this. Once they were all out I pushed the cabinet and it began to move. Inch by inch I moved the cabinet to the middle of the passage way. I climbed up on the cabinet with water sloshing around my feet. I pushed open the roof entrance and was about to climb up when I remembered I needed stuff to survive.

I jumped down and sloshed to my room. It was difficult to move through the water. There were lots of things in my way. Once in my room I pushed open the cupboard as best I could while the water rushed in. I reached up and grabbed a dry blanket and a torch. As I turned to leave the room I stopped. I was sure I left something important behind. Then I saw it on the bookshelf, My bible that my dad had given me in third grade. I dashed over as fast as I could and grabbed it. Carrying the blanket, torch and bible I struggled to climb the cabinet. I pushed the Blanket into the opening in the ceiling and hoisted myself up. I turned the torch round and bashed on the roof tiles. As they gave way daylight streamed in. I made a hole big enough for myself and climbed up onto the roof. My parents would never have allowed me to be up here. I knew that this time it would not be an issue. I was safe for now although I did not know how long. I was alone.

In the darkness I cried. I looked at my bible and wondered if God did love me, if he really did care. I wondered if he would leave me on a rooftop to die. I prayed, Lord Jesus, I have always known that you are there. Please don’t leave me alone now. Send me a fiery chariot to save me from these waters. As I finished praying a bright light shone down on me from above. At first I thought it was from heaven I then realised God had sent me a helicopter with a really bright light. I guess a fiery chariot would have been overkill. A rope landed next to me with a face on the end. It was a man named John, He was really nice and let me get my bible before pulling me up to my chariot. I knew God had a plan. I knew things would be tough moving forward, but I knew I was not alone. God was going to be with me, I would fear no evil, his rod and staff were with me.

What would you take if you had a flooded house? What do you prize more than God? Would you save yourself before others or would you climb over them to save yourself first? We need to have the faith of a child. We need to know God is there waiting for us to talk to him. He has our best interest in mind even though we might not think so.

Cheers

                Greg

School shoot out

Being adopted had frustrated me all my life. I always felt like I could never get anything done right. I always felt like I was second hand baggage. I was someone my parents did not even want and was thrown away like garbage on the side of the road. My new parents were ok, they fed me and looked after me. They had put up with my temper, my mood swings and my weird dress sense.  Today I was angry, angry at everyone but mostly angry at God. How could he allow this to happen? How could he allow my biological parents to throw me out? It was his fault. He should have looked after me. In fact he should have not even allowed me to be conceived. If I did not exit it would have been better.

I was sitting at school in my class complaining about life. Complaining about everything that was going on and how life was unfair. I had no purpose. My life was a waste. As I finished the though I heard a popping sound, Followed shortly by another. The entire class went deathly quiet. Someone said, “Isn’t that a Gun”. There were a few more pops, this time they were closer and were sounding more like bangs, they were sounding more like a gun. A few people came running past the class screaming. “Someone is shooting people, we need to hide” Said a boy who ran into the class. The teacher tried to calm us all down. We all got under our desks and remained as quiet as possible. Some of the girls were crying. The tension was too much.

My desk was by the door. I was beginning to freak out. We could hear the gun shots getting very close. We heard footsteps outside our class door. It was someone walking past. It could only be the shooter. Everyone else had been running. The footsteps stopped. I heard a gun being reloaded. This was not a good sign. I tensed up waiting to see what would happen. We all remained quiet. Suddenly the door burst open and in walked the shooter. He was a young guy holding a 9mm pistol. As he leveled it towards the room to begin opening fire I sprang into action. I grabbed the legs of the desk I was under and charged the person in front of me. The desk slammed up against his head before he could turn to face me with the gun. A shot went off and ricochet off the roof.  I rammed the desk a second time against him. The gun dropped to the floor as did the attacker. He was out cold. The desk must have hit him squarely on the jaw. It was a KO in round one. I was stunned. The entire class was stunned.

Afterwards I was sitting by the police cars drinking some sweet juice. People from my class came past and thanked me. For the first time in my life I felt special. I realised that if I had not been around people in my class would have died. I then realised that I did have a purpose. I could make a difference. It was up to me to make the choice. I dialed my adopted parents and told them what had happened. I told them that I loved them. It was a start.

Always remember that life is made of choices. You can choose to live a selfish life or a life that blesses others. You can choose to be depressed and full of self-pity or you can choose to be a person that other people want to be with, someone who lifts people up rather than kicks people down. Make some right choices today.

Cheers

Greg

New Year Giveaway Surprise

It was New Year and I was Grumpy. My dad had dragged me out to some remote area. It sucked. I had far better thing to do. I had friends to see, parties to go to. I had my whole life ahead of me. Why would he drag me into such obscure locations? I guess it was where his heart was at. He had been a Christian for many years and always wanted to help others, but why on New Year’s. There was so much more to do. He had woken me at the crack of dawn to make sandwiches. He had bought bread for a small army and jars of jams of various flavours. We were going to make the usual one I had for school. The one that sat in my bad and got soggy from the heat and I eventually threw it away. I did not know how people would eat them. I had suffered under the oppression of jam sandwiches for years. It was terrible. We had slaved for two hours making sandwiches. The entire time I had bugged my dad and begged and pleaded to get out of it. My hands were a bit stiff from all the spreading of jams. I think I had even mixed some of it up. Someone was in for a strawberry apricot surprise all mixed in one.

The road to where we were going was rough. It had many pot holes in the gravel and needed careful navigation. My dad’s four by four made easy work of it. I wondered how these people moved around. The view on the drive was terrible. All I saw was tin shacks, dirt, garbage and dirty people. I was not enjoying it at all. When we got to our destination I was surrounded by screaming children with dirty faces. I was sure they were trying to steal my mobile or wallet. I went back to the car and locked them in the cubbyhole. My dad was in his element. He greeted everyone with a smile. I was sure he hugged all the old people and there were a lot of them although they were outnumbered by the children ten to one. Where were the children’s parents? It was a Sunday. There was no way they were at work. Everything had been closed down for New Year’s.  

We pulled out the food and started handing it out. I was surprised at the response. It was as if they had not eaten for days. The children were well behaved and came one by one. They thanked me every time. I noticed one or two who snuck back in queue for seconds and I ignored the offense. They were just as polite the second time round. We stayed a few hours and played some soccer. My dad chatted to the older people and prayed for a few of them.

When we left my dad explained that the food we had brought was the first meal they had for that day. He also explained that the children had no parents. Their parents had died of aids and now the grannies looked after the children. Most of the children were not even related to them. They children had just needed a home when the parents had passed on.

On my way home all I saw was friendly people, soccer fields, family and people trying to survive. I was glad I have spent my new year doing this. I asked my dad if I could go with him next time to see my friends.

This year we should spare a though for the less fortunate amongst us. In South Africa we have many orphans who go to school on empty stomachs. We have many grannies that look after large families and have only pension payouts to feed them and ten children. Maybe take a break this year for a few hours and go and help out the less fortunate. Go and make some new friends and help them out where they are at. Be the salt and light in the world in a way that people cannot mistake it.

 Cheers

Greg

The untold birth of Jesus

I was so excited. I had been looking forward to this day since time began. It felt so long ago yet it felt like yesterday. I suppose that happens when you’re me. I had planned the day down to the smallest details. I had placed everything where it should be. The excitement in the air was absolutely palpable. My son was about to make me the proudest Father ever. It was like he was going for his first day of school. I was waiting for his birth. The moment when it would all begin. My son had agreed to undo all that had been done in the past. He was going to right the wrongs of the entire universe. This was a huge moment in my Life. I did one last check that everything was in place. The STAR was on its way. The manger was ready. The angels had practiced what they were going to say to the shepherds……They had been practicing for years. This was now the time for it all to happen. This was to be a milestone in my plans for humanity, for myself, for everyone. I could not contain myself.

I waved to Gabriel to get ready, he smiled. He had been ready for a millennium or two. I watched as Mary and Joseph held hands while she screamed in labour.  The sheep and cows stood nearby as planned watching and listening to what was unfolding. In anticipation we all waited. The universe held its breath for the birth of its King. The cry rang out as the baby emerged. Joseph quickly wiped the baby clean and wrapped him in swaddling clothes. Mary smiled as Joseph handed my son to Mary. Mary smiled and said Jesus my son. I could not contain myself any longer, I shouted “Jesus, my son”. I needed the world to know. The Star rose in the east to let people know. The angels left to see the shepherds. The world now had a saviour. Not just a prophet or wise men. They had plenty of those. No, this was my son. He is the King, The saviour, the ruler of the world. He was going to bring my people back to me.

The Angels broke out in Chorus and worship me. I noticed that Lucifer was silent. He knew his time had come. The end was now drawing closer.

Merry Christmas everyone and most of all Happy Birthday Jesus.

Cheers
Greg

The day it all went wrong

I was wealthy. I had a beautiful wife, three wonderful children, a very large house in a secure wealthy suburb. I had the job everyone would kill for. I had a salary that attracted attention from investment companies and banks all desperate to have a share of my wealth. I had friends everywhere that would assist me with almost anything…..for a price. It had happened over many years. I had started small with a few small business ideas. One of them had finally worked and made me what I was. I was proud of myself. The world was my oyster and I could achieve anything I wanted to. I had become my own god. I worshiped me. I looked at what I had done and it was good. I felt sorry for the people who were not able to achieve as I had achieved. I pitied them for being stupid and lazy. If I could do it anyone could.

I sat in my corner office looking out the window at the buildings around me. I wore my best suit today as I was about to be promoted to an even better position. I would climb the ladder of success further than anyone else my age had every done.

The door slammed open. In rushed my secretary. She shouted. ‘It’s all over, it’s ruined, and we are finished.” I jumped from my seat and ran to her. “What do you mean?” She spluttered, “The FBI is downstairs”. I knew what this meant. All our bad dealings had caught up with us. I had been aware of the dealings for months. It was standard to work within the grey areas of the law. We however had pushed further into what was illegal, Fraud, Money laundering and some very unsavoury friends. My millions would be gone in a breeze. I then realised…

I had no wealth, my wife loved someone else, my children did not know me, and my house would be gone. I had no Job or salary. I would lose my friends. It had happened overnight. I had lost everything. I was very sad. I realised that I was no god. I realised that I did not deserve worship. Everything I had done was bad. I was happy others had not been like. They had been clever. They had walked the righteous path. I realised that I was alone, that I had nothing. I fell to my knees and cried. I cried for forgiveness from God.

Sometimes we get so lost in life we forget that God is in control. We lose him in our rush to achieve status, wealth and power only to realise later that they are meaningless and can disappear in an instant. God is always there. Seek him first. Spend time with him and rest in his arms. Let him be your guide to how to live your life. Maybe it’s time you took a break and spent it with family and friends. Don’t lose the precious people in your life by chasing material wealth. Focus on the important stuff in life. God and then family, That’s the priority I would want you all to have.

cheers

Greg hay

The END of the WORLD

I had searched everywhere. I had checked the kitchen, the bathrooms, around the house. Even the Garden shed. I could not find my Mother. Her car was here, so she had not driven anywhere. The keys were where she always left them. I tried her cellphone for the tenth time and left another message. Where had she gone? This was ridiculous. It was dinner time and she needed to make me food. I had been out the entire day with friends having a great time doing things she and her church would disapprove of. I was old enough to make my own decisions. I could live my life the way I wanted without boundaries and rules. Church was for old people or people who did not keep up with science. God did not exist.

I turned on the TV to see the usual presenters only to see that there were new ones. They must have fired them or they were on Christmas leave. It was silly to have them both on leave at the same time. The new presenters seemed very nervous and unprofessional. They were to say it bluntly, quite useless. I started to listen carefully and then started sweating. The news was about the disappearance of people off the planet. People had just gone. What got my attention was when the presenter said in a very sarcastic tone that it seemed to be mainly religious fundamentalists and that the world was better without them. They were talking about my mom. Now I was really worried.

I grabbed the phone and dialed again, still no answer. I called her friend Betty. The phone was answered by her daughter Melissa. She had not seen my mom and wanted to know if I had seen her mom. Maybe they were together at one of those prayer meetings at the church and their phones were on silent.

I grabbed the car keys and headed for the car. I was going to see what was going on at the church. I was getting very freaked out. I remembered being taught about the Rapture. The Rapture was time when all Christians would disappear and be with God. I had always though it was rubbish, much like all the other myths in the Bible. Ridiculous and made up fairy tales.

When I got to the church there were cars in the car park. I ran inside to find the building empty. It was very, very weird. There were so many cars and yet no one in the building. I was about to leave when I heard sobbing in the corner. I ran to see who it was. It was the Pastor. I had met him a few times before. He was on his knees crying his eyes out. He looked at me and said. “So you also got left behind”. I knew what he meant. It had happened. God’s time had come. I burst into tears and collapsed to my knees and began praying. I had not done that in years.

There is a time limit. No one knows what it is. God is a patient God and has given mankind many years to make a decision to follow him. He’s given you many years as well. How many more years will he give you to make up your mind? Perhaps you have made up your mind already by not making a decision. At some point we will all stand before God and be judged for our relationship with him and how we have accepted him. For those who have not accepted there is eternal torment in the fires of hell. God Loves us but also has to be true to us in his wrath and in his judgment. After all we have done, we deserve punishment. He has given us a way out. Don’t wait too long to make your decision. You might run out of time.

Cheers

Greg

Time to get Wet...Make ur Choice

I had been in my car, stuck in bumper to bumper traffic for more than an hour. I was sweating in the heat. The air conditioner had not been working for a while. I was starting to get frustrated. Where all this traffic came from had me puzzled.  Maybe there was an accident further up the road. I prayed that it had not been serious but knew it was probably going to be bad judging by all the cars sitting bumper to bumper on the freeway. Some cars had pulled to the side and seemed to have given up hope of getting anywhere.  Every few minutes I would start the car and move forward a few inches hoping I would see the end of the traffic. I turned on the radio to see if there was any information on what had happened and how to get around it. The announcer was hopeless and did not help in the least. There was something happening but nothing the announcer knew about.  Blah, Blah, Blah…..lots of traffic…..Blah, Blah, Blah…..no idea what is causing it….Blah, Blah, Blah…..police are on the way. How on earth where the police going to get through this traffic jam was beyond me.

People started running past my car. At first I thought we were being attacked from behind and everyone was running to get clear. I taking a closer look I realised that the people were not running away but rather running towards something. They seemed strangely happy. I could only assume it was not an accident as I had assumed. Maybe some famous person had blocked the road. One thing was for sure we were no longer going anywhere. Traffic had come to a stop. The inches I enjoyed were now completely gone with abandoned cars all over the freeway.  After a few minutes I realised that I could not miss out.  I was as curious as anyone could be.

I reached for the door handle and opened the door almost hitting a person running past in excitement to get to whatever he was trying to get to. He managed to veer to the side and avoid being knocked over by the door. After making sure the doors were locked, I started walking down the road in the same direction to where everyone else was heading. It was a strange feeling following the masses without knowing where I was going. The excitement was building for me even though I had no idea what was happening. I started to trot forward at a slightly quicker pace trying to match those around me.

I heard someone shout a name. It sounded like Jesus. I had heard stories about him. He had changed people’s lives in dramatic ways. He had healed some sick people. A blind guy could see, a lame person had started walking. There was a rumor that he had raised someone from the dead. It was ridiculous. No human could do that. He must be a magician of some kind.

In front of me I could see where the crowds had gathered. It was by the lake on the side of the freeway. The bank at the edge of the lake was covered in people watching someone in the water. I could tell it was the Jesus I had heard about. There was a long snake of people heading towards Jesus. The people were up to their knees in water. As they got to Jesus he would have a few words with him and then he would baptize them under water. The people would come out smiling and happy like all the cares of the world had been lifted from their shoulders. It was amazing to see what was going on. I knew that there was something special about Jesus. I knew that I would be faced with a choice.

You have a choice. Jesus had come to seek and save the lost. He called people to repent and be baptized. He called us to believe and be baptized. Do you believe? Have you repented? Have you been baptized? If you were standing on the banks of the Jordan what choice would you make if you saw Jesus in the water. You can make that choice now. Find a church with a good Pastor. Speak to him, Confess, believe and get Baptised. There is no time like the present. After all Jesus got Baptised and said we should is that not enough reason.

Cheers

                Greg Hay