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The sign on the door said "Puppies for Sale" and so the little boy went inside to look.The man inside the pet shop showed him five little puppies who were ready now to leave their mother. They were about the cutest dogs the little boy had even seen.

"How much are they?" the little boy asked.

The man replied, "Some are fifty dollars, some are more."

The little boy reached into his pocket and pulled out some change. After counting it, he said, "I have a dollar and forty-seven cents."

"Well, I’m afraid I can’t sell you one of these puppies for a dollar and forty-seven cents, little boy. You’ll have to save your money and come back next time we have more puppies for sale."

About that time, the pet store owner’s wife brought out another puppy that had been hidden in the back of the store. It was smaller than the other puppies, and had a bad leg. It couldn’t stand up very well, and when it tried to walk, it limped very badly.

"What’s wrong with that puppy?" asked the little boy. The pet store owner explained that the veterinarian had examined the puppy and had discovered it didn’t have a hip socket. It would always limp and be lame.

"Oh I wish I had the money to buy that puppy!" exclaimed the little boy with excitement. "That’s the puppy I would choose!"

"Well that puppy is not for sale, son. But if you really want him I"ll just give him to you. No charge."

But the little boy got quite upset at this. He looked straight at the pet store owner and said, "No, I don’t want you to give him to me. That little dog is worth every bit as much as the other dogs you have for sale. I’ll give you a dollar and forty-seven cents now, and I’ll give you fifty cents a month until I have paid for this dog in full."

The little boy finds a wonderful companion in a lame puppy and tries to make arrangements to pay for his new puppy.

The pet store owner was perplexed. "You don’t really want to spend your money on this little dog, son, He is never going to be able to run and play with you like other puppies."

Then the little boy reached down and rolled up his pant leg to reveal a badly twisted, crippled left leg, supported by a big metal brace. He looked up at the pet store owner and said, "Mister I don’t run and play too good myself. I figure this little puppy is going to need someone like me to understand."

Scripture says that you were "bought with a price." Jesus paid a very high price for you when he went to the cross. He did it because he loves you and wants you to be with him. And he understands what you are going through. As it says in the book of Isaiah, he was the "Suffering Servant" who "bore our iniquities." He took all of the pain we deserve upon himself.

You may feel like an outcast, a nobody. You may think nobody likes you, that nobody wants you. You may be suffering, going through difficult times. Through all of that, you can be sure that Jesus understands. He knows exactly how you feel.

As a ninth grader, Dave was the smallest kid in his high school. But at five feet tall and ninety pounds, he was the perfect candidate for the lightest weight class on the school’s wrestling team.

Dave started out as the JV lightweight, but moved up to the varsity position when the boy at the spot moved away.

Unfortunately, Dave’s first year was not one for the record books. Of the six varsity matches he wrestled, he was pinned six times.

Unfortunately, Dave’s first year was not one for the record books. Of the six varsity matches he wrestled, he was pinned six times. Dave had a dream of someday being a good enough wrestler to receive his athlete’s letter. An athlete’s letter is a cloth emblem with the school’s initials on it, which is awarded to those athletes who demonstrate exceptional performance in their sports. Those who were fortunate enough to receive a letter proudly wore it on their school letterman jackets.

Whenever Dave shared his dream of "lettering" in wrestling, most of his teammates and friends just laughed. Those who did offer encouragement to Dave usually said something like, "Well, it’s not whether you win or lose…" or "It’s not really important whether you letter or not…" Even so, Dave was determined to work hard and keep improving as a wrestler.

Every day after school, Dave was in the weight room trying to build up his strength, or running the stadium bleachers trying to increase his endurance, or in the wrestling room trying to improve his technique.

The one person who continually believed in Dave was his grandmother. Every time she saw him, she reminded him of what could be done through prayer and hard work. She told him to keep focused on his goal. Over and over again, she quoted Scripture verses to him, like "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!" (Philippians 4:13).

The day before the next season began, Dave’s grandmother passed away. He was heartbroken. If he ever did reach his goal of someday getting a high school letter, his grandmother would never know.

That season Dave’s opponents faced a new person. What they expected was an easy victory.. What they got instead was a ferocious battle. Dave won nine of his ten matches that year.

Midway through the season, Dave’s coach called him to his office to inform him that he would be receiving his high school letter. Dave was ecstatic. The only thing that could have made him feel better was to be able to share it with his grandmother. If she only knew!

Just then the coach smiled as he presented Dave with an envelope. The envelop had Dave’s name written on it in his grandmother’s handwriting. He opened it and read:

Dear Dave,

I knew you could do it! I set aside $100 to buy you a school jacket to put your letter on. I hope you’ll wear it proudly, and remember, "You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength!"

Congratulations,

Grandma

After Dave finished reading the letter, his coach reached behind him and pulled out a brand new jacket with the school letter attached and Dave’s name embroidered on the front. Dave realized then that his grandmother did know after all.

Christ does give us the strength to achieve great things, and sometimes the power of Christ comes to us through other people. Dave was motivated to work hard because of the encouragement he received from his grandmother. His grandmother was, in a very real sense, the power of Christ working in his life. Likewise, when we encourage and support one another, we are allowing Christ to work through us in a powerful way.

Are you an encouraging person? Too often we are like Dave’s friends and teammates. We cut each other down and discourage each other so much that we lose heart. But when we have even one person who believes in us, we find the strength to work hard and reach our potential.

One person who never stops believing in us is God. Others may put us down, but our heavenly Father believes in us so much that he gave his Son to die for us.

   
A friend of mine named Paul received an automobile from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin was walking around the shiny new car, admiring it. "Is this your car, Mister?" he asked.

Paul nodded. "My brother gave it to me for Christmas." The boy was astounded. "You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn’t cost you nothing? Boy, I wish…" He hesitated.

Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the lad said jarred Paul all the way down to his heels.

"I wish," the boy went on, "that I could be a brother like that."

Paul looked at the boy in astonishment, then impulsively he added, "Would you like to take a ride in my automobile?"

"Oh yes, I’d love that."

After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes aglow, said, "Mister, would you mind driving in front on my house?"

Paul smiled a little. He thought he knew what the lad wanted. He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big automobile. But Paul was wrong again. "Will you stop where those two steps are?" the boy asked.

He ran up the steps. Then in a little while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little crippled brother. He sat him down on the bottom step, then sort of squeezed up against him and pointed to the car.

"There she is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn’t cost him a cent. And some day I’m gonna give you one just like it… then you can see for yourself all the pretty things in the Christmas windows that I’ve been trying to tell you about."

Paul got out and lifted the lad to the front seat of his car. The shingled-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the three of them began a memorable holiday ride.

That Christmas Eve, Paul learned what Jesus meant when he had said, "It’s more blessed to give…."

The Tiger and the Four Christians
Once, in a valley, there lived a ferocious tiger. The tiger ate anyone that passed through the valley, and no one had ever managed to escape alive. One day, an angel came down from heaven and spoke to the tiger.

"Fearsome tiger, tomorrow, four men will pass through this valley. I want you to let them pass and not eat them up."

"Why shouldn’t I eat them up?" asked the tiger.

"Because they are Christians," replied the angel.

"But how will I know who the four Christians are?" asked the tiger once again.

"Oh, that’s very easy," said the angel. "You will be able to smell the sweet smell of Christ on them."

"That’s okay then. I’ll do as you say," agreed the tiger. The next day, the angel returned to visit the tiger.

"Fearsome tiger," the angel began, "Did you let the four Christians live?"

"Oh yes," answered the tiger. "In fact, they are here right now. I’ll show you to them."

The tiger brought the angel to a small clearing in the forest. And there in the center of the clearing, were four mouths.

"What have you done tiger?" started the angel. "You ate them up!"

"No, that’s not true," answered the tiger. "First, when I ate their legs, I did not smell the sweet smell of Christ. Then when I ate their hands, I did not smell the sweet smell of Christ. While I ate their bodies, I still did not smell the sweet smell of Christ. Only when I reached their mouths, did I smell the sweet smell of Christ. And as I promised, I spared the four Christians with the sweet smell of Christ."

Let us be Christians in spirit as well as in speech.

Pray for Rain
There was a dry country that did not have any rain for many many months. Finally, one day, the king decided to ask all the religious people of the land, to pray for rain. The priest of the church called all the people of his congregation together and they all began to pray very hard for rain. Then suddenly, the door of the church opened, and a little boy entered the church carrying a large umbrella. All the people laughed at him and asked him, "Little boy, why are you carrying an umbrella?" The little boy answered, "Since we are all praying for rain, how will I go home afterwards when it starts raining if I do not bring an umbrella?"

The Tight-rope Walker
There was a famous tight-rope walker who performed in many cities and hundreds of people came to see him. One day, during his show, he asked the audience, "The rope is many, many feet above the ground, and there is no net. If I should fall, surely I will be killed. Do you believe that I can make it across to the other side safely?" The audience shouted back loudly, "Of course you can!" To this, the tight-rope walker asked the audience once more, "Do you really believe that I will make it to the other side safely?" Again, the audience shouted back, even louder and whistled as well, "Definately you shall!" The tight-rope walker asked for the third time, "Do you really, truly believe that I will make it safely across to the other side?" And for the third time, the audience replied, this time, loudly whistling and stomping their feet, "Of course, you surely will!"

The tight-rope walker then faced the audience calmly and asked, "Since you are so sure, I invite one of you to come up here, and I will carry you across with me." The audience fell silent and no one came forward. Suddenly, a little boy ran up to the tight-rope walker. He picked the little boy up, and they crossed over safely. When they reached the other side, the audience was shouting and clapping and they said, "The little boy is very brave!" To this the tight-rope walker said, "The little boy not only believed I could make it to the other side, above all, he had faith that I could do it."

Let us not only believe in the Lord, but above all, let us also have faith in the Lord.

Bob Richards, the former pole-vault champion, shares a moving story about a skinny young boy who loved football with all his heart. Practice after practice, he eagerly gave everything he had. But being half the size of the other boys, he got absolutely nowhere. At all the games, this hopeful athlete sat on the bench and hardly ever played.

This teenager lived alone with his father, and the two of them had a very special relationship. Even though the son was always on the bench, his father was always in the stands cheering. He never missed a game. This young man was still the smallest of the class when he entered high school. But his father continued to encourage him but also made it very clear that he did not have to play football if he didn’t want to. But the young man loved football and decided to hang in there. He was determined to try his best at every practice, and perhaps he’d get to play when he became a senior.

All through high school he never missed a practice nor a game but remained a bench-warmer all four years. His faithful father was always in the stands, always with words of encouragement for him. When the young man went to college, he decided to try out for the football team as a "walk-in." Everyone was sure he could never make the cut, but he did. The coach admitted that he kept him on the roster because he always puts his heart and soul to every practice, and at the same time, provided the other members with the spirit and hustle the badly needed.

The news that he had survived the cut thrilled him so much that he rushed to the nearest phone and called his father. His father shared his excitement and was sent season tickets for all the college games.

This persistent young athlete never missed practice during his four years at college, but he never got to play in a game. It was the end of his senior football season, and as he trotted onto the practice field shortly before the big playoff game, the coach met him with a telegram. The young man read the telegram and he became deathly silent. Swallowing hard, he mumbled to the coach,

"My father died this morning. Is it all right if I miss practice today?"

The coach put his arm gently around his shoulder and said, "Take the rest of the week off, son. And don’t even plan to come back to the game on Saturday."

Saturday arrived, and the game was not going well. In the third quarter, when the team was ten points behind, a silent young man quietly slipped into the empty locker room and put on his football gear. As he ran onto the sidelines, the coach and his players were astounded to see their faithful teammate back so soon.

"Coach, please let me play. I’ve just got to play today," said the young man. The coach pretended not to hear him.

There was no way he wanted his worst player in this close playoff game. But the young man persisted, and finally feeling sorry for the kid, the coach gave in. "All right," he said. "You can go in."

Before long, the coach, the players and everyone in the stands could not believe their eyes. This little unknown, who had never played before was doing everything right. The opposing team could not stop him. He ran, he passed, blocked, and tackled like a star. His team began to triumph. The score was soon tied. In the closing seconds of the game, this kid intercepted a pass and ran all the way for the winning touchdown.

The fans broke loose. His teammates hoisted him onto their shoulders. Such cheering you never heard. Finally, after the stands had emptied and the team had showered and left the locker room, the coach noticed that this young man was sitting quietly in the corner all alone.

The coach came to him and said, "Kid, I can’t believe it. You were fantastic! Tell me what got into you? How did you do it?"

He looked at the coach, with tears in his eyes, and said, "Well, you knew my dad died, but did you know that my dad was blind?" The young man swallowed hard and forced a smile,

"Dad came to all my games, but today was the first time he could see me play, and I wanted to show him I could do it!"

Like the athlete’s father, God is always there cheering for us. He’s always reminding us to go on. He’s even offering us His hand for He knows what is best, and is willing to give us what we need and not simply what we want. God has never missed a single game. What a joy to know that life is meaningful if lived for the Highest. Live for HIM for He’s watching us in the game of life!

One night, a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach to with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand; one belonged to him and the other, to the Lord. When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times in along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life. this really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it. "Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you’d walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that at the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why when I needed you most, you would leave me." The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, it was then that I carried you."

Some stories to re-affirm one’s faith

Footprints
The Father’s Eyes
The Tiger, Umbrella and Tight-Rope
A Brother Like That
Grandma’s Gift
The Puppy Nobody Wanted