The List

Once upon a time, lived a man who struggled with the weight of guilt. He did everything he could to keep from feeling so guilty, but nothing seemed to work. So in desperation, he went to the house of a wise old man who lived at the edge of town.



The man explained his problem to the wise man and waited for a reply. The wise man gazed at him intently and stroked his pointy beard. “So why do you feel so guilty,” he asked. “What have you done?”


“Sir, I am weighed down by all my sin.”


“Have you turned to Christ to forgive you of your sin?” The wise man asked.


“Oh, certainly I have, Sir, but I still feel guilty. I try to live a life that pleases Christ, but even when I am doing good things my motives are so wicked and sinful.”


“I see. Do you believe that you are saved by grace and not by works?”


“Oh yes, of course I am saved by grace, but I cannot seem to live up to the grace God has given me.”


The wise man smiled at the troubled man. “Oh, I see, there is only one thing that can be done.”


The troubled man listened attentively as the wise man explained his solution. “For the next thirty days you must write down everything you do and say and think. You must keep a detailed record of it all whether it is good or bad. And then at the end of the thirty days I want you to bring the list to me.”


The man felt puzzled and confused. “Why must I keep a list? It grieves my heart already without keeping track of everything I do.”


“Just do as I say.”


The man shook his head and walked away, but because he was so troubled by the feelings of guilt and sorrow he decided to try it just in case it helped relieve his pain. The days passed ever so slowly. He kept a detailed record of it all just as the wise man had said. Some days He felt almost elated because he felt that surely he was improving, but then just as soon as his elation reached it’s peak he would sink again realizing his heart was gloating in pride. His list seemed to go on forever.


Finally thirty days passed, and one thing the man knew for sure: keeping a list had not made him feel any better or less guilty. If anything it had made things worse. So he returned to the wise man more sorrowful than before.


“Here is my list,” he said as he handed the wise man a thick stack of papers. “But I don’t think it has cured my feelings of guilt.


“Well, is this everything?” the wise man asked.


“Yes it is everything,” the man answered. “My guilt feels heavier than ever now."


The wise man walked over to his fireplace and knelt by the hearth. The man almost gasped in shock as the wise, old man held the list into the fire. The man looked on in horror as the old man’s hand blistered from the angry flames.


“What, what are you doing? Your hand! And my list--- it took me hours to work on the list. Why would you do this?”


The wise man did not answer, but instead took the ash shovel on the hearth and scooped up the ashes from the papers into a bowl. He motioned for the man to follow him as he walked out of his house and over to a river not far away. He took the ashes and threw them into the rushing water which quickly swept the ashes away. The man was dumbfounded as he watched on in disbelief.


The wise man turned back to the troubled man and smiled. “Where has your guilt gone now?”


The man shook his head, “It’s been swept away, my list has been swept away,” he paused. “Your hand is burned.”


“Your list could not have been taken away without a price, and you could not pay it, so I did.”


“My dear friend, what I have done is only a picture of what Christ has already done. He has taken your sin upon Himself and paid its penalty, and now your guilt is swept away. Christ paid the price. So now go your way and stop thinking about your guilt for it is no more---just like your list is gone forever. Instead think about Jesus and how much he loves you and how gracious He is in saving you.”

A True Story to Inspire and Motivate

(Here is a true story a friend shared with me...hope you all enjoy!!!)

Brenda was almost halfway to the top of the tremendous granite cliff. She was standing on a ledge where she was taking a breather during this, her first rock climb. As she rested there, the safety rope snapped against her eye and knocked out her contact lens.  

"Great", she thought. "Here I am on a rock ledge, hundreds of feet from the bottom and hundreds of feet to the top of this cliff, and now my sight is blurry."

She looked and looked, hoping that somehow it had landed on the ledge. But it just wasn't there.
She felt the panic rising in her, so she began praying. She prayed for calm, and she prayed that she may find her contact lens.

When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but it was not to be found. Although she was calm now that she was at the top, she was saddened because she could not clearly see across the range of mountains. She thought of the bible verse "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth."

She thought, "Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me."

Later, when they had hiked down the trail to the bottom of the cliff they met another party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, "Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?"

Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across a twig on the face of the rock, carrying it!

The story doesn't end there. Brenda's father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a cartoon of an ant lugging that contact lens with the caption, "Lord, I don't know why You want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I'll carry it for You."

I think it would do all of us some good to say, 

"God, I don't know why You want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it's awfully heavy. But, if You want me to carry it, I will."

God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

Midgett Adventures~ #34 Weary Pilgrim

(Here is a story to encourage weary hearts)

Thick mists of darkness rested heavy in the valley, adorned only by a lonely path, which continued to dip lower into darkness. A weary traveler trudged along quietly; his eyes filled with pain and unspeakable anguish. His shoes appeared ragged and worn, his clothes were threadbare, and the marks of suffering scarred his heart. Obviously he seemed to be in search of something, but the length of his journey and the bitterness of pain had snatched the spring from his step, the light from his eyes, and the joy from his heart.

Sitting down on a small bolder, the man lowered his head and closed his eyes. The glorious city---his home---seemed out of reach. Oh, the stories he had heard, and longed to believe about the city of the Lamb, but the darkness seemed too thick, the road too long, and his heart too weary to continue on to his destination. Hunger and thirst filled his being, but he ignored the pangs of his soul and shut his eyes to the light. He was a pilgrim, but it was too hard, he was too tired, and his soul was too overcome by despair.

At that exact moment of soul darkness, the lonely man heard approaching steps. He looked up and found that another traveler dressed in worn clothes was coming down the path. Something was different about him though---something about the intensity of his gaze or maybe the sincerity of warmth the weary traveler felt from the man’s heart.

“Fellow Traveler, how is your journey so far?” The man asked the weary traveler, stopping at the small bolder.

“Good, but it is not as I imagined it to be.” He replied simply.

“The road is difficult, isn’t it?”

“Yes, very difficult and dreary.” The weary traveler sighed and peered down at his worn shoes.

“True,” The man sat down on another bolder. “But does the goal, which brought you to walk down this path not burn in your heart, causing you to see that which is unseen?”

“I suppose, but darkness rests in my soul and has pushed out all the joy I once possessed. I no longer can see the goal of this road and I am simply to weary to continue on. My lot is a difficult one and this road is too hard.”

The man shook his head. “Did you expect this road to be easy? Did you not know that for you to enjoy true life you would be required to daily die to self? If you want an easy path, there are plenty to choose from, but if you want what will last then don’t let the difficulties you experience now deter you from the joy that will be yours in such a short time.”

The weary traveler nodded. “I know what you say is true, but it still does not help me feel any better about my weary heart or the awfulness of this lonely path.”

“Do feelings matter?” The man prodded. “If you wait until you feel good about walking down this path you will never make it to the glorious city of the Lamb. Don’t think of how you feel---think of the Lamb. Don’t sit wallowing in weariness---get up and begin walking again and the Lamb will strengthen your weary heart. Laziness will keep you in darkness as long as it can, but diligence to seek the Lamb will be like the light of the sunrise to your soul. Open your map---the Word of the Lamb---and light will spill over the path (though only enough light for each new step).”

The traveler pondered the wise words of the man before him. “You are right.” His heart still lingered in sadness.

“Perhaps you have forgotten what is real, my Friend,” The man’s voice was firm with conviction yet also filled with compassion. “This world is but a whisper---a shadow---but what lays ahead down this road is real and true and better than anything else you have ever known. Go forth now and be about the work the Lamb has assigned you. Walk the path, rejoice through darkness, sing in the valleys, enjoy the mountain peaks, help the weary, come along the broken, fix your eyes on the Lamb, think of Him lest you sit here forever until it is too late. If you are a true pilgrim you will carry on because the Lamb won’t let you go.”