Lilbro.net

I do consider myself lucky because my dad is a good Christian man, and a good teacher. Some of the things, aren't just because he taught me though(though a lot are hehe). For example, I grew up going to Native American(mostly Choctaw, but some other tribes too) churches. They aren't time oriented either. They rarely start or end on time. So that's something I experienced for myself as well. Though I guess you could say it's because of my dad that I was in those situations.

I was hoping we'd get a bit of discussion out of these, and it looks like it's going to work :P Hopefully these discussions will also help me figure out some things I might need to change or add to the illustrations. And hopefully some of them will help us all realize some things we could be doing better. I think this first one was a couple things we could all be doing better, hopefully some of the other ones will too.

I've got another one in mind that I'll probably add later today.
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All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.

I will be looking for it eagerly Oogy.
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Alright, here's the next one.

I grew up close to Native American Bible Academy. Throughout the year, there would be groups that came in from around the country to do work with the Native American churches in the area, to do construction projects around the school, or some combination of the two.

One night, I was over there visiting with one of the groups after we had come back from one of the local churches. That same night, there was another group that was getting ready to leave. All at once, they decided they each wanted a million pictures of the group that was staying behind. Flashes began going off everywhere.

When that all began, I was standing in a doorway behind the people they were taking pictures of. Not wanting to ruin too many cameras, I decided to step outside and out of the way. I soon noticed that the countless flashes were painful for my eyes. When I had been standing in the doorway, the flashes weren’t as much of a contrast to the light I was already standing in. Once I stepped out into the darkness, it was painful to look upon the light.

When we step out of God’s picture, we step into darkness. Soon, our spiritual eyes adjust to the darkness that is all around us. Then when we look back upon the light, God’s truth, it can be painful even though we were dwelling in it not long ago.

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All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.

It is far too easy for some to get used to the dark.

It is usually hard for us to face our own shortcomings but easy to put put others. Yes -- to step into the light you must be prepared to face the truth. thanks Oogy.


I know myself that I have a problem actually sharing my faith with other people. Much of it has to do with the busy life I have and unfortunately, difficult time I have actually opening up to people. I tend to hole up and I take a long time to warm up to people and actually start forming a friendship and this process can take months sometimes. This is one area that I need constant prayer in and would appreciate your prayer for me.

I will remember that in prayer Himura, I do feel that you have a lot to give.

My problem is not shyness or any such, I do not make friends quickly but I am comfortable witnessing to
people. the 2 things are very different for me. I just find I seem to have a gentler approach than some. I have always felt that people respond better to me that way. I have had conversations lately with someone from
w-o-n ( non - believer ) and it has helped me see how someone not raised in a Christian home sees things.
It has made me think.

That is so true Oogy and that is one of the best illustrations that I have seen describing that. Indeed, it is so easy to fall into darkness Les and we tend to do it without noticing it since our old self which is still there gravitates toward the darkness.

Unfortunately, my "people" skills are rather low and I have to deal with shyness. I get too concerned with what people think of me and even when I can contribute, I tend to hesitate too much. That is because I get too concerned with doing something that might hurt other people.

For me to really open up is rare partly because it can sometimes take a long long time for me to do so.
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Alright, here's another:

There was a tightrope walker and he was going to cross over the Niagra Falls. It took them a while to get the line strung across and get everything set up, and during that time quite a crowd had formed to see what was going on. When everything was ready, he grabbed his pole to balance with, got on a megaphone and said, "How many of you think I can walk across this wire with my balancing pole?" Most of them didn't really think he could do it, but there was a few that did and they gave a light applause. To most people's surprise, he did it without much trouble. Then he got back on the megaphone and said, "Alright, now how many of you think I can take a wheelbarrow across with me next time?" This time a few more people believe he could do it, but most of them still doubted. The applause was a bit stronger and a few people were cheering. So the man takes the wheelbarrow and easily crosses over the Falls. Next he said, "Okay, you've seen me take a wheelbarrow across, who thinks I can put a 250 pound sack of sand in the wheelbarrow and take it across with me!?" This time the applause and cheering were pretty strong. Once again, the man made it across without much trouble. For his last stunt, the man grabbed the megaphone and addressed the crowd, "You've seen me cross, you've seen me take a wheelbarrow, and you've seen me do it with a 200 pound bag of sand. HOW MANY OF YOU THINK I CAN MAKE IT ACROSS WITH A MAN IN THE WHEELBARROW!?" The crowd went wild. Nearly everyone was cheering and clapping. "Who will be the first to get in the wheelbarrow for me!?" Suddenly the crowd got quiet and some people even ran away fearing he might pick them.

The people believed he could take a man across, but it's an entirely different thought when you're asked to put yourself in that wheelbarrow. We're like that with God a lot. We say he can do anything, but many times we don't want to trust him to do it for us.

That's the obvious point to be made from this story, but I'd like to take it a step further. Once you do trust God to handle things, and you climb in the wheelbarrow, you've got to stay in. It's a long fall if you try to climb out halfway over.

But if you do fall out, remember he can catch you and pull you back up when you are willing to submit to him again.

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All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.

How that is so true Oogy. We tend to have so little trust in what God can do and try to do it ourselves only to fail in the end. If we would only trust God, many things would get done the right way and in the right timing. I know for me that I tend to have this problem if I do not watch myself. That is one area that I do need prayer because it can come without me really noticing.
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Thank you for sharing these Oogy, I do remember the wheel barrow one from w-o-n and I think it is a good thing to think about.

Hehe, so I did post this on w-o-n? I honestly forgot about it lol. Himura said he thought he remembered me posting it before when we were talking but couldn't remember for sure when or where.

Hopefully the one I've been working on trying to write out will be done before long. It makes a lot of different points and it's a lot harder to put it in written word than it is in spoken words. If I can get it all to make sense though, it'll be worth the effort.

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All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.

It is well worth reading twice and I think it should have been here as well -- the others here did not see it on w-o-n !

JJ will like that and I keep hoping she will get to return soon.

Well now I am very interested in this next one ; )