A man was on a ship which sank. He was alone on a dingy and drifted to a small island. Shortly after landing, he heard rustling in the forest and out came a large group of natives. They snatched him up and took him back to camp. All the way, he thought we was going to be dinner. As time passed they gave him all the best clothing and the best foods. They treated him like royalty.

After a short time, he had picked up on enough of their language to be able to communicate a little. He asked his “servant” who they though he was.

The servant said, “you are our king.”

The man asked, “what happened to your last king?”.

The servant replied, “every three years we get a new king, and the old king goes to that island over there”, as he pointed to a small deserted island.

The man asked, “What happens when they go over there?”

The servant replied, “They die within a few months because there is no food, shelter, or water on that island.”
For the next several years the man started going over to that deserted island. He was taking supplies and building a home, digging a well, stocking seeds and grains, and planting fruit trees. He spent his entire time as king, working as a servant. Because he knew the place he was at was not his permanent home.

Many times we get engrossed with the pleasures of this world. We forget that we are here only a short time, this is not our permanent home. We need not to care for the pleasures here but be servants to the most High King; preparing for our place of permanent stay.

A father was taking his two son's on a boat ride through the Caribbean. They get to a location where there use to be a chicken slaughter house on one of the islands and they would dump the chicken waste into the water, so the waters were infested with sharks. He told his son's, what ever you do, don't go swimming here.

The boys were playing around and one shoved the other who went overboard while grabbing hold of his brother and sending him overboard with him. The father heard the splash and went running to the back of the boat. He told his boys to calmly swim out of the water. The boys continued to horse around in the water and the dad started to see shadows appear, circling the boys. He told them sharks are in the water; but because they did not see the dorsal fins, they did not believe him.

The father knew it would not be long and knowing how sharks operate, he cut his wrist and jumped into the water on the other side of the boat, swimming in the opposite direction of the boys.

The boys saw the water churn where their father was, and blood flow up.

How would the father feel if the boys stayed in the water? How much more can that father do, if they decide to stay in the water?

Salvation is our decision based on whether or not we stay in the water.

A farmer had a neighbor that moved next door from the city. After becoming friends, one day the city guy told the farmer, "I would love to have a cow that I could get fresh milk from". So, the farmer sold his neighbor a cow. A short time later the city guy said to the farmer, "There's something wrong with the cow because it's not producing milk".

The farmer asked, "Are you milking her?"

The city man said, "Yes, when ever I need some. If we need milk for our breakfast I get a little bit from her, and if my wife needs some for baking, I get a little more. If I need some for coffee, I get some more."

The farmer replied, "That's the problem. When you milk a cow, you got to get all you can each time"
Many people treat Christ like this cow. If we want the fullness of the Spirit, we need to reach higher and get all we can.

A brother and sister came down with a deadly sickness. The boy, who was about 6 years old, was able to fight it off and got healthy again; but his sister could not fight it. The doctors knew that the only chance was to do a blood transfusion from the boy to the girl. The doctor sat down with the little 6 year old boy and ask if he would be willing to give some of his blood to his sister. The boy's lip quivered a little and he said yes.

They immediately took the little boy into the operating room and his sister was already there and prepped. They hooked up the IV's and the boy watched as the blood started to flow from his arm to his sisters; and he gave her a smile. He then turned to the doctor and asked, "How long before I die". The doctor knew immediately what the little quivering lip was from, yet the boy was willing to lay down his life for his sister.

Two brothers told a minister that years prior the one brother was drinking and hit a family while driving. He was sentenced to several years in prison. The other brother knew that his brother's family needed him and he had no family so he devised a way to swap places with his brother; and he served the time for him.

Two brothers were checking into class of their new school and the teacher asked for their birthdays. When they told her their birthdays she realized they were only a few weeks apart and she asked how that happened. They said, one of us are adopted. She asked, “Which one” and they replied, “We don’t know”

John 3:16 says that “God SO loved the world”. That little word is so often unlooked. On morning, a pastor was reading the paper and started to weep. His wife asked what was wrong so he told her about the article of a little boy who received a wagon for his birthday. He was riding it down the driveway and missed the turn causing him to get killed by a vehicle. As he finished the story, the phone rang and the parents to the child were on the other line; asking the pastor to preform the funeral. At the funeral, the parents came by the casket and the mother clung to it and cried, “I loved you so, I loved you so”. God loves us SO.

A boy in Florida ran out to the canal behind their home, as the mother watched. He jumped in to go swimming when his mother saw an alligator move into the water. She yelled for her son to get out of the water but just before he was able to get out the alligator grabbed his leg and started to pull him back out. The mother screened and grabbed her boys arms and started a tug of war with the alligator. A neighbor heard the screen and cam running with his gun and shot the alligator.

A little while after the boy had healed, the local news station was doing a story on the boy and he showed them his scars on his legs where more than 100 stitches were used to patch him up. But it was the scars on his arms that the boy seemed to be especially proud of; the cars made from a mother who refused to let go.