My professor told me a couple good God stories the other night. Enjoy!

The Meat Story

When Ron (my professor) and his wife started off in ministry they like most were dirt poor. Ron was working three jobs to stay above water. One of those jobs was driving a bus for a Christian school. His wife called him one day and told him that one of the families on his route had some meat for them to pick up. (He wife didn’t want to bother him with the fact that they had run out of meat and couldn’t afford more). So like a good husband he just did it. He picked up two grocery sacks of meat. When he returned home he and his wife were surprised to find 50- 1 pound packages of liver in the sacks. Needless to say they were a little shocked. It was God’s provision so they thanked the Lord and ate liver daily for about SIX MONTHS. He said that his children (grown up now) still shudder when someone says “liver”. Ron and his wife were thankful for God’s “manna” no matter what form it came in. As the liver was close to running out Ron received a call from his wife again. “Ron another family on your route has meat for you to pick up” she said. Now it was a different family than before but you know what Ron was thinking. He went and picked up two grocery sacks of meat that day. When he returned home his wife looked in the sacks. It was all steak and roast. He said, ” Sometimes you have to be content and thankful for liver before God gives you steak.”

The Dryer

Around the same time in Ron’s life they had a dryer. One day when Ron was a work his wife called to explain that the dryer had caught on fire. The fire department had to come and put it out. They just left the dryer in the driveway. Ron pulled in the driveway that night and stared at the dryer. He knew what he had to do… So he moved it to the back porch and rewired it. They were to poor to buy a new one. He installed the dryer and life went on. Two weeks later Ron’s wife called him at work (I think Ron would have learned by now not to answer his work phone) and she told him that the dryer caught on fire and the fire department had to come put it out. That night when Ron returned home he noticed the dryer once again in the driveway. This time it was in pieces. The fireman decided to chop it up with their axes so Ron wouldn’t try to fix it. So now they have two children in diapers (cloth diapers) and no dryer. The money started rolling in. They received random gifts from people in the church and within five days they had added it up to be within $10 of the cost of a new dryer. By the time they picked up the dryer they had exactly the amount they needed. God knows what we need and is faithful to provide.

From the beginning of time until the monastic (monks) movement around 4oo A.D.(when monks in monasteries acted as scribes and started making as many copies of scripture as possible) the people HAD to tell their stories and the stories we read in the Bible. In some cases story telling was the only way scripture would get passed from generation to generation.We NEED to hear these stories. That’s why inter-generational discipleship is so important. When it comes to Christ-centered relationships I encourage you to make friends with people 5, 20, 50 years older than you. The stories of people that have gone before us are invaluable. This IS discipleship. It’s making friends with someone and watching them live a Christ-centered life. It doesn’t have to be awkward or scary. It can and does take place before and after worship services, during grow groups, serving together, etc. Chances are you are being discipled right now and may not even know it. I encourage you to LOOK for opportunities to share your story and to hear the stories of others. God doesn’t give us stories so that WE may be known rather so that HE may be known.

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