by Jim Payton
the town.
“Look,” said Sam. “My hands.” The sores had disappeared. His friends looked at him and then at each other. Excitement welled up inside them. They checked, first themselves, and then each other. All their sores had healed. They were no longer lepers. Their excitement was great. They shouted and jumped for joy. They had never received such a wonderful present. They ran ahead of Jesus into the town to find a Priest to clear them so they could go back to their families and friends. Sam ran with them but then he remembered the promise he and his friends had made. As much as he wanted to go to his family and friends, he believed his promise was much more important.
Sam ran back to Jesus. The crowd around Jesus was big but Sam pushed his way through. All the while, he shouted out praises to Jesus’ God. Finally, he broke through the crowd and knelt down in front of Jesus who stopped. Some of the Apostles tried to pull Sam away but he shrugged their arms off. “Jesus, Master,” said Sam. “Thank you. Thank you for healing me.” Jesus reached down and touched Sam. “Where are the other nine,” asked Jesus? Sam tried to make excuses for them but Jesus said to those around him, “Why was this foreigner from Samaria the only one who came back to thank God?” Jesus lifted Sam up and said, “You can get up and go. Your faith has made you well.” So do not be like Sam’s friends. Remember that everything comes from God and we must say thank you to God every day.
Story 12 The Want-it-Now’s and Fastfood Land
Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away there lived a family called the Want-it-Now’s. There was Dad Want-it-now, Mum Want-it-now, Johnny Want-it-now, and Janet Want-it-now. Just like their names, they could never wait for anything. They were very impatient. If they wanted a new television set, they could never wait and save enough money to buy it. They had to have it immediately. When Dad Want-it-now came home from work, dinner had to be on the table waiting. He would get angry if it was not waiting. As a result, the whole family grew up very greedy.
Janet and Johnny were just like their Mum and Dad. If they saw a toy they liked they would want it right away. They could not even wait for their birthday, or Christmas. They had to have in straight away. Mum and Dad Want-it-Now would have liked to give Janet and Johnny everything that they wanted, but they just could not afford to because there were so many things that they wanted straight away. Because they could not have what they wanted immediately, Janet and Johnny decided they would run away from home. They had heard of a place that sounded very much like heaven to them. It was Fastfood Land ruled by a King called, Burger with everything and French fries Fastfood.
One night, when there was a full moon, Janet and Johnny got their school bags. They put plenty of lollies, chocolate biscuits and fizzy drinks into them, along with some extra clothes, and then climbed out their bedroom window and set off for Fastfood Land. Because it was nighttime, and the streetlights were not very bright, it was a bit scary. Somewhere a dog howled, there was snuffling in the undergrowth, and green eyes looked down at them from a tree. Occasionally they thought of going back home but they were ‘Want-it-Now’s’ so they carried on. Then, suddenly, they saw it in the distance. There were bright lights and the sound of laughter. As they drew closer, they could see crowds of people having fun. There were roundabouts, things to ride, things to do, and even more importantly, food to eat. The food was important because they had just eaten their last packet of Squiggle Tops.
They arrived at the gates of Fastfood Land and were greeted by King Burger with everything and French Fries Fastfood. “Come in. Come in,” he said. “Whatever we have is yours, just make yourselves at home.” Janet and Johnny just could not believe it, all those things that they had wanted but had not been able to have. They made pigs of themselves. They ate ‘As much as you can eat Meals’ until they were coming out their ears. They had cone ice creams with chocolate bars in them, they had ice-cream sundaes, and they had thick shakes. They just ate and ate and ate. Then they played on all the equipment and then ate again. For breakfast they did not just have pancakes and French fries, they also had more ice creams.
Life was perfect. All the things they had not been able to have; perfect.
After a while though, they felt that something was missing in their lives. While they had plenty of food, there was just an urge to have some shepherd’s pie occasionally, and a rice pudding. There was also an urge to see their Mum and Dad, and have them read a story or give them a cuddle. They realised that the love of their Mum and Dad was missing. While Mum and Dad Want-it-Now were not perfect, Janet and Johnny realised that they needed them to fill that little space in their hearts that left them wanting something when they thought that they were in heaven. They realised that having everything that they wanted was not making them happy. The trouble was, they did not know how to leave Fastfood Land and get back home. They asked many people how they could leave, but the people just wanted to know why they would want to leave when they had everything they had always wanted right there. Over time, they noticed a boy called Joshua. He was not always there, but when he was, he would only stay for a short while. He would eat a small meal, play a little while and then leave and not be seen again for ages and ages. Suddenly he would appear again. Nobody knew where he came from or where he went. One day Janet and Johnny saw Joshua playing and asked him if he knew how to get out of Fastfood Land. He said that it was easy and all they had to do was follow him. Janet and Johnny decided to follow Joshua when he left, but then they got involved in a game. When they had finished Joshua had gone. That happened several times until Janet and Johnny decided that they really did want to leave Fastfood Land. They stopped playing, and eating, and followed Joshua all day when they next saw him. When he stopped playing, they followed him. He led them through forests, over mountains and along tracks. At first, they could still hear Fastfood Land, but gradually those sounds disappeared as they stayed with Joshua, and then suddenly they were outside their own house.
Mum and Dad Want-it-Now were so happy to see Janet and Johnny and they were ever so happy to see them. They all lived happily ever after.
It is the same with us sometimes. We are so busy wanting and doing other things that we run away from God. If we look hard enough though, we will find Jesus, who will take us to God. He is not always easy to see when we are busy, eating and wanting things, so you have to look hard.
Story 13 Easter
Easter is not far away now. You know what that means don’t you? Easter eggs and hot cross buns! There are many stories about why we have hot cross buns and Easter eggs. Some of them may be true, but I have my own story of how and why we have them.
In the Christian church, Easter is a special time. We are both sad and happy at Easter. We are sad because Jesus died, and we are happy because he became alive again. Because he came alive again, after he had died, we are now able to go to heaven even if we do wrong things. Jesus knew that he was going to die. He also knew that after he had been dead for three days he would come back alive. I reckon he was very brave. Just before he was taken away to be killed, Jesus had a meal with his disciples. We now call that meal the Last Supper. That is because that meal was the last one he ate with his disciples. In Jesus’ time, the meal was to remember the Passover. You may have heard of the Passover. It was the special meal eaten by the Jews when they left Egypt. Part of that was making a sign, with lamb’s blood, to show which houses they lived in so God’s angel would not harm them. During that meal, Jesus said some special things we remember to this day. He said that whenever we eat a meal together, with bread and a drink, we are to remember him. That means that we should remember Jesus whenever we say grace; some people call it ‘Giving thanks’. Grace should not only be to thank God for the food we are going to eat, but also to remember that Jesus died so that we can go to heaven.
So why do we have eggs and hot cross buns at Easter? I believe that the cross on the buns is to remind us that Jesus died on the cross. I also think that the eggs mean a new life. New birds come from eggs. Eggs are the
beginning of life for a bird and I believe the Easter egg means a new beginning for each of us. A new way of life, that takes us to live in heaven with God and Jesus when we die.
Story 14 Talk to God
As Barbara walked towards the shed to put the rubbish away, she could hear her Grandfather talking to some one. She dropped the rubbish in the bin and walked over to where she could hear her Grandfather’s voice. Yes, there he was, on the veranda, and waving his arms as he did when he got excited. She looked around. Who was he talking to? There was no one about. There was just her Grandfather and five empty chairs.
“Hi Poppa,” said Barbara climbing onto a chair.
“Well, if it isn’t my favourite little girl,” replied her Grandfather. Barbara knew he said the same thing to all his Grand daughters.
“Who were you talking with?” asked Barbara.
“My invisible best friend,” replied Poppa.
“Is your invisible friend like my secret invisible friend?” asked Barbara.
“No, no, no,” laughed Poppa. “My friend is not a secret. Far from it, I am always telling people about