Ripples

by Jim Payton

naughty things to other kids. If you do all that, and listen to your Sunday school teachers, you will find that the Holy Spirit will come and live inside you. You will not see the Holy Spirit, but you will know he is there because when you go to do something naughty, you will some-how know it is wrong, and that is the Holy Spirit’s way of telling you not to be naughty.

  Story 6 Phillip and the Midnight Visitors

  (Based on Acts 16: 16 – 34)

  Phillip was a young boy who lived a long, long, time ago. His Dad was a jailer who looked after prisoners. Phillip had been to the jail with his Dad and had seen the prisoners locked in rooms and chained to blocks. He had heard his Dad telling his Mum how whipping a prisoner hurt them.

  One morning, when it was still dark, Phillip woke up in his bed. He could hear people talking in the kitchen area. He got quietly out of his bed and went to see who was there. With his Mum and Dad were two other men, and the servants.

  “Hullo,” one of the men said when he saw Phillip. “Who do we have here then?”

  “It’s my son Phillip,” said Phillip’s Dad. “Come here boy and meet some very important people. Phillip, this is Paul and this is Silas.”

  “How do you do?” asked Phillip politely.

  “Very well now,” said the one called Paul. “Things did not look so good last night though.”

  Paul then turned back to the table and started to eat the food that was on it. Before he did though he bowed his head and he and the other man, Silas, said thank you for the meal. Phillip went and stood by his Mum.

  “What did the man mean about last night?” asked Phillip.

  “They were prisoners,” said his Mum. Phillip thought about this for a while and then went up to Paul and said,

  “Hey man. Are you a baddy? Is that why you were in jail?” Paul laughed. He pushed the food away, picked up Phillip, and sat him on his knee.

  “Well young Phillip,” said Paul. “Yes, I think you could say that I am a baddy, but not the sort of baddy you think. I don’t beat people up or steal things but I’m bad in other ways”

  “What other ways?” Phillip asked. Then, before Paul could answer, he turned to his Dad. “Dad if he’s a baddy how come he’s not still in jail?”

  “Well,” said Phillips’s Dad. “Yesterday these two men helped make a sick woman better and some people didn’t like it. They went to jail even though they had done nothing wrong. In the middle of the night, there was a big earthquake. The jail doors all flew open, and the chains fell off the prisoners’ hands. It was scary. I thought I was in big trouble with a capital T, but then I found that the prisoners had not escaped, although they could have.

  “You were lucky weren’t you?” said Phillip to Paul and Silas.

  “No Phillip,” said Paul. “You see we had done nothing wrong. People thought we had and did not like us. Our God, however, is on our side. We prayed to him asking for help and it was God who made the earthquake, with his anger, and he opened the jail doors and took the chains off us.”

  “Gee,” said Phillip. “How do I get God to help me? I’ll bet it felt real good to have someone secret, and invisible, help you.”

  So, remember, you have to say your prayers and either read your bible, or listen to stories, until you find out who God is, and who his son Jesus is, and then one day you’ll suddenly find Jesus is holding your hand and showing God to you. When that happens, you will find that although some people may still not like you, and still do things to make you sad, your invisible friend Jesus will make you feel good and happy.”

  Story 7 A Tale for 10 to 13 year olds

  It was half past six in the morning but still dark. Janice could hear her Mum out in the kitchen. The freezer opened and closed. That would be the toast bread. Yep, sure enough, the clack of the toaster going down. The microwave opened and closed. That would be the hot milk for the weetbix (or weetabix if you are English). The hall door opened.

  “Hurry up Jan,” shouted Mum. “How many more times do I have to call you? Get up now.”

  “But its cold,” called back Janice.

  “Do it,” retorted Mum.

  “I hate you,” shouted Janice.

  “Love you too,” replied Mum.

  Eventually Janice made it to breakfast. She ate her weetbix, toast, and Milo, and then left the house to meet her mates for the walk to school. While Mum cleaned up Jan’s room and made her bed, both chores Jan’s extra sleep had prevented her doing, Jan was telling her mates how much she ‘just so didn’t like’ her mother. All the rules and uncool things she had to do were just too much.

  “I like, really hate her you know,” stated Janice.

  At lunchtime, Jan’s friends begged bits of her lunch that was way better than theirs.

  “Your Mum must be neat,” one of the girls ventured.

  “Are you nuts?” asked Jan. “She’s like, duh!”

  After school, Jan spent time with her boyfriend Ian. They sat on a stone fence not far from the school and secretly held hands while discussing teachers, fellow pupils and parents. Jan liked Ian even though he went to church and a youth group.

  “You must have a great Mum,” said Ian.

  “Not really,” said Jan. “If she was like Alice’s Mum she’d be great. Her Mum lets her go out at night with Robbie and on the weekends she’s allowed to stay over at his place.”

  “Do you think that would be a great way for your Mum to show you she loved you?” asked Ian. “I think she’s right. She must love you to do all the things she does for you.”

  “I hate her,” stated Jan.

  “I think that’s very sad,” said Ian letting go of Jan’s hand and standing up. “Tell me, when you get home later what will happen?”

  “Oh, I’ll get told off for being late, have something to eat and then get nagged about homework and all before I’m allowed to use the ‘phone. And that’s another thing. If she loved me she’d let me have a cellphone. Everyone has them.”

  “I don’t,” retorted Ian. “You don’t really hate her do you?”

  “Yes I do,” retorted Jan.

  “A long time ago,” said Ian. “When Jesus was alive, one of his disciples, the one called Peter, told him that he would never say he didn’t know him. When the pressure went on him though, he did say exactly that. Not once, but three times! How many times today have you said that you hate your Mum?”

  “I don’t know,” said Jan.

  “Three times?” asked Ian.

  “Maybe,” conceded Jan.

  “You don’t hate your Mum,” explained Ian. “You’re just trying to be big with your mates. To be one of the ‘cool’ kids. Your Mum loves you. Don’t be a fool. Just like Jesus loved Peter, your Mum loves you. Don’t deny her love. Don’t let her down. Jesus forgave Peter. Go tell your Mum you love her.”

  Story 8 Joe Against the World

  Joe was having a real bad day. First he was yelled at, by his Mum, for getting up late. He didn’t know why she was on his case. After all, he had got up the third time she had yelled. Then she had been on and on about him not making his bed. Well he didn’t have time did he? She wanted him to go to school so why couldn’t she make up her mind. It was either school or the bed. She couldn’t have both. A pretty clear-cut case the way he saw it. Then on the school bus, the driver had picked on him. He had blamed Joe for pulling the stop cord. Joe had tried to explain his arm had accidentally caught it when he was trying to protect himself from someone. Because of that, he had had to walk the last mile to school. That made him late, and he got in trouble with the teacher. Things were certainly on a downward spiral. It wasn’t his fault that nobody loved him. It wasn’t his fault he had to fight everyone to protect himself. It wasn’t his fault that he got caught stealing lollies.

  At lunchtime, he wandered out onto the playing fields and checked out the groups. He noticed a new ‘kid’ sitting off by himself so he targeted him. The ‘kid’ was eating his lunch.

  “Gidday,” said Joe.

  “Hi’, replied
the ‘kid’.

  “See that group over there,” said Joe pointing across the field. “Best keep out of their way!” As the new ‘kid’ looked over towards the group, Joe quickly pocketed a packet of his chips. The new ‘kid’ turned back. He looked up at Joe. “You only had to ask,” he said.

  “What do you mean?” demanded Joe.

  “You didn’t have to steal the chips. If you’re that hungry I would have given them to you.”

  “You’re crazy,” said Joe and walked away.

  At the afternoon break, Joe was throwing his Kung Fu star at a wall when the new ‘kid’ walked up to him. He handed Joe a small packet of biscuits and said, “God loves you”. Joe stood still, looking silly. As the new ‘kid’ walked on Joe was speechless. Suddenly he ran after the ‘kid’.

  “What do you mean God loves me?’ he demanded. “Who says he does? You?”

  “No,” said the ‘kid’. “The bible does.”

  “Yeah right,” said Joe.

  “Yeah right,” said the ‘kid’. “Can you read?”

  “’Course I can,” replied Joe.

  “Well read the bible then,” said the ‘kid’. “There are 30 different books in it. They all have good stories in them. There are many war stories. There are love stories. There are escape stories. There are ghost stories. There are adventure stories.”

  “I thought it said about God loving me,” said Joe.

  “Indeed,” said the ‘kid’. “It tells about God’s love all through it, but you’ll have to read it to find that out. Trust me though, it does say that.