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Testing times (2)
'God has come to test you ... so that you won't sin' Exodus 20:20
Chuck Swindoll tells the story of a bird named Chippy: 'Chippy the parakeet never saw it coming. One second he was peacefully perched in his cage singing, the next he was sucked in, washed up, and blown over. His problem began when his owner decided to clean his cage with a vacuum.
She stuck the nozzle in to suck up the seeds and feathers at the bottom of the cage. Then the phone rang. Instinctively she turned to pick it up. She'd barely said 'hello' when-sswwwwPPPPP! Chippy got sucked in! 'She gasped, let the phone drop, and snapped off the hoover.
With her heart in her mouth, she unzipped the bag. There was Chippy - alive, but stunned - covered with heavy black dust. She grabbed him and rushed to the bathtub, turned on the tap full blast and held Chippy under a torrent of ice-cold water, power-washing him clean.
Then she did what any compassionate pet owner would do: she snatched up the hairdryer and blasted the wet, shivering little bird with hot air.' Swindoll ends his story with these words: 'Chippy doesn't sing much anymore.' In an instant, that parakeet's life went from Chirpy Chatty Chippy to Cheerless Chafed Chippy.
Life may throw you some tough tests, leaving you feeling like Chippy: hoovered up, ice-blasted and blown to bits! But God doesn't want you to let them steal your song! 'God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along' (Rom. 8:26 TM).
written by Bob Gass
'God has come to test you ... so that you won't sin' Exodus 20:20
Chuck Swindoll tells the story of a bird named Chippy: 'Chippy the parakeet never saw it coming. One second he was peacefully perched in his cage singing, the next he was sucked in, washed up, and blown over. His problem began when his owner decided to clean his cage with a vacuum.
She stuck the nozzle in to suck up the seeds and feathers at the bottom of the cage. Then the phone rang. Instinctively she turned to pick it up. She'd barely said 'hello' when-sswwwwPPPPP! Chippy got sucked in! 'She gasped, let the phone drop, and snapped off the hoover.
With her heart in her mouth, she unzipped the bag. There was Chippy - alive, but stunned - covered with heavy black dust. She grabbed him and rushed to the bathtub, turned on the tap full blast and held Chippy under a torrent of ice-cold water, power-washing him clean.
Then she did what any compassionate pet owner would do: she snatched up the hairdryer and blasted the wet, shivering little bird with hot air.' Swindoll ends his story with these words: 'Chippy doesn't sing much anymore.' In an instant, that parakeet's life went from Chirpy Chatty Chippy to Cheerless Chafed Chippy.
Life may throw you some tough tests, leaving you feeling like Chippy: hoovered up, ice-blasted and blown to bits! But God doesn't want you to let them steal your song! 'God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along' (Rom. 8:26 TM).
written by Bob Gass
