Kid's Good News
Vol 1-issue 33             Oct/ 03 /2002

Contents:

Bible Story
Story time
This Week's Riddle #32
Answer of Riddle #31 and Winner
Change of Email Addresses

Bible Story:

Joseph and his Dreams
Now Jacob reached Canaan where his father Isaac dwelt as a stranger.  Joseph was seventeen years old and he was feeding the flock with his brothers. He had eleven brothers.  While he was with them, he saw them doing wrong things so he brought a bad report of them to his father Jacob.

Jacob whose other name is Israel, loved Joseph more than all his other children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors.  But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.

After that Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more.  So he said to them, "Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: "There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf."  And his brothers said to him, "Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?" So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, "Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me."  So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, "What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?" And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

Then his brothers went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.  And Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them." So he said to him, "Here I am." Then he said to him, "Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me." So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.  Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, "What are you seeking?"  So he said, "I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks." And the man said, "They have departed from here, for I heard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.' " So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.

When Joseph's brother saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him.  Then they said to one another, "Look, this dreamer is coming!  "Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, 'Some wild beast has devoured him.  We shall see what will become of his dreams!"  But Reuben his brother heard it, and said, "Let us not kill him.  Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him." By doing this Ruben thought that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father. 

When Joseph had come to his brothers they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him.  Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it.  And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt.  So Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?  Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh." And his brothers listened.  Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.

After that Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes.  And he returned to his brothers and said, "The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?"  So they took Joseph's tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood.  Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, "We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son's tunic or not?"  And he recognized it and said, "It is my son's tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces."

Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days.  And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, "For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning." Thus his father wept for him.

Story time....

O Jesus, Son of Maryam, heal me - 7

Till this time you have read that, Gulshan Fatima was paralyzed at her left side when she was only 6 months old. Her mother died when she was an infant. Her father loved her so much that he took her to England for treatment but when they heard the disappointing words of doctor, "it has no cure", their hearts broke down. Her father encouraged her and said, "We will go to Mecca and knock the door of Allah, and he will heal you." So they went to Mecca and visited Ka'aba - the house of Allah. Even she kissed the cubical shape of ka'aba but to their utter despair nothing happened. To avoid her father's troubled look, she kept her face down. Then they visited Safa and Marva from where they bought Zamzam water. She bathed with that water but nothing happened. She and her father returned home heart broken. Next blow for her was, her beloved father's death!! But while she was so disturbed, she heard a low, gentle voice telling her to read about Jesus in Quran Sura Maryam. She started reading Urdu Quran and started praying, "O Jesus, Son of Maryam, heal me!!
*******

On that day Gulshan woke up at 3 o'clock in the morning as usual and sat on her bed. She was reading the same verses that now she knew by heart. As she was reading those verses, her heart was still repeating her litany, "Oh Jesus, Son of Maryam, heal me." Suddenly she stopped and started saying loudly, "Three years passed by and I am still a crippled, why I am not healed?" She heard the sounds outside of her room as they were preparing for morning prayers and she knew that within a few moments Aunty would be in her room. She felt an urge to focus on her problem. She continued praying, "Holy Quran says that you are alive in heaven, you healed the sick and you can heal me but why still I am a cripple till this time?" Her prayer became more desperate and she cried out, "Oh, Jesus Son of Maryam, heal me." But there was nothing, no answers from God. Again she cried out in great agony and pain, "If you are able to heal me, otherwise tell me, I could go no further along this road."

She says, "what happened next is difficult to put into words." The whole room where she was, filled with light. At first she thought, may be the light is coming from her reading lamp beside her bed. But she felt that this light looked dim, so she thought may be it was the dawn, but it was only 3 O'clock in the morning. The light became brighter and brighter until it surpassed daylight. She was so frightened that she covered herself with her shawl.

Then she thought, may be the gardener turned on the lights to prevent thieves when mango would ripe or to see to the watering in the garden. She came out of her shawl to see what was going on in her room but she found that the windows and doors were tightly closed and curtains and shutters were also closed. Then she noticed near her bed that there were figures in long robs in the midst of the dazzling light. They were twelve in a row and the thirteenth figure which was in the middle of the row was larger and had more brighter light around him.

She cried out O God, and her forehead was wet with heavily sweating. She bowed her head and cried out, "O God, who are these people and how they came inside when all the doors and windows are tightly closed?" Suddenly a voice said, "Get up, this is the path you have been seeking. I am Jesus, Son of Mary, to whom you have been praying and now I am standing in front of you. You get up and come to me.

She started to weep, "Oh Jesus, I am crippled and I cannot get up."

He said, "Stand up and come to me, I am Jesus."

She was hesitating to get up so Jesus said the second time and when she doubted, Jesus told her for the third time, "Stand up."

And Gulshan Fatima who was crippled for nineteen long years felt a new strength in her withered and wasted limbs. She put her foot on the ground and stood up then she ran few steps and fell on the feet of the vision of Jesus. She was bathing in purest light that was burning as bright as sun and moon together. Light was shown to her and many things were made clear to her in that moment. Jesus laid His hand on her head and she saw a hole in His hand from which a ray of light was coming over her green dress so the dress looked like white colored.

He said, I am Jesus, I am Immanuel, I am the way, the truth and the life. I am alive and I am soon coming. See, from today you are my witness. What you have seen now with your eyes you must take to my people. My people are your people, and you must remain faithful to take that to my people."

He said, "Now you have to keep this robe and your body spotless. Wherever you go, I will be with you. And from today onwards, you must pray like this:

Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever and ever, Amen."

Jesus made her to repeat the prayer and it sank down into her heart and mind. Though it was a simple prayer still it was so profound and a completely different prayer than what she learned from her childhood. This prayer called God, "Father" that was a name that gripped her heart tightly and removed every emptiness from her heart.

She wanted to stay at the feet of Jesus for more time, praying this new name of God - "Our Father". But Jesus had to say more to her.

He said, "Read in the Quran, I am alive and coming soon." Gulshan had been taught of this and so it increased her faith on His words. Jesus said much more... her heart was rejoicing and leaping with great joy that could not be described. She looked at her hand and leg, there was flesh on them. Though hand had strength still it was not perfect.

"Why don't You make it whole?" She asked.
The answer came lovingly: "I want you to be my witness."

She saw that the figures were going up out of her sight and fading. She longed to be with Jesus little longer so she cried out in sorrow. The light went and she found herself standing in the middle of the room all-alone, wearing a white robe and her eyes were heavy because of dazzling and bright light. Her eyes were hurting even by the lamp of her bedside.

She groped toward a chest of drawer and found a pair of sunglasses that she used to wear in the garden on sunny days. She put them on and could see again comfortably in the room. She looked around her room, it was still the same as before. She looked at her clock that was now showing that it was almost 4 AM. Her doors and windows were still tightly closed and curtains were drawn across it. She took few steps then few more and she walked from wall to wall, up and down, up and down.

Her limbs were amazingly healthy which was paralyzed and withered for nineteen years. She felt the joy unspeakable. She cried out, Father..., "Our Father, thou art in heaven" - the new and wonderful prayer she learned. Suddenly she heard knocking on her door. Aunty was asking in urgency, "Gulshan, who is walking in your room?" She replied, "It's me, Aunty" There was a silence for a moment then aunty said, "Oh, that's impossible, you cannot walk as there is no medication for your sickness, you are telling lies" Gulshan said, "Well come in and see."

Slowly the door opened and Aunty stood frightened and in disbelief against the wall. Her eyes wide open and staring on her radiant face.

She said, "you will fall down." But Gulshan laughed and said, "I won't." Aunty came slowly as if she was feeling her way in darkness. She looked at her hand which now had flesh on it then she asked her to sit on bed and looked at her leg. Both legs were normal and completely healthy. She said, it is strange to see you standing. She asked, "How it happened?" Then Gulshan told her the whole story starting from the prediction of her father, after the death of her father the voice she heard asking her to read about Jesus in Sura Maryam, three years of intensive study of Quran about Jesus, the vision of Jesus and the miraculous healing.

When she told about the witnessing part, aunt told, "there are no Christians in Pakistan for you to witness and there is no need to go to England or America. Your witness would be to give money, food and cloths to the poor." She did not think about going to America or England till that time but Jesus' words were still very live and present.

"What you have seen with your eyes, you must take to my people. My people are your people."

Her heart started praying, "Jesus, where are your people?

To be continued....

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