Christian Short Stories

Three of a Kind Beats Everything
By George E. Davis

George writes: "I am retired, for the fourth time, and live with my wife in Westbrook, Maine. I retired officially in October of 1999, and after two years of relaxation(???) I went back to work and worked three more jobs at a total of ten more years retiring last January. We are Maineiacs by birth and Christian by Grace. Jesus is Lord of All."

When I was younger, much younger, I played a lot of Poker, what we called Penny Ante. I was an average player and often won as much as a couple of dollars. That was back when two dollars bought a lot. It could buy seven gallons of gas, forty Devil Dogs or candy bars, eight movie tickets or sixteen loaves of bread on special. If you applied that two dollars to the price of all the above products today, you would need to add $150.76.

At that time in my life, I did not know Jesus. I used his name in vain almost every day, but to me, he was just a Bible character like Jonah or Noah.

I was not brought up in the church, nor was I encouraged to attend. Sunday was for riding in the family automobile, usually to either the mountains of New Hampshire or the lake for a swim in the Summer. We gave no heed to the Lord's Day, and did not consider it to be any different than any other day of the week. The only resemblance of observing the Lord's Day was my Mother's steadfast rule; no playing with guns (make believe) on Sunday, or playing cards, and we always said Grace before Sunday meals. I guess the rest of the week the meals weren't worthy of a prayer.

Television had not been introduced into the Davis family; we were still listening to radio programs until the mid-fifties when Dad purchased the first Silvertone Sears TV. That was the beginning of the end of family time. Before TV, we played games like Scrabble, Monopoly and particularly Penny Ante.

I played Poker long enough to know which hand was the winning hand. I knew that a Royal Straight Flush beat everything. In all the years we played Poker, I only received two Royal Flushes. I do not remember how much money I won in those pots, but it would be safe to say it was not more than two bucks.

Since I have become a Christian, I have learned something new. Three of a kind beats everything. Because if you have the right three, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you have everything. You are blessed beyond belief.

With Christmas fast approaching and everybody rushing to buy gifts for their trees, it brings to mind when I was young and how exciting Christmas was. What a thrill to wake up on Christmas morning and tear into all those packages, throwing the paper helter skelter around the living room. A little bit of that boy's excitement is awakened every Christmas, if only in his mind.

Let me tell you something you may already know. It is Merry Christmas not Happy Holidays. It is Christ's birthday, not Mohammed's or Buddha's or any other person for that matter. We celebrate Christ's birth. He is the one who is the Savior of all who believe, and trust in Him.

I just saw something in a magazine that upset me. The ad showed a picture of the Flintstones with their neighbors the Rubbles holding hands around a tree. The caption is what infuriated me. It read; "Nothing brings 'em together like a holiday tree." Holiday tree? Since when is a Christmas tree a holiday tree? Since these companies have allowed a few inconsiderate people to remove anything Christian, and that may influence their thinking. It is shameful to realize there are companies out there who have fallen into the "Political Correctness" trap. People who are afraid they will offend someone. Well, guess what, they have offended this Christian by their aggravated actions, going along with the crowd. These people are cowards of the first magnitude and anybody who substitutes Merry Christmas for Happy Holidays won't get my dollars.

Jesus is the reason for the season. Keep Him in Christmas. Shop where people are brave enough to challenge the status quo. Make your voice heard. As one preacher said a few years ago, "the reason they call them pews is we've sat in them so long." Rise up Church, and let's make this a true Christmas, onehonoring the Lord Jesus Christ for whom the holiday is named.

By the way, I sent the company an email stating my opposition to the phrase; "Holiday Tree."

God Bless, and Merry Christmas to all.

(© 2011 George E. Davis – All rights reserved. Written material may not be duplicated without permission.)

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