© by Judith Mensch

God is a great God. No, He's more than great, He's awesome. God can do things that seem impossible to us. He is perfect, He is Holy and He never changes. But think about this....this same awesome God wants to be our friend. And when God is your friend...well...you can do better than your best. I'd like to tell you a story about a mouse named Arnold. You'll see how Arnold learned some good "life lessons." Maybe you can learn them too.

Arnold lived in an old farmhouse on Miller Lane. Behind the walls of the farmhouse is where he spent most of his time, when he wasn't out in the field. After all, Arnold was a field mouse. The owners of the old farmhouse, Ma and Pa Miller, were kind folks who worked hard all their lives. Arnold tried to stay out of their way, as Mrs. Miller was afraid of mice. The Millers had a cat, who didn't take too kindly to Arnold. Her name was Marjorie. Marjorie would hide around the corner just waiting for Arnold to make an appearance. Arnold would ever so quietly turn the corner and BAM, Marjorie would pounce on poor Arnold. He always seemed to get away, but thought about the day when he might not escape the claws of Marjorie.

One particular day in April, when the flowers were beginning to bloom and the birds were singing their beautiful song, a strange thing happened at the old Farmhouse. Arnold was looking for a crumb of bread or a piece of cheese. Now that wasn't unusual, but what occurred afterwards was. Arnold was sitting under the kitchen table nibbling away when he heard some shuffling. He looked up from his tasty meal and there was Marjorie just staring him in the face! He froze with fear. What was he to do? Marjorie raised her back as to jump on to Arnold and he knew he was doomed. Arnold closed his eyes, bracing for impact, when all of a sudden he heard Marjorie "screech" and looked up just in time to see her run away. What could have happened? Arnold went back to his room behind the wall and told his friend Phyllis about the strange occurrence. "Perhaps Marjorie was afraid of you Arnold." Phyllis suggested. But Arnold could not see how that was possible.

The next day, almost the same thing happened again. This time Arnold was under the sink when Marjorie began her attack. As soon as she raised her back, she gave a screech and ran off. Arnold went back to his room quite confused and told Phyllis the story again. "Arnold, you are so strong and brave. That cat will never hurt you again. She must be afraid of you." Perhaps Phyllis was right, the little mouse mused.

On the third day, it happened almost as it had twice before. Only this time when Marjorie raised her back to attack, Arnold stood up on his two hind feet and said out loud "Marjorie, you get away from me. I'm big and bad and a whole lot more. Shoo cat, shoo." Wouldn't you know it, Marjorie ran off with a screech.

What could have happened that turned Marjorie into a scaredy cat? And what took Arnold from being a mouse to being a mensch? Phyllis can tell you what happened. She saw the whole thing on the fourth day. It went like this;

Arnold was out gathering crumbs when Marjorie spotted him. She backed up into a corner ready to attack poor Arnold when all of a sudden....right behind Arnold was a big old hound dog named Luke. As soon as Marjorie saw that hound dog she screeched and ran away.

All this time Arnold had thought it might have something to do with his courage. In reality, Luke was behind him, being stronger and bolder than Arnold could have ever been by himself. Now I must tell you, Marjorie never bothered Arnold much again. Arnold had a power behind him that made him better than he could have been by himself. He and Luke became best friends, forever and ever. Where Arnold went, there went Luke - as best friends do. There wasn't much that could scare Arnold now.

Boys and girls, even though this wasn't a true story, it has a true meaning. When Jesus is your best friend, you have a power and a strength behind you that is unbeatable. You don't have to fear any obstacles, those are things that might get in your way. When Jesus is your best friend, you can do better than your best!

If you didn't know that Jesus could be your best friend, then I would like to tell you today, right here on your computer screen, that if you just ask Him, He'll be your best friend. The whole reason Jesus came to this earth almost 2,000 years ago, was to make every boy, every girl, every grown-up a friend of God. The Bible says that we were all born as sinners. That means we're born to do wrong things. Did you ever notice how easy it is to do the wrong thing? Like it's easier to lie to your Mom when she asks you if you did your homework, and you didn't. It's easier to steal what you want than to work for the money to buy it. Well, it's easier because we are all sinners. We do wrong things. That sin separates us from God. It's like a wall between us and God. Jesus came to break down that wall. When Jesus was beaten, nailed to a cross, had a crown of thorns put on His head, He did that so we wouldn't have to be punished for our sins. He took the punishment for us!!! Only a best friend would do that. He had the hard part. We have the easy part. To be friends with Jesus, all we have to do is tell Him we're sorry for our sins and repent. Repent means to change your mind. Change your mind about the way you're living - live the way God wants you to live. The Bible gives us good direction there - also our Pastors, Sunday School teachers and of course, your Royal Ranger Commanders.

So if you've never asked Jesus to be your best friend, do it today....right now in fact. Why not? When He's your best friend, you'll do better than your best, just like Arnold.

This web page is not an "official" Royal Rangers page. The Royal Rangers emblem is a trademark of the Assemblies of God. Royal Rangers Emblem©1962 by the national Royal Rangers Office, HonorBound: Men of Promise, The General Council of the Assemblies of God; Springfield, Missouri 65802-1894. The Royal Rangers Emblem may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means--electronically, mechanically, photocopies, recording, or otherwise--without prior written permission from the national Royal Rangers Office.

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This page was last updated 10 September 2000.

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