Monthly Archives: February 2023

Grandma's Stories, Stories for Teens

Pilgrim’s Progress (11)

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              Beware!

It was a cold wet Sunday evening, and Bobby put some more wood on the fire. Uncle Jeff was with the family for tea again, and when the dishes were cleared off the table they all gathered around to hear more story. Even Mum and Dad had got interested by this time and wanted to hear more of Christian’s adventures along the road of life.

“Well, we left Christian and Hopeful starting on the next stage of their journey”, said Uncle Jeff, “and as they went along, Christian remembered hearing a story about this part of the journey they were going on. ‘You know Hopeful,’ he began, ‘this is where Little-faith nearly lost his way to the Celestial City. He lay down under a tree somewhere here as he was so tired, and went to sleep. He woke up to see three robbers coming up on their horses, but by the time he had got off the ground they were upon him. They robbed him of his money, and one of them clubbed him on the head. Just as they were about to search him more thoroughly, they heard another traveller coming on a horse so they took off. They didn’t know that it was the Prince who was coming, because He has promised that He will never leave His people, no matter how weak they are or how foolish they have been.’                                             

 ‘What a great story!’ Hopeful exclaimed, ‘It gives me courage to carry on. We have certainly been silly sometimes, and yet the King is always with us even if we can’t see Him! Did the robbers get Faint-heart’s jewels?’ ‘No’, said Christian, ‘He had them hidden over his heart, and his soul was safe. But there is one thing that we have to remember, and that is to always have our sword ready and our shield as well, because our enemy is always lurking around ready to take a swipe at us’. ‘Oh, I will’, said Hopeful.’

“I know what that means”, Betty piped up, “It means that we always have to learn verses so we can say them, and to remember everything that God has done for us other times!” “That’s right,” said Uncle Jeff, “If we stand firm when the devil attacks us, he will run away from us. He is really a big coward!” “Doesn’t the Bible  say something about always wearing the armour of God too?” Sarah asked. “That’s right, that is the only way we can resist the devil and use our sword against him,” Uncle Jeff replied. “ Do you remember what the sword is in the armour that we have?” “Isn’t it the Bible?” Sarah asked, “I seem to remember something about it being the sword because it is the Word of God.”

“Yes,” said Uncle Jeff, “And that’s why it is so important to fill your mind with memory verses, so even if you don’t have your Bible with you, you can remember verses to keep you from temptation and displeasing God. Anyway, our friends went on a little further, and then they came to a fork in the road. ‘Which way shall we go?’ Hopeful asked. They stood there looking at the roads for a bit, and neither way seemed better than the other. ‘Let’s go this way’, said Christian, ‘There’s a man over there, we’ll follow him’, and off they went, catching up with him.  ‘Hoho’, the man said, ‘You look like two nice fellows, come and join me on my travels.’

So Christian and Hopeful followed him. He kept telling them how lucky he was to have such nice fellows to walk with and how good they were to keep him company.     They had completely forgotten what the shepherd had told them about a man called Mr. Flatterer, and so they listened to his nice talk as they went along, and he kept telling them what good fellows they were!  But they never noticed that the road they were on had turned right around and was now facing the City of Destruction once more. They kept following him without ever once looking at their book of instructions, and never noticed where he was taking them until they found themselves all tangled up in a large net that was lying in the way. ‘Haha!’ laughed Mr. Flatterer, ‘you’ll be lucky to get to the Celestial City now! Haha!’ and he laughed again and then vanished.

‘Oh, oh’, cried Christian, ‘what shall we do? Oh, I’ve taken you the wrong way again Hopeful! Can you ever forgive me?’ ‘Of course I forgive you’, Hopeful said, ‘Even if you make mistakes seventy times seven!’

But this didn’t help them get out of the net. They spent a miserable night feeling sorry for themselves, and when it came daylight, they could see an angel there hovering nearby. ‘How did you come to be tangled up in this?’ he asked, ‘Didn’t the shepherds give you a map with directions on which way to take? Why didn’t you read it?’ Christian looked at the ground in shame. ‘I forgot’, he muttered. ‘Well,’ said the angel, ‘You will have to suffer the consequences of your foolishness. Here is a small hook to undo all those knots and get out of this mess’, and he passed them a small hook each. It took them almost all day to undo those knots, and their fingers were covered in blobs of blood by the time they finished and were free once more”.

“That’s just like us when we do something silly without thinking”, Bobby said, “We might get out of trouble but then we have to put up with what follows. Like the time I went outside when I was told not to. It was raining and I got wet and cold, then I ended up with a bad cough for days”. “That’s right”, said Uncle Jeff, “Sometimes God has to let us suffer for our foolishness to teach us to obey our parents and to not forget to read His Word!” “What happened to them next?” Sarah asked. “When they eventually managed to undo all the knots and get free, and  they carried on the road again, going in the right direction this time. But we’ll have to leave our story there for this time, ” Uncle Jeff said, “I’d better  have that cup of tea now  and then I’ll have to go”.

Grandma's Stories, Stories for Teens

Pilgrim’s Progress (10)

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In REAL Trouble This Time.

    Uncle Jeff walked in one wet Saturday afternoon. “I figured it was time we caught up with a bit more story”, he said, “And seeing it’s a wet afternoon, it’s a good time to do this”. “Ooh goody”, cried Betty, “Come on Bobby, more of Uncle Jeff’s story!” Sarah came into the room with the others and settled down to listen as well.

“What was the big mistake that Christian and Hopeful made?” Uncle Jeff asked. “They left the narrow way of the King, and went over the stile for an easier road”, said Bobby, “They were following Cocky who thought he knew best, and then they all got lost in the dark”. “I know what that’s like”, Sarah said, “It’s like when we think we know what’s best for us instead of doing what the Bible says. When we get the huff with someone who has been mean to us, and then won’t forgive them!” “Yes, and now they find themselves in a real mess. Without knowing where they were going, they had wandered off the right track and were now in the grounds of a large castle called Doubting Castle that belonged to Giant Despair.

He was going the rounds the next morning to see what damage the storm had done, and what should he see but Christian and Hopeful asleep in his shed by the track.   He picked them both up by the backs of their necks as though they were little kittens, and took them off to his castle where he threw them into a stinking  dungeon. It was dark and smelly inside. Our friends picked themselves up off the floor and they shook their heads trying to see what their prison was like. They were left there without anything to eat or drink for three days. Christian especially was feeling bad because it was his idea to go over the stile the easy way.

   The giant’s wife was as cruel and mean as he was, and tried to get him to kill them. But he went back the next day  to see them and gave them both a beating  instead. They were feeling so sore for the next day or so, and when the giant came back again, he had a bottle of poison and a rope in his hand. ‘There’, he said as he threw them down on the floor, ‘You can either take the poison or hang yourselves. Nobody ever gets out of here alive!’    The two men were so weak and sore, that they actually talked about taking the poison. ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea’, Christian said, ‘But I was the one that got us into this mess!’ ‘Not really’, said Hopeful, ‘But I don’t think the King would like us to be talking about killing ourselves’. They lay down again and tried to rest their sore backs and legs. When they woke up, Christian suddenly said, ‘Oh! I’ve been such a dope! Look what I have here!’ and he put his hand inside his shirt pulling out a large key wrapped in his handkerchief. ‘What is that?’ asked Hopeful. ‘The girl where I got the armour from gave it to me just as I was leaving and said that if we were ever in real trouble to use this key of promise and prayer. She said that it would unlock any door of any size!’

     So that night after dark, Christian went to the door and put the key in it. Sure enough, it unlocked easily. They went through it and came to the second door. This was a much bigger door, but it too opened with no trouble. The final door led to the outside and it was heavy and rusty. The key could not unlock it so they both turned it with all their might. Suddenly it flew open making a dreadful clatter. The Giant’s wife heard it, and pushed him out of bed saying, ‘Those prisoners are running off. Go and catch them!’ Giant Despair ran after them, and almost caught them as they got to the outside gateway. But what with the effort of waking up suddenly and being a bit dizzy, one of his fits came upon him and he fell down on the ground.

‘Quick’ said Christian, and they ran through the gate slamming it behind them. They kept running until they could run no more and were well clear of Giant Despair’s land. After they climbed back over the stile, they said, ‘Let’s put up a notice to warn others of the dangers of leaving the King’s Highway’. They found a large smooth piece of wood and carved a warning notice on it with an arrow pointing along the narrow way they had left.  It said, ‘This is the way, only walk this way!’

A little further along, they came to a beautiful meadow with plenty of green grass and shepherds looking after some sheep. ‘What is this place called”‘ Christian asked the shepherds. ‘This is the place of rest beside the still waters’, they said, ‘The Chief Shepherd leads his sheep here, and gives them a full table to eat from. He restores their  souls  and  anoints  their  heads with oil until their cup runs over with joy. Why don’t you stay here and recover from all your aches and pains. It isn’t much further to the Celestial City from here’ “, and Uncle Jeff paused. “Did they do that?” Bobby asked. “I guess it’s like us taking a break after a tough time”, Sarah said. “What happens next?” asked Betty impatiently. “Well,” said Uncle Jeff slowly, “They decided to do just that. They stopped there until they felt fit enough to carry on. The names of the shepherds there were Knowledge, Experience, Watchful and Hope. Whenever we have gone through tough times, we come out of it knowing more and having all those experiences behind us. We know to be more watchful like Christian was now, and filled with hope for better days ahead.

The shepherds went with them to the end of the restful plains, and then after climbing a small rise, they handed Christian a pair of binoculars to look across to the hills with the bright  glow behind them.  ‘There’s the Celestial City over there’, they said, ‘behind that bright gateway’.  Hopeful too, had a look and it made him feel glad at the very thought of being there. ‘Whatever you do’, the shepherds said, ‘Beware of a man called Flatterer, and don’t stop on the Enchanted Ground.’ ‘Watch out for the robbers too’, called out Knowledge as they went on their way.

 So Christian and Hopeful went on their way, feeling rested and with a song in their hearts. And we’ll leave it there for now”, Uncle Jeff said. “I think the rain has stopped, so let’s go outside”.

Grandma's Stories, Stories for Teens

Pilgrim’s Progress (9)

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                                                More Temptations on the Way.

“Can we go around to Uncle Jeff’s place this afternoon?” asked Bobby one Saturday. “If all your chores are done we’ll think about it after lunch”, said Mum, “So you’d better run along and get them done!” Needless to say, the chores all got done in double quick time, and when they got to Uncle Jeff’s place, they all settled down for the next part of the story.

“Where did we get up to?” Uncle Jeff asked. “Christian got away from the wicked town where Faithful was killed”, Bobby said. “Yes, and that man called Skitey Pants wanted him to go to that place where nobody told the truth”, Betty piped up. “That was the place called Fair-Speech”, put in Sarah, “and now he had Hopeful travelling with him”. “Right”, said Uncle Jeff, “I think you’ve got it all sorted, so here goes…..

After a while Christian and Hopeful came to a plain that was called Easy, and they soon got across it with no trouble. As they came to a small hill on the other side, a man came out from a cave there. This hill was called Silver, and there was a silver mine there. ‘Hoho’, said the man whose name was Demas, ‘Come and have a look at this mine. You might even see some bits of silver on the ground that you can take!’

Hopeful thought he might like to look, but Christian wouldn’t have a bar of it. ‘No, no’, he said, ‘I’ve heard how too many people fall for the love of money and do all sorts of evil things to get it. I’m not going to risk it’. So Hopeful decided to give it a miss too, and they carried on. Just behind them another man called Money-love  came up and Demas got him to go and have a look at the silver mine. He was very keen but he got too close to the edge of it and fell to his death into the pit below.

    As they went further along, they saw a white statue beside the edge of the road. ‘Whatever is this?’ Hopeful asked. They walked around it and then noticed a sign at the bottom of it. It read ‘Remember Lot’s Wife’. ‘Oh’, said Christian, ‘I remember that story. This is the woman that was supposed to escape from Sodom when God was going to destroy it for being so wicked, but she turned around and looked back behind her, and then turned into this white pillar of hard salt.’ “

Mum came into the room just then with a drink for each of them and a plate of cookies. “Here you are”, she said, “Take a break and have a drink”. “Ooh goody,” said Betty.  “Thank you Mum”, said Sarah and Bobby together as they reached for a cookie each.

“The two friends went on their journey”, Uncle Jeff continued, “and now the path was beside a smooth running river called the River of Life. The water was fresh and sweet and the two men were glad to be able to drink from it. Along both sides of the river were beautiful fruit trees and they were able to eat the fruit when they were hungry. They were able to get a good rest each night as it was perfectly safe to sleep here without any worry of being disturbed. They were able to take time to read from their books that the King had provided, and had many a good conversation about what they were reading. It was a very delightful and restful part of the trip.

   But after a while, the path turned away from the river and became stony and rough and went up a hill again. It wasn’t nearly so pleasant as the part they had just travelled over. The track levelled off a bit, and there was a stile on the side of the road in the middle of a hedge that the road was going by. Christian looked over the stile, and saw a sign saying ‘By-Path Meadow’.

‘This track is a lot easier than what we are going on here’, he said, ‘Look, there is someone else just ahead of us here, let’s follow him!’ ‘But weren’t you told at the beginning of this journey, to make sure you always stayed on the narrow path without getting off it?’ Hopeful asked. ‘We’ll follow this man and make sure he doesn’t get into trouble’, Christian said, ‘This way is much easier! Hey, there! ‘ he called out, ‘What is your name and where does this track go?’ ‘My name is Cocky’, the man said, ‘And this track goes to the Celestial City!’ ‘See!’ said Christian to Hopeful, ‘We’ll be OK if we keep him in sight’.

So they followed him all afternoon, and then it began to get dark. They kept on following him until they couldn’t see him any more. Suddenly they heard him cry out, ‘Help, help’, and then there was silence. There was a sudden flash of lightning, and then another one. Our two friends could see that there was a deep pit just ahead, and this was what Cocky had fallen into.

‘I wish we hadn’t left the other path’, Hopeful said. ” Please forgive me’, Christian said, ‘Let’s go back’. So they stumbled along the best they could in the heavy rain, getting more tired and discouraged all the way. Another flash of lightning showed them an open shed by the path so they went in there and lay down, falling asleep in spite of being wet and sore.”

“Ooh, what happened to them then?”  Betty asked shivering in anticipation. “You’ll have to wait until next time to see”, Uncle Jeff said, “We’ve had enough for now”. “I think I can see what this part is all about”, said Sarah thoughtfully, “It’s like when we leave off our morning readings, or going to church when things get a bit rough or when we are busy, and we find things getting really tough, and maybe make some big mistakes and know it is all our own fault”. “That’s right”, said Uncle Jeff, “We have to be on our guard all the time. It’s no use thinking we can stand and handle things ourselves without God’s help, because that is when we will fall for sure! Come on, let’s go outside.”

Grandma's Stories, Stories for Teens

Pilgrim’s Progress (8)

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                                                Beelzebub Tries Again.

      Bobby and Sarah were sitting snuggled up to Uncle Jeff . “Do you want more story?” Uncle Jeff asked as he settled down. “Oh yes please!” they chorused. “Please!!!” said Betty as she came in to the room.

So Uncle Jeff began his next story….     “Christian and Faithful were carrying on with their journey, and had already been warned that the next town was a dangerous place   ‘I wonder if there is another way to the Celestial City rather than through this town?’ Christian said to Faithful as they carried on their way, ‘If it’s as bad as Evangelist says so, you’d think the King would make a by-pass for His people to travel through’. ‘Well, you know our Book says we are to count it all joy when these fiery trials come to us’, Faithful said, ‘So it must have a good effect on us after we’ve got past this place, and then we’ll come out shining like pure gold’. ‘Yes,’ said Christian, ‘We have to remember to be careful what we say and keep our mouth clean and not say anything that would displease the King’.

By this time, they were approaching the town of Vanity Fair, and it was a motley looking collection of buildings. As they went down the main street, they could see that there were a lot of markets selling all sorts of useless junky things. There seemed to be a lot of pubs and bars there too, and beggars were whining for money as they went along. Men were fighting each other outside the pubs, and there didn’t seem to be any sort of law and order anywhere. Their language too, was very bad and our two pilgrims hadn’t even heard a lot of the words that people were saying.

‘Come and buy’, the girls at the market stalls would call out as they went by. But nothing there attracted Faithful and Christian at all. People were fighting outside the pubs, and they had to dodge the buckets of slops that were being thrown out on the streets. ‘What will you buy?’ another girl called out. ‘We aren’t interested in anything but the Truth’, Faithful said. ‘What is the Truth?’ asked someone else with a sneer, ‘No-one tells the truth here! We grab what we can by saying anything that comes into our heads!’

By this time the whole Market was in a turmoil. This one was shouting one thing and someone else another. The Master of the market pushed his way through the maddening crowd, ‘What’s going on here?’ he shouted, ‘What are you fellows doing?’ When Christian and Faithful told him they were on their way to the Celestial City, the whole mob rose up and threw dirt on them , grabbed them and threw them into a cage locking the door behind them. People would make fun of them there, and spit on them through the cage wires. ‘Don’t be afraid of all this’, Faithful said to Christian, ‘this is how they treated our Prince when He lived  here on earth. The servant is no better than his Master’.

   The next morning, the officials took the two prisoners out of the cage, and tied big chains to their ankles and then dragged them up and down the main street of Vanity Fair, until their skin was all grazed and bleeding. Some of the better people of the town, started to feel sorry for them, and left town after this making their way to the heavenly city themselves. Our two friends were put back into the cage to wait for their trial, and when the time came, they found their Judge was the one called Lord Hate-Good.

‘I don’t think we’ll get a fair trial with this judge’, Faithful said to Christian, ‘He’s known for turning good evidence into bad, and bad into good’. The judge called for witnesses, and to their dismay, three were called…Envy, Superstition and No-Good. As each one was called to give evidence, they couldn’t say one good thing about the two friends. Everything they said was lies, and the judge believed what they said. ‘Besides all this,’ Envy said, ‘They have spoken against you my Lord, and against Beelzebub our Master, I heard them myself!’

At this, all those in the courthouse started to call out and make a great noise. ‘Order!’, the Judge called out banging his hammer on the desk with great force, ‘These two men have been found guilty of causing the disturbance in town, and must be punished. Take them out into the town square, and thrash them, then burn them at the stake’.    So they were dragged out by their feet and Faithful was tied up first with Christian sitting on the ground with his arms over his eyes. Christian could hear the thrashing going on and then the noise of matches striking and finally hear the flames burning and Faithful’s grunts of pain”.

“Ooh, how could people be so cruel!” cried Betty as Uncle Jeff paused for a minute. “That’s what they are doing in some countries now, isn’t it Uncle Jeff?” Sarah asked. “Yes, they are”, said Uncle Jeff, “Let’s get past this bit of our story quickly…..

“Christian managed to crawl between the people who were busy watching what was happening to poor Faithful, and then get up and carefully walk until he was out of sight of the crowd, when he ran as quickly as his sore legs and back would let him until he was well clear of the city.    After a bit, he heard someone else coming up behind him walking more quickly than he was. He tried to go faster, but it was useless. The man caught up with him and said, ‘Can I come with you to the Celestial City? I was watching what they did with you and your friend back there and I want to leave such a cruel place’. ‘If you really mean it’, said Christian , ‘It will be good to have company again’. This man’s name was Hopeful, so they went on together, talking as they went. After a while, they caught up with another man, and asked him where he was from. ‘I’m from the town of Fair-Speech’, he said, ‘It’s a place where people only say good things about everything that happens’.

‘It’s a very wealthy town isn’t it?’ asked Christian, ‘Yes, it is’, the man said, ‘And I’ve got a lot of rich relations there too. We never disagree with anyone there, especially in the matter of religion’. ‘Oh?’ said Christian, ‘What if they’re wrong in their ideas?’ “We believe that everyone’s idea is as good as the others’, the man said, ‘Everyone will get to the Celestial City in the end’. ‘Well, that’s not what the King’s book says’, Christian said, ‘It says that ALL have sinned and that only those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved and get there. By the way, isn’t your name Skitey Pants?’ ‘That’s what those who don’t like me call me’, he said, ‘But it’s not my real name’. ‘We believe what the King’s Book says,’ said Hopeful, ‘and if you don’t go along with it, we’ll carry on, on our own’. ‘Oh, very well then’, said Skitey Pants huffily, ‘Just as you please. Someone else will catch me up yet’, and he turned around and went back the way he had come. So we’ll leave him there for this week,’ Uncle Jeff said, “and catch up with him next time”.

  He got up and went out into the kitchen. “Who wants something to drink?” he called out. “Me!” Betty and Bobby said together. “Yes please,” said Sarah as she followed him out, “That’s a really good story Uncle Jeff, and I can see the points of it too”.