#sixsentencestories – Page 11 – Poetry, Short Prose and Walking

Ace—Six Sentence Story

Although Jairus knew that Jesus had healing power, as a ruler of the synagogue he didn’t want to expose his belief by playing the only real ace in his hand until it became clear that his beloved twelve-year-old daughter would likely die that very day if he did not. At his request Jesus followed Jairus to his house, but on the way a woman with a twelve-year issue of blood which no physician could cure crept close enough to Jesus to just touch the border of His robe without being noticed. Jesus stopped, asked who touched Him and after the woman revealed herself He told her that her faith had healed her.

While Jairus waited impatiently for this testimony of the woman to be over, people from his house told him what he feared that his daughter had died, but Jesus told him to only believe and she would be made whole.

At the house Jesus allowed Peter, James, John, Jairus and his wife to go in with Him where the child lay. Then Jesus said, “Maid, arise.”

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Denise offers the prompt word “ace” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

Luke 8:41-56 KJV
41 And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus’ feet, and besought him that he would come into his house: 42 For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him. 43 And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, 44 Came behind [him], and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched. 45 And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press [thee], and sayest thou, Who touched me? 46 And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. 47 And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. 48 And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace. 49 While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue’s [house], saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master. 50 But when Jesus heard [it], he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole. 51 And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden. 52 And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth. 53 And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. 54 And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise. 55 And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat. 56 And her parents were astonished: but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done.

Nail—Six Sentence Story

Although Sam’s wife was ready with cough drops, apple cider vinegar and honey she was getting annoyed with his colds. After they rebuked any spirits of infirmity, she opened an audio Bible on her phone, selected the Book of Psalms and set them to play continuously throughout the night.

Sam would pop out of dreams to hear a psalm he was familiar with and then seemingly moments later one he didn’t remember hearing before. The cooling perspiration on his chest in the morning made him realize: he was healed!

The demons who tried to nail him down and make him useless couldn’t get a moment’s worth of peace with those psalms playing. However, considering their defeat at the battle of the Resurrection, those psalms were better than what they’d have to face when the end finally came.

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Denise offers the prompt word “nail” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

Sunrise, Atlantic Ocean, Southern Florida

Pass—Six Sentence Story

One of two things happens as they pass by. Either they start rationalizing or they start crying.

We try to reason with those who start rationalizing. When that doesn’t work, we get rough. When that doesn’t work, our hearts break.

All we do for those who cry is let God wipe away their tears.

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Denise offers the prompt word “pass” for this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

Heart—Six Sentence Story

Joe thought and thought about what to write as a six sentence story, but nothing came to mind and so he asked his wife if she had any ideas but his wife had better things to do and gave him a look and so he asked his daughter if she had any ideas for a six sentence story, but his daughter was practicing becoming a teenager and so he got nothing from her but another look and so he asked his son if he had any ideas for a six sentence story and just then his son spoke his first word saying, “Dada”, which annoyed his wife who hoped at least one of their children would have the heart to say, “Mama”, first and so Joe decided to come up with an idea on his own, but nothing came to mind.

“What did you think of my six sentence story?” Joe asked his family.

“That’s only one sentence,” his wife said.

“It sounded like twenty sentences to me,” his daughter said.

“I didn’t understand a word of it,” his son said.

So he posted it.

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Denise offers the prompt word “heart” for this week’s Six Sentence Story.

Game—Six Sentence Story

Although Jeremy and his wife, Martha, welcomed everyone to the warehouse they converted into a chapel, there were signs telling newcomers before they entered to first write the names of any demons they planned on keeping outside on the wall of the building facing the street. Martha waited by the wall for any who were foolish enough to want to keep a demon.

Those who slipped past Martha ran into Jeremy wearing a T-shirt that read: I specialize in scaring the HELL out of stuff. When he asked them if they’d like to get rid of their demons they didn’t completely understand what they were being asked to do, but to be polite and figuring they didn’t have any demons, except maybe little ones, said, “Sure, Pastor, go for it.”

So, in the name of Jesus and in a loud voice, Jeremy rebuked in detail god-awful lists of demonic addictions and disabling stupidities that burned convicting blushes on their cheeks. He then said, “Your demons are gone and you’ve been forgiven for the time you’ve wasted playing games with them, but it’s up to you to decide whether you’ll run after them or stay here to rejoice with thanksgiving.”

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Denise offers the prompt word “game” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

Revelation 21:27
And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

With thanks to Michael Wilson for reminding me of this verse

The Craft of Tyranny—Six Sentence Story

To Gideon’s credit after the Lord’s victory over the Midianite raiders he had no desire to lord it over the Israelites as king. To his discredit he did take some of the gold plundered from the Midianites which helped him attract enough women to sire seventy sons.

Although no Baal could get its hands on him, Gideon’s own greed set his family up for a fall after his death when one of his many sons, Abimelech, a bloodthirsty Nimrod wannabe, decided to craft for himself a kingdom. Abimelech made sure there was no resistance from Gideon’s other sons by slaying all of them at Ophrah except for Jotham, the youngest, who escaped to curse him from Mount Gerizim.

Abimelech’s adventures evolved shamefully until a woman fleeing into the tower at Thebez dropped a piece of millstone upon his head as he tried to burn to death those in the tower. His armorbearer, at his own command, killed him so no one could say that a woman brought about his death, but we all know what happened.

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Denise offers the prompt word “craft” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

Judges 9:53-54
⁵³And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech’s head, and all to brake his skull.
⁵⁴Then he called hastily unto the young man his armourbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A women slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died.

The map below centered on Abimelech’s mother’s home, Shechem, comes from the BibleMapper Blog. Ophrah where Abimelech slayed his brothers is northwest of Beth-shan just off this map. Abimelech died at Thebez after making a mess at Shechem.

Access—Six Sentence Story

The rebellion against the Midianites began when Gideon ignited the dry Asherah pole to burn the sacrifice to the Lord. The wind blew across the Israelites with the strength of a Holy Spirit revival.

As a result Gideon gained access to a force of 32,000 men to battle the 135,000 Midianites camped in the valley below. The Midianites watched the incoming storm of Gideon’s army build up against them to the point of having nightmares that the pickings this year would come at the cost of their own lives.

On the Israelite side the Lord wanted to make sure they did not think of Him as some two-bit Baal who relied solely on their natural strengths to get things done. He told Gideon to reduce his forces to 10,000 men and then to 300 which meant at that level only the Lord could win this battle.

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Denise offers the prompt word “access” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

To find out what really happened, see Judges 6-7.

Kick—Six Sentence Story

After the service Steve approached the ministers. He told them he wanted to see people the way the Lord saw them. No one would be worth redeeming, including himself, if the Lord saw people as irreparably damaged and grave-bound as he saw them.

They prayed for him, but his head would not acknowledge even the slightest kick of sympathy toward anyone.

It took time for Steve to receive the blessing he sought. When he did the dam of darkness exploded through the love of God.

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Denise offers the prompt word “kick” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

“I never knew how to worship until I knew how to love.” Henry Ward (found on worship leader Toni Bogart Syvrud’s contact card)

Stock—Six Sentence Story

Many Israelites, including Gideon’s own father, Joash, built an altar to the Canaanite sun god, Baal, near which they erected a wooden pole to the fertility goddess, Asherah. Gideon’s assignment was to destroy the altar his father built replacing it with an altar to the Lord upon which he would sacrifice the bull from his family’s stock of cattle that was as old as the seven-year Midianite oppression which the Baal couldn’t stop using the Asherah pole as dry firewood.

The next morning the men of the city were horrified to see what Gideon had done. They demanded that Joash bring Gideon to them so they could kill him for desecrating Baal’s hiding place. Abandoning his own idolatry to the point of rebelling against it, Joash told them to let that incompetent Baal avenge itself.

And that’s how Gideon became known as Jerubbaal, the man on whom Baal would have to take revenge all by its lonesome (which it could never have done).

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Denise offers the prompt work “stock” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

To read what really happened to Gideon (Jerubbaal), see Judges 6. In trying to make sense of the significance of what Gideon had done I was particularly influenced by the commentaries BibleHub offered and the Got Questions article on Baal.

A Grove of Trees Silhouetted in the Sunset

Task—Six Sentence Story

The gifts had been collected over centuries from the time of the prophet Daniel. In obedience they waited for the star, a task they felt privileged to perform, knowing it could appear any night now. When it did they hastened toward Jerusalem to worship the King and deliver the gifts.

They regretted the attention, especially from Herod, that they drew to themselves in Jerusalem by asking for directions and so they left for home right after they found the Child. After they left at nightfall Joseph, awakened by a dream, quickly rose to take Mary with her Child to Egypt using the gifts the wise men left as means of support.

The next morning Herod went into such a rage upon hearing from his spies that the wise men were not coming back that, instead of just one Child Whom they couldn’t find anymore, he had all of the male children in Bethlehem and the surrounding area under the age of two killed.

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Denise offers the prompt word “task” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories. For what really happened see Matthew 2.