I wish you the best in rugby and in your walk with Christ. Thank you again.

One day a while back, a
man, his heart heavy with grief, was
walking in the woods. As he thought
about his life this day, he knew
many things were not right. He thought
about those who had lied about
him back when he had a job.

His thoughts turned to those who had
stolen his things and cheated him.

He remembered family that had passed
on. His mind turned to the illness
he had that no one could cure.
His very soul was filled with
anger, resentment and frustration.

Standing there this day, searching for
answers he could not find,
knowing all else had failed him, he
knelt at the base of an old oak tree to
seek the one he knew would
always be there. And with tears in his
eyes, he prayed:

"Lord,
You have done wonderful things for me
in this life. You have told me to
do many things for you, and I
happily obeyed. Today, you have
told me to forgive. I am sad,
Lord, because I cannot. I don't
know how. It is not fair Lord. I
didn't deserve these wrongs that
were done against me and I
shouldn't have to forgive As perfect
as your way is Lord, this
one thing I cannot do, for I don't
know how to forgive. My anger is
so deep Lord, I fear I may not
hear you, but I pray that you
teach me to do this one thing I cannot
do - Teach me To Forgive."

As he knelt there in the quiet shade of
that old oak tree, he felt
something fall onto his shoulder. He
opened his eyes. Out of the
corner of one eye, he saw something
red on his shirt.
He could not turn to see what it was
because where the oak tree had
been was a large square piece of
wood in the ground. He raised his
head and saw two feet held to the
wood with a large spike through them.
He raised his head more, and tears
came to his eyes as he saw Jesus
hanging on a cross. He saw

spikes in His hands, a gash in His
side, a torn and battered body,
deep thorns sunk into His head.
Finally he saw the suffering and
pain on His precious face. As
their eyes met, the man's tears
turned to sobbing, and Jesus
began to speak.

"Have you ever told a lie?" He asked.

The man answered, "Yes, Lord."

"Have you ever been given too much
change and kept it?"

The man answered, "Yes. Lord."
And the man sobbed more and more.

"Have you ever taken something from work that wasn't yours?" Jesus asked.

And the man answered, "Yes, Lord."

"Have you ever sworn, using my
Father's name in vain?"

The man, crying now, answered, "Yes, Lord."

As Jesus asked many more times, "Have you
ever . . ?" the man's crying became uncontrollable, for he could only answer, "Yes, Lord."

Then Jesus turned His head from one
side to the other, and the man felt
something fall on his other
shoulder. He looked and saw that
it was the blood of Jesus.
When he looked back up, his eyes
met those of Jesus, and there was
a look of love the man had never
seen or known before.

Jesus said, "I didn't deserve this either, but I forgive you."

It may be hard to see how you're going
to get through something, but
when you look back in life, you
realize how true this statement is.

Read the following first line slowly and
let it sink in.

If God brings you to it - He will bring
you through it.
Lord I love You and I need You,
come into my heart, today.
For without You I can do nothing.