There once was a man named George Thomas who lived in a small New England town. One Easter morning, he came to church with a rusty, bend, old bird cage and set it on the pulpit. Several eye brows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak. "I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a small little boy coming toward me swinging this here bird cage. On the bottom of the cage, there were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the lad and asked: 'What you got there son?' 'Just some ol' birds' came the reply. 'What ya gonna do with 'em?' I asked 'Take 'em home and have fun with them' he answered 'I'm gonna tease them and pull out their feathers to make 'em fight. I'm gonna have a real good time!' 'But you'll get tired of 'em sooner or later. What will you do then?' 'Oh, I got some cats,' said the little boy. 'They like birds. I'll take them to 'em!' I was silent for a moment. 'How much do you want for those birds, son?' 'HUH??!! Why, you don't want them birds, mister. There just plain old field birds. They don't sing---They ain't even pretty!' 'How much?' I asked again The boy surely thought I was crazy now and finally said, '$10?' I reached in my pocket and took out a 10 dollar bill and placed it in the boys hand. In a flash, the boy was gone. In an alley way, I found a tree. I decided to free these wild animals in this tree." Well, that explained the cage on the pulpit, and then the pastor began to tell this story: "One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come out of the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. 'Yes, sir, I just caught the world full of people down there. I set me up a trap and I used bait they couldn't possibly resist. I got 'em all!' 'What are you gonna do with 'em?' Jesus asked. 'Oh, I'm just gonna have a little fun. I'm gonna teach them to marry and divorce, how to hate each other and abuse each other, how to drink and smoke and curse. I'm even gonna teach them how to kill each other with bombs and guns and stuff.' 'And what will you do when you get done with them?" Jesus asked. 'Oh, I'll kill 'em!' Satan declared proudly. 'How much do you want for them all?' Jesus asked. 'Oh, you don't want these people, they ain't no good! Why, when you take them they will hate you! They'll spit on you, curse you, they'll even kill you! You don't want these people! 'How much??' Jesus asked again. Satan sneered and said 'All your tears and all your blood!' Jesus then said, 'DONE!' and he paid the price." The pastor picked up the cage, opened the door, and walked from the pulpit. Isn't it funny how people trash God and then wonder why the world is going to hell. Isn't it funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says? Isn't it funny how everyone wants to go to heaven provided that they don't have to believe, think, say, or do anything the Bible says? Or is it scary? Isn't it funny how someone can say "I believe in God!" but still follow Satan (who also "believes" in God) isn't it funny how you can send a thousand email jokes and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, you think twice about sharing? Isn't it funny how the lewd, crude, vulgar, and obscene pass freely through cyberspace, yet public discussion about Jesus is suppressed in the school and workplace? Isn't it funny how we can be so fired up for Jesus on Sunday, but be an invisible Christian the rest of the week? Isn't it funny how you think more about how people think of me than how God thinks of me? Who will pass this on to their friends, or who will be funny?

Are you laughing?