***"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own
understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy
paths."   Proverbs 3:5-6

  
 *** This is a true story of something that happened just a few years ago
 at USC. ***
 
      There was a professor of philosophy at USC who was a deeply committed 
 atheist. His primary goal for one required class was to spend the entire 
 semester attempting to prove that God couldn't exist. His students were 
 always afraid to argue with him because of his impeccable logic. For  
 twenty years, he had taught this class and no one had ever had the 
 courage to stand up to him. Sure, some had argued in class at times, but
 no one had ever really stood up to him. Nobody would go against him  
 because he had a reputation. At the end of every semester, on the last
 day, he would say to his class of 300 students, "If there's anyone here
 who still believes in Jesus, stand up!" In twenty years, no one had 
 ever stood up. They knew what he was going to do next. He would say 
 "Because  anyone who does believe in God is a fool. If God existed, he 
 could stop this piece of chalk from hitting the ground and breaking. 
 Such a simple task to prove that he is God, and yet he can't do it." And 
 every year, he would drop the chalk onto the tile floor of the classroom 
 and it would shatter into a hundred pieces. All of the students could do
 nothing but stop and stare. Most of the students were convinced that God
 couldn't exist. Certainly, a number of Christians had slipped through,
 but for 20 years, they had been too afraid to stand up.
  
      Well, a few years ago, there was a freshman who happened to get
 enrolled in the class. He was a Christian, and had heard the stories
 about this professor. He had to take the class because it was one of 
 required classes for his major. And he was afraid. But for 3 months that 
 semester, he prayed every morning that he would have the courage to
 stand up no matter what the professor said or what the class thought.
 Nothing they said or did could ever shatter his faith, he hoped.

      Finally the day came. The professor said "If there is anyone here who 
 still believes in God, stand up!" The professor and the class of 300 
 people looked at him, shocked, as he stood up at the back of the 
 classroom. The professor shouted "You FOOL!! If God existed, he could 
 keep this piece of chalk from breaking when it hit the ground!" He 
 proceeded to drop the chalk, but as he did, it slipped out of his 
 fingers, off his shirt cuff, onto the pleat of his pants, down his leg, 
 and off his shoe. As it hit the ground, it simply rolled away, unbroken. 
 The professor's jaw dropped as he stared at the chalk. He looked up at 
 the young man then ran out of the lecture hall. The young man who had 
 stood up proceeded to walk to the front of the room and share his faith 
 in Jesus for the next half  hour. 300 students stayed and listened as he 
 told of God's love for them  and of his power through Jesus. "Yet to all 
 who receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to 
 become children of God." John 1:12

      "Children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a
 husband's will, but born of God." John 1:13  "But He knows the way that
 I take. When He has tested me, I will come forth as gold." Job 23:10
  
 *****Please continue to pass this on from one Christian to the next as a
 message of encouragement and hope. *****
  
      This is an awesome display of a little thing called faith!!!!!!!