Read Online A Treasury of Miracles for Teens by Karen Kingsbury - Free Book Online Page A

stared at him from the corner of her eye. Where did he spend his nights anyway? In an alley somewhere? How
     awful would that be?
    Ashley blinked back a wave of remorse. Oh, well. It was probably his own fault. Too much drinking or drugs. He
must’ve done something wrong. People don’t just wind up on the streets.
    Fred smiled. “We’re a traveling Christian singing group. We call ourselves Alive.”
    The homeless man’s eyes lit up. “A professional singing group? Really?”
    “Yes.” Fred grinned at his wife. “We’re professional.”
    Ashley pretended to study her silverware. Professional? How could he call them a professional singing group when they could
     barely afford to eat? And what about their sleeping arrangements? The motor home they were staying in was a far cry from the
     luxurious hotel suites Ashley had pictured before the trip.
    “So you say you’re Christians, huh?” Gus asked. He lowered his eyebrows doubtfully. “Well, Christians, I have a few questions
     for you.” The man waited until everyone, even Ashley, was watching him. “You people talk about how much God loves me. How
     am I supposed to believe that? Look at me,living on the streets. If God loves me why doesn’t he get me off the streets?”
    Fred looked around at the group. When no one spoke up, he turned toward Gus.
    “Well, Gus, God’s love doesn’t really show up in fine clothes and comfortable lifestyles.” He folded his arms, his words slow
     and easy. “But I can prove God loves you.”
    “Okay.” The man grunted. “Prove it.”
    “Have you heard about Jesus?”
    The man nodded.
    “Jesus died for you, Gus, did you know that?” Fred cocked his head, his eyes shining with sincerity.
    Ashley studied Fred, amazed at the man’s faith
    “Jesus, huh?” Gus let loose a shaky sigh. “I’ve heard about that, but I guess it never really made much difference to me.”
    At that moment, Rita began to speak. “If you were the only person in the whole world, Jesus still would have died for you.
     He loves you that much.” She reached out and took Fred’s hand, her voice soft. “Of course it’s up to you, whether you want
     to believe or not.”
    Two of the other group members nodded in unison. “You know why He died on the cross, right?” one of them asked.
    Gus shook his head. “Not really.”
    As the conversation continued, Ashley forgotGus’s dirty condition and became deeply interested. She had never known anyone who understood so little about God. She was
     a pastor’s daughter, after all. She took for granted that everyone had been exposed to the same type of upbringing she’d been
     given. She turned in her chair so she could get a better look at Gus.
    “Jesus died to pay the price for our sins,” Fred said simply. “Basically, because of Him you’re a free man, Gus.”
    “A free man? I’ve always been free.”
    “Not really,” Ashley cut in. The others looked at her in surprise as she turned to Gus again. “When we’re free in Christ,
     our circumstances don’t really matter anymore. All that matters is that he’s with us, he loves us, and he’ll see us safely
     home in the end.”
    The moment Ashley finished speaking she realized what she’d just said.
Our circumstances don’t really matter anymore?
Was that the way she’d been feeling on this singing tour? The conversation around her grew dim as she stared at her lap.
     She’d been silently complaining for weeks now, grumbling about the cramped quarters in the motor home and the other inconveniences
     of living on the road.
    The truth was she’d forgotten her mother’s words about going on the tour for all the right reasons—as a way of using her gift
     of song to touch hearts for God. Instead it had been all about her. How comfortableshe was … how many people wanted to see her sing … how much money they raised in the process. Now this man sat beside her,
     hungry for a kind of truth she had taken for granted since she was a kid.