Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 7 – No. 0105 January 01, 2005
Thought for the week: "Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best." – William Blake
"Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every New Year find you a better [person]." – Benjamin Franklin
"No one can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending." – Unknown
"A man's make [character] can be seen by the way that he treats those who are of absolutely no value to him." – Unknown
"Don't be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated;you can't cross a chasm in two small jumps." – David Lloyd George
"I would rather fail in a cause that will ultimately triumph than to triumph in a cause that will ultimately fail." – Jim Elliot
"Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self." – Cyril Connolly
"Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell." – C.T. Studd
"Would that God would make hell so real to us that we cannot rest; heaven so real that we must have men there, Christ so real that our supreme motive and aim shall be to make the Man of Sorrows the Man of Joy by the conversion to him of many." – J. Hudson Taylor.
"A friend of mine was setting goals for the new year. One of his goals was to clean up his desk. Another of his goals was to find last year's goals." – King Duncan
* * * * * * *
Dr. John W. Keith of Oak Ridge, TN tells about a high school principal who, at the beginning of a new year, decided to post his teachers' new year's resolutions on the bulletin board. As the teachers gathered around the bulletin board, a great commotion started. One of the teachers was complaining. "Why weren't my resolutions posted?"
She was throwing such a temper tantrum that the principal hurried to his office to see if he had overlooked her resolutions. Sure enough, he had mislaid them on his desk. As he read her resolutions he was astounded. This teacher's first resolution was not to let little things upset her in the New Year.
I am the new year. I am an unspoiled page in your book of time.
I am your next chance at the art of living.
I am your opportunity to practice what you have learned about life during the last twelve months.
All that you sought and didn't find is hidden in me, waiting for you to search it out with more determination.
All the good that you tried for and didn't achieve is mine to grant when you have fewer conflicting desires.
All that you dreamed but didn't dare to do, all that you hoped but did not will, all the faith that you claimed but did not have—these slumber lightly, waiting to be awakened by the touch of a strong purpose.
I am your opportunity to renew your allegiance to Him who said, "Behold, I make all things new."
1. If I refuse to give anything to missions this year, I practically cast a ballot in favor of the recall of every missionary.
2. If I give less than heretofore, I favor reduction of the missionary forces proportionate to my reduced contribution.
3. If I give the same as formerly, I favor holding the ground already won; but I oppose any forward movement. My song is "Hold the Fort," forgetting that the Lord never intended His army to take refuge in a fort. All His soldiers are commanded to "Go."
4. If I increase my offering beyond former years, then I favor an advance movement in the conquest of new territory for Christ.
Not everyone likes sports. Many think it's a waste of time or, at best, the toy department of life. Yet, regardless of your personal views, it's unwise to underestimate the influence sports have on the quality and character of the American culture. The values of millions of participants and spectators, including their views on what is permissible and proper in the competitive pursuit of all sorts of personal goals, are shaped by the values conveyed in sports.
This was part of my message to more than 100 league presidents of the American Softball Association of Southern California, serving tens of thousands of young girls who learn about themselves and life playing softball.
I know volunteer administrators have great responsibility and opportunity but limited authority and meager resources. Yet all youth sports programs can have a greater positive impact if they have the courage and integrity to pursue a child-centered mission: give kids a safe environment in which they have fun, build character, learn to practice sportsmanship and develop skills and traits that help them become responsible citizens and live happy, healthy lives.
Striving to win is an important aspect of competition but youth sports is not primarily about winning; it's about learning through effort and improvement. You see, kids like to win; but it's the adults who distort the experience because of their need to win. The fact is, with positive coaching, all the values of sport, including enjoyment and a sense of accomplishment, can be derived from the
passionate pursuit of victory, regardless of the outcome.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater
than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand" (John 10:27-29, NKJV).
"The great Scottish preacher John McNeill told how, during his childhood, he had to walk a long distance home every evening, and his route led through a forest with a large ravine. Reports said that wild animals and gangs of robbers were often seen in that area. Great fear would seize his heart as he made his way past the spooky looking trees. He recalled, 'One night it was especially dark, but I was aware that something or someone was moving slowly and quietly toward me. I was sure it was a robber. When a voice called out, its eerie tone struck my heart with fear. I thought I was finished. Then came a second call. This time I could hear the voice saying, 'John, is that you?' It was my father. He had known of my fear and had come out to meet me.'"1
Being a child of God—one of his sheep—doesn't deliver us from the storms of life, but our faith in him gives us a sure and steadfast anchor--a safe and secure rock to hold on to knowing that God knows exactly where we
are even in life's darkest and most scary places. As one of my poems puts it:
Hide-And-Seek
Sometimes it seems that life
makes little or no sense
as we wander blind
searching for a ray of light
to lead us to the truth
or to a God who isn't there.
But if we will stand still and
listen with our heart, we will
hear a rustling in the leaves,
feel the brush of angel's wings,
and sense the presence of a loving
Father playing hide-and-seek,
waiting patiently –
wanting us to find him.2
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you that you are always with me no matter what and that you will never leave me nor forsake me. In the quiet of my heart help me to know and hear your voice assuring me of your
presence and that my life and times are in your hands. Always. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
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