Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 18 - No. 4316 October 22, 2016
Thought
for the week: "Do not save your loving speeches for your friends till they are dead; do not write them on their tombstones; speak them rather now instead." – Anna Cummins
"The angel fetched Peter out of prison, but it was prayer that fetched the angel." – Thomas Watson
"There are no great victories at discount prices." – Dwight Eisenhower
"To carry a grudge is like being stung to death by one bee." – William H. Walton
"Stop telling God how big your storm is. Instead, tell the storm how big your God is!" – Unknown
"If you wouldn't write it and sign it, don't say it." – Earl Wilson
"My dad always says, 'Biekie, biekie maak baie.' Translated: Little bit, by little bit makes a lot. If we continuously change the small things in our lives, with time we will realize that we have changed a vast number of things." – Eric Abdoll,
Port Elizabeth, South Africa
"Never do a wrong thing to make a friend or keep one; the man who requires you to do so is dearly purchased at a sacrifice. Deal kindly, but firmly, with all your classmates. Above all, do not appear to others what you are not. If you have any fault with anyone, tell him, not others, of what you complain; there is no more dangerous experiment than that of undertaking to be one thing before a man's face and another behind his back. We should live, act and say nothing to the injury of any one. It is not only best as a matter of principle, but it is the path to peace and honor."
"If you could win an Olympic medal, which would you prefer—the silver or the bronze?
A study of Olympic medal winners produced some unexpected results. Most people would assume the silver medal winners would be happier than the bronze medalists since they received a higher honor, but that wasn't the case. The bronze medalists, who came in third place, were found to be happier than the silver medalists, who finished in second place.
The former Olympians explained how they felt about their medals. The third-place winners were thrilled just to have won a medal. The silver medalists, on the other hand, felt like losers because they didn't come in first.
What happens to you is not nearly as important (in your eyes) as how you perceive what happens to you.
– Kent Crockett, I Once Was Blind, but Now
I Squint, via Pulpit Helps, May 2004
Larry wrote me the following letter: "I've been a small businessman for almost 23 years in a business where people lie, cheat and steal. I'm sorry to say I became one of them. In the short term, it may have helped, but long term it came back to haunt me. There's no amount of success that's worth it. I am now 48 years old. I have lost my good name; my values and ethics have been destroyed. Is there any way I will ever be able to restore my reputation and lead a life of integrity?"
What a pity that so many people delude themselves into believing that traditional ethical principles like honesty and integrity don't apply in the business world. They govern their daily decisions by pragmatism—what works—without reference to principles—what's right. And, piece-by-piece, decision-by-decision, they sell their souls and sully their names until they find themselves naked and alone on the barren wasteland of moral compromise.
The good news is that Larry can start leading a life of integrity immediately. He can redeem himself and become a man of character simply by choosing to be honest, responsible, respectful, caring and fair.
The bad news is that his reputation will take longer to restore. Character is what you really are; reputation is what people think of you. And since people are more likely to judge us by our last worst act rather than our most virtuous habits, rebuilding a reputation can take years of honorable living.
Still, each phase of one's life brings new opportunities for learning and growth, and if Larry wants it badly enough, the best part of his life is ahead.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even
though he did not know where he was going" (Hebrews
11:8, NIV).
Don't you just love the title of the book by John Ortberg: If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out
of the Boat? It's one of those titles that I wish I would
have thought of myself.
I suppose most of us like to stay close to the shore in
shallow waters, safely within our comfort zone.
However, if we are going to invest our life and our God-given talents in a worthy and noble cause, and grow to
reach our full potential, at some point we are going to
need to launch out into the deep of the unknown, or as
John Ortberg put it, get out of the boat and walk on the
water. He's talking about exercising faith, of course, and
stretching beyond our known limits.
Sure it's scary, but unless we are willing to risk failure,
we will never learn how to walk on water.
New Horizons
Unless you are willing
to launch out far from
sight of the shore
into the deep beyond
your present comfort zone,
you will never know
what you are capable
of doing or becoming,
nor will you ever discover
the new horizons
and greater dreams
your heart
is yearning for.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please give me the vision
to see what my God-given life purpose is, and the faith
and courage to launch out into the deep to become all
that you have envisioned for me to be and to do what
you plan for me to do. Thank you for hearing and
answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
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