Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 9 – No. 0107 January 06, 2007
Thought for the week: "Example has more followers than reason." – Christian Nevell Bovee
On a beautiful summer's day, a father and his eight-year-old son were lying on the grass by the river bank, looking up at the sky and watching the wisps of clouds float gently overhead.
After a few minutes of silence, the boy turned to the father and said, "Dad, why are we here?"
"That's a good question, Son. I think we're here to enjoy days such as this, to experience nature in all its glory, etc., etc., etc., etc.... Does that answer your question, son?"
"Not really, Dad. What I meant was, why are we here when Mom said to pick her up over an hour ago?"
According to Tim Timmons, the top ten New Year's resolutions as reflected in most polls in the USA are:
1) Spend More Time with Family & Friends
2) Get Fit
3) Drop Some Weight
4) Quit Smoking
5) Enjoy Life More
6) Quit Drinking
7) Get Out of Debt
8) Learn Something New
9) Help Others
10) Get Organized
Although you may have missed her, actress Kathy Bates played the vital roles of heiress Molly Brown in the recent movie TITANIC.
Bates became known as the "mom" to the crew and became known as well as one who continually encouraged the crew and cast. Bates told a story in a recent interview to explain her perspective.
"There's a great story I always remember when I think about crews and directors. There was a guest conductor who was rude to everyone in the symphony. Everyone hated him. Finally, at the packed dress rehearsal, he lifts his arms and nothing happens. Not a sound. He's stunned. He draws himself up and gives the down beat again. No sound. Finally, the first-chair violinist stands up and says, 'That's just to show you that no sound comes out of that baton of yours.' I always think about that when I am making a movie."
A young man named Paul related a childhood memory of growing up in West Texas, which is tornado country. Springtime brings tornadoes there. One day when Paul was three or four years old, the skies turned black and the wind began to roar. Paul's father hustled the five boys into the house and covered them with a mattress for protection from potential debris uprooted by the whirling winds. Paul peeked from under the mattress and watched his father standing by the window carefully watching the movement of the funnel cloud as it roared across the prairie.
Tensions rose. Fear gripped their hearts and Paul's heart pounded. Paul could not resist the urge to struggle out of the arms of his mother, race to the window, and wrap his arms around his father. He remembers the distinct impression that the safest place to be in a storm was standing next to his father. Storms do come. Stand next to your [Heavenly] Father. It's safe there!
I got to meet a wonderful person the other day. I had stopped to buy a local newspaper from a machine when I saw a middle-aged lady already there. She had a handful of quarters and was slowly buying paper after paper gently closing the machine after each purchase. She smiled at me and explained that her daughter's picture was in the paper. She was getting copies for all the members of her extended family.
When she turned to leave I noticed a hole in her shoe and realized that the rest of her clothes had also seen better days. She climbed into her rusty, 20-year-old pickup truck, and after 30 seconds of trying, finally got it started. She smiled at me again and waved as she drove off. It occurred to me as she disappeared in the distance that she had never once thought of taking the extra papers she needed while only paying for one. It was then that I realized I had just met one of the richest people in the world.
I only wish that everyone in this world had this lady's wisdom and wealth. She was rich beyond measure in all the important things in life. She was rich in honesty, integrity, goodness, kindness, cheerfulness, joy, and love. She was rich in family and in friends. She was rich most of all in oneness with God. It didn't matter if her truck was old, her clothes were worn, and her dollars were few. She was rich in her heart and soul, and she possessed within her the wealth of an entire: the Kingdom of Heaven.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
Sample of Daily Encounter by Dick Innes (from June 23, 2006)
This time last year I was treated to a wonderful seven-day Caribbean Cruise. Joy and I were really looking forward to this break. We were to visit three ports in Mexico and visit some very interesting historic places. We flew to Florida where the ship was berthed and were ready to board when I ran into a problem—a big problem. I, being a Permanent Resident of the U.S., had my Australian passport with me but forgot my Green Card (my Permanent Resident identification card). Big mistake. A well-meaning airline staff member had assured me that all I needed was my passport. Wrong. I was not allowed to even board the ship. I was assured that if I left the U.S., I would never be allowed to re-enter the country without my Green Card and would be sent back to Australia even though I have been a legal resident in the U.S. for many years. A half-hour before the ship sailed our luggage was unloaded, and Joy and I, feeling extremely disappointed and let down, flew home to California.
You can rest assured that I will never do anything like that again. I will make absolute certain that all my travel documents are in order.
This to me was a graphic reminder that we all need to make absolutely certain that all our "documents" (preparations) are in order for when we leave Planet Earth for eternity. Many a well-meaning friend will seek to assure us that as long as we live a good life, do more good things than bad things, or follow the religion of our choice and are sincere, we will be allowed entrance into God's heaven. Not so. As the U.S. government made the rules that governed my entrance into the U.S., so God makes the rules that govern the entrance into his Heaven.
Eternity is forever. So be absolutely certain to obtain your "passport" to heaven. Whatever you do, don't leave earth without it. For help see the article, "Passport to Heaven" at http://tinyurl.com/dm472.
"Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father [God] except through me'" (John 14:6, NIV).
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you that your Word makes it very clear what is required to enter your heaven, and thank you for providing the way through your Son, Jesus Christ. Please help me to make sure all my 'documentation' is in order. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
NOTE: Be sure to read the follow-up of this Daily Encounter, "Caribbean Cruise Fascinating Happenstance," in next week's Weekend Encounter.
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Books by Dick Innes, Editor of Weekend Encounter You Can't Fly With a Broken Wing How to Mend a Broken Heart I Hate Witnessing—A Handbook for Effective Christian
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