Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol.19 – No. 0317 January 26, 2007
Thought for the week: "Fame is a vapor, popularity an accident, riches take wing, and only character endures." – Horace Greeley
"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost." – John Quincy Adams
"A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still." – Author Unknown
"Your attitude determines your altitude!" – Denis Waitley
"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." – Albert Einstein
"The church exists by mission, as fire exists by burning." – Emil Brunner
"It's a good thing to have all the props pulled out from under us occasionally. It gives us some sense of what is rock under our feet, and what is sand." – Madeleine L'Engle
I read about a lady who spent some time in Egypt and brought back a rather unusual story. She was at a bazaar on one of Cairo's side streets, and saw a skull being exhibited. She asked the proprietor about it. He told her it was the skull of Cleopatra.
Alongside that skull was a smaller one which piqued her interest.
When she asked about that one, the proprietor said: "That m'lady is also Cleopatra's—but as a child."
The artist, Benjamin West, tells how his career as a successful and important painter began...
When he was still a boy, his mother went out on an errand and left him in charge of his little sister Sally, It was then that young Benjamin discovered several bottles of his mother's colored ink. He opened the bottles and proceeded to do Sally's portrait. Before long, a big mess had developed: ink all over the place. And when Ben heard his mother arriving back home, fearing the worst, he hid himself in a dark corner under the stairs. Ben's mother looked at the awful mess and said nothing. Then, with Sally's portrait in hand she looked for Ben. When she found him in his hiding place, she glanced at the portrait and said, "Why it's Sally!" And then she kissed Ben.
"And ever since that day," said Benjamin West, "my mother's encouraging kiss in the dark made me a painter."
One man came out of his house on his way to church on Sunday morning just as his neighbor came out with his golf clubs. The golfer said, "Henry, come out and play golf with me today."
Henry, with an expression of self-righteous horror on his face replied, "This is the Lord's Day and I go to church. Certainly I wouldn't play golf."
After a moment's embarrassed silence the golfer quietly said, "You know, Henry, I have often wondered about your church, and I admire your faithfulness. You know also, however, that this is the seventh time I have invited you to play golf with me—and you have never invited me to go to church with you."
A churchgoer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. "I've gone for 40 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 6,240 sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them... So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting their time by giving sermons at all."
This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:
"I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,100 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this... They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!"
* * * * * * *
"When Satan is knocking at your door, simply say, "Jesus, could you get that for me?"
When his son was just learning to write, Paul Halpern gave him a small chalkboard so they could write notes to each other. One evening while Paul was in the living room, his son called out from the bedroom, "How do you spell 'best'?"
A few minutes after Paul answered, his son yelled again: "How do you spell 'kid'?" Paul responded.
And then, for a third time, his son asked, "How do you spell 'ever'?"
When Paul went into the child's room to view the board, he expected to see a note saying, "I am the best kid ever." But he was totally surprised when his son presented him with a different message: "You are the best dad a kid can ever have."
Paul told his son he would have to buy him another chalkboard. He wanted to save this one. Many years later, it still hangs on his wall.
Most people struggle hard for approval at work with the hope of getting acknowledgment, a raise or a promotion. These forms of recognition can give real pleasure. Yet if you could choose between winning your child's "Best Dad a Kid Can Ever Have" award and being named the best employee, which would you choose?
The point is not to belittle the pursuit of recognition and success in your work life. It's to remind you how much closer, more personally meaningful and easier it is to find an enduring sense of pride and pleasure in the earned appreciation of your own children.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
As far as following God was concerned, Jonah failed hopelessly. He defiantly did the opposite of what he knew he was supposed to do. But did God reject him? No. God allowed him to experience failure. Getting thrown overboard and being swallowed by a whale (big fish) brought Jonah to his senses real quick. When he was ready to listen, "the Word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time."
And so it is with us. No matter how many times we feel we've failed or blown it, God will continue to call us to himself. However, it is much wiser to "listen up" quickly so we don't have to get hit over the head with a "four by four"—or be swallowed by a "whale of a problem" for God to get our attention.
So, if you feel you have failed, be encouraged. Now is the time to give God a chance. "He'll mend even a broken heart if you'll give him all the pieces." God calls us all to follow him, so why not respond to his call and, if you haven't already done so, ask him to come into your life as Lord and Savior? He can make a much better job of your life than you can if you will trust it to him. For help, be sure to read "How to Know God" in No.10 below.
"Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: 'Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.' Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh" (Jonah 3:1-3, NIV).
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you that you are a God of second (and third, and fourth, and fifth, and sixth, and seven times seventy) chances. Please help me to always live in harmony with your will so I will always be in tune to hear your word to me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
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