Vol. 9 – No. 2017 May 19, 2017

Thought for the week: "The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitude of mind." – William James

1. Words of Wisdom

"Never let the fear of striking out get in your way." – Babe Ruth

"When we fail to follow truth, instead of living fully, we end up dying slowly." – Dick Innes

"Symptoms are often a smoke screen to avoid facing reality." – Dick Innes

"God is merciful. When we have unresolved problems, he gives us symptoms." – Henry Cloud and John Townsend

"He who constantly looks back loses sight in one eye. He who never looks back loses sight in both eyes." – Russian Proverb

"Too soon old. Too late 'schmartz.'" – German Proverb

"One hundred years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was, how big my house was, or what kind of car I drove. But the world may be a little better, because I was important in the life of a child." – Forest Witcraft

Index

2. On the Lighter Side

From a church bulletin: "Our minister is leaving the church this Sunday. Will you please send in a small donation? The congregation wants to give him a little momentum."

From a sign on a church property: "The gospel is free, but this church is for sale."

From a newsletter: "What God couldn't do if only he had the money!"

From a church notice board: "Hear our pastor preach tonight on the subject: 'What is Hell Like.' Come early and hear our choir sing!"

Index

3. Accidental Evolution—Believe It or Not

The evolutionist puts it thus: "Once upon a time under a deadly sun, in an ammoniated ocean topped by a poisonous atmosphere in the midst of a soup of organic molecules, a nucleic acid molecule came accidentally into being that could somehow bring about the existence of another like itself."

From The Wells-Springs of Life, by Isaac Asimov Cited in The Pastor's Story File.

Index

John Newton's devout mother dedicated him to be a pastor at an early age. Sadly, she died when he was seven. At the age of eleven, after several years of schooling away from home, he went to sea with his captain father. He served in the British Navy but later deserted.

John abandoned the faith taught by his mother and embarked on such a life of extreme debauchery that his friends questioned his sanity. He signed onto a slave ship and was soon the master of his own ship, dealing in the evil of bringing slaves from Africa to America. With a whip in one hand and a gun in the other, Newton—often given to drunkenness and lust —sank into the depths of sin. In 1748, at age twenty-three, he ran into a savage storm that threatened to sink his ship.

Newton thought of himself, like Jonah, as the cause of the mountainous waves and raging wind. His close brush with death set him thinking about the true meaning of life. The Holy Spirit used the storm to convict him of his need for Christ. Sick of his pitiable condition and the filthy slave trade, he was led to leave it and ultimately go into the ministry.

All through his life John Newton never ceased to marvel at the grace of God that transformed him so completely. While the pastor of a church, he wrote his spiritual autobiography in a song that God gave him from the dark night of his soul: "Amazing Grace."

Author unknown. Cited in Encounter magazine. Published by ACTS International (Australia) http://www.actsweb.org/au

Index

5. C.S. Lewis on Jesus Christ

I am trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him [Jesus Christ]: "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God."

That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with a man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell.

You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse .... You can shut him up for fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that option open to us. He did not intend to.

From The Case for Christianity, by C.S. Lewis. Cited in The Pastor's Story File.

Index

6. Do a Little More

    By Michael Josephson of Character Counts (478.1)

In 1964 a young woman named Kitty Genovese was stabbed to death outside her apartment building in Queens, New York. She was attacked repeatedly over the course of an hour and despite her screams, none of the 38 neighbors intervened or called for help. Some were afraid. Some didn't want to get involved. Some thought someone else would do it.

This incident has become a symbol of the increased callousness, self-centeredness and fearfulness of a society where brutes, bullies and other bad guys act with confidence that onlookers won't interfere.

The long array of billion-dollar scandals rocking corporate America is not so much the result of growing hordes of clever scoundrels as it is the product of passive complicity of innocent people who are willing to look the other way to protect their job, their relationship with the boss or their incentive compensation.

The moral root of the issue is responsibility. As Edmund Burke said, "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing."

I don't think we have the obligation to put ourselves at risk to right every wrong we witness, but we should be willing to do so when the consequences are serious and we are accountable for creating an environment that is hostile, not accommodating, to illegal and unethical conduct.

The duty of responsibility requires both good sense and courage to help us avoid the extremes of doing nothing or trying to do everything. One thing is certain, though: The world will be better if we'd all do a little more.

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.

© 2007 Josephson Institute of Ethics; reprinted with permission. Michael Josephson, one of the nation's leading ethicists, is the founder of the Josephson Institute of Ethics and the premier youth character education program, CHARACTER COUNTS! For further information visit www.charactercounts.org

Index

7. Letting Go to Gain

Sample of Daily Encounter by Dick Innes

"Whoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it."¹

"True love is like quick-silver," said Ann Landers, "if you hold it in the palm of your hand, it will remain. If you try to grasp it, it will slip through your fingers." Perhaps this is what Jesus meant when he said, "Whoever will save his life will lose it: and whoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it."

In other words, when we cling to life to live only for ourselves or cling to another person out of our over-dependent need, we lose what we need the most: Love. This is because we have mistaken need for love. Only as we let go of unhealthy need, are we free to love. In other words, do I love you because I need you or do I need you because I love you? The first is unhealthy and immature; the second is healthy and mature.

Only as we learn to love without strings attached do we find genuine love and the fullness of life.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, help me to resolve all of my unresolved issues so I don't cling to others or do things out of unhealthy immature need, so I am free to let go and learn to fully live and fully love. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. Matthew 16:25.

Index

8. Receive Daily Encounter E-mail ... Free

Daily Encounter, a free weekday e-mail inspirational from ACTS International is now going to 200,000+ subscribers. Scores of letters from around the world have come from readers saying how much they are being helped by this brief, practical devotional.

Click HERE for more samples of Daily Encounter

Index

9. Receive E-mail Edition of Weekend Encounter ... Free

NOTE: Some ISPs (especially AOL) now use e-mail filtering software that allows you to add e-mail addresses to your 'buddy', 'safe', or 'approved' list. Please be sure to add acts@actsweb.org to yours so you won't miss any issue of Weekend Encounter.

Index

10. Know God ... Without having to be religious

Click on: Know God

Index

11. Seven Pillars of Character

The first of these six pillars of character are from Michael Josephson of Character counts to which I have added a seventh:

• Trustworthiness
• Respect
• Responsibility
• Fairness
• Caring
• Citizenship
• Personal Honesty

Index

12. Prayer Partners Needed

One of ACTS greatest needs is Prayer Partners to stand with us as we seek to share the gospel with millions of people around the world through E-mail and the Internet and to win the lost to Jesus. If you would like to be an ACTS Prayer Partner, please subscribe to the Prayer Encounter list. Approximately two prayer reports are emailed monthly. Thank you.

Index

13. To Submit a Prayer Request

If you have a special prayer request please submit it to us at: acts@actsweb.org 

Index

14. Help Support Weekend Encounter

    "Changing the World . . . One Person at a Time" 

Weekend Encounter and Daily Encounter are just two of the ways the nonprofit organization, ACTS International, is working to improve the spiritual and emotional life of many thousands of people around the world.

Every weekday Daily Encounter is going to 200,000+ subscribers, and every week Weekend Encounter is going to almost 6,000+ subscribers worldwide—many of whom are in places where it is forbidden to spread the Christian gospel and message. Plus we reach several hundred thousand more every week through our advertising. As a result almost every day of the year we are seeing salvation responses from around the world!

If you find value in the free Weekend Encounter and/or Daily Encounter, we hope you will be comfortable donating at least $26. That's only 50 cents a week for an entire year (tax-deductible in the U.S.). You can donate in one of the following ways:

Donate Online: You can donate online at ACTS secure web site. Click HERE on ACTS support donations.

Donate by Telephone: ACTS accepts credit card donations by phone by calling 1-949-481-4262.

Donate Through Postal Mail: If you prefer to write a check or money order, please send it and make it payable to:

     ACTS International
     P.O. Box 73545
     San Clemente, California 92673-0119
     U.S.A.

Index

15. Helpful Books and Cassette Messages

Oprah Winfrey: "Books were my pass to personal freedom. I learned to read at age three, and soon discovered there was a whole world to conquer that went beyond our farm in Mississippi." – Oprah Winfrey

Books:

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
      Communications

   On Sale at: https://actscom.com/books_sale_5-14.php

Index

16. Free Services

 1. Bible concordance and Bible helps
 2. E-Word Today for a daily Bible reading
 3. To find your ZIP+4 Area Code in the U.S.A.
 4. How to find and write to your U.S. Representative
 5. ASK ... Smart answers fast
 6. Send a FREE greeting card for all occasions
 7. To check the weather in your area
 8. Hoax Web Sites
 9. Plus many more sources of helpful information

GO TO: http://www.actsweb.org/links.php

Index

17. ACTS in Action Report and Encounter Archives

	ACTS in Action ... Monthly Report Letter
	ARCHIVES: Daily and Weekend Encounters

"The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace."