Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 9 – No. 3007 July 28, 2007
Thought for the week: "Some machines can do the work of 50 ordinary people. However, no machine can do the work of one extraordinary person." – Dick Innes
"The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving." – Holmes
"If you want your children to keep their feet on the ground, put some responsibility on their shoulders" – Abigail Van Buren
"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today." – Chinese proverb
"We don't see things as they are. We see them as we are." – Anais Nin
"Other people's opinion of you does not have to become your reality." – Les Brown
"The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance—it is the illusion of knowledge." – Daniel J. Boorstin
"The easiest thing in the world is to be you. The most difficult thing to be is what other people want you to be. Don't let them put you in that position." – Dr. Leo Buscaglia
"The past is a guidepost, not a hitching post." – L. Thomas Holdcroft
David Jeremiah points out that, "Christian leaders who appear on secular television talk shows are often asked whether they believe Jesus is the only way to heaven. If the answer is 'Yes, Jesus is the only way,' the interviewer often paints the Christian as intolerant, arrogant, narrow-minded, out-dated, and fanatical.
"But if the interviewer were talking to a physician who had made a medical breakthrough for a terrible disease, would he say, 'Doctor, how intolerant to think this is the only cure for this disease.' If he were talking to a mathematician about the multiplication table, would he say, 'Professor, how can you be so arrogant as to believe that three times three always equals nine?'"
Rabbi Harold Kushner: "Our souls are not hungry for fame, comfort, wealth, or power. Those rewards create almost as many problems as they solve. Our souls are hungry for meaning, for the sense that we have figured out how to live so our lives matter, so the world will be at least a little bit different for our having passed through it."
The adventure of life is to learn.
The purpose of life is to grow.
The nature of life is to change.
The challenge of life is to overcome.
The essence of life is to care.
The opportunity of life is to serve.
The secret of life is to dare.
The spice of life is to befriend.
The beauty of life is to give.
The joy of life is to love.
by Michael Josephson of Character Counters (497.5)
According to a cynical observation attributed to Oscar Wilde, "The secret of success is sincerity. Once you can fake that, you've got it made." Commenting on sincerity in the entertainment industry, comedian Fred Allen said, "If you took all the sincerity in Hollywood, you could put it in the navel of a fruit fly and still have room for three caraway seeds and a producer's heart."
Underlying these witty cynicisms is recognition of the high value we put on sincerity and its unusual place under the umbrella of the broader virtue called trustworthiness.
Sincerity is more than the absence of dishonesty. It embodies authenticity, forthrightness, candor, and a passion for the truth. When we call someone sincere, we're saying positive things about that person's character, credibility, and moral courage. Most of us tend to like and admire people who are genuine, even if we disagree with them. But, in addition to affection and admiration, sincerity results in credibility, and credibility generates trust.
In contrast, a lack of sincerity generates suspicion and disbelief. An insincere person is like a broken watch. It may tell the time accurately twice a day, but no one relies on it.
Although we've got to remember that sincerely held opinions are no more likely to be true than others, in a world full of duplicity and manipulation, there is both comfort and security in knowing that the people we deal with at least believe what they say.
In many settings it isn't easy to be sincere, but the payoff in terms of credibility and character makes it a worthwhile investment.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"Behold, now is the accepted time; today is the day of salvation."1
"Opportunity," James Wallace said, "comes to pass—not to pause."
I have read that in the days before modern harbors, a ship had to wait for the flood tide to make it into port. The term for this in Latin was called ob portu. That is, a ship wanting to enter port had to wait for the moment when the tide was exactly right to carry it to harbor.
The captain and the crew waited for the precise moment when the tide was right because they knew if they missed it, they would have to wait for another tide to come in. Shakespeare used this idea to write one of his famous passages:
There is a tide in the affairs of men / Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune / Omitted, all the voyage of their life / Is bound in shallows and in miseries. / On such a full sea are we now afloat / And we must take the current when it serves / Or lose our venture.
The English word "opportunity" is derived from the term, ob portu. God gives every one of us many ob portus or flood tides. That is, he gives us many opportunities to serve him, to dedicate our lives more fully to him, to grow and become more like him, and to make something beautiful out of our life for time and eternity. These opportunities rarely come gift wrapped, tied with a bow and ribbon. They come in much more subtle ways.
And best of all he gives each of us the opportunity to accept him as our personal Lord and Savior, to have our sins forgiven and receive the gift of eternal life. As God's Word says, "Behold, now is the accepted time; today is the day of salvation." For help be sure to read the article, "How to Be Sure You're a Real Christian—Without having to be religious" at: http://tinyurl.com/8glq9
Remember, "Opportunity comes to pass—not to pause." So whatever it is God is calling you to be or do, don't miss your ob portu.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, help me to recognize the opportunities that come every day for me to be what you want me to be and to do what you want me to do. And, no matter how you call, when you have something special for me to do, help me to hear and obey that call no matter how quiet or subtle it may be. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
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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
Books by Bestseller and Popular Authors: The Miracle of Kindness His Needs, Her Needs by Willard F. Harley, Jr.
has topped the charts as the best marriage
book available. More than one million couples
have read it ... made their marriage sizzle. Fall in Love Stay in Love Just Hand Over the Chocolate ... Love, Sex, and Lasting Relationships Sex Starts in the Kitchen Making Children Mind Without Losing Yours Harried With Children Adolescence Is Not an Illness Show Time It Takes a Church to Raise a Christian
On Sale at: http://www.actscom.com/store
Cassettes:
Healing, Wholeness & Happiness by Dick Innes
Loving & Understanding People by Dick Innes
I Hate Witnessing by Dick Innes
God's Formula for Success by Dick Innes
Damaged Emotions by David Seamands Healing of the Memories by David Seamands...
On SALE at:http://tinyurl.com/2unmmy
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go with bread.
Because the world is filled with strife,
go with peace.
Because the world is filled with deceptions and lies,
go with truth.
Because the world would die without,
go with the love of God."
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