Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 10 – No. 0608 February 09, 2008
For God so lo
V
ed the world,
That he g
A
ve
His on
L
y
Begott
E
n
So
N
T
hat whosever
Believeth
I
n Him
Should
N
ot perish,
But have
E
verlasting Life
God's Valentine Greeting
John 3:16
Thought for the week: "There is no right way to do a wrong thing." – Unknown
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing." – Edmund Burke, Irish statesman
"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it." – Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Some Christians end up as backsliders because they are conquered by a sinful habit that is inconsistent with their Christian discipleship. Instead of giving up the habit, they give up their church and faith." – W. Werning
"The great tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer." – F. B. Meyer
"Time is the scarcest resource, and unless it is managed, nothing else can be managed." – Peter Drucker
"Catch a passion for helping others and a richer life will come back to you!" – William H. Danforth
"Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all." – Dale Carnegie
Atheism is rationally ridiculous. The most anyone can claim about the non-existence of God is agnosticism—to say you don't know. But as soon as one takes the atheist's viewpoint, he/she opens him/herself and his/her philosophical system to a dilemma.
No finite being can say there is no God, for outside the limits of his knowledge God may exist. To be an atheist one must claim to know everything. Of course, this is one of the attributes that only God processes. Therefore, the only way one can prove God doesn't exist is to be God, which is rationally ridiculous.
Bill Gordon, source: Pulpit Pieces Weekly Sermons, Illustrations, and More, net153@net153.com
According to a study by cardiologists at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, laughter, along with an active sense of humor, may help in the prevention of heart disease. The researchers found that people with heart disease were 40 percent less likely to laugh in a variety of situations compared to people of the same age without heart disease.
Researchers compared the humor responses of 300 people. Half of the participants had either suffered a heart attack or had undergone coronary artery bypass surgery. The other 150 were healthy, age-matched participants who did not have heart disease.
The study showed that people with heart disease were less likely to recognize humor or use it to get out of uncomfortable situations. They generally laughed less, even in positive situations and they displayed more anger and hostility.
"The ability to laugh—either naturally or as a learned behavior—may have important implications in societies such as the U.S. where heart disease remains the number one killer," says Michael Miller, M.D., F.A.C.C., Director of the Center for Preventative Cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center. "We know that exercising, not smoking, and eating foods low in saturated fat will reduce the risk of heart disease. Perhaps regular, hearty laughter should be added to the list. The recommendation for a healthy heart may one day be—exercise, eat right, and laugh a few times a day."
A young and daring scientist was carrying out a necessary experiment in preparation for the atomic test to be conducted in the waters of the South Pacific atoll at Bikini. He had successfully performed such an experiment many times before. In his effort to determine the amount of U-235 necessary for a chain reaction—scientists call it the critical mass—he would push two hemispheres of uranium together. Then, just as the mass became critical, he would push them apart with his screwdriver, thus instantly stopping the chain reaction.
But that day, just as the material became critical, the screwdriver slipped! The hemispheres of uranium came too close together. Instantly the room was filled with a dazzling bluish haze. Young Louis Slotin, instead of ducking and thereby possibly saving himself, tore the two hemispheres apart with his hands and thus interrupted the chain reaction. By this instant, self-forgetful daring, he saved the lives of the seven other persons in the room ... As he waited for the car that was to take him to the hospital, he said quietly to his companion, "You'll come through all right. But I haven't the faintest chance myself." It was only too true. Nine days later he died in agony.
Nineteen centuries ago the Son of God walked directly into sin's most concentrated radiation, allowed Himself to be touched by its curse, and let it take His life. By that act He broke the chain reaction. He broke the power of sin.
I'm an Abraham Lincoln groupie. By sheer good fortune, my son Justin was born on Lincoln's birthday. My daughter, Abrielle, was named after him, and our dog is named Lincoln. I collect Lincoln memorabilia, and my favorite place in Washington D.C. is the Lincoln Memorial where I stand in awe of his magnificent eloquence and his legacy of honor, courage, compassion, humility, and humor.
Self-educated, self-made, Lincoln was a skillful lawyer and effective politician whose character made his name almost synonymous with integrity. He was an inspirational leader who really believed in democracy—a government of the people, by the people, for the people. Empathy and compassion were in his blood. He felt the pain of others as deeply as any man could; yet duty made him a leader of our nation's bloodiest war.
Now one of the most esteemed men in history, he was great but humble; funny but often depressed. In his own time he was more often ridiculed than revered and was belittled as an unrefined bumpkin. But Lincoln understood the difference between real character and reputation, describing character as a tree and reputation as the shadow of the tree.
His face is carved on Mount Rushmore and adorns our pennies and five-dollar bills. But it is Lincoln's tree, his character, that stands so tall and strong. He honors our nation and proves what we are all capable of being.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you."1 "He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God."2
William Wordsworth also said it well: "That best portion of a good man's life; his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love."
The following well-known anonymous poem is well worth a reminder:
"Whatever our hands touch –
We leave fingerprints!
On walls, on furniture
On doorknobs, dishes, books.
There's no escape.
As we touch we leave our identity."
So for today's suggested prayer: "Dear God:
'Wherever I go today
Help me leave heartprints!
Heartprints of compassion
Of understanding and love.
'Heartprints of kindness
And genuine concern.
May my heart touch a lonely neighbor
Or a runaway daughter
Or an anxious mother
Or perhaps an aged grandfather.
'Send me out today
To leave heartprints.
And if someone should say,
"I felt your touch,"
May they also sense the love
that is deep within my heart.'3
"Thank you God for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, amen."
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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
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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
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Loving & Understanding People by Dick Innes
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"Because the world is hungry,
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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