Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 10 – No. 0708 February 16, 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: "Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful." – Samuel Johnson
"Many people despise those who spend their health, strength and money for the salvation of others, and call them mad. And yet it is they [the so-called mad ones] who will save many and be saved themselves." – Sadhu Sundar Singh
"The unbelieving mind would not be convinced by any proof, and the worshiping heart needs none." – A. W. Tozer
"In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." – Abraham Lincoln
"There are no menial jobs, only menial attitudes." – William Bennett
"To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; to be credible we must be truthful." – Edward R. Murrow
"The real measure of our wealth is how much we'd be worth if we lost all our
money." – John Henry Jowett
"The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches, but to reveal to him his own." – Benjamin Disraeli
MENSA is an organization whose members have an IQ of 140 or higher. A few years ago (so the story goes), there was a MENSA Convention in San Francisco and several members lunched at a local cafe.
While dining, they discovered that their salt shaker contained pepper and their pepper shaker was full of salt. How could they swap the contents of the bottles without spilling and using only the implements at hand? Clearly, this was a job for MENSA!
The group debated and presented ideas and finally came up with a brilliant solution involving a napkin, a straw and an empty saucer. They called the waitress over to dazzle her with their solution.
"Ma'am," they said, "we couldn't help but notice that the pepper shaker contains salt and the salt shaker..."
"Oh," the waitress interrupted. "Sorry about that." So she unscrewed the caps of both and switched them.
Source: Pulpit Pieces Weekly Sermons, Illustrations, and More, net153@net153.com
In a recent Turning Point Daily Devotional, David Jeremiah relates how: During the mid-twentieth century, one of the most recognizable brand icons in America was a dog sitting in front of an old-time gramophone, head cocked, listening to the sound. That iconic image, owned by the RCA Victor record company, was taken from a painting by English artist Francis Barraud. The dog, Nipper, had been owned by Barraud's brother who had recorded his voice on early phonograph records. After the brother died, Barraud inherited Nipper and the gramophone and records. Whenever the records with Nipper's master's voice were played, the dog would sit in front of the gramophone listening to his master's voice.
That's a beautiful image of the relationship between Jesus Christ and us. He has gone away from earth, so we can no longer hear His physical voice. But we sit in front of His Word, and kneel before Him in prayer, and listen for our Master's voice. The Bible was given to be the voice of the Lord until He returns, and prayer is how we confirm what we believe He has spoken to our hearts. How easily can you pick out the Master's voice from all others?
Listening for the Master's voice is a sign of loyalty and longing -- an indication that we are eager to hear and obey.
"People who say that life is not worthwhile are really saying that they themselves have no personal goals which are worthwhile. Get yourself a goal worth working for. Better still, get yourself a project. Always have something ahead of you to look forward to ... to work for and hope for."
Years ago, my wife Anne was talking to a woman I'll call Lila about another lady I'll call Gwen. Gwen had just been laid off. Since she had only worked for the company a short time, she wasn't eligible to continue the firm's medical insurance. That's important because she was eight weeks pregnant, and the reason she took the job was to get medical insurance.
Gwen was upset and went to a lawyer. Together, they decided to threaten her employer with a lawsuit claiming the company terminated her because they found out she was pregnant.
Anne asked, "Is that what really happened?"
"Well, no," Lila answered, "but she really needs the insurance. She hopes the threat will force the company to make a settlement."
"But that's dishonest!" Anne said. Shocked by Anne's reproof, Lila stressed again how hard it would be for Gwen if she had no insurance. She had no husband and had been artificially inseminated. Gwen thought of asking the company if she could keep her insurance by paying the premiums, but her lawyer said it would weaken her case.
Anne was incredulous. "Weaken what case? Her case is a lie. I know she's in a tough situation, but how can she possibly justify making a false claim?"
Lila concluded, "Gwen only did what she had to do."
It's one thing to feel compassion for Gwen. It's quite another to justify fraud simply because she thought it was necessary. There's a seductive force to necessity claims, but neither real nor perceived need gives anyone a moral free pass. Personal wants or imperatives don't trump moral principles.
Character is doing the right thing even when it costs more than you want to pay.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"In the temple courts he [Jesus] found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, 'Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!'"1
One thing is for sure: Jesus was never politically correct. He always stood for what was right and for truth—never for that which was expedient, popular or expected. As Mark Batterson said, "He wasn't afraid of offending Pharisees, touching lepers, washing feet, defending prostitutes, or befriending tax collectors."
In many ways, political correctness is destroying us! It allows a secular and often godless society to squeeze us into its mold. Besides "political correctness" is an oxymoron if ever there was one. There's nothing correct about it. It's really political expediency in order to get one's own way, to get votes, to be a crowd pleaser, to avoid criticism, or for whatever other manipulative false motive.
Furthermore, if we in the West don't wake up and smell the "gunpowder" of radical Islam which is out to destroy us, our insane political correctness WILL destroy us. Had Jesus been politically correct, we would still be lost in our sins without hope and without eternal life.
You may recall how William Wilberforce fought the battle for twenty years to end the slave trade in Great Britain. He was hated. He was threatened. He was despised. He was ridiculed, but he knew what was right and he fought for this and for the truth until he won and saw the then wretched slave trade in England stopped. Wilberforce was not politically correct either. As a result he helped change his world.
We who claim to be believers in God and followers of Jesus Christ also need to abandon this political correct nonsense that is an integral part of today's post modern society for whom "tolerance, not truth, is absolute."
Only truth is eternal. In the long run it will win. Always.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please deliver me from the sin of being politically correct for all the wrong motives. Give me the courage and help me always in all ways to stand for and battle for truth and that which is right in your eyes. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, amen."
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Because the world would die without,
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