Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 10 – No. 1008 March 08, 2008
Thought for the week: "None are so poor that they have nothing to give ... and none are so rich that they have nothing to receive." – Pope John Paul II
"The true test of character is not how much we know how to do, but how we behave when we don't know what to do." – John Holt
"The difference between holding on to a hurt or releasing it with forgiveness is the difference between laying your head at night on a pillow filled with thorns or a pillow filled with rose petals." – Loren Fischer
"Don't ever promise more than you can deliver, but always deliver more than you promise." – Lou Holtz
"A bad attitude is the worst thing that can happen to a group of people. It's infectious." – Roger Allan Raby
"Anger helps straighten out a problem as much as a fan helps straighten out a pile of papers." – Susan Marcotte
"Life is short. Be swift to love! Make haste to be kind!" – Henri F. Amiel
"Living is loving, and loving is living. One cannot exist without the other." – Asha Sarma
"All love that has not friendship for its base,
Is like a mansion built upon the sand." – Ella Wheeler Wilcox
A doting father used to sing his little children to sleep until he overheard the four-year-old tell the three-year-old, "If you pretend you're asleep, he stops."
It is said that Napoleon, after bringing much of Europe to His knees, proclaimed himself Emperor. He ordered Pope Pius VII to be present to present the crown. However, his pride was so great that he would not allow anyone to place the crown upon his head, so he placed it there himself.
How different men will see themselves when they stand before God. We will cast our crowns before His throne and confess that all glory, honor and power belong to Him (Revelation 4:10-11).
Source: Pulpit Pieces Weekly Sermons,
Illustrations, and More, net153@net153.com
Conductor to orchestra at the beginning of a rehearsal: "Please get your pencils out ... we have some marking to do on this score:
"The first two bars are in 3/4, not 4/4 as written. Next, in the 5th bar, change it to 7/8 and this remains to the end. Now, in bar 7 we lower the pitch 1/2 step. In bar 13, lower the pitch one whole step and this will remain to the end.
"Thank you. Now, let us begin."
Soprano soloist: "Excuse me, Maestro. What would you like for me to change?"
Conductor: "Nothing, madam. Just sing it exactly as you did yesterday."
When we vary from the standard, there are two things we can do. We can alter our lives to meet the standard, or (as in the story above) we can alter the standard and expect everyone else to meet this new flawed standard.
The spiritual application should be readily apparent. What should we do when someone is teaching that which is not according to the Word of God, our spiritual standard? Do we hold to the standard and require them to comply, or do we attempt to change the standard?
There can be no choice—the standard cannot change. Breaking the scale won't fix our weight problem, breaking the mirror won't change the way we look, and changing (or ignoring) God's Word won't make our sinful behavior acceptable.
"The word of the Lord endures forever" (I Peter 1:25).
Does mail still have value? Well, are you pleased to receive an unexpected letter from a friend? Are you eager to open some news you've been anticipating? Then it should come as no surprise to you that the inscription on the cornice of the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum (the former U.S. Post Office in Washington, D.C.) reads:
Messenger of sympathy and love,
Servant of parted friends,
Consoler of the lonely,
Bond of the scattered family,
Enlarger of the common life,
Carrier of news and knowledge,
Instrument of trade and industry,
Promoter of mutual acquaintance,
Of peace and good will among men and nations.1
Not bad for only 41 cents and the price of a few sheets of paper.
Editor's Note: Whenever I see our local mailman ("postie" as we called him Down Under), I always thank him for his very important service and let him know I appreciate him. In fact, what on earth would we do without the postal service? – RWI
In a Peanuts cartoon, Lucy asks Charlie Brown, "Why do you think we were put on earth?"
Charlie answers, "To make others happy."
Lucy replies, "I don't think I'm making anyone happy," and then adds, "but nobody's making me very happy either. Somebody's not doing his job!"
People like Lucy are so sure happiness is a matter of getting something that they ask not what they can do for others, but what others can and should do for them. They usually feel shortchanged or cheated. They become so preoccupied with what they don't have that they can't enjoy what they do have.
What's more, they don't realize one of the best ways to be happy is to experience the joy and sense of self-worth of making others happy.
Dennis Prager, in his book Happiness Is a Serious Problem, argues that it's human nature to want and feel we need more. The problem is, the quest for more is endless because we can always add more to whatever we have. As a result, the Lucys of the world often live in an "if only" world that keeps them one step away from happiness: "If only I could get this raise, make this sale, pay off my debts, or win this game, I'd be happy."
Abraham Lincoln understood that happiness is essentially a way of looking at one's life. "A person is generally about as happy as he's willing to be," he said. Thus, we're more likely to experience happiness if we realize it's not just getting what we want. It's learning to want what we get.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
Editor's Note: A lot of unhappiness is caused by unresolved personal problems, or not using one's abilities creatively. See the article by Dick Innes, "The Search for Happiness" at http://tinyurl.com/22j9ew
"How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."1
I have worked for a number of years in divorce recovery and relationship workshops. I have repeatedly found that a big percentage of people who have gone through divorce or have impaired relationships primarily blame the other person for the relational breakdown.
Many of us don't like this, but the reality is there are no innocent parties in any divorce or broken relationship. Both parties are contributing something even if it is being too weak, too passive, too submissive, not having healthy boundaries, being immature, too over-dependent or codependent, etc., etc.
A lady I was dating a number of years ago said to me, "Dick, are you angry at me because I've been divorced three times?"
I answered, "Angry? No. Frightened? Yes!"
"They were all jerks," she stated.
"Why did you marry them then?" I asked.
In actuality, we are as sick or as healthy as the people we are attracted to-especially romantically. We can tell a lot about ourselves by the people we are attracted and drawn to. If we want to have healthy relationships, we need to see what we have contributed to any relational conflicts in the past and do what we need to do to become healthy people. Only healthy people find and have healthy relationships.
Our conflicts can be God's wake-up call to motivate us to take stock of our life, face our character issues, take responsibility for overcoming our personal weaknesses and grow to become healthy persons.
As long as we play the blame game and blame others for our problems we will B-LAME!
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, help me never to play the blame game but in every conflict help me to see exactly what I am contributing to the situation, and lead me to the help I need to overcome my character weaknesses. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, amen."
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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
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