Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 10 – No. 1508 April 12, 2008
Thought for the week: "Prayer that changes things is prayer that changes us." – Tod Bolsinger
"The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shovel of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker." – Helen Keller
"The fault finder will find faults even in Paradise." – Henry David Thoreau
"Every worthwhile accomplishment has a price tag attached to it. The question is always whether you are willing to pay the price to attain it—in hard work, sacrifice, patience, faith, and endurance." – John C. Maxwell
"The highest reward for your toil is not what you get for it, but what you become by it." – John Ruskin
"Do what is right, not what you think the high headquarters wants or what you think will make you look good." – Norman Schwarzkopf, General
"The world measures greatness by money, or eloquence, or intellectual skill, or even by prowess on the field of battle. But here is the Lord's standard: 'Whosoever shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven' (Matthew 18:4)." – J.H. Jowett
Once upon a time a hog drank from a trough into which a barrel of beer had been emptied. He became very much intoxicated. When he came to himself, he was very much ashamed of his conduct. He was truly penitent and said to his friends, "I have always been a beast until this unlucky slip, and I promise you I'll never make a man of myself again." – Author Unknown
Truth, if it becomes a weapon against persons.
Beauty, if it becomes vanity.
Love, if it becomes possessive.
Loyalty, if it becomes blind, careless trust.
Tolerance, if it becomes indifference.
Self-confidence, if it becomes arrogance.
Faith, if it becomes self-righteous.
The Bible has been translated into over 1,200 languages.
The Bible was the first book ever printed. In 1454, Johannes Gutenberg invented the "type mold" printing press and began to print the Bible. Life magazine called this the single most important event of the second millennium.
Stephen Langton first divided the Bible into chapters in 1228.
The Old Testament was first divided by verses in 1448 and the New Testament in 1551.
The first English Bible translation was initiated by John Wycliffe in 1382 and completed by John Purvey in 1388.
It takes about 70 hours to read the entire Bible.
About 170,000 Bibles are distributed each day in the United States.
In a sermon called "A Tale of Two Kings," Scott Wenig begins, "One of the greatest historians of the past century was a man by the name of Samuel Elliot Morrison. During the course of his life, Morrison taught at Harvard, Yale and a number of other prestigious institutions. At the end of his illustrious career, a retirement party was thrown for him and at that party someone asked him if he could sum up what his study of history had taught him about life.
Morrison thought for a moment and then said that history showed him that life was very much like a game of poker. Certain nations are dealt good hands in terms of people, land and resources, but they play the game poorly by squandering what they're given and they end up losing the game. Other nations are dealt very little in terms of people, land and resources, but they play their hand well and, as a result, they end up winning the game. Morrison concluded that history shows us that it's not the hand you're dealt but how you play the hand you've got that determines whether or not you win or lose at the game of life.
As I've thought about it, it seems that Morrison's analysis is true, not just of nations and countries but also of people. Some people have been dealt a tremendous hand in life: they're attractive, intelligent, capable, come from good families and have great health. Others have been dealt a bad hand in life; they've suffered some tremendous handicaps and setbacks. Their spouse walked out or family members have died; they've suffered from poor health or some kind of disability or they were physically or sexually abused.
And yet the issue for most people in life doesn't really seem to be "the hand they've been dealt" nearly as much as it seems to be "how they play the hand they've been dealt."
According to legend, a Russian countess was driven to the theater in her coach on a bitterly cold evening. To be sure she wouldn't have to wait afterward, she ordered the driver and footman to remain outside until she returned.
She cried during the play when a loyal servant was being mistreated by an uncaring lord. When the performance ended, it was snowing heavily outside and a small crowd had gathered around her carriage. She demanded to know what was going on. The driver fearfully told her the old footman who had stayed with the coach as she ordered had frozen to death. The lady was appalled.
How could a sensitive woman who cried at the plight of fictional characters be so callous about the comfort and safety of her own servants?
Sometimes people see only what they want to see and know what they want to know. It's a form of willful blindness that afflicts many of us who profess grand principles of caring and respect, but ignore them when we deal with people in our own lives.
I've seen parents who want their children to be happy, self-confident, and honest, yet brutalize their kids with relentless criticism and confuse them by cheating on their taxes or lying to get them into better schools.
Sometimes well-intentioned coaches ignore injuries, emotionally abuse young athletes, or work them as if they were in a slave-labor camp—all the while convincing themselves it's for the athletes' own good.
And I've worked with executives in companies that advocate employee well-being and family values who look the other way when employees, either out of fear or the desire to please, work excessively long hours and neglect their families, causing stress and domestic conflict.
We all have moral blind spots. The challenge is to have the humility to find them and the character to fix them.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"For in the day of trouble he [God] will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock."1
I have read that William Cowper, like many people today, suffered from times of deep melancholy and depression. One night when he was in a particularly dark mood of despair, he decided to take his life by jumping into the Thames River.
That night the city of London was blanketed with an extremely heavy fog and Mr. Cowper, searching to find the river, lost his way. Stumbling blindly through the fog he was dumbfounded when he found himself on the doorstep of his own home. Going to his room he penned the words of the beautiful hymn:
God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform; He plants his footsteps in the sea, And rides upon the storm.
His purposes will ripen fast, Unfolding every hour; The bud may have a bitter taste, But sweet will be the flower."
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me in my times of despair and depression to trust in you. Hide me in the shelter of your love and lead me to the place of help that I need. Thank you 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
Books by Bestseller and Popular Authors: The Miracle of Kindness His Needs, Her Needs by Willard F. Harley, Jr.
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Loving & Understanding People by Dick Innes
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Damaged Emotions by David Seamands Healing of the Memories by David Seamands...
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