Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 10 – No. 1608 April 19, 2008
Thought for the week: "To educate a person in the mind but not the morals is to educate a menace to society." – Teddy Roosevelt
"Cheerfulness is the best promoter of health and is as friendly to the mind as to the body." – Joseph Addison
"Those blessed with the most talent don't necessarily outperform everyone else. It's the people with follow-through who excel." – Mary Kay Ash: Founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics
"Anybody can become angry—that is easy; but to be angry with the right person, and to the right degree, and at the right time, and for the right purpose, and in the right way, that is not within everybody's power—that is not easy." – Aristotle
"Aerodynamically, the bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn't know that, so it goes on flying anyway." – Mary Kay Ash
"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from indomitable will." – Mahatma Gandhi
"Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children and no theories." – John Wilmot
Pastor Joe shocked the congregation when he announced his resignation from the church and a planned move to another church.
After the service a very distraught Mrs. Smith came to the pastor with tears in her eyes, "Oh, Pastor Joe, we are going to miss you so much. We don't want you to leave!"
The kindhearted pastor patted her hand and said, "Now, now, Sue, it's going to be OK. The pastor who takes my place might be even better than me."
"Yeah, sure," she said skeptically. "That's what Pastor Mike said when he left!"
Source and copyright: Preaching Now, published by Salem Publishing News, 104 Woodmont Blvd., Ste. 300, Nashville, TN 37205
"A West Virginia State Trooper stopped a woman for going 15 miles over the speed limit. After he handed her a ticket, she asked him, "Don't you give out warnings?"
"Yes, ma'am," he replied. "They're all up and down the road. They say, 'Speed Limit 55.'"1
This story reminds me that one day we will stand before the great Judge. There are many people who expect they will receive merely a "warning" and then they will be given an opportunity to try again. The response on that day will be, "I gave out plenty of warnings—all through your life—but you ignored them all."
Remember the rich man in Luke 16 who died and went to Hades? He begged for a messenger to be sent back as a warning to his brothers. The response he got was this: "They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them .... If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.2
The warnings are there, all over the road. If we ignore the warnings and live the way we want to live rather than for the glory of God, then we shouldn't be surprised when the punishment is issued on the Last Day.
The warnings are there—listen and heed them.3
1. from Readers Digest, "All In a Day's Work," by Patricia Greenlee.
2. Luke 16:29,31.
3. Alan Smith, Helen Street Church of Christ Fayetteville, North Carolina. http://www.tftd-online.com
Take time to learn,
It is a sign of greatness.
Take time to think,
It is a source of power.
Take time to plan,
It is the first step to fulfillment.
Take time to work,
It is the price of success.
Take time to dream,
It is the fountain of achievement.
Take time to act,
It is an expression of belief in oneself.
Take time to give,
It is a symbol of maturity.
Take time to smile,
It is the window of the soul.
Take time to love,
It is a gift of God.
"[As a child] I learned that it only takes one person and a little bit of courage to move a whole crowd. When I was in junior high school, there was a lot of horseplay going on in the locker room, and one of the guys broke through an exit door that had been nailed shut.
All of the kids had to contribute $2 to pay for the shattered door. But my dad said that it shouldn't have been nailed shut in the first place and that I shouldn't pay the money.
Everybody was kicking in their $2, and I had to stand up in class and say, "My family is not going to pay $2, because the school's at fault here."
That was hard to do as a 12-year-old. But everybody saw that I was right, and the school ended up paying for the door."
Tom Brokaw. Source: Fast Company, August 2000, p.106. Cited on Sermon Illustrations and Outlines,http://net153.com/net/
There's a [well-known] parable about a new mother who discovered a butterfly struggling mightily to escape its cocoon through a tiny opening at the top. She became concerned when the creature seemed to give up after making no progress. Certain the butterfly wouldn't make it out without help, she enlarged the hole slightly.
On its next try, the butterfly wriggled out easily. But the young woman's joy turned to horror when she saw its wings were shriveled and useless. Her well-intentioned intervention had interrupted a natural process. Forcing the butterfly to squeeze through a small opening is nature's way of assuring that blood from the creature's body is pushed into the wings. By making it easier, she deprived the butterfly of strong wings.
Childhood, too, is a sort of cocoon. If children are to emerge emotionally strong into adulthood, parents must allow, even encourage, them to struggle, make mistakes, learn from them, and pay a price for bad judgments and conduct.
Of course, good parents should be ready to protect their children from serious harm. But being overprotective can itself inflict damage. Adversity is not always an enemy. It's often teaching that helps a young person develop wings strengthened by self-confidence and self-reliance.
Helen Keller once said, "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved."
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said."1
We are never too old to serve the Lord. Caleb, forty-five years earlier, was one of the twelve spies Moses sent to spy out the Promised Land and one of the two who came back with a glowing report. At age eighty-five he still wants to serve the Lord.
Admittedly, folks lived much older back then, but no matter how old we are (except for extenuating circumstances), we are never too old to serve the Lord—even if all we can do is pray.
According to Today in the Word, "Cervantes completed Don Quixote when he was nearing 70. Clara Barton, at 59, founded the American Red Cross. Goethe finished the dramatic poem 'Faust' at 82. Verdi composed 'Othello' at 73, 'Falstaff' in his late seventies. Benjamin Disraeli became Prime Minister of England for the second time at 70."
When it comes to achieving anything worthwhile (especially serving God), it is availability—not age-ability—that counts.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, I'm available, please make me usable and use me every day in some way to be a part of what you are doing in the world today. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, amen."
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