Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 10 – No. 3708 September 13, 2008
Thought for the week: "I've learned that encouragement from a good teacher can turn a student's life around." – Unknown
"A leader has the vision and conviction that a dream can be achieved. He inspires the power and energy to get it done." – Ralph Lauren
"All marriages are happy. It's trying to live together afterwards that causes all the problems." – Shelly Winters
"I've learned that life is like a scooter car; not much happens unless you do some pedaling." – Unknown
"I've learned that deciding who you marry is the most important decision you'll ever make." – Unknown
"I've learned that you can tell how good a parent you were by observing your children with their children." – Unknown
"Those who are not looking for happiness are the most likely to find it, because those who are searching forget that the surest way to be happy is to seek happiness for others." – Martin Luther King Jr.
Don't undermine your worth
by comparing yourself with others.
It is because we are different
that each of us is special.
Don't set your goals by what other
people deem important.
Only you know what is best for you.
Don't take for granted
the things closest to your heart.
Cling to them as you would your life,
for without them, life is meaningless.
Don't let your life slip through
your fingers by living in the past
or for the future.
By living your life one day at a time,
you live all the days of your life.
Don't give up when you
still have something to give.
Nothing is really over
until the moment you stop trying.
Don't be afraid to admit
that you are less than perfect.
It is this fragile thread
that binds us to each other.
Don't be afraid to encounter risks.
It is by taking chances
that we learn how to be brave.
Don't shut love out of your life
by saying it's impossible to find.
The quickest way to receive love
is to give love; the fastest way to lose love
is to hold it too tightly; and the best way
to keep love is to give it wings.
Don't dismiss your dreams.
To be without dreams is to be without hope,
To be without hope is to be without purpose.
Don't run through life so fast that you
forget not only where you've been,
but also where you are going.
Don't forget, a person's greatest
emotional need is to feel appreciated.
Don't be afraid to learn.
Knowledge is weightless, a treasure
you can always carry easily.
Don't use time or words carelessly.
Neither can be retrieved.
Life is not a race, but a journey
to be savored each step of the way.
Yesterday is History,
Tomorrow is a Mystery and
Today is a gift:
that's why we call it
The Present.
By Nancy Sims. Cited on Graphic Humor & Inspiration. To subscribe send a blank email to richardw@olypen.com with Subscribe to GHI in the Subject line. Editor: Richard G Wimer.
The twelve-year-old boy papered his bedroom walls with sports clippings of his favorite sports hero. Then at age 14, much to his delight, he actually got to meet him. To his astonishment, and beyond his wildest dreams, this was not a one-time opportunity. His hero took him under his wing and spent quite a bit of time with him. They loved to go fishing together. However, after awhile, the boy began to notice that the more time they spent together, the more he saw the difference between the image and the actual man. Upon closer inspection, he learned that his hero was not all that he thought him to be.
In fact, years later, as he spoke to an audience of how he got a closer and closer look at the man he once idolized, he confessed, "And the nearer I got, the smaller he became." He went on to say to that same audience, "Then I learned about Jesus, and have spent the last thirty-five years drawing closer to Him. And you know what I have discovered? I find that the nearer I get, the bigger He becomes!
Myrtie Howell was a devoted Christian woman who had lived a hard life. Her family was very poor. When she was 10, she quit school and went to work in a steel mill for 10 cents a day. She married at age 17, then in early 1940, her husband was killed in an accident. When that happened, she lost her home, and she had to go back to work to support herself and three children.
Years later, her declining health forced her to move into an old, high-rise nursing home. A few weeks later, her youngest son died, and that's when she fell into a depression. She said, "Lord, what more can I do for you? I've lost everything that ever meant something to me, and now I'm stuck in this dark, dreary room. I have nothing left to live for! I want to die! I've had enough of this prison. Take me home."
Then God spoke to her as clearly as possible. He said, "I'm not through with you yet, Myrtie. Write to prisoners."
So, she wrote a letter and sent it to the Atlanta Penitentiary. This is what the letter said: "Dear Inmate, I am a grandmother who loves and cares for you. I am willing to be a friend. If you'd like to hear from me, write me. I will answer every letter you write. A Christian friend, Grandmother Howell."
The letter was given to the prison chaplain, and he gave her the names of eight prisoners to whom she could. Prison Fellowship gave her some more names. Soon, she was corresponding with up to forty inmates a day. She became a one-woman ministry reaching into prisons across America. She said, "I thought my life was over, but these past few years have been the most fulfilling years of my life!"
Myrtie Howell became a great missionary for God out of a one-room apartment. No matter where you live or what your situation is like, God can still do wonderful things through your life. As long as your heart is still beating and your blood is still pumping, Jesus Christ is not through with you.
During a camping trip, Sam and Tom saw a bear coming their way. Sam dropped his backpack and told Tom he was going to run for it.
His surprised friend said, "You can't outrun a bear."
Sam replied, "I don't have to outrun the bear. I just have to outrun you."
Sadly, this "look-out-for-number-one" mentality is a common approach in business, politics, and sports. Basically good people routinely engage in and justify selfish, short-sighted conduct that treats coworkers, colleagues, and teammates as competitors rather than comrades.
In Steven Carr Reuben's book, Children of Character, he writes about a very different social vision where people find greater meaning and satisfaction in their life by creating caring communities. To make his point, he tells of nine boys and girls in the Special Olympics who were competing in the 100-yard dash.
Just as the race started, one of the boys stumbled, fell, and started to cry. The other eight heard him and looked back. First one, then another, then all of them stopped running and went back to help their fallen comrade.
One of the runners, a girl with Down syndrome, bent down and kissed the fallen boy. "This will make it better," she said.
All nine then linked arms and triumphantly walked together to the finish line. "That," Reuben wrote, "is what being part of a community is really about."
It's a lot better way to live than trying to outrun each other.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things."1
"Do you remember the Mercedes TV commercial a few years ago that showed a Mercedes crashing into a concrete wall during a safety test? An engineer in a white lab coat walks over after the crash and kneels down to examine the damage, which is minimal. A reporter then asks the engineer about Mercedes' energy absorbing car body. After the engineer tells all about the unique design, the reporter asks him why Mercedes doesn't enforce their patent on the design, a design evidently copied by several other companies because of its success.
"The engineer then replied matter-of-factly, 'Because some things in life are too important not to share.' How true this is. There are many things in life that fall into this 'too important not to share category.' Advances in science, in medicine, in technology. But all of these pale in importance to that of sharing our faith."2
As Billy Graham said, "I am convinced the greatest act of love we can ever perform for people is to tell them about God's love for them in Christ."
There are many ways we can do this. Here's one very simple way. For example, whenever I eat at a restaurant, I always leave one of my Good News business witness cards with the tip. And whenever a suitable opportunity arises, without being pushy, I ask the person I am talking to if I can give him or her one of my cards. It is a very attractive card that invites people to visit one of our Good News web sites. The site has many articles that speak to the felt needs of the average person—articles that deal with overcoming worry, stress, marriage, relationships, and the like.
And, by the way, speaking to an individual's felt needs is the only known sure-fire way to get people to read any message. The web site also has a highly visible link to the clear gospel message, "How to Be Sure You're a Real Christian ... without having to be religious." The general card I give out in the U.S. points to: www.GoodNewsfor.com/usa. (We also have a witness card available for www.GoodNewsfor.com/the_world. In time we will have them for other countries and in other languages as well.)
I've never had anyone ever refuse to accept one of these cards. They are attractively printed and are not in any way preachy. This is a very easy, attractive, and non-offensive way to witness even for the most timid person. If you live in the U.S., or have friends who live in the U.S., I encourage you to send for a package of 50 of the "Good News for USA" business witness cards to give to family, friends and contacts. They are only a web click away at: https://actscom.com/donate.php and are available for a donation, not only to cover the cost of printing and postage, but also to help support the building and maintaining of this gospel web outreach ministry. Note: for a photo of these business witness cards click on https://actscom.com/witness_cards.php.
It is true, the gospel message of Jesus Christ is far too important not to share. Please send today for a pack of Good News Business Witness cards so you, too, can be involved in what God is doing in the world today.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, I come to you with all my fears making myself available for you to use as a witness for Jesus Christ. Please use me to be 'as Christ' in some way to someone in need today, and give me the courage to share my Christian faith in a non-offensive and gracious way. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
1. Romans 10:15 (NKJV).
2. Rev. Steve Jackson, Sermon: "Come and See."
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