Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 10 – No. 3908 September 27, 2008
Thought for the week: "There are two great days in a person's life—the day we are born and the day we discover why." – William Barclay
"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." – John F. Kennedy
"America did not invent human rights. In a very real sense, it is the other way around. Human rights invented America." – Jimmy Carter
"The task ahead of us is never as great as the power behind us." – Author Unknown
"It is comforting to know that the God who guides us sees tomorrow more clearly than we see yesterday." – Author Unknown
"It really doesn't matter if the person who hurt you deserves to be forgiven. Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself. You have things to do and you want to move on." – Author Unknown
It was the first day of school, and mother sent little Billy off to class. When he came home that day, she asked, "So Billy, what did you learn on your first day of school?"
Little Billy replied, "I learned to write."
"Oh, my!" his mother responded. "And on your first day of school! What did you write?"
"I don't know," said Billy. "I haven't learned to read yet."
As Chuck Colson said, "Most of us have been badly shaken by the tumultuous events ... in Wall Street. If you have an IRA or some kind of retirement plan, no doubt you're licking your wounds. You may even be fearful. I understand. I've experienced those apprehensions myself....
"Because these financial troubles are the direct result of our nation turning its back on God. Simply put, the rise of relativism in postmodern Western life has led to the collapse of a moral consensus. With everyone making up his own rules when it comes to right and wrong, is it any wonder our economic system is under stress?
"Michael Novak, the great theologian, has said that Western democratic capitalism is like a three-legged stool, resting on political freedom, economic freedom, and moral restraint. Take away moral restraint, and the stool collapses."1
For many an individual to turn to God it takes a crisis. For a nation to turn back to God it often takes a national crisis. May this be the case here in the U.S. so that we turn back to our moral moorings and again let it be said that "in God we Trust." Let's be realistic, it's going to take a lot more than all the king's horses and all the king's men to put Humpty Dumpty together again.
In 1903, the Russian czar noticed a sentry posted for no apparent reason on the Kremlin grounds. He began to do some research to figure out why this sentry had been guarding that spot for years and years. After doing a tremendous amount of study, he discovered that the placing of a sentry in that spot dated back to 1776. In that year, Catherine the Great found the first flower of spring. She was so excited that she gave the command, "Post a sentry here so that no one tramples that flower under foot!" So, 127 years later a sentry still guarded the spot, but he had no earthly idea why.
That story teaches us something about tradition and what a dangerous thing it can be. It's dangerous because it can cause us to stop thinking, to stop asking questions. We end up believing our practices and doctrines with all sincerity, but no thought is given to the question "Why?" There is no real focus other than "this is the way we have always done this; this is what we have always believed."
Traditions aren't necessarily wrong. We all get used to doing certain things in the same way. The problem develops when we are more adamant about holding onto our traditions than we are about keeping God's Word. It's a mistake made by the Pharisees in the time of Jesus.
"[Jesus] answered them, 'Why do you break the commandment of God because of your traditions? .... Because of your traditions you have destroyed the authority of God's word" (Matthew 15:3,6).
Be very careful. If the only reason you practice what you do is because "this is the way we've always done it," you may need to re-evaluate what you're doing in light of scripture.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past ... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude ... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you ... you are in charge of your attitudes.
Former President Jimmy Carter was 70 years old when he wrote this poem about his father:
This is a pain I mostly hide,
But ties of blood, or seed endure.
And even now I feel inside
The hunger for his outstretched hand.
A man's embrace to take me in,
The need for just a word of praise.
Isn't it extraordinary that even after a life of monumental achievements, Mr. Carter still feels pain when he thinks of his father, who either could not feel or would not express love and approval. Unfortunately, there are lots of people in Mr. Carter's shoes, left with bitter feelings and enduring wounds inflicted by their parents.
Yet not all bad parents are bad people. Caring parents can unintentionally injure children through excessive harshness or permissiveness or through well-intended criticism and advice that comes out as relentless disapproval or oppressive negativity. Kids not only need to know they're loved, they need to feel worthy of our love. They need to be valued not simply because they're ours, but because of who they are.
It's never too late to try to fix whatever is broken:
Consider expressing caring, pride and approval more lavishly and often. Be less critical, more helpful, less controlling. Set aside your need to be right. Be less self-righteous and more respectful toward the people you love. Be sincerely accountable and genuinely apologize, even if whatever you do may not be enough. It's not always possible to fix things that are broken, but it's worth a try.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
Imagine, if you can, living in a world without birds, animals, flowers, grass, mountains, rivers, oceans, blue skies, and starry, moonlight nights. Fortunately, it isn't so.
Our world is a beautiful place filled with fascinating creatures. Take a kangaroo, for example, the strangest "grass hoppers" you could ever wish to see. The smallest ones are only a foot tall, the largest seven feet, and fossil bones show that some in the past were twice as big as these.
A baby kangaroo is only about an inch long at birth. Immediately it clutches its way up to its mother's pouch where it lives until it can take care of itself. Fully grown it has large powerful hind legs, small front legs, and a powerful tail that helps balance it as it hops. A tall kangaroo can jump up to 25 feet and hop along at 30 miles per hour.
Another fascinating native of Australia is the koala which looks and feels like a cuddly teddy bear. Though often called a bear, it isn't one. Like the kangaroo, the koala is a marsupial that carries its young in a pouch. The baby koala stays there for about six months and then rides on its mother's back until it is self-sufficient.
Think, too of the magnificent eagle that can soar thousands of feet in the air, the unusual New Zealand kiwi—a bird with hair-like feathers that doesn't fly. Consider, too, the almost voiceless pelican whose enormous bill makes a perfect "fishing net."
Another fascinating creature is the limpet mollusk that is found along the coast of North and South America. This tiny, boneless animal lives in a shell and is so tenacious it can survive ocean depths up to three miles and, while attached to a rock, its strength is a thousand times its body weight.
Or consider the human body with its millions of tiny blood cells that carry food and oxygen to every part of the body through a network of some 60,000 miles of arteries, veins, and minuscule capillaries. Consider, too, the marvels of the human mind—how it thinks, feels, communicates, recalls, makes choices, and directs the whole of a person's life. No computer has ever matched the wonder of the human brain.
We could go on forever learning about the infinite marvels of creation just in our world, let alone the entire universe. Did this all happen by chance? It seems to me it would take a lot more faith to believe this than to believe as David wrote, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."1
"The heavens [and all of creation] declare the glory of God."2
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, how can I ever thank you enough for the marvels of nature that I am aware of—not to mention the myriads of marvels I am totally unaware of? And how can I ever thank you enough for creating me and inviting me to be a part of your family for time and eternity? Help me to so live that my life will also declare your glory. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
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