Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 10 – No. 4008 October 04, 2008
Thought for the week: "Habit is a cable; we weave a thread of it each day, and at last we cannot break it." – Horace Mann
"Do something wonderful; people may imitate it.' – Albert Schweitzer
"Character is much easier kept than recovered." – Thomas Paine
"It has been said that our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, but only empties today of its strength." – Charles Haddon Spurgeon
"Every man naturally desires knowledge; but what good is knowledge without fear of God? Indeed a humble rustic who serves God is better than a proud intellectual who neglects his soul to study the course of the stars." – Thomas à Kempis
"Whether you think you can or not, you are right." – Henry Ford
"Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate." – John F. Kennedy
"Good judgment comes from experience, and often experience comes from bad judgment." – Rita Mae Brown
I read about a lady who spent some time in Egypt and brought back a rather unusual story. She was at a bazaar on one of Cairo's side streets, and saw a skull being exhibited. She asked the proprietor about it. He told her it was the skull of Cleopatra.
Alongside that skull was a smaller one, which piqued her interest.
When she asked about that one, the proprietor said: "That m'lady is also Cleopatra's—but as a child."
The following news story came out of Tel Aviv. "Tel Aviv – An Israeli woman who was caught by a police officer crossing a straight white line on a road in northern Israel, found a creative way to avoid a fine and plead innocent at a future court hearing, the Yediot AhronotDaily reported on Thursday.
"Two hours after she was caught on Wednesday morning, the 45-year-old woman sent a friend to the spot, who began painting black gaps in the line on the middle of the road.
"Unfortunately for the woman and her friend, the officer was still on undercover duty at the same location and arrested the suspect."
There is the temptation when we are discovered with sin in our lives to try to "re-write" the scriptures so as to be found innocent. That's why some people say that "the Bible doesn't teach that homosexuality is a sin" or "God could never condemn us. He's a God of love and mercy."
But just as repainting lines doesn't change the offense, turning the dial on a set of scales doesn't change our weight problem, and breaking a mirror doesn't remove any dirt that may be on our faces, so removing (or ignoring) scripture doesn't change what God thinks on a matter.
"Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth" (John 17:17).
Alan Smith, Thought For the Day.
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So many lives can either be destroyed or enhanced by the way sex is used. It is a lot like atomic energy. Plutonium can be used to produce abundant energy or to enhance medical science. In less scrupulous hands, that same plutonium can be detonated in a bomb that destroys everything in its wake.
Yes, sex is powerful, and, as with everything beautiful that God created, Satan tries to steal, distort, and misuse sex as a weapon against the heart of man.
Thought: We must make a choice regarding sexual expression. We will either utilize it as a deviant, destructive power or we will harness its potential to keep love alive and vibrant in our marriage relationships.1
"Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge."2
1. Bill & Pam Farrel. Source: KneEmail: To subscribe, send any message to: kneemail-subscribe@welovegod.org.
2. Hebrews 13:4; Song of Solomon 1-8.
A little boy was helping his father move some books out of an attic into more spacious quarters downstairs. It was important to this little boy that he was helping his dad, even though he was probably getting in the way and slowing things down more than he was actually assisting. But that boy had a wise and patient father who knew it was more important to work at a task with his young son than it was to move a pile of books efficiently.
Among this man's books, however, were some rather large study books, and it was a chore for the boy to get them down the stairs. As a matter of fact, on one particular load, the boy dropped his pile of books several times. Finally, he sat down on the stairs and wept in frustration. He wasn't doing any good at all. He wasn't strong enough to carry the big books down a narrow stairway. It hurt him to think he couldn't do this for his daddy.
Without a word, the father picked up the dropped load of books, put them into the boy's arms, and scooped up both the boy and the books into his arms and carried them down the stairs. And so they continued load after load, both very much enjoying each other's company. The boy carrying the books, and the dad carrying the boy.
For centuries, poets and philosophers have written about friendship—that special bond of affection and caring that adds immeasurably to our ability to cope with bad times and expand joy when things go well.
One important aspect of friendship is acceptance conveyed in the proverb "Love is blind; friendship closes its eyes." Another is the capacity of a friend to motivate growth.
I love the line in the movie, As Good As It Gets, when the character played by Jack Nicholson expresses gratitude and amazement at the impact of a new friendship: "You make me want to be a better person."
But to really understand friendship, look into the heart of a 12-year-old girl named Alex. In a birthday letter to her best friend, she captured the essence of friendship as well as any poet:
Dear Aby, I am sooooo lucky to have you as my friend. You are sweet and funny and so much more. You are fun to be with. You crack me up with laughter and touch my heart with your kindness. You have a wonderful ability to know when to offer advice and when to sit in quiet support. Time after time, you've come to my rescue and brightened my routine days. And time after time, I realize how fortunate I am that my life includes you. Everybody should have a friend like you. But so far it looks like you are one of a kind! Your loving friend, Alexandra Devon Jacobsen
I'm proud that my daughter Abrielle evoked such words of appreciation, and I'm in awe that her 12-year-old friend had the insight and eloquence to express herself so well.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
According to an article in Christian Victory, Holiday Inn had a plan to erect a hotel on the Mount of Olives. They sent engineers to survey the hotel site to make preparations for building. Their conclusion was that it couldn't be done as they found that there was a geological fault under the Mount that is causing it to split.
Some 2,500 years ago the Bible, as stated by the prophet Zechariah, said that this split (possibly caused by a great earthquake) will take place when Jesus Christ returns to earth to put down all evil and rule and reign forever. "Then the Lord will go out fully armed for war, to fight against those nations. That day his feet will stand upon the Mount of Olives, to the east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will split apart, making a very wide valley running from east to west, for half the mountain will move toward the north and half toward the south."1
Christ's first coming is an indisputable fact of history. We can be just as certain of his second coming because he promised that if he went away he would return. Numerous prophecies regarding his first coming were fulfilled in minute detail. We can be just as certain that all the prophecies regarding his second coming will also be fulfilled in minute detail. Zechariah's prophecy and the evidence of the geological fault under the Mount of Olives is just one more confirmation of the validity of God's Word and the hope we have of Christ's return for his own. The important thing is to be ready because when we least expect it, Christ will come.
His coming will be somewhat like the earthquakes in California or anywhere else; we know they are going to come, but they strike without warning. The important thing is to be prepared ahead of time.
If Christ should come today, would you be ready? You can be by confessing your sins to him and inviting him into your heart and life as personal Lord and Savior. NOTE: See "What If There Is a Heaven?" at: http://tinyurl.com/g9ugp.
"In my Father's house are many mansions ... I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go ... I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am, there you may be also."2
Suggested prayer: Dear God, thank you for the promise that Jesus is coming back again to take all his true followers to be with him and you forever in heaven. Thank you, too, for this wonderful hope. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
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