Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 10 – No. 4908 December 06, 2008
Thought for the week: "What could God accomplish through you if He had your undivided attention and loyalty?" – Charles Stanley
Do the Opposite. Sometimes doing exactly the opposite of what you have been doing up till now can turn out to be the perfect solution. The natural tendency for a person when they find themselves in a hole is to dig deeper.
Remember, the first law of holes is, "When you find yourself in one, stop digging."
A friend of mine tells of the day he went with a group of people to a nursing home, to the ward that cares for those suffering from Alzheimer's.
Most of the residents were, to put it as kindly as possible, no longer there. Their stares were vacant, their memory as empty as a Montana prairie. They remembered nothing, knew no one, not even themselves. It was a heartbreaking experience.
What could the visitors do? What could they say? Because they didn't know what to talk about, they sang hymns, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus," and "Jesus Loves Me, This I Know."
And something astonishing happened. These elderly people began to sing along! Silver heads perked up, feathery thin voices were raised in song. Apparently the earliest childhood memories are the very last to go, and these poor victims of this dreadful disease remembered the songs they sang in Sunday school. Their oldest memories, dating to before the Fireside Chats, before the Waffen SS, before that street in New York crashed—these memories still lit these otherwise dark minds!
And they say that children don't learn anything!
The Teacher said it best: "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" (Matthew 19:14).
1. Doing what's right—following our conscience; refusing to compromise ourselves, or our principles, despite pressures and temptations to the contrary, and
2. Taking a stand against what's wrong—speaking out, and acting out, whenever we see others do things that are incorrect or inappropriate.
Individuals who do this consistently are truly courageous people.
Thought for Today by Ray Lamie. To subscribe send a blank email to RIL3@aol.com with "Subscribe" in the Subject line.
In 1964, a young woman named Kitty Genovese was stabbed to death outside her apartment building in Queens, New York. She was attacked repeatedly over the course of an hour. Despite her screams, none of the 38 neighbors intervened or called for help. Some were afraid. Some didn't want to get involved. Some thought someone else would do it.
The incident became a symbol of the increased callousness, self-centeredness, and fearfulness of a society where brutes, bullies, and other bad guys act with confidence that onlookers won't interfere.
The long array of billion-dollar scandals rocking corporate America is not so much the result of growing hordes of clever scoundrels as it is the product of passive complicity of innocent people who are willing to look the other way to protect their job, their relationship with the boss, or their incentive compensation.
The moral root of the issue is responsibility. As Edmund Burke said, "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing."
We aren't obligated to put ourselves at risk to right every wrong we witness, but we should do so when the consequences are serious. We're accountable for creating an environment that is hostile, not accommodating, to illegal and unethical conduct.
The duty of responsibility requires both good sense and courage to help us avoid the extremes of doing nothing and trying to do everything. One thing is certain, though. The world will be better if we all do a little more.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again."1
In his book, Peak Performers, Dr. Charles Garfield describes how the astronauts keep their spacecraft on course.
"On their flights between earth and the moon, it was said, the Apollo ships were off course much of the time. In each instance, the spacecraft would wander off its path and the crew would correct—wander off and correct, again and again. And do you know what? It didn't matter. What mattered were the results. They got to the moon. They got home. They did it by having the discipline and knowledge to get themselves back on course. They followed not a perfect path, but a critical path."
Whether we're shooting for the moon, seeking to achieve a better personal or family life, or seeking to obey and serve God, whatever our goals, the principle is the same. There are always unpredictable and unexpected events that call for change and adjustment. Although the astronauts had to be precise in their calculations, they still allowed for mistakes and corrections. The person who doesn't allow for such adjustments will probably not reach his or her goals. As Garfield said, the critical path is the way to reach any target.
For the Christian, our goal is to obey and serve God and to go on to maturity. We will stumble at times, make mistakes, fail, and hit many a bump in the road. When we fall, however, the important thing is to get up, correct our course and go on. This is the critical path for us.
And as one author reminds us, "The bumps are what we climb on!"
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, every day I commit and trust my life and way to you and commit my life to serving you. Thank you that you are always with me to guide and direct my life and correct any wrong or harmful turns that I might make—to keep me on target with the goals and purpose you have for my life. 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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have read it ... made their marriage sizzle. Fall in Love Stay in Love Just Hand Over the Chocolate ... Love, Sex, and Lasting Relationships Sex Starts in the Kitchen Making Children Mind Without Losing Yours Harried With Children Adolescence Is Not an Illness Show Time It Takes a Church to Raise a Christian
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Loving & Understanding People by Dick Innes
I Hate Witnessing by Dick Innes
God's Formula for Success by Dick Innes
Damaged Emotions by David Seamands Healing of the Memories by David Seamands...
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