Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 11 – No. 0209 January 10, 2009
Thought for the week: "What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others." – Pericles
"Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws." – Plato
"If you can keep your head when all around you are losing theirs and blaming it on you, then the world is yours and all that's in it." – Rudyard Kipling
"God doesn't promise us a tomorrow. He does promise everlasting life!" – Anonymous
"Worry is interest paid on trouble before it comes due." – William Ralph Inge
"Don't argue for other people's weaknesses. Don't argue for your own. When you make a mistake, admit it, correct it, and learn from it immediately." – Stephen R. Covey
"Values are like fingerprints. Nobody's are the same, but you leave 'em all over everything you do." – Elvis Presley
A man bought a parrot at an auction after some heavy bidding. "I hope this bird talks," he told the auctioneer.
"Talk?" the auctioneer replied, "Who do you think has been bidding against you for the past ten minutes?"
Sad to say we seem to be living in a day when a person's word has less and less value. Once upon a time a man's word was his bond. Not any more I'm afraid. For far too many their word doesn't mean a thing. We've become pretty adept at parroting what we think people want to hear.
I remember one of my college professors teaching us that a person's character (among other things) could be measured by what value he or she put on his/her word. People who don't keep their word have a character issue and cannot be trusted.
Fortunately, however, of one thing we can be certain God always keeps his word and always keeps his promises. To be Christ-like we need to do the same! For after all, it's what we do, not what we say, that says the most of all.
Highly creative people tend to have fluid, flexible, adaptive minds. Here are three statements that creative people can make easily and which you learn by regular practice.
Admit It When You Are Wrong. The first is simply, "I was wrong." Many people are so concerned with being right that all their mental energy is consumed by stonewalling, bluffing, blaming and denying. If you're wrong, admit it and get on to the solution or the next step.
Face Up to Mistakes. Second, non-creative people think that it is a sign of weakness to say, "I made a mistake." On the contrary, it is actually a sign of mental maturity, personal strength and individual character. Remember, everybody makes mistakes every single day.
Be Flexible With New Information. The third statement that creative people use easily is, "I changed my mind." It is amazing how many uncomfortable situations people get into and stay in because they are unwilling or afraid to admit that they've changed their minds.
Copyright 2008, Brian Tracy International.
Brian Tracy International
462 Stevens Ave Suite 202
Solana Beach, CA 92075.
http://www.briantracy.com/default.aspx
In 1999, Saint Laurent [famous fashion designer who recently died] sold the rights of his label to Gucci Group NV, ceding control of his Rive Gauche collection, fragrances, cosmetics and accessories for $70 million cash and royalties.
When he bowed out of fashion in 2002, Saint Laurent spoke of his battles with depression, drugs and loneliness. "I've known fear and terrible solitude," he said. "Tranquilizers and drugs, those phony friends. The prison of depression and hospitals. I've emerged from all this, dazzled but sober."
Seventy million dollars and world-wide fame could not buy this successful man peace or happiness. Yet I know people who have no fame and little money, who have peace of mind and are very happy. What they have is a free gift and costs nothing. Saint Laurent was obviously no saint; how interesting. His seventy million is still here on Earth. Nothing wrong with having money [it can do a lot of good] and there is nothing wrong with having fame, if we can deal with the "pride issue". However, for what purpose if we haven't connected with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? There is no amount of money as powerful as a connection to Christ for a truly successful life.
If Saint Laurent had found Christ, the drugs, pills, depression, fear and loneliness could have been replaced with joy and peace.
Source: Faith Thought for the Day by Ray Lammie. To subscribe send a blank email to RIL3@aol.com with Subscribe in the Subject line.
Although rising cheating rates in schools have signaled that the hole in our moral ozone is getting bigger, the media seem to have just discovered there's a problem. The latest student trick they've uncovered is the use of the Internet and cell phones.
This drives me crazy because the more we focus on all the clever ways youngsters cheat, the more likely we are to ignore the fact that the biggest single factor in escalating academic dishonesty is the failure of parents and teachers to diligently teach, enforce, advocate, and model personal integrity.
It's adults, not kids, who have the greatest responsibility to create an ethical culture that nurtures the virtues of honor, honesty, and fairness. Part of that responsibility is to commit to the integrity of exams and grades. We can thwart high-tech exam cheating by old-fashioned low-tech methods:
Don't let students bring anything into the exam room that isn't essential to the test.
If calculators are necessary, assure that they're emptied of any improper information.
Prepare alternative forms of exams.
Don't give the same test to different classes throughout the day.
Have an attentive adult proctor each exam by continually walking among the test-takers.
What message do schools send when these simple procedures are ignored?
The truth is, we'll never solve the cheating problem until those who have the opportunity to instill values and shape attitudes of young people engage in thoughtful, systematic, and comprehensive efforts to promote integrity and prevent cheating.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering."1
A Daily Encounter reader writes, "I understand Jesus died for our sins. I believe it but I just can't understand why he had to do it. Didn't God have power over everything? I have looked for the answer to this question for a long time. Please help."
I'm sure that many people struggle with this same issue so let me explain. Because God is a God of infinite justice, he cannot forgive sin without justice being served. Otherwise he wouldn't be God. This means that all sin must be judged according to the moral law of God and the universe. We can no more defy this law and live than we can defy the law of gravity by jumping out of an airplane without a parachute. The end result will be death unless—unless we apply another law, the law of aerodynamics. This law makes it possible for an airplane to fly and a parachute to lower us to the earth gradually and thereby save us.
There is another universal law that we cannot defy and live. It is "the law of sin and death," which means that the judgment and penalty of all sin is death and eternal separation from God. That is, unless we apply a higher law which is "the law of the Spirit of Life," which is a God-given "spiritual parachute" to save us from eternal death. God provided this law through the death of Jesus who died in our place to pay the penalty for our sin.
Furthermore, because God is also a God of absolute holiness, no sin or unforgiven sinners can survive in his presence. As some bacteria are not able to survive in the light and die if they are exposed to it, so it is with us. In our sinful state, if we were exposed to God and his incredible light, we would be destroyed instantaneously. And herein lies our dilemma.
However, God's answer to our dilemma lies in the fact that God is not only a God of infinite justice and absolute holiness, but also a God of eternal love. Because of his love, God gave his very own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place to pay the penalty for our sins to meet the automatic demands of his (God's) justice and holiness. Christ's death made possible God's "law of the Spirit of Life"—our God-given "spiritual parachute"—to save us from eternal death.
Not to accept and use God's "parachute" means certain death from which there is no other escape. In other words, anyone who doesn't accept God's pardon will automatically die for him/herself—which means eternal separation from God, the author of all love and life, in the place or condition the Bible calls hell. All we need to do is confess our sinfulness, believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that he died in our place for our sins, and ask God for, and accept, his forgiveness and pardon. If you have never done this, you can do so right now by praying the following prayer.
"Dear God, I confess that I am a sinner and am sorry for all the wrongs that I have done. I believe that your Son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross for my sins. Please forgive me. I invite you, Jesus, to come into my heart and life as Lord and Savior. I commit and trust my life to you. Please give me the desire to be what you want me to be and to do what you want me to do. Thank you for dying for my sins, for your free pardon, for your gift of eternal life, and for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name. Amen."
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