Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 11 – No. 0809 February 21, 2009
Thought for the week: "If your treasure is on earth, you are going from it; if it is in heaven, you are going to it." – Unknown
"Nobody stands taller than those willing to stand corrected." – William Safire
"The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary." – Unknown
"Life is like riding a bicycle. You don't fall off unless you stop peddling." – Claude D. Pepper
"The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between political parties either—but right through every human heart." – Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn
"Realize that true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside. Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving. Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug. Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself." – Og Mandino
"The essence of real sport is the pursuit of victory with honor. Take away the honor and it's no longer sport." – Michael Josephson
"Trying times are not the times to stop trying." – Ray Owen
As a group of amateur climbers scaled part of the Matterhorn near Zermatt, Switzerland, a vicious gust of wind came along at a narrow ledge. The guide quickly shouted, "Get down on your knees! You are safe only on your knees!"
That's good advice for all of us: The ledges of life are narrow, and the winds are strong. Only on our knees, seeking God relentlessly in our prayers, can we find safety and security.
Your struggle may be lasting but it is not everlasting. No one is immune to problems—but take heart—"We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed, and broken. We are perplexed because we don't know why things happen as they do, but we don't give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going" (2 Cor 4:8,9 Living Bible).
John Mason. Source, Faith Thought for the Day by Ray Lammie. To subscribe send a blank email to RIL3@aol.com.
The following comments were left on Forest Service registration sheets and comment cards by backpackers completing wilderness camping trips:
"A small deer came into my camp and stole my bag of pickles. Is there a way I can get reimbursed? Please call."
"Instead of a permit system or regulations, the Forest Service needs to reduce worldwide population growth to limit the number of visitors to wilderness."
"Trails need to be wider so people can walk while holding hands."
"Trails need to be reconstructed. Please avoid building trails that go uphill."
"Too many bugs and leeches and spiders and spider webs. Please spray the wilderness to rid the area of these pests."
"Chairlifts need to be in some places so that we can get to wonderful views without having to hike to them."
"Reflectors need to be placed on trees every 50 feet so people can hike at night with flashlights."
"Need more signs to keep area pristine."
"The places where trails do not exist are not well marked."
"Too many rocks in the mountains."
Too many rocks in the mountains? I suppose the sky is too blue, there are too many leaves on the trees and too much water in the ocean as well! It's hard to imagine anyone complaining about God's creation. I stand in awe every day of His handiwork, from the mountains to the deserts to the beaches and everything in between!1
"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...."2
1. Alan Smith, Helen Street Church of Christ, Fayetteville, NC. www.tftd-online.com
2. Psalm 19:1-4 (NIV).
According to a survey of parents, 93 percent of them want schools to teach basic values like honesty and respect. The problem is, schools are left to contend with the seven percent of parents who disagree with that. In any enterprise that seeks to avoid conflict and find consensus, that small minority can often dictate policy.
Too often, aggressive objectors bully administrators into quick surrender with the threat of contentious and prolonged opposition. This has created a tyranny of the minority. Five percent can make so much noise that they seem like 25 percent. When it comes to a decision, they're often treated as if they were 55 percent.
I support the right of all people to speak their minds, and the corollary duty of administrators to listen to and consider what everyone has to say. My concern is, we seem to have elevated the right to be heard into a right to win. We seem to be turning the basic democratic principle of "the majority rules" upside down so that "the minority controls." That's not how democracy's supposed to work.
Of course, the will of the majority never should be allowed to trample basic human rights of a minority. I'm not talking about persecution or discrimination. I'm talking about how to deal with disagreements.
Just as we must always guard against oppressive majorities, we must also guard against dictatorial minorities. We need leaders who have the moral courage to stand up to those who would thwart the will of the majority with demands, protests, and backdoor politicking.
We also need more people who are willing to lose and to subject their personal preferences to the will of the majority. Democracy requires respect from all sides.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."1
One reason we don't get some prayers answered is because we are praying the wrong prayer. Not necessarily because of a wrong motive, but because we focus our prayer on the symptom and not on the cause of the problem or illness.
There's a well-known hymn that says, "O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer." We could also sing, "O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not pray the right prayer."
For example, if I have a stomach ulcer or a headache, I tend to ask God to heal my ulcer or my headache. This is what I mean by focusing our prayer on the symptom. While some ulcers have a biological cause, some are caused not by what I eat but by what is eating me, and then what I eat aggravates the problem. I've never had an ulcer and rarely have a headache, but when I do have a headache, it's usually because I am either mad about something or am under a lot of stress.
If I am going to ask God for healing, I need to admit not only the symptom, but also ask him to give me the insight to see, and the courage to face, anything in my life that is causing my illness, and then ask him for the help to resolve it.
It is unrealistic to ask God to heal my symptoms if I fail to face and deal with the causes. If he did, he would be irresponsible. It is possible, however, to exchange one symptom for another because if we don't deal with the cause of our problem, in time it will come out another way—probably a worse way.
I recall hearing one man claim that the moment he became a Christian, God delivered him from his alcoholism. He may have quit his drinking but it was rather obvious that he was now (or still is) a rage-aholic, which quite possibly was a cause behind his alcoholism.
This principle applies not only to physical ills but to many other problems as well. I learned this lesson the hard way. After many years trying to resolve a frustrating situation I was in, I begged God to give me the courage to face the truth of what I was contributing to the problem. Within two weeks I saw what an enabler I had been for so long. Once I saw the truth, I knew exactly what I needed to do, which in the doing resolved my part of the problem.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, with every problem, illness, conflict, and challenge I face, help me to pray the right prayer and see any cause behind my sickness or problem and what I am contributing to my situation. Help me to resolve whatever cause there might be so that I will clear the way for your deliverance, healing, and freedom. 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
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