Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
To receive the email edition of Weekend Encounter (without charge) click on the Subscribe button.
Privacy policy: We do not sell or rent subscriber's e-mail
addresses to anyone. We value your privacy.
Global Communications Outreach:
Learn how to be a missionary right from your own home and have a vital part in worldwide gospel outreach by becoming an ACTS People Power for Jesus Partner. Click HERE There is no charge.
Vol. 11 – No. 3609 September 05, 2009
Thought for the week: "I don't think of myself as a poor deprived ghetto girl who made good. I think of myself as somebody who from an early age knew I was responsible for myself, and I had to make good." – Oprah Winfrey
"The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn't being said." – Peter F. Drucker
"Everyone who has ever taken a shower has had an idea. It's the person who gets out of the shower, dries off, and does something about it that makes a difference." – Nolan Bushnell, Founder of Atari
"Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain, and most fools do." – Dale Carnegie
"What we do is a measure of who we are. If we imagine our work as labor, we become laborers. If we imagine our work as art, we become artists." – Jeffrey Patnaude
"Don't let perfection get in the way of excellence." – Unknown
"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure." – Colin Powell
"Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not on this earth for eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand and melting like a snowflake." – Marie Beynon Ray (Adapted)
Once upon a time there was a bunch of tiny frogs who arranged a running competition. The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower.
A big crowd gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants. The race began, but no one in the crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower. You heard statements such as:
"Oh, WAY too difficult!"
"They will NEVER make it to the top."
"Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!"
The tiny frogs began collapsing one by one except for those who, in a fresh tempo, were climbing higher and higher.
The crowd continued to yell, "It is too difficult!!! No one will make it!"
More tiny frogs got tired and gave up. But one continued higher and higher and higher. He just wouldn't give up!
At the end everyone else had given up climbing the tower. Except for the one tiny frog who, after a big effort, was the only one who reached the top!
All of the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it. A contestant asked the tiny frog how he had found the strength to succeed and reach the goal.
3. In Retrospect—Words from a Survivor of Flight 1549
On January 15, 2009, Gerry McNamara was on US Airways Flight 1549 that ditched in the Hudson River. Here is his account of the event. Among other things he said, "There is a great deal to be learned including [from this experience]: Why has this happened to me? Why have I survived and what am I supposed to do with this gift? For me, the answers to these questions and more will come over time, but already I find myself being more patient and forgiving, less critical and judgmental.
For now I have four lessons I would like to share:
1). Cherish your families as never before, and go to great lengths to keep your promises.
2). Be thankful and grateful for everything you have, and don't worry about the things you don't have.
3). Keep in shape. You never know when you'll be called upon to save your own life, or help someone else save theirs.
4). When you fly, wear practical clothing. You never know when you'll end up in an emergency or on an icy wing in flip flops and pajamas and of absolutely no use to yourself or anyone else.
It is the soldier,
not the President,
who gives us democracy.
It is the soldier,
not the Congress,
who takes care of us.
It is the soldier,
not the Reporter,
who has given us Freedom of Press.
It is the soldier,
not the Poet,
who has given us Freedom of Speech.
It is the soldier,
not the campus Organizer,
who has given us the
Freedom to Demonstrate.
It is the soldier,
who salutes the flag;
who serves beneath the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
that allows the protester to burn the flag.
John Wooden, the famous UCLA basketball coach, always kept a cross in his pocket...
He said he kept it there to remind himself that there was something more important in life than basketball.
Thought: The cross (Philippians 2:8) ought to remind us that there is something more important in life than anything else.
It's more important than politics.
It's more important than business.
It's more important than romance.
It's more important than education.
It's more important than your career.
It's more important than your health.
It's more important than your safety.
It's more important than your very life!
I didn't mean to be disrespectful, but when I was invited to speak to a group of student leaders at a prominent college, I asked what they had done to justify the label "leader." Most responded that they were selected or elected to represent fellow students, and that their official position in student government confirmed they were leaders.
I suppose "office" or "authority" is a form of leadership, but to me leading is an active noun. Holding an office provides authority and status that can be used to lead, but if those tools aren't employed effectively, the officeholder is not a leader.
True leaders are catalysts to bold action or meaningful change. They teach, persuade, and inspire. They change minds and attitudes. They mobilize people. The credentials of a real leader are the list of things he or she reforms for the better.
Unfortunately, exemplary student leadership is as rare as exemplary governmental leadership. Politicians in both contexts are often more concerned with building their resumes than changing the world. They tend to be so preoccupied with small issues that appeal to the immediate self-interest of their constituents that they fail to address the harder, more important problems.
Focusing on perennial issues of student government—parking, food services, social events, and apathy—virtually guarantees insignificance.
If you want to be a real leader, I told the students, do something that truly matters. Tackle binge drinking, substance abuse, plagiarism, irresponsible and disrespectful sex, hazing, or indifferent and incompetent teaching.
These issues are complex and difficult, but that's why we need leaders.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"You may be sure that your sin will find you out."1
Coming home from work, a woman stopped at the corner deli to buy a chicken for supper. The butcher reached into a barrel, grabbed the last chicken he had, flung it on the scales behind the counter, and told the woman its weight. She thought for a moment. "I really need a bit more chicken than that," she said. "Do you have any larger ones?"
Without a word, the butcher put the chicken back into the barrel, groped around as though finding another, pulled the same chicken out, and placed it on the scales. "This chicken weighs one pound more," he announced. The woman pondered her options and then said, "Okay. I'll take them both."2
Don't you love it?
Honesty is still the best policy—and we can be sure of this, our sins/lies will find us out—even if it is eventually!
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to always be honest with myself, with you and with others in all of my dealings. Please forgive me where I have sinned and, wherever possible, help me to put right any wrongs that I have done to others. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
Note: For further help read the article, "Forgiveness: The Power That Heals" at: http://tinyurl.com/3bw3q3.
And, if you have never received God's forgiveness, be sure to read the article, "How to Be Sure You're a Real Christian (without having to be religious) at: http://tinyurl.com/real-christian.
1. Numbers 32:23 (NIV).
2. Charles Mims, Sermon: "Morality and Integrity in Society."
Daily Encounter, a free weekday e-mail inspirational from ACTS International is now going to 304,000+ subscribers. Scores of letters from around the world have come from readers saying how much they are being helped by this brief, practical devotional.
Over 79 million e-mail Daily, Weekend and Prayer Encounters are delivered to subscribers every year!
NOTE: Some ISPs (especially AOL) now use e-mail filtering software that allows you to add e-mail addresses to your 'buddy', 'safe', or 'approved' list. Please be sure to add acts@actsweb.org to yours so you won't miss any issue of Daily Encounter.
9. Receive E-mail Edition of Weekend Encounter ... Free
NOTE: Some ISPs (especially AOL) now use e-mail filtering software that allows you to add e-mail addresses to your 'buddy', 'safe', or 'approved' list. Please be sure to add acts@actsweb.org to yours so you won't miss any issue of Weekend Encounter.
One of ACTS greatest needs is Prayer Partners to stand with us as we seek to share the gospel with millions of people around the world through E-mail and the Internet and to win the lost to Jesus. If you would like to be an ACTS Prayer Partner, please subscribe to the Prayer Encounter list. Approximately two prayer reports are emailed monthly. Thank you.
If you have a special prayer request please submit it to David Clark at: www.responda.co.uk/prayer.php. David is not on the ACTS staff but is offering this as a service to Daily and Weekend Encounter readers.
Weekend Encounter and Daily Encounter are just two of the ways the nonprofit organization, ACTS International, is working to improve the spiritual and emotional life of many thousands of people around the world.
Every weekday Daily Encounter is going to 304,000 subscribers, and every week Weekend Encounter is going to almost 10,000 subscribers worldwide—many of whom are in places where it is forbidden to spread the Christian gospel and message. Plus we reach several hundred thousand more every week through our advertising. As a result every day we are seeing an average of 5-6 salvation responses from around the world—over 3000 in the past 12 months!
If you find value in the free Weekend Encounter and/or Daily Encounter, we hope you will be comfortable donating at least $26. That's only 50 cents a week for an entire year (tax-deductible in the U.S.). You can donate in one of the following ways:
Oprah Winfrey: "Books were my pass to personal freedom. I learned to read at age three, and soon discovered there was a whole world to conquer that went beyond our farm in Mississippi." – Oprah Winfrey
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.
has topped the charts as the best marriage
book available. More than one million couples
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
On Sale at: http://www.actscom.com/store
Cassettes:
Healing, Wholeness & Happiness by Dick Innes
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...
On SALE at:http://tinyurl.com/2unmmy
1. Bible concordance and Bible helps
2. New Hope Crisis Counseling with trained
lay/volunteer counselors. www.newhopenow.org 3. E-Word Today for a daily Bible reading
4. To find your ZIP+4 Area Code in the U.S.A.
5. How to find and write to your U.S. Representative
6. ASK ... Smart answers fast
7. Send a FREE greeting card for all occasions
8. To check the weather in your area
9. Hoax Web Sites
10. Plus many more sources of helpful information
"Because the world is hungry,
go with bread.
Because the world is filled with strife,
go with peace.
Because the world is filled with deceptions and lies,
go with truth.
Because the world would die without,
go with the love of God."
ACTS International
PO Box 73545
San Clemente, CA 92673-0119
U.S.A.
To receive the email edition of Weekend Encounter
without charge click on the Subscribe button.
Privacy policy: We do not sell or rent subscriber's e-mail
addresses to anyone. We value your privacy.
