Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 11 â€" No. 3709 September 12, 2009
Thought for the week: "The Christian is a man who can be certain about the ultimate even when he is most uncertain about the immediate." â€" D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
"A life is not measured by years lived, but by its usefulness. If you are giving, loving, serving, helping, encouraging, and adding value to others, then you're living a life that counts." â€" John Maxwell
"One person with passion is better than 40 who are merely interested." â€" Thomas Connellan
"The important point to remember is that for the government to give, it must first take away." â€" John S. Coleman
"If you want to be happy for a year, plant a garden; If you want to be happy for life, plant a tree." â€" English Proverb
"Be careful the environment you choose for it will shape you; be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them." â€" W. Clement Stone
"Some of the best tasting and nutrient rich fruits are rather small. We don't need to do big things; we just need to do things that bear fruit." â€" Ray Lammie
"During a stay with grandparents, my five-year-old niece Michaela pulled corn on a neighbor's farm for the first time. Her grandparents used the experience as a teaching tool, explaining to Michaela that the corn was God's blessing to them. At first, the work was great fun, but after only a few minutes Michaela looked at her grandmother and commented, 'You know you can buy this in the grocery store, don't you?'"
From Dana Stephens in the "Kids of the Kingdom" section of Christianity Today.
Cited on Thought for the Day, http://www.tftd-online.com.
It was a fog-shrouded morning, July 4, 1952, when a young woman named Florence Chadwick waded into the water off Catalina Island.
She intended to swim the channel from the island to the California coast. Long-distance swimming was not new to her; she had been the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions. The water was numbing cold that day. The fog was so thick she could hardly see the boats in her party. Several times sharks had to be driven away with rifle fire. She swam more than 15 hours before she asked to be taken out of the water. Her trainer tried to encourage her to swim on since they were so close to land, but when Florence looked, all she saw was fog. So she quit. . . only one-mile from her goal. Later she said, "I'm not excusing myself, but if I could have seen the land I might have made it." It wasn't the cold or fear or exhaustion that caused Florence Chadwick to fail. It was the fog.
Thought: Many times we too fail, not because we're afraid or because of the peer pressure or because of anything other than the fact that we lose sight of the goal. By the way, two months after her failure, Florence Chadwick walked off the same beach into the same channel and swam the distance, setting a new speed record, because she could see the land!
"I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14).
Somewhere recently I read this statement: "Most of the 500 wealthiest Americans got their money the old-fashioned way: they inherited it." That may be the case with money, but it is not true with the most important things in life. It's not true of character. Of course we are influenced by character by our parents, but our own character is our own doing by our own choices and the way we choose to live.
We may inherit money, but we do not inherit faith. Someone put it in a catchy line, "God has no grandchildren." Faith needs to be first-hand, personal, and appropriated by each person. Too many of us are seeking to live on borrowed faith. The 500 wealthiest Americans may have received their wealth the old-fashioned sayâ€"by inheriting itâ€"but we don't obtain character and faith that way. These are not inheritedâ€"they are personally claimed and cultivated.
Take time to thinkâ€"it is the source of power.
Take time to playâ€"it is the secret of perpetual youth.
Take time to readâ€"it is the fountain of wisdom.
Take time to prayâ€"it is the greatest power on earth.
Take time to love and be lovedâ€"it is a God-given privilege.
Take time to be friendlyâ€"it is the road to happiness.
Take time to laughâ€"it is the music of the soul.
Take time to giveâ€"it is too short a day to be selfish.
Take time to workâ€"it is the price of success.
What could I say to 700 bankers, investors, and lawyers deeply involved in the commercial real-estate market?
I started with a simple point: External economic forces beyond our control can diminish, even decimate, every form of financial asset we have, but the most important asset we possessâ€"integrityâ€"can only be destroyed by our own choices. Those who sacrifice integrity to save their fortunes will eventually lose both.
I showed them a cartoon of a boss discussing an issue with executives in his office. The caption reads: "This might not be ethical. Is that a problem for anybody?"
My point was that ethics is not simply a factor to consider; it's a ground rule. People who treasure their integrity summon the strength to do the right thing even when it costs more than they want to pay.
Another cartoon depicted a conference table. The head honcho points to a woman with an armful of blindfolds and announces: "Miss Jensen will now hand out the moral blinders."
The message: Try as we might, we can't avoid ethical responsibilities by covering our eyes. Our obligation to be honest, fair, and responsible doesn't go away just because we refuse to acknowledge it.
Speaking of the turmoil before the American Revolution, Thomas Paine said, "These are the times that try men's souls." Tough times always try our souls, but they also test our character.
The next year or so will be like a character boot camp for all of us where our moral backbone will be either strengthened or broken.
While we can't know when, it's absolutely certain this dark period will end. And when it does, only those who protected and preserved their integrity will emerge with the credibility to restore everything they lost.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"The LORD is my light and my salvationâ€"whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my lifeâ€"of whom shall I be afraid?"1
If you have ever been to a circus and watched the high-flying trapeze artists perform their seemingly death-defying acts, you will have undoubtedly thrilled with the exhilaration of their performance and their split-second timing. I think I'd be a nervous wreck if they didn't have a safety net below to catch them should they fall.
If I had to do that (especially without a net) I'd be absolutely terrified. Will I be able to reach my partner? Will he be able to catch me? Or will I crash and be hurt or even killed?
Sometimes life can be somewhat like that. I've been there on occasion and you probably have too. Life or work as you knew it suddenly ended. Perhaps you lost a spouse, or your marriage fell apart, or you lost your job and income. You feel like you are out there in mid-air and have no idea where you are going to land or if you are going to crash. It can be very scary and even terrifying.
I've been involved in ministry for four decades and have always been responsible for raising my own support and that of my staff and our entire ministry's operating expenses. It's quite a challenge. With recessions and other financial setbacks over the years we have lost a lot of support. At one time I really thought we were going to crash. I was scared and one morning when praying, I fell asleep and had a very vivid dream. In the dream I heard a voice clearly say, "Philippians 4:18 makes sense to me."
I awakened and immediately opened my Bible to Philippians 4:18.
It read, "I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God." And the very next verse read, "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."2
In my heart I knew that somehow God would provide. My mind was at peace. God did provide. He didn't or doesn't hand it on a silver platter, but he still does provide and our ministry continues and has become more effective than ever.
God is my safety net. Without him (at least for me) life at times could or would be terrifying.
I'm also reminded of King David who, when the Philistine enemy seized him in Gath, wrote, "When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?"3
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to learn how to trust you as David didâ€"not only when all is going wellâ€"but also when my world seems to be falling apart and I am afraid. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
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