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. 4209 October 17, 2009
Thought for the week: "We are not human beings going through a temporary spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings going through a temporary human experience." – Unknown
One Sunday morning, the pastor noticed little Alex standing in the foyer of the church staring up at a large plaque.
It was covered with names and small American flags mounted on either side of it.
The six-year old had been staring at the plaque for some time, so the pastor walked up, stood beside the little boy, and said quietly, "Good morning, Alex."
"Good morning, Pastor," he replied, still focused on the plaque. "Pastor, what is this?" The pastor said, "Well, son, it's a memorial to all the young men and women who died in the service."
Soberly, they just stood together, staring at the large plaque. Finally, little Alex's voice, barely audible and trembling with fear asked
An economics professor at Texas Tech said he had never failed a single student before but had once failed an entire class. That class had insisted that socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich—a great equalizer. The professor then said ok, we will have an experiment in this class on socialism.
All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A. After the first test the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. But, as the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too; so they studied little.. The second test average was a D! No one was happy. When the 3rd test rolled around the average was an F.
The scores never increased as bickering, blame, and name calling all resulted in hard feelings, and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else. All failed. To their great surprise, the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great; but when government takes all the reward away; no one will try or want to succeed.
Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.
Mary Kay Ash encouraged her employees at Mary Kay with an attitude of celebration and blessing.
She signed hundreds of birthday cards offering free lunch and a free movie. She commemorated employees' "blessed events" such as weddings and babies with personal gifts. She put flowers and white tablecloths in the company cafeteria, and perfume and makeup (Mary Kay brand, of course) in the rest rooms. A sign outside her office read "Department of Sunshine and Rainbows." Her credo was "Appreciation is the oil that makes things run." Ash realized that constant verbal and physical demonstrations of encouragement are necessary for the achievement of ambitious goals and to make employees feel truly valued.
Moses also knew the encouraging power of encouragement. When the desert sands seemed unending, when food became scarce, and when internal dissidents threatened to undermine the organization's purpose ("Let's return to Egypt!" they moaned), Moses reminded the Israelites of their goal, a "land of milk and honey" that truly existed, even if they had never seen it.
"Encourage one another daily" (The Bible, Hebrews 3:13).
By Lorin Wolfe on KneEmail. To subscribe, send ANY message to: kneemail-subscribe@welovegod.org
Marta was a hard-working single mother. When her minister sermonized about "living a life that matters," she worried that working to raise her kids and going to church wasn't enough. On the bus to work she made a list of other jobs she could do and volunteer work she could try.
Sylvia, an elderly woman sitting next to her, saw the worry on Marta's face and asked what was wrong. Marta explained her problem. Sylvia said, "Oh my, did your minister say you weren't doing enough?"
"No," Marta said, "but I don't know how to live a life that matters."
"You don't have to change jobs or do more volunteer work," Sylvia consoled her. "It's enough that you're a good mother. But if you want to do more, think about what you can do while doing what you already do. It's not about what you do, but how you do it."
"You don't understand," Marta said. "I sell hamburgers. How do I make that significant?"
"How many people do you serve every day?" Sylvia asked.
"Two to three hundred."
"Well, what if you set out to cheer, encourage, teach, or inspire as many of them as you can? A compliment, a bit of advice, a cheerful hello, or a warm smile can start a chain reaction that lights up lives like an endless string of Christmas bulbs."
"But that's just being nice," Marta protested.
"Right," said Sylvia, "Niceness can change lives."
Marta looked at the old woman. "So what do you do?"
"I was a housekeeper until I retired," Sylvia said. "Now I just ride the bus talking to people."
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"If you are angry, don't sin by nursing your grudge. Don't let the sun go down with you still angry—get over it quickly; for when you are angry you give a mighty foothold to the devil."1
A Daily Encounter reader writes, "I have been fighting with a lust demon for years. I have asked GOD to relieve me of this demon, but I keep slipping back and doing the same thing all over again. I have just rededicated my life to God and am on my church's outreach team. I want this demon of Satan out of my body never to return. Will you pray for me?"
Hello, Jim (name changed), Thank you for being honest and sharing your struggle with lust. To resolve any problem, it is imperative to understand the root cause of the problem. Let me assure you that lust, as with anger, is NOT a demon. If I am wrongfully angry, that is my problem, and when I fail to resolve it, I give the foothold to the enemy.
It's the same with lust. Lust is a struggle most red-blooded men struggle with at one time or another. Severe lust, however, is usually a symptom of repressed love or unmet love needs. As long as you blame the problem on anything outside of yourself, you will never overcome it because lust is a problem within. I don't know who told you it was a demon, but I challenge this person to find anywhere in the Bible where it says there is "a demon of lust."
Sure, Satan is the originator of all sin and does tempt us, but most of us don't need the devil or a demon to make, or even cause, us to lust. We can do it all by ourselves because we are all sinners.
So how do you overcome? First and foremost, you need not only confess your lust to God, but also ask him to confront you with the real cause of your lust ... to show you the root cause of the problem ... and then to lead you to the help you need to overcome. Only by facing the truth will you be set free.
Remember too, as David wrote in the Psalms, "The Lord is near to all who call on him; to all who call on him in truth."2
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, whenever I have any problem that I can't resolve, please help me to see the root cause of it and help me to find the support I need to overcome. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, amen."
Daily Encounter, a free weekday e-mail inspirational from ACTS International is now going to 307,000+ 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 80 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.
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 307,000+ 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
"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.
