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 Dick Innes


Weekend Encounter

Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes          
Published by: ACTS International

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Vol. 11 – No. 4409  October 31, 2009

 

Thought for the week: "Life is like a mirror. If you frown at it, it frowns back. If you smile at it, it returns the greeting." – Herbert Samuels

 
    INDEX
1.   Words of Wisdom
2.   On the Lighter Side
3.   Do Unto Others...
4.   The Importance of Today
5.   Stunned Silence
6.   He Made You
7.   Unheeded Warning Signs
8.   Receive Daily Encounter Devotional  Without Charge
9.   Weekend Encounter E-mail Edition  Without Charge
10.   Know God ... Without Having to Be Religious
11.   Prayer Partners Needed
12.   To Submit a Prayer Request
13.   Please Help Support Weekend Encounter
14.   Helpful Books and Cassettes
15.   ACTS in Action Report; Archives for Daily and Weekend Encounter
 

1. Words of Wisdom

"For effective communication, use brevity. Jesus said, 'Follow me.' Now that's brief! He could be brief because of all that he was that he didn't have to say." – Jim Rohn

"If I must choose between righteousness and peace, I choose righteousness." – Teddy Roosevelt

"There is one thing that we all have in common. That is...at some point in our life, we will face adversity. It's not a matter of if but ... when." – Mac Anderson

"Just as iron rusts from disuse, even so does inaction spoil the intellect." – Leonardo da Vinci, Artist

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." – Mahatma Gandhi

"If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain." – Emily Dickinson

"What lies behind us, and what lies before us, are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Index

2. On the Lighter Side

A man was driving when a traffic camera flashed. He thought his picture was taken for exceeding the speed limit, even though he knew he was not speeding.

Just to be sure, he went around the block and passed the same spot, driving even more slowly, but again the camera flashed.

He thought this was quite funny, so he slowed down even further as he drove past the area, but the traffic camera flashed yet again.

He tried a fourth time with the same result. The fifth time he was laughing when the camera flashed as he rolled past at a snail's pace.

Two weeks later, he got five traffic fine letters in the mail for driving without a seat belt.

Submitted by Ed Bradley

Index

3. Do Unto Others...

Doing nothing for others is the undoing of one's self. We must be purposely kind and generous, or we miss the best part of existence. The heart that goes out of itself, gets large and full of joy. This is the great secret of the inner life. We do ourselves the most good doing something for others.

Horace Mann

Index

4. The Importance of Today

"This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; in its place is something that you have left behind...let it be something good."

Author Unknown. Source: Inspiration Peak
www.inspirationpeak.com/inspirational-quotes.html

Index

5. Stunned Silence

At a Women of Faith conference they were short of space for 150 people, so the staff brought in narrower chairs. Everyone had a seat, but conditions in the auditorium were cramped and nobody was happy. The director asked the guest speaker, Joni Eareckson Tada, to help calm the crowd. A childhood diving accident had left Joni quadriplegic and confined to a wheelchair.

As the attendants pushed her out onto the platform, she addressed the audience: "I understand some of you don't like the chair you're sitting in. Well, neither do I! But I've a thousand handicapped friends who'd gladly trade places with you." Immediately the hall went quiet and the complaining stopped.

Source: Sermon Fodder
http://www.sermonfodder.com

Index

6. He Made You

By Michael Josephson of Character Counts (615.5)

As Lily Tomlin said, "No matter how cynical I get, I can't keep up."

Our economy has been shattered by widespread corporate fraud. Kids lie, steal, and cheat at unprecedented rates. Parents beat up each other or referees at youth sports events or supply alcohol to fuel organized hazing. Our confidence in the integrity of journalistic institutions, the accounting profession, stockbrokers, college sports, organized religion, and business is continually shaken by a relentless barrage of shameful behavior.

It's tempting to throw up our hands in despair and surrender to cynicism.

It reminds me of the tale of the pious young man whose car broke down on his way to his place of worship. He had to walk through an area where homeless people huddled against buildings for warmth, alcoholics and mentally ill adults wandered the streets, and crack dealers sold drugs. He was overcome with a sense of despondency and doubt about the power and intentions of God.

"God," he prayed, "how can you allow all this pain and misery and do nothing?"

Receiving no answer, he became frustrated. "Lord, my faith is at issue!" he cried. "How can you allow all this suffering and do nothing?"

Then someone behind him whispered, "He didn't do nothing. He made you."

What a profound insight and daunting responsibility it is to realize that you are the instrument of reform, that your courage, compassion, and creativity in your sphere of influence can set into motion a ripple effect of healing actions and attitudes to make a better world.

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.

© 2009 Josephson Institute of Ethics; reprinted with permission. Michael Josephson, one of the nation's leading ethicists, is the founder of the Josephson Institute of Ethics and the premier youth character education program, CHARACTER COUNTS! For further information visit www.charactercounts.org

Index

7. Unheeded Warning Signs

Sample of Daily Encounter by Dick Innes

"But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man [Jesus Christ] will come at an hour when you do not expect him."1

"National Geographic magazine (May 1984 issue) showed through a series of color photos and drawings the swift and terrible destruction that wiped out the Roman Cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in A.D. 79. The explosion of Mount Vesuvius was so sudden, the residents were killed while in their routine: men and women were at the market, the rich in their luxurious baths, slaves at toil. They died amid volcanic ash and superheated gasses. Even family pets suffered the same quick and final fate. It takes little imagination to picture the panic of that terrible day.

"The saddest part is that these people did not have to die. Scientists confirm what ancient Roman writers record—weeks of rumblings and shakings preceded the actual explosion. Even an ominous plume of smoke was clearly visible from the mountain days before the eruption. If only they had been able to read and respond to Vesuvius's warning!"2

With tireless regularity—every year—Christmas and Easter remind us of the first coming of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to earth as a babe and then, as a man, died on the cruel Roman cross for the sins of lost mankind. This also reminds and warns us that Jesus promised he would come to earth a second time, but this time it would be as King of kings and Lord of lords to put down all reign of terror and to take his true followers to be with him forever in heaven. As every prophecy in God's Word about Christ's first coming was fulfilled in minutest detail, we can be just as certain that the prophecies promising his second coming will also be fulfilled in detail.

When Jesus' disciples asked him what would be the signs of his coming again, he said that there would be many "rumblings" (warning signs); that is, wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes, pestilences, "Men [people] will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things BEGIN to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."3

Could all the wars, violence, deathly disease, disasters, and increased terrorism in today's world be part of the warning signs Jesus said would occur preceding his second coming—just as there were warnings preceding the explosion of Mount Vesuvius? Jesus is coming again. The exact day and hour we don't know, but the signs of the times may be an indication that his coming is getting nearer every day.

When he comes, it will be sudden and swift. The important thing is that we are ready NOW. For he will come when the vast majority of people least expect it. Let's not be like the people in the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in A.D. 79 who failed to heed the warnings of Mount Vesuvius and suffered a dreadful quick and final fate. Whatever you do, don't put off any longer making sure that you are ready for Christ's return. For help see No. 4 below.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you that we have your promise that Jesus is coming again for this is the blessed hope of every Christian everywhere. And thank you that you told us the 'rumblings' (signs) that would precede and warn us of your soon coming. Please awaken us to the fact that it could be today. And help us to spread your salvation message to as many people as possible all around the world while the door is still open. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. Jesus in Matthew 24:43-44 (NIV).
2. Michael Bogart, Lemoore, California. Leadership, Vol. 6, no. 4.
3. Luke 21:26-28 (NIV).
4. For help see "How to Be Sure You're a Real Christian" at: www.actsweb.org/articles

Index

8. Receive Daily Encounter E-mail ... Free

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10. Know God ... Without having to be religious

Click HERE to Know God and be sure you're a real Christian

 

Index

11. Prayer Partners Needed

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.

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Index

12. To Submit a Prayer Request

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.

Helpers Needed: If you can help David pray for prayer requests, please could you go to:
www.responda.co.uk/About/member.php

Index

13. Help Support Weekend Encounter

    "Changing the World . . . One Person at a Time" 

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 311,000+ 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:

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Index

14. Helpful Books and Cassettes

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

Click HERE for books, tapes and poems by Dick Innes and others.

Index

15. ACTS in Action Report and Encounter Archives

ARCHIVES: Daily and Weekend Encounters



          "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."



Know God

ACTS International
PO Box 73545
San Clemente, CA 92673-0119
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