Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 11 – No. 4609 November 14, 2009
Thought for the week: "Every thought is a seed. If you plant crab apples, don't count on harvesting golden delicious." – Bill Meyer
A sheriff stops at a ranch in rural Kentucky and talks with an old farmer. He tells the farmer, "I need to inspect your ranch for illegal grown drugs."
The old farmer says, "Okay, but don't go in that field over there."
The sheriff verbally explodes saying, "Mister, I have the authority of the Sheriffs Department with me."
Reaching into his rear pant pocket and removing his badge, the officer proudly displays it to the farmer. "See this badge? This badge means I am allowed to go wherever I wish, on any land. No questions asked or answers given. Have I made myself clear? Do you understand?"
The old farmer nods politely and goes about his chores.
Later, the old farmer hears loud screams and spies the sheriff running for his life ... close behind is the farmer's bull. With every step the bull is gaining ground on the officer. The sheriff is clearly terrified.
The old farmer immediately throws down his tools, runs to the fence and yells at the top of his lungs ...
There are fine things which you mean to do some day, under what you think will be more favorable circumstances. But the only time that is surely yours is the present, hence this is the time to speak the word of appreciation and sympathy, to do the generous deed, to forgive the fault of a thoughtless friend, to sacrifice self a little more for others. Today is the day in which to express your noblest qualities of mind and heart, to do at least one worthy thing which you have long postponed, and to use your God-given abilities for the enrichment of someone less fortunate. Today you can make your life significant and worthwhile.
Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.
I wonder how many love songs have been written about the moon, or more particularly, the light of the moon? It has inspired composers, authors, architects and poets for thousands of years. It determined the alignment of the pyramids to reflect moonlight, also prehistoric megalithic monuments of western Europe such as Stonehenge and Callanish to major buildings in the Central and South American civilizations. Such alignments demonstrate a profound knowledge of, and importance attached to, the movements of the heavens. In Greek mythology Artemis, or in Roman culture the goddess Diana, represented the moonlight and splendor of the night.
Yet although moonlight receives such great emphasis, it has no light of its own, it is simply the reflected glory of the sun. And that is what we should be—a reflection of God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. What people see in us, how we present ourselves, our charisma, aura and authority, should be a reflection of Jesus. And although things change over time, Jesus is never out of date.
Although 11-year-old Mark wasn't much of an athlete, his dad urged him to play youth baseball. Mark liked to play, but he was hurt by the remarks of teammates and spectators whenever he struck out or dropped a ball.
Just before the fourth game of the season, he told his dad he didn't want to go. "I'm no good," he said, "and everyone knows it."
His father urged him to stick with it. "Just do your best," he said. "That's all anyone can ask. Your best is good enough."
Mark struck out his first two times at bat, and each time looked over to his father, who struggled to look positive. In his last at-bat, Mark hit the ball solidly, the first time all season. It was a hard grounder to third, and the play at first was close.
When the umpire called Mark out, his father went wild. "Kill the ump!" he yelled. "Are you blind or just stupid? If you can't do the job, stay off the field!"
On the way home, Mark broke a long silence, "Dad, you said all anyone can ask for is to do his best."
"That's right, Son," his father assured him. "You did your best, and I'm proud of you. But that jerk of an umpire robbed you with a bad call."
"I wasn't talking about me," Mark replied. "I was talking about Billy's dad. He was the umpire. He was doing his best, too, but you got mad at him."
His father was taken aback, but he said, "Yeah, but he's an adult. We should expect more out of adults."
Mark looked his dad in the eye. "That's what I thought, too. By the way, I was out."
Despite his father's good intentions, he didn't set a good example. We should indeed expect more from adults—more fairness and respect, more sportsmanship and self-restraint. If your kids play sports, be a model, not a problem.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."1
Last Sunday our pastor told an interesting story and, had it not been serious, it would have been funny. He told about a fellow in a support group who for months on end kept praying about a personal problem but never did anything about it. Week after week he would pray with seemingly great conviction, "Oh God, clean the cobwebs out of my life...clean the cobwebs out of my life!"
Finally, in utter frustration the leader of the group broke into the man's prayer and prayed rather boisterously, "Oh God, KILL THE _ _ _ _ _ _ _ SPIDER!"
I can identify with this leader in that I, too, know of people who have been confessing the same sin and/or problem for years, asking God for deliverance but never doing anything about it. True, God feeds the sparrows but as the old saying goes, he doesn't throw the food into their nests.
If we are struggling with a besetting sin or bad habit, what can we do about it? Certainly pray and ask God for deliverance, but also pray that he will show us the root cause of our problem because, more often than not, our repetitive failures are the fruit of a deeper root. God not only wants to deliver us from habitual sins but also free us from the deeper root cause. Also, we need to ask God to lead us to the help we need to overcome, whether it be an AA Group, some other kind of recovery group, a counselor, a pastor or whatever help we need. And then we need to do something about finding that help. As we do our part, God will do his, but he won't do for us what we can and are able to do for ourselves. For us to do less is an avoidance of personal responsibility.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you that you have already done for me what I couldn't do for myself in that you gave your Son, Jesus, to die for and free me from a life of sin and failure. Please help me to see the root cause of my besetting sin or problem [name it] and help me to find the help I need to overcome. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
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