Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 7 – No. 2505 June 18, 2005
Wishing all Fathers a very Happy Father's Day
for Sunday June 19
"It is a wise father that knows his own child." – William Shakespeare
"One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters." – English Proverb
"I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection." – S. Freud
"The greatest gift you and your partner can give your children is the example of an intimate, healthy, and loving relationship." – Barbara DeAngelis
"I watched a small man with thick calluses on both hands work fifteen and sixteen hours a day. I saw him once literally bleed from the bottoms of his feet, a man who came here uneducated, alone, unable to speak the language, who taught me all I needed to know about faith and hard work by the simple eloquence of his example." – Mario Cuomo (Famous former Italian governor of New York)
"The greatest thing a FATHER can do to his children, is to love their mother." – Anjaneth Garcia Untalan
"It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father." – Pope John XXIII
"My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me." – Jim Valvano
"My father had his struggles, was misunderstood by many (including myself), but he gave me what I believe was the greatest gift any child could ever receive—he took me to a church where I learned about God and His plan of eternal salvation through Jesus Christ my Lord." – Dick Innes
I pulled into the crowded parking lot at the Safeway Supermarket and rolled down the car windows to make sure my Labrador Retriever pup had fresh air. She was stretched full-out on the back seat and I wanted to impress upon her that she must remain there. I walked to the curb backward, pointing my finger at the car and saying emphatically, "Now you stay. Do you hear me? Stay!" Stay!
The driver of a nearby car, a very pretty young blond, gave me a strange look and said: "Why don't you just put it in park?"
A father is someone
that holds your hand at the fair,
makes sure you do what your mother says,
holds back your hair when you are sick,
brushes that hair when it is tangled because mother is too busy,
lets you eat ice cream for breakfast
but only when mother is away,
he walks you down the aisle,
and tells you everything's gonna be ok.
– Unknown
According to Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, a father's involvement with a child increases the child's IQ, the child's motivation to learn, and the child's self-confidence. In addition, children with involved dads are more likely to develop a sense of humor as well as an "inner excitement." – Victor Parachin, "The Fine Art of Good Fathering," Herald of Holiness, February 1995, pp. 32-33. Cited on www.sermons.com.
In his book, Life Changes, James Hefley writes about Barry Luppin who was just twenty-six when a rare nerve disease sent him into the world of silence. Unable to pursue the law career he had planned, he drifted aimlessly for eight years bemoaning his deafness.
Then he determined to "put my chin up and fight." He learned to lip read and went into the auto leasing business. The business prospered into a multi-million-dollar enterprise.
Barry hasn't let his handicap keep him from normal work. When a customer calls, his secretary picks up an extension phone. She hears the caller and mouths the words silently to Barry who sits nearby. He replies in normal speech never letting on he is stone deaf.
"If you have a physical handicap, you can run into a corner and hide," says Barry, "or you can just try harder than the next man and make a success of yourself."
The Celts were Christianized under the Romans in Britain. Many of the Roman soldiers were Christians, and the merchants and traders and colonists who followed in the wake of the invasion during the first century AD were also Christian. But the Christian faith was seen to be politically subversive, so it was common for persecutions to break out and the Christians tortured and put to death for their belief. From this tradition comes the story of the Forty Martyrs.
Forty Celtic Christians had been captured by the Romans in high midwinter, and were required to renounce their faith in Jesus Christ and to declare their allegiance to Caesar, not just as emperor, but as God. The Christians refused. They were stripped naked and taken to a lake which was iced over, in freezing conditions. They were made to stand in the lake, in icy water up to their necks, until such time as they would recant and acknowledge Caesar.
On the shores of the lake, the Romans had their tents, with fires roaring and water boiling for hot baths, and food cooking on the spit. Soldiers patrolled the lake, watching and waiting for the Christians to cry out for mercy. But the forty stood silent and still.
Suddenly, one, overcome with cold and fearing death, cried out: 'I renounce the Christ and acknowledge Caesar! Take me out of this!'
He was hauled to shore and taken away to be bathed in hot water and fed. Of him, no more is known. But to one side stood a Roman soldier who watched the event, and who pondered the remaining thirty-nine who stood, proud and defiant, proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Finally the soldier could stand it no more. He tore his armor and clothing from him, and leapt into the lake, shouting, "There should have been forty to die for the Lord Jesus Christ! And forty there shall be!" And he took the place of the deserter, and remained with the others until death claimed them all.
The story of the forty martyrs has been honored by the Catholic church for many centuries, and other denominations see in it a stirring account of belief and bravery. Whether it is factual or not, it contains the truth that it is worth giving one's life for the things one holds dear. Above all, there is the wonderful fact that, but for the Roman soldier's admiration of the thirty-nine, there would not have been forty martyrs on that fateful winter's day.
Dr Cath Filmer-Davies is an author, broadcaster, poet, and publisher. Until October 2001, she was a senior lecturer in English at the University of Queensland (Australia). She is a popular public speaker and her seminars have always proved successful and effective. She now makes her home in Wales.
I've given my share of commencement addresses and I confess it's a head-swelling experience to tell a captive crowd how you think they ought to live their lives while wearing an academic robe and very silly hat. After all, didn't all those people come primarily to hear what I have to say? Actually, they didn't. In fact, graduation speakers are impediments to the real goal of the day—celebration, not reflection.
So what we need is a good one-minute graduation speech. Here's my effort:
"OK, folks you got your degrees. Now you have to move toward other goals. If you don't have any, borrow the goals of the person sitting next to you. They're probably as good as any and, besides, true success is not always getting what you think you want but learning to want what you get. Perhaps the most important thing you can do is to prepare yourself to deal with unavoidable ups and downs and unexpected turns that are almost certain to scuttle the best-laid plans.
"Take control of your life by taking control of your attitudes. Remember, pain and disappointment are inevitable, but tough times are temporary. Persist with confidence that no negative emotion can withstand your will to be happy.
"Listen to both your heart and your head. Pursue your passions, but don't confuse feelings with facts, fun with happiness, or pleasure with fulfillment. Live within your means. Don't sacrifice a thousand tomorrows for a few todays.
"Be especially careful of choices that can jeopardize your health, your reputation, or your important relationships. Safeguard your integrity. You never know when you will need it.
"Finally, don't settle for a little life. Fill it with purpose and meaning and people worthy of your love and respect."
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed" (Romans 13:11, NIV).
"Sit up!" the voice in the night said, "and take a deep breath."
"It was a stormy night," a personal friend shared, "and we were awakened by an extremely loud clap of thunder. After the initial fright, checking the kids and the house, we went back to bed and to sleep.
"Then came the voice. I was certain I heard someone speaking. "Sit up and take in a deep breath," it said.
"I only half-awoke and thought I must have been dreaming, so rolled over and went back to sleep."
"The voice spoke again with more insistence, 'Sit up and take in a deep breath."'
This is weird, I thought so again rolled over and went back to sleep.
"'SIT UP! Take in a deep breath!' the voice spoke again with great urgency.
"So I sat up and took in a deep breath ... and smelled smoke!" I was fully awake in an instant ... awakened my husband ... rushed to wake the children ... we had the oldest one phone 911 (for emergency) ... my husband took over the phone ... the operator asked if the lights were working ... my husband said they were going out one room at a time.
"Get OUT of the house immediately," declared the operator. You house has been struck by lightning."
As quick as a flash the family rushed outside ... immediately the house exploded and burst into flames. It took firemen six hours to put the fire out. The house was totally destroyed ... but the entire family was saved. Talk about a wake-up call!
Surely this was a God thing. Fortunately this family was committed followers of Jesus Christ and even though they lost their house, their lives were saved.
God doesn't usually speak to most of us with an audible voice. He doesn't have to because his "wake-up call" is spoken to us repeatedly in his Word, the Bible. "Wake up!" God says to every one of us, "Flee from the wrath to come" (God's judgment of sin and evil for the world that has turned from God will be judged and purified by fire). Wake up, "It is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment." Wake up, "I will come again," Jesus promised "to take all who believe in me to be with me in heaven forever."
"Wake up," Jesus is coming again ... it may be today. Are you ready? Again Jesus said, "I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in...."
Whatever you do don't miss God's wake-up call. Have you opened the door of life and invited Jesus, the Son of God, to come into your heart and life as your God and your Savior? If not, may I urge you to do that today ... right now ... by praying a simple prayer such as the following:
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, I hear your wake-up call as faint as it may be. I confess that I am a sinner and ask for your forgiveness. Thank you, Jesus, for dying on the cross to pay the penalty for all my sins. I invite you to come into my heart and life as my God and my Savior. With your help I repent of and turn from my sinful ways. Thank you for hearing my prayer, for forgiving me of my sins, and for coming into my heart and life as my Savior. Help me to live for you always in all ways. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen.
"NOTE: If you prayed this prayer, please let us know by clicking on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php and we will send you articles (without charge) to help you in your Christian life. Also ... for more help, click on No. 10 below for the article, "Know God ... Without having to be Religious."
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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 Authors His Needs, Her Needs by Willard F. Harley, Jr. has topped
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Cassettes:
"Healing, Wholeness & Happiness" by Dick Innes
"Loving & Understanding People" by Dick Innes
"I Hate Witnessing" by Dick Innes
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