Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 7 – No. 2805 July 09, 2005
Thought for the week: "Great souls have wills; feeble souls have only wishes." – Chinese Proverb
"Technology is like a steamroller. If you're not on the steamroller, then you are destined to become part of the road." – Bits & Pieces
"You will never stub your toe standing still. The faster you go, the more chance there is of stubbing your toe, but the more chance you have of getting somewhere." – Charles Kettering
"A man who works with his hands is a laborer; a man who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman; but a man who works with his hands and his brain and his heart is an artist." – Louis Nizer
"Age does not protect you from love. But love, to some extent, protects you from age." – Jeanne Moreau
"What you think of yourself is much more important than what others think of you." – Lucius Annaeus Seneca
"Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future." – Paul Boese
"An inventor fails 999 times, and if he succeeds once, he's in. He treats his failures simply as practice shots." – Unknown
"It's amazing what ordinary people can do if they set out without preconceived notions." – Unknown
Sunday School: Nine year old Joey was asked by his mother what he had learned in Sunday school. "Well, Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. When he got to the Red Sea, he had his engineers build a pontoon bridge and all the people walked across safely. Then, he used his walkie talkie to radio headquarters for reinforcements. They sent bombers to blow up the bridge and all the Israelites were saved.
"Now, Joey, is that really what your teacher taught you?" his mother asked.
"Well, no, Mom. But, if I told it the way the teacher did, you'd never believe it!"
A bell is no bell 'til you ring it,
A song is no song 'til you sing it,
And love in your heart
Wasn't put there to stay –
Love isn't love
'Til you give it away.
If you like books packed with adventure and intrigue on each page, you will like a book I read about a year or two ago. It is titled Endurance, which is the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton who took a group of rogue sailors from England in 1914 and sailed to Antarctic intending to explore the South Pole. Shortly after arrival in sight of Antarctica their ship became wedged in ice and eventually was crushed and sank. With three lifeboats for 24 people, and dependence on themselves, they survived and a year later were rescued in a self-help operation in which Shackleton and four others braved 800 miles of open water in a 14-foot boat. The amazing thing is that not one member of the crew lost his life. This kind of story is not as much for those who want the ease of rocking chair adventure, as for those for whom cold weather and hardship is an embossed invitation.
After reading this book, I find life filled with battle experience and victory is attractive. I love to know people's stories of how they came through tough times and how their character softened due to hardship. I believe they see that God has answered prayer when no other solution was possible. For Ernest Shackleton and his crew, having endured hardship saved them, whereas the soft life can weaken us. As James says, let's welcome hardship for it comes to test us and produce endurance. I believe hardness in our life does more good for us than does ease and comfort. Billy Graham is quoted about overcoming adversity: "Comfort and prosperity have never enriched the world as much as has adversity."
In the book of Acts, Saint Paul was led by the Holy Spirit to go where God wanted him. He once wanted to go to the province of Asia, but instead was led in the opposite direction to Macedonia. In Acts 14, after Paul healed a permanently crippled man, the people were awakened to the gospel. But some of the Jews who did not believe the message of Christ incited the crowd against Paul and dragged him outside the city and beat him. Thinking he was dead, they left and his disciples quickly gathered around him. He revived and several days later in a message of encouragement he said that we must go through hardship as our entrance ticket into the kind of life God wants for us.
Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 1 how he faced death in the province of Asia. He writes that the purpose of hardships we face is that we learn to trust God. Since we are usually self-reliant, as was Ernest Shackleton, learning to trust God is a big-time event. It comes with a price, and this price is hardship. Now when there is a price, there is also a prize. For us the prize is, "well done, good and faithful servant."
"Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus." (John 1:40-42, NIV).
Did you ever stop to think how very important you are in God's economy and his plans? Pretty much throughout the entire Bible when God had a work to be done, he chose and called an individual to lead. True, he chose the nation of Israel to be his special people, but he chose individuals to lead this nation to do his work. God has a place for you and me, too, in his plan. It may not be a gigantic role, but it is an important one.
Think of the twelve disciples, for example, who were all a vital part of God's mission. Half of them never said anything that is recorded in the New Testament. And if I remember correctly, three of them said only a word or two that was recorded. And Andrew, who didn't have much to say, in his own quiet way brought Peter, who became the early church leader and evangelist, to Jesus. Andrew was also the one who brought the boy with the two loaves and fishes to Jesus whom Jesus used to feed the multitude. It was only Peter, James, and John whom we heard much from.
So, be your task great or small, God wants to use you to be a part of his plans and what he is doing in your world today. All we need is to be available. As the anonymous poet wrote:
One song can spark a moment,
One flower can wake the dream.
One tree can start a forest,
One bird can herald spring.
One smile begins a friendship,
One handclasp lifts a soul.
One star can guide a ship at sea,
One word can frame the goal.
One vote can change a nation,
One sunbeam lights a room.
One candle wipes out darkness,
One laugh will conquer gloom.
One step must start each journey,
One word must start each prayer.
One hope will raise our spirits,
One touch can show you care.
One voice can speak with wisdom,
One heart can know what's true.
One life can make the difference,
You see it's up to you!
In the words of Edward Everett Hale: "I am only one. But still I am one. I cannot do everything, But still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."
Don't ever forget how very important you are, not only to your loved ones, your work, but also to God. Remember, too, if it's going to be, it's up to you and me!
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, I'm available, please use me to be a part of your plans and what you are doing in the world in which I live. Use me to be as Jesus in some way to make a difference in someone's life today. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
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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 and Popular Authors: The Miracle of Kindness His Needs, Her Needs by Willard F. Harley, Jr.
has topped the charts as the best marriage
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have read it ... made their marriage sizzle. Fall in Love Stay in Love
Just Hand Over the Chocolate ... Love, Sex, and Lasting Relationships Sex Starts in the Kitchen Making Children Mind Without Losing Yours Harried With Children Adolescence Is Not an Illness Show Time It Takes a Church to Raise a Christian
Healing, Wholeness & Happiness by Dick Innes
Loving & Understanding People by Dick Innes
I Hate Witnessing by Dick Innes
God's Formula for Success by Dick Innes
Damaged Emotions by David Seamands Healing of the Memories by David Seamands...
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