Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 12 – No. 3810 September 18, 2010
Thought for the week: "God's plan will continue on God's schedule." – A. W. Tozer
My father's twin brother and his wife, who were devout Christians, had a son, Bob, who was their only child. As a teenager, Bob developed a heart problem as a result of rheumatic fever. Nevertheless, as a young man he married and had a son who was still an infant when Bob became seriously ill at the age of 29. Bob's parents didn't know where Bob stood in his relationship to God, so as he lay on his deathbed his mother asked if he knew where he was going, meaning do you know you are dying. Bob replied: "Yes, I've been there and it's beautiful."
Did Bob really get a glimpse of heaven? Only God knows for sure, but I believe he did. What a wonderful way to comfort a humble Christian woman who, nine months earlier, had lost her husband, and was now about to lose her only son. Somehow it seems more like God to reveal his Kingdom to a humble Christian in the middle of nowhere than to the high and mighty of this world. For me, hearing this story at a young age had a real maturing impact on me. It caused me to think of God, heaven, and Christianity in more adult and less childlike terms.
Every day do something you don't want to do. Pick up someone else's trash. Surrender your parking place. Call the long-winded relative. It doesn't have to be a big thing. Helen Keller once told the Tennessee legislature that when she was young, she had longed to do great things and could not, so she decided to do small things in a great way. Don't be too big to do something small.
Ray Lammie's Faith Thought for Today. To subscribe send an email to belbarbara@aol.com with Subscribe FTFT in the Subject line.
"Laugh at yourself and at life. Not in the spirit of derision or whining self-pity, but as a remedy, a miracle drug, that will ease your pain, cure your depression, and help you to put in perspective that seemingly terrible defeat.... Never take yourself too seriously."1
As God's Word taught some 3,000 years ago: "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones" (Proverbs 17:22, NIV).
Two young men in Florida removed a stop sign and brought it back to their fraternity house as a trophy. Shortly afterward, a fatal accident occurred at the sign-less intersection. The students were convicted of manslaughter.
In Tennessee, two teenagers were in a high-rise building. One dared the other to slide down a trash chute. His friend did so—right into an automatic trash compactor. The one who egged him into the fatal accident was traumatized, possibly for life.
Four college fraternity students in California were charged with manslaughter when a pledge they were hazing died after they forced him to drink gallons of water.
What makes these stories all the more tragic is that we're not talking about bad kids. We're talking about fundamentally decent kids who made really bad choices.
The recurring nightmare of caring parents is that, during the course of growing up, their children will seriously damage themselves by unwise decisions. An endless array of bad consequences can result from reckless conduct to impress friends, thrill seeking, or giving in to the temptation of drugs, alcohol, or sex. And when kids get involved with irresponsible, manipulative, cruel, selfish, or simply stupid people who call themselves friends, there's no telling what dumb things they will do.
All youngsters will make foolish mistakes, as we did. Still, we can equip them with reasoning tools that can help them see and avoid really big, bad choices.
We can improve their decision-making skills by talking to them often about the importance of acting rationally, even when everyone around them seems overtaken by impulse. We can tell them stories to help them evaluate situations and anticipate potential consequences.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint."1
Did you know that an eagle knows when the storm is approaching long before it breaks? The eagle will fly to some high spot and wait for the winds to come.
When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm. While the storm rages below, the eagle is soaring above it. The eagle doesn't escape the storm; it simply uses the storm to lift it higher. It rises on the winds that bring the storm.
When the storms of life come upon us—and all of us will experience them—it may not be easy, but we can rise above them by setting our minds and our belief in Jesus, our God—and daily committing and trusting our life and way to Him. The storms do not have to overcome us. We can allow God's power to lift us above them. God enables us to ride the winds of the storm that bring sickness, tragedy, failure and disappointment in our lives. Remember, it is not the burdens of life that weigh us down, but rather, how we handle them.2
As God's Word says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."3 Admittedly, this can take time.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, help me to always hope and trust in you so that, when the storms of life rage around me, I will be able to soar like the eagle above the turbulence and become a better, stronger and calmer Christian as a result. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name. Amen."
1. Isaiah 40:31 (NIV).
2. Submitted by Dick Nichol who has since lost his wife through cancer. Author of the Eagle story is unknown.
3. Romans 8:28 (NIV).
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