Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 12 – No. 4110 October 09, 2010
Thought for the week: "We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once." – Calvin Coolidge
"There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm." – Willa Cather
"If your outlook seems dim...look out,
If your outlook is good...look out and look up." – Gary Kallio
"It's not what you do once in a while; it's what you do day in and day out that makes the difference." – Jenny Craig
"Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath?" – Thomas Jefferson
"There is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity." – Tom Peters
"Pick and choose carefully what to fight for—but stand up, be counted and fight indeed for those causes that stir your heart." – Ray Lammie
"It is a vital moment of truth when a man discovers that what he condemns most vehemently in others is that to which he is himself prone." – Unknown
The Taj Mahal is regarded as one of the most beautiful buildings in all the world. What you may not know is how the building of that structure came about. It was begun after the death of the wife of emperor Shah Jahan. He was devastated at her death and resolved to honor her by constructing a temple that would serve as her tomb. Her coffin was placed in the center of a large parcel of land, and construction of the temple began around it. No expense would be spared to make her final resting place magnificent.
One of the stories surrounding that building tells us that, as the weeks turned into months, the Shah's grief over his wife's death turned into a passion for the building project. He no longer mourned her absence. The construction consumed him. One day, while walking from one side of the construction site to the other, his leg bumped against a wooden box. The prince brushed the dust off his leg and ordered the worker to throw the box out.
What Shah Jahan didn't know is that he had ordered the disposal of the coffin of his late wife. And so the one the temple was intended to honor was forgotten, but the temple was erected anyway.
There is the same danger with church buildings and with churches. If we're not careful, we can forget the purpose for which we were constructed. We can become so consumed with the building process [or even our programs], that we forget the one in whose honor the building is intended.
The apostle Peter calls us back to our purpose:
"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (I Peter 2:9).
We live in a world of darkness, a world that doesn't know God. It is our responsibility to "proclaim the praises of him who called [us] out of darkness into his marvelous light."
We don't exist so that people can say, "What a great building this is." We don't even exist so that people can say, "What a great bunch of people this is." We exist so that people can look at us and say, "What a great God!"
The following is a poem written by Judge Roy Moore from Alabama. Judge Moore was sued by the ACLU for displaying the Ten Commandments in his courtroom foyer. He has been stripped of his judgeship and now they are trying to strip his right to practice law in Alabama. The judge's poem sums it up quite well.
America the Beautiful,
Or so you used to be.
Land of the Pilgrims' pride;
I'm glad they'll never see.
Babies piled in dumpsters,
Abortion on demand,
Oh, sweet land of liberty;
Your house is on the sand.
Our children wander aimlessly
Poisoned by cocaine,
Choosing to indulge their lusts,
When God has said abstain.
From sea to shining sea,
Our Nation turns away
From the teaching of God's love
And a need to always pray.
We've kept God in our temples,
How callous we have grown.
When earth is but His footstool,
And Heaven is His throne.
We've voted in a government
That's rotting at the core,
Appointing Godless judges
Who throw reason out the door,
Too soft to place a killer
In a well deserved tomb,
But brave enough to kill a baby
Before he leaves the womb.
You think that God's not angry,
That our land's a moral slum?
How much longer will He wait
Before His judgment comes?
How are we to face our God,
From Whom we cannot hide?
What then is left for us to do,
But stem this evil tide?
If we who are His children,
Will humbly turn and pray;
Seek His holy face
And mend our evil way:
Then God will hear from Heaven
And forgive us of our sins,
He'll heal our sickly land
And those who live within.
But, America the Beautiful,
If you don't—then you will see,
A sad but Holy God
Withdraw His hand from Thee.
Old beliefs as well as old habits die hard. For centuries people believed Aristotle's opinion that the heavier an object, the faster it would fall to earth.
I am not an engineer, but according to a report I read, in 1589 Galileo challenged Aristotle's teaching. He invited learned professors to the base of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Galileo went to the top of the tower and at exactly the same moment pushed off a ten-pound and a one-pound weight.
Both landed at the same instant, but the professors still wouldn't believe what they saw. They insisted Aristotle was right.
To move ahead in life and to grow—intellectually, emotionally and spiritually—it is important that we examine all our beliefs, test them, hold to the true and discard the false. Admittedly, this is much easier said than done, but done it must be if we are to keep learning and growing. Unless we are open and willing to change when necessary, we get stuck in our ways and cease to grow.
I suspect all of us have been hurt in deep and lasting ways by the words or acts of another. It's normal in such situations to feel hostility toward, be angry with, and make negative judgments about the person who hurt us. If we continue to think we're right to be offended, the tendency is to carry the hurt and resentment in the form of a grudge. Usually this causes far more unhappiness for us than the person we're mad at.
Some religions speak of forgiveness as a moral duty, others simply as a worthy virtue. Still others impose certain preconditions on the wrongdoer before he or she is entitled to be forgiven. Whatever your religious views, it's clear to psychologists that the ability to forgive is closely correlated to happiness and mental health.
Some people refuse to even entertain the idea of forgiveness because they don't think the person they resent deserves to be forgiven. Others don't want to appear to condone or excuse the conduct, and they certainly don't want to reconcile with the person.
The essence of forgiveness is a voluntary decision to abandon the resentment, to let go of the anger, and to move on. It doesn't require or imply condoning, excusing, or forgetting. Nor does it require that the forgiver re-establish a relationship with the wrongdoer.
According to Dr. Ben Dean, the capacity to forgive is related to the character strength of empathy. People who can empathize with an offender and see things from that perspective are better able to forgive. He also says that the older we get, the more forgiving we're likely to become.
Hmmm. We usually get wiser, too. So maybe it's wise to forgive.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
Some time ago an experiment was conducted to measure people's capacity to endure pain. How long could a barefooted person stand in a bucket of ice water? It was discovered that when there was someone else present offering encouragement and support, the person standing in the ice water could tolerate pain twice as long as when no one else was present.1
Most people are aware of who Moses was—the leader of the ancient Israelites who, when leading this young nation out of slavery in Egypt, faced many a battle when conquering the Promised Land given to them by God. In one battle God told Moses that as long as he held his hands heavenward, God would give the Israelites victory over the enemy. If he lowered his hands, the enemy would gain the upper hand. You can imagine how exhausting this would have been for Moses. So, "When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset."2
What was true for Moses is also true for you and me. We all need encouragement and support. This is especially true when we are going through tough times; we need the support of loving friends to hold up our hands.
"Therefore," as God Word says, "encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."3
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to be a sensitive and understanding person and always ready to give a helping hand and word of encouragement to a loved one or friend in need of such. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
1. John C. Maxwell, Encouragement Changes Everything, p. 25.
2. Exodus 17:12 (NIV).
3. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV).
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