Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 13 – No. 1211 March 19, 2011
Thought for the week: "Failing to prepare is preparing to fail." – John Wooden
"I read the last page of the Bible. It's all going to turn out alright." – Billy Graham
"When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you till it seems you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn." – Harriet Beecher Stowe, author
"If I had to select one quality, one personal characteristic that I regard as being most highly correlated with success, whatever the field, I would pick the trait of persistence." – Richard DeVos, Amway Co-founder [Note from RWI. To this I would ad character.]
The motto of Berger's paints in Australia is: "Berger's paints keep on keeping on." A great motto to be sure.
"People who cannot find time for recreation are obliged sooner or later to find time for illness." – John Wanamaker
A little boy was asked, "How old is your father?" He replied, "He is in the middle ages." – Unknown
A pastor, known for his lengthy sermons, noticed a man get up and leave during the middle of his message. The man returned just before the conclusion of the service. Afterwards the pastor asked the man where he had gone.
"I went to get a haircut," was the reply.
"But," said the pastor, "why didn't you do that before the service?"
"Because," the gentleman said, "I didn't need one then."
"At a Nazi death camp during WWII a Jewish prisoner noticed another praying. 'What are you praying for?' he asked. 'I'm praising God.' The first prisoner was astounded. 'You're praising God? In this hell of sadistic murderers? How could you praise God when we have all been cursed?' The man said, 'I'm praising God that we are not sadistic murderers.'"
Sometimes in life we come up on large brick walls. We can't go around them, we can't climb over them and we can't tunnel under these walls. We have no choice, but to either give up or go through the wall. It looks so big. It seems so strong and powerful. When we look at the entire task of trying to get through it, we just can't picture how we would succeed. The answer can only be "one brick and one day" at a time. Brick by brick and day by day, that wall is coming down. Success must be measured in small steps. One thing is for sure, the wall can only be so thick. It must give in and it must come down.
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Ten percent (10%) in life is made up of what happens to you. 90% is decided by how you react to what happens to you. We have no control over the 10% ... but we do have control of how we react. You cannot control a red light, but you can control your reaction.
6. Dishonest Merchants Don't Deserve Your Business
By Michael Josephson of Character Counts (672.2)
Some time ago, I received a handwritten message on a yellow self-stick note attached to a torn-out page from a magazine about a new book. The note said, "Mike, thought you might be interested." It was signed "L." It was sent in a non-business envelope with a stamp, but no return address. My assistant thought it was a personal message from a friend and put it on top of my correspondence.
It wasn't from anyone I knew. It was a marketing trick to sell the book.
I'm sure you've seen other deceptive ploys: mailings disguised as telegrams, urgent "personal" messages, announcements that you've won something, window envelopes whose interior looks like a check. An especially audacious variation is the salesperson who calls pretending he knows you. To get through the screening process, he or she will shamelessly try to con your secretary with "Oh, he knows what it's about" or "He asked me to call."
These are all lies and deceptions, but they're used because they work. The people who send them don't care about their credibility or who they offend. No one knows who they are.
While one can appreciate resourceful techniques, clever dishonesty doesn't make an action less despicable. I make it a rule to never do business with anyone who uses such techniques.
What's the harm? The harm is that someone has invaded my life with a lie, depriving me of the choice to decide what I will read and whom I will talk to. Worse, it erodes trust and builds cynicism. Dishonest merchants don't deserve your business.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"Cling tightly to your faith in Christ, and always keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked."1
"Victor Hugo, who is famous for his novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, also wrote a story called 'Ninety-Three.' It tells of a ship caught in a dangerous storm on the high seas. At the height of the storm, the frightened sailors heard a terrible crashing noise below the deck. They knew at once that this new noise came from a cannon, part of the ship's cargo, that had broken loose. It was moving back and forth with the swaying of the ship, crashing into the side of the ship with terrible impact. Knowing that it could cause the ship to sink, two brave sailors volunteered to make the dangerous attempt to re-tie the loose cannon. They knew the danger of a shipwreck from the [loose] cannon was greater than the fury of the storm."2
Life's certainly like that. Not always, but more often than not, it isn't the storms without that cause us the most problems, but the storms that rage within us—such as a spirit of bitterness, jealousy, pride, greed, etc., etc. Other "loose cannons" are unresolved hurt, anger, a lack of forgiveness, guilt, lust, and so on. These, if not confronted and resolved, can readily cause shipwreck of our relations, our faith, or even our life. Some "loose cannon people" in organizations also need to be brought under control before they destroy "the ship."
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you for your Word that reminds me to live with a clear conscience. Please confront me with any issue in my life that could, if unresolved, lead to shipwreck of my faith, relationships, and even of my life. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
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