Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
To receive the email edition of Weekend Encounter (without charge) click on the Subscribe button.
Privacy policy: We do not sell or rent subscriber's e-mail
addresses to anyone. We value your privacy.
Global Communications Outreach:
Learn how to be a missionary right from your own home and have a vital part in worldwide gospel outreach by becoming an ACTS People Power for Jesus Partner. Click HERE There is no charge.
Vol. 13 – No. 2411 June 11, 2011
Thought for the week: "A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song." – Lou Holtz
"Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity." – Henry Van Dyk
"Dig the well before you are thirsty." – Chinese Proverb
"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Wishing is not enough; we must do." – Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
"To know and not to do is not yet to know." – Buddhist Monk
"To believe and not to act is not yet to believe, for I only truly believe that which motivates me to action." – Dick Innes
"It has also been pointed out that we don't always act consistently with what we profess, but we always act consistently with what we believe. In other words, I may profess to be a Christian but if I don't act like one, chances are I may not be one." – Dick Innes
A sweet grandmother telephoned St. Joseph 's Hospital. She timidly asked, "Is it possible to speak to someone who can tell me how a patient is doing?"
The operator said, "I'll be glad to help, dear. What's the name and room number of the patient?"
The grandmother in her weak, tremulous voice said, "Norma Findlay, Room 302."
The operator replied, "Let me put you on hold while I check with the nurse's station for that room."
After a few minutes, the operator returned to the phone and said, "I have good news. Her nurse just told me that Norma is doing well. Her blood pressure is fine; her blood work just came back normal and her physician, Dr. Cohen, has scheduled her to be discharged tomorrow."
The grandmother said, "Thank you. That's wonderful. I was so worried. God bless you for the good news."
The operator replied, "You're more than welcome. Is Norma your daughter?"
The grandmother said, "No, I'm Norma Findlay in Room 302. No one tells me a darn thing."
I read about a problem a fishing company was having with shipping cod from the East Coast to the West Coast. Apparently, by the time the fish arrived, they were spoiled. So they tried freezing the fish, but upon arrival, they were mushy to the taste. Next, they sent the cod live, but when they arrived, the fish were dead. So they tried sending them live once again, but with a difference: included in the tanks of the live cod was their mortal enemy, the catfish. And when they arrived, the cod were alive and well, because they had spent the entire journey evading the catfish.
What kept the fish alive was PERSECUTION.
Persecution is the equivalent of PAIN!
Jesus said that when you are persecuted you must "rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven" (Matthew 5:12). Not only does persecution draw us closer to God, but it drives us further away from a world system that is hostile to Him. God allows persecution for His own special purposes. PERSECUTION-PAIN, really keeps a follower of God alive!
The word "persecuted" which Jesus used in Matthew 5:10 could be translated from the Greek as, "to be chased, to be driven away, to be pursued."
Sometimes persecution is violent, like people who lose their lives or suffer prison for God in other parts of the world. But very often persecution is more subtle. It might be the loss of a job, being the brunt of jokes, or losing some friends. Sometimes it means people looking at you like you are weird for choosing to live a passionate life for God. And if you live a godly life, then you are going to be persecuted. Why do you think a church dies, friend?
Why do people lose their sense of purpose? Why do most failures happen? Why does a church turn mushy? Or irrelevant? Or dies?
An older, tired-looking dog wandered into my yard. I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home and was well taken care of.
He calmly came over to me, I gave him a few pats on his head; he then followed me into my house, slowly walked down the hall, curled up in the corner and fell asleep.
An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out. The next day he was back, greeted me in my yard, walked inside and resumed his spot in the hall and again slept for about an hour. This continued off and on for several weeks. Curious, I pinned a note to his collar: "I would like to find out who the owner of this wonderful sweet dog is and ask if you are aware that almost every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap."
The next day he arrived for his nap, with a different note pinned to his collar: "He lives in a home with 6 children—2 under the age of 3—he's trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?'
Chad and his three friends were college seniors and doing well in their classes. Even though the final physics exam was on Monday, Chad persuaded his buddies to take a weekend trip several hundred miles away. He told his worried friends they could study in the car during the trip, and when they got back Sunday night. Instead, the boys partied all weekend. By Sunday night, they knew they weren't ready for the exam.
Chad, an A student, told them to relax. He had a plan. He called the professor at home Monday morning and told him they were on the road and ready to take the final, but they'd had a flat tire. They didn't have a spare and couldn't get help. Chad convinced the professor to let them take a make-up exam the following day.
When they showed up, the professor placed them in separate rooms and handed each a test booklet. They were relieved that the first problem, worth 5 points, was simple. They were less pleased when they read the second problem, worth 95 points: "Which tire was flat, and what time did the repair truck come?"
Chad's exam had an additional note: "Chad, I just received a reference request for you from Harvard. How you do on this exam will determine how I fill it out."
Then he added a P.S.: "You took two exams today. One was on physics. The other was on integrity. It would have been much better if you only flunked physics."
Kids will be kids, but all choices have consequences. Chad and his buddies took a risk by not studying, but they took a greater one when they made up a phony excuse.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, 'Lord, save me!'"1
I'm sure you've seen the TV ad where a fellow is walking merrily along the sidewalk (footpath) minding his own business when he looks up and sees an attractive woman coming towards him. As he fixes his gaze on her, he is suddenly and rudely awakened as he walks directly into a lamppost. If this were true, one could just imagine the woman in question being highly amused.
I know I've certainly walked into things when I was looking in the wrong direction ... or even worse, when I was looking in the right direction but my mind was on something else.
One is reminded of the words of Hannah More who said, "Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." Even more important is to be constantly aware of the trouble we can get into if or when we take our eyes off the Lord and decide to go our own way.
It's hard to imagine Peter being afraid of sinking in the lake when he took his eyes off the Lord. Being a fisherman, Peter surely was a powerful swimmer. I couldn't imagine him not being one. For whatever reason Peter was afraid and, fortunately for him, as soon as he realized he was in trouble, he looked back to Jesus and cried out, "Lord, save me."
That's a good lesson for us to do likewise when we take our eyes off the Lord and acknowledge the fact that we are either in trouble or heading towards it.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, help me to always keep my eyes on you and follow your leading in all areas of my life. But if and when I do take my eyes off you and begin to 'sink,' help me to quickly see the error of my way, turn back to you, and cry out, 'Lord, save me.' Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
8. Receive Daily Encounter E-mail ... Without Charge
Daily Encounter, a without charge weekday e-mail inspirational from ACTS International is now going to 400,000+ subscribers. Scores of letters from around the world have come from readers saying how much they are being helped by this brief, practical devotional.
Over 100 million e-mail Daily, Weekend and Prayer Encounters are delivered to subscribers every year!
NOTE: Some ISPs (especially AOL) now use e-mail filtering software that allows you to add e-mail addresses to your 'buddy', 'safe', or 'approved' list. Please be sure to add acts@actsweb.org to yours so you won't miss any issue of Daily Encounter.
One of ACTS greatest needs is Prayer Partners to stand with us as we seek to share the gospel with millions of people around the world through E-mail and the Internet and to win the lost to Jesus. If you would like to be an ACTS Prayer Partner, please subscribe to the Prayer Encounter list. Approximately two prayer reports are emailed monthly. Thank you.
If you have a special prayer request please submit it to David Clark at: www.responda.co.uk/prayer.php. David is not on the ACTS staff but is offering this as a service to Daily and Weekend Encounter readers.
Helpers Needed: If you can help David pray for prayer requests, please could you go to: www.responda.co.uk/member.php
Weekend Encounter and Daily Encounter are just two of the ways the nonprofit organization, ACTS International, is working to improve the spiritual and emotional life of many thousands of people around the world.
Every weekday Daily Encounter is going to 400,000+ subscribers, and every week Weekend Encounter is going to 7,995 subscribers worldwide— many of whom are in places where it is forbidden to spread the Christian gospel and message. Plus we reach several hundred thousand more every week through our advertising. As a result every day we are seeing an average of 5-6 salvation responses from around the world—almost 3000 in the past 12 months!
If you find value in the Weekend Encounter and/or Daily Encounter, we hope you will be comfortable donating at least $26. That's only 50 cents a week for an entire year (tax-deductible in the U.S.). You can donate in one of the following ways:
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
1. Bible concordance and Bible helps
2. New Hope Crisis Counseling with trained
lay/volunteer counselors. www.newhopenow.org 3. E-Word Today for a daily Bible reading
4. To find your ZIP+4 Area Code in the U.S.A.
5. How to find and write to your U.S. Representative
6. ASK ... Smart answers fast
7. Send a greeting card without charge for all occasions
8. To check the weather in your area
9. Hoax Web Sites
10. Plus many more sources of helpful information
"Because the world is hungry,
go with bread.
Because the world is filled with strife,
go with peace.
Because the world is filled with deceptions and lies,
go with truth.
Because the world would die without,
go with the love of God."