Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 13 – No. 2511 June 18, 2011
Thought for the week: "God never promised us a smooth passage, but a safe landing." – Unknown
I was driving home from a meeting this evening about 5, stuck in traffic on Colorado Blvd., and the car started to choke and splutter and die. I barely managed to coast, cursing, into a gas station, thankful that I wouldn't be blocking traffic, and would have a warm spot to wait for the tow truck. My car motor wouldn't even turn over. Before I could make the call, I saw a woman walking out of the quickie mart building, and it looked like she slipped on some ice and fell into a gas pump, so I got out to see if she was okay.
When I got there, it looked more like she had been overcome by sobs than that she had fallen; she was a young woman who looked really haggard with dark circles under her eyes. She dropped something as I helped her up, and I picked it up to give it to her. It was a nickel.
At that moment, everything came into focus for me: the crying woman, the ancient Suburban crammed full of stuff with 3 kids in the back (1 in a car seat), and the gas pump reading $4.95.
I asked her if she was okay and if she needed help, and she just kept saying, "I don't want my kids to see me crying," so we stood on the other side of the pump from her car. She said she was driving to California and that things were very hard for her right now. So I asked, "And you were praying?" That made her back away from me a little, but I assured her I was not a crazy person and said, "'He heard you, and He sent me.'
I took out my card and swiped it through the card reader on the pump so she could fill up her car completely. While it was fueling, I walked to the next door McDonald's and bought 2 big bags of food, some gift certificates for more, and a big cup of coffee. She gave the food to the kids in the car, who attacked it like wolves, and we stood by the pump eating fries and talking a little.
She told me her name, and that she lived in Kansas City. Her boyfriend left two months ago, and she had not been able to make ends meet. She knew she wouldn't have money to pay rent by January the first. Finally, in desperation, she had called her parents, with whom she had not spoken in about five years. They lived in California and said she could come and live with them and try to get on her feet there.
So she packed up everything she owned in the car. She told the kids they were going to California for Christmas, but not that they were going to live there.
I gave her my gloves, a little hug and said a quick prayer with her for safety on the road. As I was walking over to my car, she said, "So, are you like an angel or something?"
This made me cry. I said, "Sweetie, at this time of year angels are really busy, so sometimes God uses regular people."
It was so incredible to be a part of someone else's miracle. And of course, you guessed it, when I got in my car it started right away and got me home without any problems. I'll put it in the shop tomorrow to check, but I suspect the mechanic won't find anything wrong.
Sometimes the angels fly close enough to you that you can almost hear the flutter of their wings. As Psalm 55:22 says, "Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."
Reported to having been written by a Metro Denver Hospice Physician
1. The Bible will still have all the answers.
2. Prayer will still be the most powerful thing on Earth.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will still honor the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.
6. There will still be singing of praise to God.
7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.
8. There will still be room at the Cross.
9. Jesus will still love you.
10. Jesus will still save the lost when they come to Him.
Isn't it great to remember who is really in control, and that, "the Word of the Lord endures forever" (1 Peter 1:25).
Try this test and find out what is the way to Heaven. Be honest and don't look at the list till you have done the math!
Heaven Test: Pick a number from 1-9.
Multiply by 3.
Add 3.
Multiply by 3 again.
Now add the two digits together to find your predicted way to Heaven in the list of 18 possible ways below.
Way to Heaven List:
1. By doing more good things than bad things
2. Helping to feed the poor
3. Taking care of the homeless
4. Going to church almost every Sunday
5. Teaching a Sunday School class
6. Being a mentor to a young person
7. Being a deacon or an elder
8. Becoming a Muslim
9. Accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior
10. Always following the golden rule
11. Becoming a Jew
12. Making sure that you have been baptized
13. Going to confession every week
14. Sincerely following any religion
15. Reading your Bible and praying every day
16. Obeying the Ten Commandments
17. Maintaining excellent morals
18. Loving your neighbor as you love yourself
You can tell a lot about people's character by how they act at the grocery store. I remember being in a crowded store when there was a shortage of shopping carts. A prosperous-looking fellow was pushing a cart when another man stopped him. "Excuse me," the second man said, "but this is my cart."
The first guy looked really annoyed. Instead of apologizing, he protested, "But someone took my cart."
His wife glared at him, and he reluctantly relinquished his ill-gotten gain. He had ignored the age-old wisdom that two wrongs don't make a right in favor of a distorted version of the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as they have done unto you."
Then there are the folks who change their mind about buying some item and put it on the nearest shelf, rationalizing that the store hires people to put things back. Well, schools employ custodians to clean the halls. Does that mean it's okay for kids to throw their candy wrappers on the floor?
Finally, there are express-line cheaters who enter the "10 items or less" line with 14 items because they're in a hurry or simply because they love having a competitive edge. They count on the fact that no one will call them on this moral misdemeanor, and even if someone does, they're ready to play lawyer: "It depends on what you call an item. I consider these melons part of the 'fruit group' and I count them as one."
Being considerate, playing by the rules, setting a good example are important, even in the grocery store.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, 'Have mercy on us, Son of David!' When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he [Jesus] asked them, 'Do you believe that I am able to do this?' 'Yes, Lord,' they replied. Then he touched their eyes and said, 'According to your faith will it be done to you'; and their sight was restored."1
These men may have been blind physically but they had great spiritual vision. They saw with their mind's eye what they wanted and went for it—and received it. Life's like that. Basically, what we see is what we get. If we see ourselves as failures, we will set ourselves up to fail. And if we see ourselves as unlovable, we will set ourselves up to be rejected in love.
On the other hand, if we see ourselves as successful, we will succeed in what we want to do with our life. If we see ourselves as lovable, we will never be lacking in giving and receiving love.
As Antoine de Saint-Exupery so eloquently said, "A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral." Michelangelo expressed the same idea when he said, "I saw the angel in the marble and kept chiseling until I set it free."
What do you see about your life? "Two men looked through prison bars, one saw mud and the other saw stars!" If you are seeing mud, look up and see what God sees in you. He sees the "angel" within you and wants you to become that person. And if you have faith enough and act accordingly, you can become that person—and it will be done to you.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you that you see the 'angel' within me—the person that you envision for me to be. Help me to see your vision for me that, with faith, persistence, hard work, and your help, I can become. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
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