Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 13 – No. 3111 July 30, 2011
Thought for the week: "A man without ethics is a wild beast loosed upon the world." – Albert Camus
One afternoon, Sue was in the backyard hanging the laundry when an old, tired-looking dog wandered into the yard.
Sue could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home. But when she walked into the house, he followed her, sauntered down the hall and fell asleep in a corner.
An hour later, the dog went to the door, and Sue let him out.
The next day he was back. He resumed his position in the hallway and slept for an hour. This continued for several weeks.
Curious, Sue pinned a note to his collar: "Every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap."
The next day the dog arrives with a different note pinned to his collar: "He lives in a home with eight children. He's just trying to catch up on his sleep."
One church consultant says: "Most Christians don't have a clue as to what the mission of the church is.
"Up to 80 percent of church members believe that the primary purpose of the church is to provide a place of fellowship where Christians can share God's love with one another, rather than reach out to those who are unchurched."
According to researcher George Barna, "Nine out of ten preachers call their church 'evangelistic.' However, less than one of three church attendees has shared his or her faith in Christ with a non-Christian within the past twelve months."
Tom Clegg, Warren Bird, "Discovering What We All Have in Common," Missing in America, 87. Cited on KneEmail, www.forthright.net/kneemail/
A young lady confidently walked around the room while leading and explaining stress management to an audience; with a raised glass of water, and everyone knew she was going to ask the ultimate question: "Is it half empty or half full?" She fooled them all, "How heavy is this glass of water?" she inquired with a smile.
Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.
She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes." She continued, "And that's the way it is with stress. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on."
"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden—holding stress longer and better each time practiced. So, as early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don't carry them through the evening and into the night ... pick them up tomorrow.
Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment. Relax; pick them up later after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy it and the now 'supposed' stress that you've conquered!"
Accept the fact that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue!
Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker.
It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.
Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.
Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
The second mouse gets the cheese.
When everything's coming your way, you may be in the wrong lane.
Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.
A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
Have an awesome day and know that someone has thought about you today.
I saw a cartoon showing an old king checking in at the gates of heaven. He introduced himself as "Edward the Good." The gatekeeper with a large book in front of him said, "Well, Eddie, we'll be the judge of that."
The point is that, in the end, generous self-appraisals won't matter. Our epitaphs will be written and eulogies delivered by the people who knew how we lived.
There's a story told about Alfred Nobel reading his own obituary because the people at the newspaper mistakenly thought he'd died. This gave him the opportunity to see how he would be remembered. The article described Mr. Nobel as a brilliant chemist who made a great fortune as the inventor of dynamite. For lots of people, being remembered as brilliant and rich would be quite enough, but it wasn't for Mr. Nobel.
After significant reflection about his desire to leave a more positive legacy, he bequeathed his considerable wealth to establish the Nobel Prizes to acknowledge great human achievements.
Few of us can create something as momentous as the Nobel Prizes, but we can all live lives that earn a eulogy our children and parents would be proud of.
In the hurly-burly of everyday living, it's hard to keep perspective. Money, position, pride, and power seem so important—until they're not. What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom, and for what.
So, if you want to know how to live your life, just think about what you want people to say about you after you die, and live backwards.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"According to your faith will it be done to you."1
A Daily Encounter reader wrote, "I'm still out there seeking what God's plan for me is, but how can I go from the cradle to the grave without ever having any prayers answered. I have stepped out of my so-called comfort zone often in my life, but no great discoveries or blessings have I found. How do I get a job like yours where I can publish doggerel and shopworn biblical phrases for fun and profit?"
"Dear, Terry," (not his real name), I replied, "You can get a job just like mine—minus the doggerel, the shopworn biblical phrases and the profit—if you do the same as what I had to do; that is, spend several years getting trained in Bible school, college and graduate school, and working part time all the while, to pay for the privilege, at any job I could find, including scrubbing floors. It also took many years to build the ministry of ACTS International, and I continue to work 60-70 hours a week, including working a second part-time job to help support myself."
True, God feeds the birds of the air, but he doesn't throw the food into their nest. God's will is never handed to us on a silver platter. God gave the ancient Israelites the Promised Land, but, even with his help, they had to battle to gain every inch of it. Had God not given it to them, they never would have been able to conquer it. God has a plan for you and me too, but we also have to work diligently—with God's help—to see it achieved in our life.
The reality is that what we see is what we get. It all lies in our perception, and that, no matter how distorted, becomes our reality. Distorted perception, like distorted eye lenses, distorts everything we see in life. It also distorts our prayer life, our faith, and our view of God. Jesus gave us a divine principle when he said, "According to your faith will it be done to you." With distorted faith our prayers will be distorted and the results will match our distorted perception of reality.
So how do we get to the stage where our perception is based on reality instead of our "reality" being based on our perception? Not easy. However, we get there by becoming real; that is, honest at the gut level with one's self (that includes our true emotions and our motives), with God, and with at least one trusted friend. The fact is, the more dishonest I am with my inner self, the more I will distort all other truth—including God's truth. Only personal gut-level honesty will deliver us from distortion so we can see reality as it truly is—and as God sees it.
As God's Word says, "Behold, You [God] desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom."2
Suggested prayer: Dear God, please confront me with the truth about me. Help me to see myself as you see me so that I can, with your help, resolve every issue in my life that causes me to distort reality, so that I will become truly authentic in every area of my life—honest with myself, honest with others, and honest with you for the glory of your name. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, amen."
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