Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 13 – No. 4911 December 03, 2011
Thought for the week: "As America remains under God's authority, we also remain under His divine protection. But as we continue to push out from under His authority, we are courting disaster." – James Howard
"You have set yourself a difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere." – Helen Adams Keller
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." – Christian martyr, James Elliot
"The most important thing in any relationship is not what you get but what you give.... In any case, the giving of love is an education in itself." – Eleanor Roosevelt
"Character is the ability to carry out a good resolution long after the excitement of the moment has passed." – Cavett Robert
"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." – Eleanor Roosevelt
"Some of the best tasting and nutrient filled fruits are rather small. We don't need to do something big. We just need to do something that bears fruit." – Ray Lammie
Some criticisms of ACTS ministry are almost funny. For example, a Daily Encounter subscriber had passed away and I guess it was a relative who demanded that we unsubscribe the deceased person's e-mail address from Daily Encounter or they would send the police. I can't help but wonder what the police would say if they were sent?
Would the police want to call on the dead woman for evidence or as a witness?
Try this test and find out what life's most important decision is. It only takes about 30 seconds.
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 most important life decision from the
list of 18 possibilities below.
Decision List:
1. What High School to attend
2. What college to attend, if any
3. What course of study to follow
4. Choosing the right person to marry
5. The best age to marry
6. To have or not to have children
7. How many children to have
8. Should both parents work full-time
9. Receiving Jesus Christ as one's Lord and
Savior
10. To attend church or not
11. The best place to live
13. Train children with high moral standards
14. Set up one's own business
15. Become a very successful man/woman
16. Be involved in creative community services
17. The best age to retire
18. The best place to live after retirement
I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. I'm glad I have a good book to read. Perhaps I will get a short nap, I thought.
Just before take-off a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation.
"Where are you headed?" I asked the soldier seated nearest to me.
"Petawawa. We'll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we're being deployed to Afghanistan."
After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack lunches were available for five dollars. It would be several hours before we reached the East, and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time.
As I reached for my wallet, I overheard a soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch. "No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to base."
His friend agreed.
I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill saying, "Please take a lunch to all those soldiers." She grabbed my arm and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. "My son was a soldier in Iraq; it's almost like you are doing it for him."
Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked, "Which do you like best—beef or chicken?" "Chicken," I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from first class. "This is your thanks," she said.
After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the rest room. A man stopped me. "I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this." He handed me twenty-five dollars.
Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he wasn't looking for me. When he got to my row, he stopped, smiled, held out his hand and said, "I want to shake your hand." Quickly unfastening my seat belt, I stood and took the Captain's hand. With a loud voice he said, "I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot." I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers.
Later, I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm.
When we landed, I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five dollars!
Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. "It will take you some time to reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich. God bless you."
Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers.
* * * * * * * *
A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America" for an amount of "up to and including my life." That is Honor, and there are too many people who no longer understand it.
A couple from Bakersfield, California, had just purchased a new boat, but were experiencing some serious problems.
No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't get their 22-foot boat going. It was very sluggish no matter which way they turned, or no matter how much power was applied. After about an hour of trying to make it go, they made their way over to a nearby marina, hoping someone there could tell them what was wrong.
A thorough check on the topside of the boat revealed that everything was in perfect working condition. The engine ran fine, the out drive went up and down, and the propeller was the correct size and pitch. Then, one of the marina guys jumped in the water to check underneath.
He came up choking on water because he was laughing so hard.
Under the boat ... still strapped securely in place ... was the trailer!
Thought: When God looks "under" your life, what does He see? Are you strapped to some sin or destructive habit that is slowly pulling you under?
One of my favorite poems is called "The Dash." Written by Linda Ellis shortly after her grandmother's death, it's an eloquent invocation to live one's life thoughtfully.
I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of his friend. He referred to the dates on her tombstone from the beginning to the end. He noted that first came her date of birth and spoke the following date with tears, But he said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years.
For that dash represents all the time she spent alive on earth, And now only those who loved her know what that little line is worth. For it matters not how much we own—the cars, the house, the cash—What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash.
So think about this long and hard—are there things you'd like to change? For you never know how much time is left that can still be rearranged. If we could just slow down long enough to consider what's true and real, And always try to understand the way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger and show appreciation more, And love the people in our lives like we've never loved before. If we treat each other with respect and more often wear a smile, Remembering that this special dash might only last a little while.
So when your eulogy's been read with your life's actions to rehash, Would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent your dash?
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
Linda has a website where you can order printed copies of the full poem and read more than a dozen other uplifting verses. http://lindaellis.net/wp/
"Then he [Jesus] said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."1
It's an age-old question that mankind has been asking since time immemorial: "Where did I come from? Why am I here? And where am I going?" In other words, "What is the purpose of life?"
In Western society, for vast multitudes the purpose of life is materialism, the accumulation of riches and material possessions that, without a deep spirituality, will ultimately lead to soul hunger and spiritual emptiness. Even Christians are not exempt from this hunger for material possessions. Results from a survey of 3,450 lay people and pastors by the National Council of Churches of Christ, conclude: "As people see it, the main thing blocking church support simply is a surpassing urge for more affluent living. Rival attractions seem to be gaining more of the religious dollar."2
For hedonists the purpose of life is finding happiness, and yet, more often than not, searching for happiness as an end in itself is like looking for the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Sadly, for multiplied millions in some third-world countries their purpose in life is simply struggling for survival, and that is understandable.
Perhaps the highest purpose of man is found in the Westminster Catechism which says: "The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever."
Referring to our souls, in Living a Life that Matters, Harold Kushner writes, "Our souls are not hungry for fame, comfort, wealth, or power. Our souls are hungry for meaning, for the sense that we have figured out how to live so that our lives matter, so that the world will be at least a little bit different for our having passed through it."3
If our chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever, we will achieve this by "feeding our souls on spiritual food" and serving others that will, in turn, make our life matter. We will not have lived in vain. And eternity waits to welcome us home with our Savior's words, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord."
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, help me love you with all my heart, mind and strength, and so live that my life will matter and make a difference in the life of many others for all eternity. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
1. Luke 12:15 (NIV).
2. Adapted from Dean R. Hoge and David A. Roozen, "Some Sociological Conclusions about Church Trends," in Understanding Church Growth and Decline. Cited on www.eSermons.com.
3. Cited by Michael Josephson in Character Counts www.charactercounts.org.
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"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."