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 Dick Innes


Weekend Encounter

Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes          
Published by: ACTS International

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Vol. 13 – No. 5211 December 24, 2011

 
MERRY CHRISTMAS and A HAPPY NEW YEAR: Wishing all our readers a very Merry and God blessed Christmas and New Year, and thank you for the opportunity to share with you via Weekend Encounter every week. From Dick and Joy Innes.

Thought for the week: "Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant." – Robert Louis Stephenson
 
INDEX
1.   Words of Wisdom
2.   On the Lighter Side
3.   Thought for the Season
4.   Will Jesus Come to Earth Again?
5.   Shaping Down Here ...
6.   Finding God in the Park
7.   Missing the Point
8.   Receive Daily Encounter Devotional  Without Charge
9.   Weekend Encounter E-mail Edition  Without Charge
10.   Know God ... Without Having to Be Religious
11.   Prayer Partners Needed
12.   To Submit a Prayer Request
13.   Please Help Support Weekend Encounter
14.   Helpful Books, CDs, and Cassettes
15.   Services Without Charge
16.   ACTS in Action Report; Archives for Daily and Weekend Encounter

1. Words of Wisdom

"Along the pathway of the stars we toil toward the moon and Mars ... have we lost our mind in leaving Bethlehem behind?" – Johnston G. Patrick

"Man is a creature who buys football tickets three months in advance, but waits until Christmas Eve to do his Christmas shopping." – sermons.com

"God is dead." – Nietzsche

"Nietzsche is dead." – God

"Islam is a religion in which 'God' [Allah] requires you to send your son to die for him. Christianity is a faith in which God sent his Son to die for you." – John Ashcroft

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord'" (Luke 2:8-11).  

Index

2. On the Lighter Side

Sam, an old man, was a witness in a burglary case. The defense lawyer asked Sam, "Did you see my client commit this burglary?"

"Yes," said Sam, "I saw him plainly take the goods."

The lawyer asked Sam again, "Sam, this happened at night. Are you sure you saw my client commit this crime?"

"Yes" said Sam, "I saw him do it."

Then the lawyer asked Sam, "Sam listen, you are 80 years old and your eyesight probably is bad. Just how far can you see at night?"

Sam said, "I can see the moon, how far is that?"

– Source Unknown

Index

3. Thought for the Season

"The message of Christmas is not about the proclamation of a holiday or the declaration of a season. It is about the proclamation of a Person and the declaration of Salvation. The birth of the child in the manger was an event that prophets had written about, the people of Israel had spoken about, the patriarchs of old had wondered about, and the angels of God shouted about on that glorious night when Christ was born."

– Roy Lessin, Co-Founder DaySpring Cards.
   Submitted by Dr. Cath Filmer-Davies

* * * * * * *

Christmas

Christmas is sharing your gifts, not purchasing gifts;
It's not wrapping presents, its being present
and wrapping your arms around the ones you love;
It's not getting Christmas cards out on time,
It's sending any card, anytime, at the right time;
It's not having the biggest and best Christmas light display,
It's displaying the Christ light that comes from your heart;
It's not Santa coming down the chimney,
It's Jesus coming down from heaven,
and giving us the gift of eternal life."

         – Anonymous

Index

4. Will Jesus Come to Earth Again?

Year after year with "tireless regularity and eternal patience," God reminds the world every Christmas that he sent his Son, Jesus, to save lost mankind. Christmas is also God's reminder that Jesus is coming back to earth for all who have accepted him as their personal Lord and Savior.

His first coming is an indisputable fact of history. His second coming to end this world age is as certain. According to Bible scholars, there are 1,845 references in the Old Testament and 318 in the New Testament about Christ's coming again. This means for every prophecy in the Bible about Christ's first coming—every one of which was fulfilled in minute detail—there are eight about his second coming!

Jesus is coming again. God has promised this in his Word, the Bible. Jesus himself promised it as well.* And all the signs that Jesus and the Bible said would immediately precede his return are evident today, also reminding us that Christ's return could be very soon. If it were today, would you be ready?

*Jesus' promise: "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:2–3, NIV).

      Index

5. Shaping Down Here ...

His grief was multiplied by the sudden death of his precious wife. The only thing he had left was his faith, and it was weakening.

One day he was combing the neighborhood looking for work. He stopped to watch some men who were doing the stonework on a church building. One of those men was skillfully chiseling a triangular piece of rock. Not seeing a spot where it would fit, he asked, "Where are you going to put that?"

The man pointed toward the top of the building and said. "See that little opening up there near the spire? That's where it goes. I'm shaping it down here so it will fit up there.

Tears filled this good man's eyes as he walked away. "Shaping it down here so it will fit up there" gave new meaning in his difficult situation.

Source: KneEmail. To subscribe, send any
message to: kneemail-subscribe@welovegod.org
Cited on WITandWISDOM http://www.witandwisdom.org

Index

6. Finding God in the Park

       By Michael Josephson of Character Counts (725.3)

Abe was fiercely independent, even at age 85, but after a mild stroke his son insisted he move in with him. Abe missed going to the park near his old apartment, and one Saturday he set out to find it.

When he became disoriented, he asked a young boy named Timmy where the park was. Timmy said he'd like to take him there, but he didn't have time because he was looking for God. He said he needed to talk to Him about why his parents were getting a divorce.

"Maybe God's in the park," the old man said. "I'd like to talk to Him, too, about why He's made me useless." And so they set off together to find God.

At the park, Timmy began to cry about the divorce, and Abe lovingly held his face in both hands and looked him straight in the eyes. "Timmy, I don't know why bad things happen, but I know it wasn't because of you. I know you're a good boy and your parents love you and you'll be okay."

Timmy gave Abe a big hug and said, "I'm so glad I met you. Thanks. I think I can go now."

From across the street, Timmy's mother saw them hug and approached her son in a worried voice. "Who was that old man?"

"I think he's God," Timmy said.

"Did he say that?" she demanded.

"No, but when he touched me and told me I'm going to be okay, I felt really better. Only God can do that."

When Abe got home, his son asked in a scolding voice, "Where were you?"

"I was in the park with God."

"Really? What makes you think you were with God?"

"Because He sent me a boy who needed me, and when the boy hugged me, I felt God telling me I wasn't useless anymore."

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.

© 2011 Josephson Institute of Ethics; reprinted with permission. Michael Josephson, one of the nation's leading ethicists, is the founder of the Josephson Institute of Ethics and the premier youth character education program, CHARACTER COUNTS! For further information visit www.charactercounts.org

Index

7. Missing the Point

A sample of Daily Encounter by Dick Innes

"The people of this generation ... are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other: 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.'"1

On a December day back in 1903 at Kitty Hawk in North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright, after numerous failures to fly a heavier-than-air machine, made amazing history. They achieved something that no man had ever done before. Ecstatic, they sent a telegram to their sister Katherine: "We have actually flown 852 feet. Will be home for Christmas."

Overjoyed, Katherine ran down to the local newspaper and pushed the telegram—the greatest news story of the new century—into the hand of the editor. After reading it, he smiled and said, "Well, well! How nice the boys will be home for Christmas."

The religious people of Christ's day who were actually anticipating his coming as their Messiah failed totally to recognize him—and ironically had him crucified—because he didn't come and didn't operate in the way they expected him to.

How sad it is that so many miss the full meaning of Christmas in that they have never thanked Jesus for dying for their sins, nor accepted the most profound and precious Christmas gift ever given ... the gift of the Savior and his pardon for all their sins and his gift of eternal life.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you for the most wonderful Christmas gift ever given—the gift of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Please use me to share your great gift of salvation with as many people as possible for as long as I shall live. And because of my inadequacies, please do this through me. Use me every day to be as Christ to whomever you bring into my life and grant that they, seeing Jesus in me, will want you for themselves. Eternally grateful, in Jesus' name. Amen."

1. Luke 7:32 (NIV).

     For more information on Daily Encounter, Click HERE.

Index

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Index

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Index

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Index

11. Prayer Partners Needed

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Index

12. To Submit a Prayer Request

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Helpers Needed: If you can help David pray for prayer requests, please could you go to:
www.responda.co.uk/member.php

Index

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    "Changing the World . . . One Person at a Time" 

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.

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Index

14. Helpful Books, CDs and Cassettes

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

Click HERE for books, CDs, tapes and poems by Dick Innes and others.

Index

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Index

16. ACTS in Action Report and Encounter Archives

ARCHIVES: Daily and Weekend Encounters




"The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace."


Know God

ACTS International
PO Box 73545
San Clemente, CA 92673-0119
U.S.A.

To receive the email edition of Weekend Encounter without charge click on the Subscribe button.

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© 2011 ACTS International


Know God

ACTS International
PO Box 73545
San Clemente, CA 92673-0119
U.S.A.

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.

 
   
         
   
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