Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 14 – No. 1012 March 10, 2012
Thought for the week: "There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword. The other is by debt." – John Adams
"Courage is not limited to the battlefield. The real tests of courage are much quieter. They are the inner tests, like enduring pain when the room is empty or standing alone when you're misunderstood." – Charles Swindoll
"All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance, and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence." – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all." – Sam Ewing
"Don't let yesterday take up too much of today." – Will Rogers
"If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere." – Frank A. Clark
"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men, as a whole, experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing." – Helen Keller
"Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression." – Haim Ginott
I didn't know if my granddaughter had learned her colors yet, so I decided to test her. I would point out something and ask what color it was. She would tell me and was always correct. It was fun for me, so I continued. At last, she headed for the door, saying, "Grandma, I think you should try to figure out some of these colors yourself!"
There is a wonderful woman—I won't say her name because she's pretty famous—who was at a conference where I was speaking. I didn't know who she was at the time. She seemed to be trying to slip by me without hugging me or saying anything. But I noticed her in the crowd, and she looked like she needed a hug. So I said, "Excuse me just a minute," to the lady I was talking to, and called out, "Hey you! Going by right there! Come here!"
The woman said, "Me?" and I said, "Yes, you." So she came over and I said, "You know what? You really need a hug." And I hugged her and held her. At first she was reluctant, but then she just got limp. And as I hugged her, I prayed for her, even though I didn't know what I was praying for.
Later I happened to go to an event where this woman was in concert. And I said, "Oh my goodness! That's that lady!" She came up to me and said, "Do you remember me?" I said, "Yes." Then she told me, "The day you called me over to hug me was the lowest day of my life. I was wondering, 'Does anybody care? Does anybody love me?' And that hug saved my life."
The tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians, passed on from generation to generation, says that, "When you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount."
However, in government, education and in corporate America, more advanced strategies are often applied, such as:
Buying a stronger whip
Changing riders
Appointing a committee to study the horse
Arranging to visit other countries to see how other cultures ride dead horses.
Lowering the standards so that dead horses can be included.
Reclassifying the dead horse as living-impaired.
Hiring outside contractors to ride the dead horse.
Harnessing several dead horses together to increase their speed.
Providing additional funding and/or training to increase a dead horse's performance.
Doing a productivity study to see if lighter riders would improve the dead horse's performance.
Declaring that as the dead horse does not have to be fed, it is less costly, carries lower overhead and therefore contributes substantially more to the bottom line of economy than do some other horses.
Rewriting the expected performance requirements for all horses. And of course...
Promoting the dead horse to a supervisory position.
I was at the corner grocery store buying some early potatoes. I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and feature, ragged but clean, hungrily appraising a basket of freshly picked green peas.
I paid for my potatoes but was also drawn to the display of fresh green peas. I am a pushover for creamed peas and new potatoes.
Pondering the peas, I couldn't help overhearing the conversation between Mr. Miller (the store owner) and the ragged boy next to me.
"Hello Barry, how are you today?"
"H'lo, Mr. Miller. Fine, thank ya. Jus' admirin' them peas. They sure look good."
"They are good, Barry. How's your Ma?" "Fine. Gittin' stronger alla' time." "Good. Anything I can help you with?" "No, Sir. Jus' admirin' them peas." "Would you like to take some home?" asked Mr. Miller.
"No, Sir. Got nuthin' to pay for 'em with."
"Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?"
"All I got's my prize marble here."
"Is that right? Let me see it," said Miller.
"Here 'tis. She's a dandy."
"I can see that. Hmm mmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?" the store owner asked.
"Not zackley but almost."
"Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you, and next trip this way, let me look at that red marble." Mr. Miller told the boy.
"Sure will. Thanks Mr. Miller."
Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me.
With a smile she said, "There are two other boys like him in our community, all three are in very poor circumstances. Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes, or whatever.
"When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn't like red after all, and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one, when they come on their next trip to the store."
I left the store smiling to myself, impressed with this man. A short time later I moved to Colorado, but I never forgot the story of this man, the boys, and their bartering for marbles.
Several years went by, each more rapid than the previous one. Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community, and while I was there, learned that Mr. Miller had died. They were having his visitation that evening and, knowing my friends wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them. Upon arrival at the mortuary, we fell into line to meet the relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of comfort we could.
Ahead of us in line were three young men. One was in an army uniform and the other two wore nice haircuts, dark suits and white shirts ... all very professional looking. They approached Mrs. Miller, standing composed and smiling by her husband's casket.
Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her and moved on to the casket. Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket. Each left the mortuary awkwardly, wiping his eyes.
Our turn came to meet Mrs. Miller. I told her who I was and reminded her of the story from those many years ago and what she had told me about her husband's bartering for marbles. With her eyes glistening, she took my hand and led me to the casket.
"Those three young men who just left were the boys I told you about.
"They just told me how they appreciated the things Jim 'traded' them. Now, at last, when Jim could not change his mind about color or size, they came to pay their debt."
"We've never had a great deal of the wealth of this world," she confided, "but right now, Jim would consider himself the richest man in Idaho."
With loving gentleness she lifted the lifeless fingers of her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three exquisitely shined red marbles.
The Moral: "We will not be remembered by our words, but by our kind deeds. Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath."
More often than we like, most of us face choices that can have a serious and lasting impact on our lives. Do we go along with the crowd? Do we tell someone off, quit a job, or end a relationship? Unfortunately, these decisions are not preceded by a drum roll warning us that the stakes are high. Even worse, we often don't have a lot of time to figure out what to do. It's no surprise that most bad decisions—the ones that mess up our lives—are made impulsively or without sufficient reflection.
Ancient proverbs tell us to "count to ten when you're angry" or "think ahead." But anger and lack of preplanning are only two factors that can impede excellent decision making. Fatigue, fear, frustration, stress, impatience, and emotions also create obstacles to wise choices.
Just as we learned to look both ways before we cross the street, we can learn to analyze every important decision-making situation to allow us to arrive at conclusions that are both effective and ethical.
Each decision, therefore, should start with a stop—a forced moment of reflection to help us clarify our goal, evaluate the completeness and credibility of our information, and devise an alternate strategy, if necessary, to achieve the best possible result. Stopping also allows us to muster our moral willpower to overcome temptations and emotions that could lead to a rash, foolish, or ill-considered decision.
While it's great to have a day or two to sleep on a problem, or even a few hours, many situations don't afford us that luxury. But a pause of even a few seconds can often be enough.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you to think ahead because character counts.
"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes."1
The word "gospel" means good news—it is the greatest news in all the world—it is the Good News of God's salvation, without which mankind would be doomed for eternal damnation and separation from God, the author of all love and life.
But why is the gospel God's Good News?
First, the gospel is not a message about religion but a message about God's eternal love and purpose for all mankind. Religion wants to fix us from the outside in. God wants to fix us from the inside out. The first can become an impossible burden. The latter is what brings freedom.
Also, it's important to realize that no matter what we have ever done or have failed to do God loves us with an everlasting love and has a wonderful purpose for our lives—for this life and the next. As Jesus said, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."2 And again, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."3
Second, the gospel is a message about sin, something we are all guilty of. As the Bible says, "We have all sinned and fallen short of God's standard."4 Sin, however, is not only doing harmful acts. It is anything that falls short of the standard of perfection that God envisioned for us. This includes an unforgiving spirit, pride, jealousy, mixed motives, etc. Most of us, too, are guilty of sins of omission; that is, not doing what we know we should and could do.5
However, a common misconception about God is that he is out to punish us for our sins. The fact is we bring sin's punishment on ourselves because sin has its own natural consequences. If we try to break the universal law of gravity, for instance, we can't. It will break us. Neither can we break God's universal moral law. When we try to, it breaks us. And besides its painful effects in this life—suffering, sorrow, sadness, sickness and spiritual death—its ultimate and tragic consequence is eternal death and separation from God.6
Third, the gospel is a message about God's remedy. Because sin has separated or disconnected us from God, we have been left with a "God-shaped" vacuum or spiritual emptiness within. As St. Augustine put it, "You have made us for yourself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you." The world's many religions are all evidence of man's endless search to find God and fill this vacuum. However, because God loves us so much, he sent his own sinless Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from our predicament.7 Christ did this by dying on the cross in our place to pay the consequence of and ransom price for our sins—death. Thus, Jesus Christ is God's only provision for our sin. He is the only way back to God and the only door to eternal life.8
Finally, the gospel is a summons to faith and repentance. If you were found guilty of a serious crime and were condemned to death, would you accept a free unconditional pardon, if offered? Because Jesus Christ died on the cross in your and my place, God now offers you complete acquittal, forgiveness, and the gift of eternal life. All you need to do is confess and repent of [turn way from] your sinful actions, believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that he died for your sins, and invite him into your life as Savior and Lord.
The following prayer will help you do this. "Dear God, I confess that I am a sinner and am sorry for all the wrongs I have done and the sins that I have committed. I believe that your Son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross for my sins. Please forgive me for all my sins and I invite you, Jesus, to come into my heart and life as Savior and Lord. I commit and trust my life to you. Please give me the desire to be what you want me to be and to do what you want me to do. Thank you for dying for my sins, for your forgiveness and free pardon, for your gift of eternal life, and for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, amen."
If you prayed this prayer and genuinely meant it, please click on www.actsweb.org/decision.php to let us know and we will send you a free copy of the eBrochure, "How to Grow."
1. Romans 1:16 (NIV). 2. John 3:16 (NIV). 3. John 10:10 (NIV). 4. Romans 3:23. 5. James 4:17. 6. Romans 6:23. 7. See Ephesians 2:8-9. 8. See John 14:6 and Romans 5:8.
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