Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 14 – No. 2012 May 19, 2012
Thought for the week: "All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen." – Ralph Waldo Emerson
"The enemy surrounds us. Don't let one escape." – Vance Havner
"There is no cosmetic for beauty like happiness." – Countess of Blessington
"One person with a belief is equal to a force of ninety-nine who have only interests." – John Stuart Mill
"Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact." – William James
"A diamond cannot be polished without friction, nor the man perfected without trials." – Chinese Proverb
"By starving emotions we become humorless, rigid and stereotyped; by repressing them we become literal, reformatory and holier-than-thou; encouraged, they perfume life; discouraged, they poison it." – Joseph Collins
$chool i$ really great. I am making lot$ of friend$ and $tudying very hard. With all my $tuff, I $imply can't think of anything I need, $o if you would like, you can ju$t $end me a card, a$ I would love to hear from you.
Love, Your $on.
A week later—a letter from home to school:
Dear Son,
I kNOw that astroNOmy, ecoNOmics, and oceaNOgraphy are eNOugh to keep even an hoNOr student busy. Do NOt forget that the pursuit of kNOwledge is a NOble task, and you can never study eNOugh.
Words spoken
may soon pass away
and forgotten be,
But when spoken
in love and kindness,
are like beautiful flowers,
and even though
they fade and die
from conscious memory,
their fragrance lives on
embedded in the
deeper mind –
forever
"Encouraging words well spoken," wrote Solomon, "are like golden apples in silver settings."1
"It's only words and words are all I have to take your heart away." These words are from one of my favorite songs sung by the Bee Gees. Obviously, words can have a powerful effect either for good or for bad, for healing or for hurting, for encouraging or discouraging, or for making others laugh or cry.
With words, we can inspire people and even nations to noble deeds of courage, such as the words Sir Winston Churchill broadcast to spur the British people on to victory when, during World War II, Britain's back was against the wall as she was being bombarded by Germany's relentless air raid attacks. Forty-seven of her warships had been sunk. The Royal Air Force had lost 40 percent of its bomber strength. Britain was on the brink of famine and was facing imminent invasion.
Here's what Churchill said in this hour of great need: "We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be; we shall fight on the beaches; we shall fight in the fields; we shall fight in the streets; and we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender."
Or with people such as the Hitlers and the Stalins of the world, words can be used to motivate people to dastardly deeds of treachery, murder, slaughter, and relentless acts of terrorism.
Most of us, of course, will never be in a position to move multitudes of people, but every single one of us is in a position to make a big difference in the life of at least one person—and in realty, the lives of many people if we are so inclined.
Life is filled with plenty of negatives, setbacks, unkind and hurtful words. And so we all need words of encouragement. Let's not fail to give such a word to at least one person every day whether they are young or old because:
Words spoken may soon pass away and forgotten be, but when expressed in love and kindness are like beautiful flowers, and even though they fade and die from conscious memory, Their fragrance lives on embedded in the deeper mind—forever.2
1. Proverbs 25:11 (Paraphrase).
2. Dick Innes. This poem, beautifully presented ready for framing, is available online at: http://tinyurl.com/words-spoken.
His request approved, the CNN news photographer quickly used a cell phone to call the local airport to charter a flight. He was told a twin-engine plane would be waiting for him at the airport.
Arriving at the airfield, he spotted a plane warming up outside a hanger. He jumped in with his bag, slammed the door shut, and shouted, "Let's go."
The pilot taxied out, swung the plane into the wind, and took off.
Once in the air the photographer instructed the pilot, "Fly over the valley and make low passes so I can take pictures of the fires on the hillsides."
"Why?" asked the pilot. "Because I'm a photographer for CNN," he responded, "and I need to get some close up shots."
The pilot was strangely silent for a moment, finally he stammered, "So, what you're telling me, is ... You're NOT my flight instructor?"
– Source: Seen in an e-Mail. Be it true of false, either
way it is an excellent parable.
"The deepest principle of human nature is the craving to be appreciated." – William James 1842–1910
William Stidger, a Methodist minister, began to think of the blessings he had received during his life. He remembered a special elementary school teacher who had gone out of her way to give him a commendation for verse. It had been more than 50 years since Stidger had been in her class, but his appreciation for verse had endured since that time.
Stidger wrote to his former teacher a letter of thanks and she replied: "My Dear Willie, I cannot tell you how much your note meant to me. I am in my eighties, living alone in a small room, cooking my own meals, lonely and, like the last leaf of autumn, lingering behind. You will be interested to know that I taught in school for fifty years and yours is the first note of appreciation I ever received."
I regard the ministry of appreciation as of the highest importance. Many people in our communities perform valuable voluntary service and it is only those rare words of thanks and appreciation that are their reward.
We're not very good at saying "Thank you," are we? We're like a little boy I heard about. On his return from a birthday party, his mother queried, "Bobby, did you thank the lady for the party?" Bobby replied, "Well, I was going to. But a girl ahead of me said, 'Thank you,' and the lady told her not to mention it. So I didn't."
We have much to thank God for, and I have no doubt that as each day passes, we ask God for more. Yet are we as faithful when it comes to giving thanks and showing our appreciation? In his final instructions to the Thessalonians, Paul wrote: "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end. There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days. All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else. Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed. Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear. So too, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to-do lists will expire. The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away. It won't matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you lived on at the end. It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant. Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.
So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?
What will matter is not what you bought but what you built, not what you got but what you gave. What will matter is not your success but your significance. What will matter is not what you learned but what you taught. What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage, or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example. What will matter is not your competence but your character.
What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone. What will matter is not your memories but the memories that live in those who loved you. What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what. Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident. It's not a matter of circumstance but of choice. Choose to live a life that matters.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
You may have seen the video of the blind man sitting by the wayside with a sign that said, "I'M BLIND PLEASE HELP." He received very few coins. A lady walked by and, when passing, glanced at the blind man's sign. After taking a few steps, she turned back and re-wrote the man's sign without saying a word and went on her way. Soon endless passerby people were donating coins. When returning, the lady who re-wrote the sign stopped to see how the blind man was faring. He asked enquiringly, "What did you write on my sign?" She simply said, "I wrote the same but in different words." She had written, "IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY AND I CAN'T SEE IT." Her "vision" changed this man's world and life.
This brings to mind how many people we pass by every day that are totally blind spiritually and cannot "see" heaven, most of whom don't wear a sign to ask for help, let alone having a sign that says: "Heaven is beautiful and I can't see it."
So let me share with you how God in his Word, the Bible, has painted a beautiful picture of hthat the mind's eye, when opened, can clearly see.
No more hunger or sadness: "Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat.... And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."1
No more death, grieving, crying or pain: "Then I saw 'a new heaven and a new earth,' for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.' He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."2
Beauty beyond compare: "The wall [of heaven] was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.
"I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's [Jesus Christ's] book of life."3
Jesus himself made many references about heaven. The Apostle Paul and several of Jesus' disciples also wrote about heaven. In fact, in the New Testament section of God's Word, the Bible, there are 237 references relating to heaven. There are many more in the Old Testament section of the Bible. Rest assured, God himself repeatedly validates heaven.
The critical issue is, are you ready to literally see heaven from within when your life's journey on earth is finished? God's Word makes it plain that there are only two places where we will spend eternity after death—either with God in heaven or in hell with Satan and his evil demons. We need to make sure we make our choice today as to where we want to spend eternity. Heaven is beautiful so make absolutely sure you get to see it. To make absolutely sure that you do, be sure to make peace with God today. For help go to: http://tinyurl.com/find-peace.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, Thank you for the promise in your Word that assures all your true followers that there is a heaven that is beyond all beauty we can ever imagine, and that because of your free pardon for all my sins you have guaranteed me a home in heaven to be with you for all eternity. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, amen."
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