Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 14 – No. 3712 September 15, 2012
Thought for the week: "What is now reality was once only imagined." – Anonymous
Special Word for U.S. Citizens: Please be certain that you are registered to vote, and vote this November 6. Included is a self-explanatory website at: http://www.ivotevalues.org that clearly includes:
(1) The importance of voting video, particularly this year
(2) Registering a person to Vote right on the site
(3) Aninformative voter guide that will be updated periodically
(4) Pray and Vote ... And be sure to see the Presidential Voter
Guide at: http://downloads.frcaction.org/EF/EF12F13.pdf
A young woman woke up one morning and told her husband, "I just dreamed that you gave me a pearl necklace for Valentine's Day. What do you think it means?"
"You'll know tonight," he said.
That evening the man came home with a small package and gave it to his wife. Delighted, she opened it, only to find a book entitled, The Meaning of Dreams.
Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask for your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good," but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. "Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from sin and set us free." Amen!
This prayer has been credited to Rev. Billy Graham. However, according to Snopes.com, it is a version of a prayer written in 1995 by Bob Russell who delivered it at the Kentucky Governor's Prayer Breakfast in Frankfort.
As recently as in 1983, President Ronald Reagan summarized this traditional belief of America's leaders, "The American experiment in democracy rests on this insight. Its discovery was the great triumph of our Founding Fathers, voiced by William Penn when he said: 'If we will not be governed by God, we must be governed by tyrants.' Explaining the inalienable rights of men, Jefferson said, 'The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time.' And it was George Washington who said that 'of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.'"
6. Willful Blindness: Ignoring the Moral Issues Before Us
By Michael Josephson of Character Counts (763.3)
On a bitter cold night, a Russian countess was taken to a play in a horse-drawn carriage. The driver asked the Lady whether they could take shelter in a nearby inn until the play was over as he was not feeling well.
The Countess thought the question impertinent and directed the two men to wait outside with the carriage in case she wanted to leave early.
The performance and intermission lasted nearly three hours. The play included a heart-rending scene about a nobleman who refused to allow two of his servants, who had fallen in love, to marry. In the end, both were killed when they tried to run off to be together.
The Countess was moved to tears and she commented to a friend that the cruelty of the nobleman in the play was barbaric and inexcusable.
She was still sobbing when she exited the theater and found a small crowd gathered around her carriage. She demanded to know what was going on, and the footman fearfully told her that the old driver froze to death while they waited for her.
The Countess was furious demanding who would now drive her home. So, how could a woman sensitive enough to cry at the plight of fictional characters be so callous about the comfort and health of her own servants?
It's called "willful blindness," a defense mechanism allowing folks to see only what they want to see.
I saw a cartoon once that captured the essence of this point: A half-dozen executives are sitting around a conference table, and the chairman announces, "Miss Harris will now hand out the moral blinders."
The key question is: What are we pretending not to know? Are there things about nuclear power plants and their ability to survive natural calamities we are pretending not to know? Are some school administrators willfully pretending not to know about irresponsible teachers or abusive coaches?
We all have moral blind spots. The challenge is to have the humility to find them and the character to fix them.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?"1
Prior to his death, Winston Churchill planned his funeral and requested that at his funeral a bugler, positioned high in the dome of Saint Paul's Cathedral, play "Taps," the signal that the day is over. However, as soon as "Taps" was finished, a second bugler positioned on the opposite side of the dome was to play "Reveille," signaling that a new day is beginning and that "It's time to get up! It's time to get up in the morning!"
Churchill had it right. Death is not the end of life. It's just the end of life on earth, for the human spirit is immortal. For the non-Christian death is eternal disconnection or separation from God, the author of all life and love. For the Christian death is but the end of their "day" on earth and the beginning of a new day—the entrance into eternal life in heaven to be "forever with the Lord."
What a wonderful hope to have.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, help me to prepare today for eternity's certain tomorrow and help me always to remember that "Only one life, 'twill soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last." Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
For help to be sure that you are ready for your Eternal Reveille after your death, Click HERE for the article, "Life After Death."
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go with peace.
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go with truth.
Because the world would die without,
go with the love of God."
