Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 14 – No. 4812 December 01, 2012
Thought for the week: "The crowning blessing of life is to be born with a bias to some pursuit." – Evelyn Beatrice Hall
"The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak tree that resists." – Unknown
"Optimism is essential to achievement and it is also the foundation of courage and true progress." – Nicholas M. Butler
"The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up." – Paul Valery
"it is time to get back to basics: to self-discipline and respect for the law, to consideration for others, to accepting responsibility for yourself and your family, and not shuffling it off on the state." – John Major, former British Prime Minister
"The difference between a boss and a leader is this: a boss says, 'Go,' while a leader says, 'Let's go." – Unknown
"Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better." – King Whitney, Jr.
"Thanks for the harmonica you gave me for my birthday," little Joshua said to his uncle. "It's the best present I ever got."
"That's great," said his uncle. "Do you know how to play it?"
"Oh, I don't play it," the little fellow replied. "My mom gives me a dollar a day not to play it during the day and my dad gives me five dollars a week not to play it at night!"
The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.
Refrain:
Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints' and angels' song.
When hoary time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call,
God's love so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam's race—
The saints' and angels' song.
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
I have read that "verse 3 was penciled on the wall of a narrow room in an insane asylum by a man said to have been demented. The profound lines were discovered when they laid him in his coffin."
Mike Benson, in KneEmail wrote, "A past issue of Action magazine caught my attention some time ago. It carried an article about a gentleman from the Philippines by the name of Leopoldo Ducany. One afternoon, Leopoldo's wife had brought him a fish which she had purchased at the local market. She asked him to clean it in order that she might prepare it for dinner.
The meal-to-be was wrapped in a year-old newspaper. As Leopoldo tore away the paper, he noticed an ad for World Bible School. The ad prompted a response, and before long, he was regularly receiving Bible correspondence materials.
At the conclusion of the series of lessons, Leopoldo requested baptism and was added to the body of Christ (Acts 2:47; Galatians 3:27). He made this decision to follow the Lord despite the obvious anti-church sentiment held by Communist rebels in his region.
THOUGHT: If we can reach a man on the other side of the world with a year-old newspaper wrapped around a dead snapper fish, then don't you think we can reach our local communities with the saving message of Christ?1
Ed note: If you have an e-mail address and access to the Internet, you, too, can be a very effective witness for Jesus Christ by giving others the opportunity to read the gospel. For simple and effective helps click on helps for communicating the message of Jesus Christ on the ACTS People Power for Jesus website at: www.actsweb.org/people_power/tips.php
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19; cf. Acts 1:8).
The light turned yellow, just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.
The tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn, screaming in frustration, as she missed her chance to get through the intersection, dropping her cell phone and makeup.
As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up..
He took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a holding cell.
After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.
He said, "I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the 'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker, the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'Follow Me to Sunday-School' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk, so naturally I assumed you had stolen the car."
6. Are You Wiser Today Than Yesterday? Things I've Learned
By Michael Josephson of Character Counts (761.3)
Do you think you're any wiser today than you were five years ago? Do you think you'll be wiser still in another five years? I hope the answer to both questions is an emphatic "yes."
One of the benefits of growing older is getting better. And we get better by learning. I'm not just talking about increasing our knowledge of new facts like how a volcanic eruption in Iceland can prevent airline traffic in most of Europe.
I'm talking about acquiring usable nuggets of wisdom that can change our lives. I've talked about my own life insights and re-packaged them in lots of ways, but here's another attempt to condense some of the things that make me wiser than I was.
For starters, I've learned that as long as I'm willing to learn, I can learn. Just as important, I've become more open to learning by realizing that the fact that I'm wiser today doesn't mean I was foolish or incompetent before. This is what I mean when I say, " You don't have to be sick to get better."
I've also come to accept that no matter how old I am, my life and character are works in process, and that there will always be a gap between who I am and who I want to be.
I've learned that it's easy to mask moral compromises with rationalizations, and that my character is revealed not by my words or intentions, but by my willingness to do the right thing even when it costs more than I want to pay.
I've learned that my character is more important than my competence, and that being significant is more important than being successful.
I've learned that I often judge myself by my good intentions, but that I'll be judged by my last worst act.
I've learned that the surest road to happiness is good relationships, and that striving to be a good person is the surest road to good relationships.
Finally, I've learned that pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional and that it's not what happens to me that matters most, but what happens in me.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven."1
I like what a Buddhist monk once said, "To know and not to do is not yet to know." To translate that into our Christian language it could read: "To believe and not to act is not yet to believe." In other words, if I say that I believe that without Christ people are eternally lost—and never do anything to help point others to Christ, do I really believe that people without Christ are lost? And if I say that I believe that Jesus is coming again, and that the lost will be left behind—and I never do anything to help introduce them to Christ, do I really believe that Jesus is coming again and that the non-Christians will be left behind?
As another has said, "I don't always act consistently with what I profess, but I always act consistently with what I believe." So do I truly believe that people without Christ are eternally lost, or do I just profess it?
As the Apostle Paul said, "It is God himself, in his mercy, who has given us this wonderful work [of telling his Good News to others], and so we never give up."2
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help to believe your Word in my heart and not just in my head, so that I will always act according to what I believe, and not just according to what I profess. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
P.S. A simple way to become involved in helping to point others to Jesus is by joining with us as a People Power for Jesus Partner. For more information Click HERE. There is no cost involved.
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