Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 14 – No. 5112 December 22, 2012
Wishing all Weekend Encounter subscribers a very Merry and God blessed Christmas
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, Cofounder DaySpring Cards. Submitted by Dr. Cath Filmer-Davies
"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
The celebrated pianist Arthur Rubinstein often wondered if he gave a concert in disguise, what kind of critical reception he would get. Eventually, he tried a concert under an assumed name and a beard. Critics' verdict: The bearded wonder wasn't in a class with the great Rubinstein.
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?
* See "Thought for the Season" (John 14:2–3, NIV).
Roger Crawford was sixteen years old before he could tie his shoes, and even then Velcro made it possible. But he excelled in other areas such as sports, becoming a star tennis player. While in high school he was a championship player, winning more than 95 percent of his matches. He continued at nearly the same pace in college and has succeeded as a pro. You can look at Roger and see that he has a disability. As Roger explains it, however, most people's disabilities cannot be seen, but they're just as real and, in many cases, more pronounced than his.
Roger was born with one leg missing from the knee down. He doesn't have hands complete with four fingers and a thumb. As a matter of fact, he has only two extensions from where the fingers usually are, and yet he uses the two extensions to accomplish some remarkable successes. Roger doesn't complain about what he does not have, but makes full use of what he does have. This attitude enabled him to become the first athlete with severe disabilities to compete in an NCAA division college sport.
– Something to Smile About by Zig Ziglar,
Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 1997,
p. 13.
6. What I've Learned: The Perspective From 13-Year-Olds
By Michael Josephson of Character Counts (423.5)
A few years ago I got a note from Sam Rangel, an eighth-grade teacher in Corona, California. He distributed some of my commentaries on "What I've Learned" to his students and asked them to write down what they'd learned over the past year or in their lives. Here's the world of growing wisdom from the 13-year-old perspective:
I've learned that work comes first; fool around later.
I've learned that being popular isn't everything.
I've learned that being pretty on the inside is better than being pretty on the outside.
I've learned that not everything in life is fair.
I've learned that all people want is someone to listen to them.
I've learned that girls seem to fight with their friends a lot, but almost never with their enemies.
I've learned that it takes a long time to make a friendship and a fraction of a second to destroy it.
I've learned that your imagination is as important as your knowledge.
I've learned that to say no to someone is not wrong.
I've learned that by following others, you aren't following yourself.
I've learned that the harder it is to do something, the stronger it makes us.
I've learned that I am responsible for me.
I've learned to give everybody a second chance.
I've learned that teenagers will do dumb things.
I've learned that if you respect your elders, they will respect you, too.
I've learned that words do hurt people more than sticks and stones.
I've learned that when I come to a fork in the road, ask for help.
I've learned that the easy way is not the best way.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"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 ... 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."
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