Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 15 – No. 1813 May 04, 2013
Thought for the week: "You don't get harmony when everybody sings the same note." – Doug Floyd
"A lot of people are afraid to tell the truth, to say no. That's where toughness comes into play. Toughness is not being a bully. It's having backbone."
– Robert Kiyosaki
"A People that Values its Privileges above its Principles soon Loses Both" – Dwight D. Eisenhower
"You make the world a better place by making yourself a better person." – Scott Sorrell
"Handle them carefully, for words have more power than atom bombs." – Pearl Strachan
"Dreaming is wonderful, goal setting is crucial, but action is supreme. To make something great happen you must get busy and make it happen. Take that action step today that will put you on your path to achievement." – Greg Werner
"He Giveth More Grace" "It was written by a woman named Annie J. Flint. Annie was a teacher with aspirations for becoming a concert pianist when in her early adult years she was struck with severe arthritis that crippled her and brought her teaching career and her dreams to an end. Those who knew Annie described her as fun, alive, and vibrant even through her illness, which eventually took over her body.
In her later years she would write with a crayon or a piece of chalk that someone stuffed into her fingers so she could scribble on a board above her bed. In other words, she had credentials for pain and loss that exceed what most of us have ever faced. And she was also a shining example of the Grace of God in the midst of all that and a qualified spokesperson for it. It was out of that kind of experience that she wrote many songs and poems, but the words of "He Giveth More Grace" have added meaning when knowing her story."
He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father's full giving is only begun.
His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.
In 1887 Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years prior: "A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse over loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a dictatorship."
"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:
From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence back into bondage."
Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, believes the United States is now somewhere between the "complacency and apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase.
Watch your thoughts; they lead to attitudes.
Watch your attitudes; they lead to words.
Watch your words; they lead to actions.
Watch your actions; they lead to habits.
Watch your habits; they form your character.
Watch your character; it determines your destiny.
These words of unknown origin tell us that our silent and often subconscious choices shape our future. Every aspect of our lives, at home and at work, can be improved if we use our power to think, reflect, and make conscious choices about our thoughts, attitudes, words, actions, and habits.
Instead, many of us think of ourselves as victims. We complain about our circumstances and what others did to us. Whatever psychological comfort there is in feeling powerless and blameless when things aren't going right, victims lead unsatisfied lives in the end.
We're most vulnerable to victimitis when we're under the influence of powerful emotions like fear, insecurity, anger, frustration, grief, and depression. These feelings can be so overwhelming that we believe our state of mind is inevitable. Our only hope is that they'll go away on their own. Yet it's during times of emotional tumult that using our power to choose our thoughts and attitudes is most important. We can't make pain go away, but we can refuse to suffer.
Even when we don't like any of our choices, we do have some—once we realize we can take control. It isn't easy, but what we do and how we choose to feel about ourselves can have a profound impact on the quality of our lives. Victims may get sympathy for a while, but that isn't nearly enough.
Taking personal responsibility for our happiness and success can be scary, but the payoff is enormous. Although we can't make our lives perfect, we can make them better—usually a lot better.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."1
King Duncan writes about the small boy who "was consistently late coming home from school. His parents warned him one day that he must be home on time that afternoon, but nevertheless, he arrived later than ever. His mother met him at the door and said nothing. His father met him in the living room and said nothing.
"At dinner that night, the boy looked at his plate. There was a slice of bread and a glass of water. He looked at his father's full plate and then at his father, but his father remained silent. The boy was crushed. The father waited for the full impact to sink in, then quietly took the boy's plate and placed it in front of himself. He took his own plate of meat and potatoes, put it in front of the boy, and smiled at his son. When that boy grew up, he said, 'All my life I've known what God is like by what my father did that
night.'"2
We, too, can know what God is like by what Jesus did for us when he came to earth as a babe in Bethlehem and then to die on the cross in our place to pay the penalty for all our sins so we can be freely forgiven and receive God's gift of eternal life to be with him in heaven forever.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, how can I ever thank you enough for your great love gift to me at Christmas time some 2000 years ago in giving your Son, Jesus, to pay the penalty for all my sins through his death on the cross so that I could receive your gift of forgiveness and eternal life? Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
1. Romans 5:8 (NIV).
2. King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com.
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