Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 15 – No. 2613 June 29, 2013
Thought for the week: "Doing things right makes one efficient. Doing the right thing makes one effective." – Peter Drucker
An Israeli sense of humor at United Nations set the record straight. An ingenious example of speech and politics occurred recently in the United Nations Assembly and made the world community smile.
A representative from Israel began: "Before beginning my talk, I want to tell you something about Moses.
"When he struck the rock and it brought forth water, he thought, What a good opportunity to have a bath! So Moses removed his clothes, put them aside on the rock and entered the water. When he got out and wanted to dress, his clothes had vanished. A Palestinian had stolen them!"
The Palestinian representative at the UN jumped up furiously and shouted, "What are you talking about? The Palestinians weren't there then."
The Israeli representative smiled and said, "And now that we have made that clear, I will begin my speech."
Remember the day I borrowed your brand new car and
I dented it?
I thought you'd kill me, but you didn't.
And remember the time I dragged you to the beach,
and you said it would rain, and it did?
I thought you'd say, "I told you so," but you didn't.
Do you remember the time I flirted with all the guys
to make you jealous, and you were?
I thought you'd leave me, but you didn't.
Do you remember the time I spilled strawberry pie
all over your car rug?
I thought you'd hit me, but you didn't.
And remember the time I forgot to tell you the dance
was formal, and you showed up in Jeans?
I thought you'd drop me, but you didn't.
Yes, there were lots of things you didn't do,
But you put up with me, and you loved me, and you
protected me.
There were lots of things I wanted to make up to
you when you returned from Viet Nam.
But you didn't.
Lloyd C. Douglas, author of The Robe and other novels, lived in a boarding house when he was a student. On the first floor of the house there lived a retired music teacher who was confined to a wheelchair. Every morning as Douglas went down stairs, he would stick his head in the music teacher's room and ask his friend; "What's the good news?" To which the music teacher would respond each day by striking a tuning fork against the side of his wheelchair and saying; "Middle C! Hear that, it's middle C! It was middle C yesterday, it's middle C today, and it will still be middle C 1,000 years from now. The tenor upstairs sings flat, the piano across the hall is out of tune, but my friend—that is middle C!"
God's love and care is our middle C. Just like middle C could be counted on by the music teacher to be middle C always and forever, so too can we count on God to love and care for us, to see us as children worth adopting and saving, even dying for, to be the light that cannot be extinguished, no matter what.
I have read that if the arm of a starfish splits, then a new arm will grow to replace it. If a starfish is cut to pieces, then each piece that is part of the central disc will grow into a new starfish.
Some shell fishermen noticed this when they found that the place where they usually stored the shells was crowded with starfish. The fishermen cut the captured starfish and threw the pieces into the sea. But what they did actually helped grow more starfish.
For centuries, Christians have been the objects of hatred, and intensely rejected in many countries.
But this oppression never destroys Christianity. Even in the most severe conditions, Christianity may struggle for a time, but it eventually grows.
As Jesus told His church, "the gates of Hades will not overcome it."
Believers in the first century in Jerusalem went through strong oppression. However, that just made them spread all over Judea and Samaria. And, wherever they went, they always taught the Word of God and made many believers.
The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ will continue to grow, however severe the oppression may be. Even the power of death will not be able to destroy it!
– Author Unknown.
Submitted by Kath Newman, Australia
Let's face it, it's not easy to become a person of character. It takes a good heart, but it also requires wisdom to know right from wrong and the discipline to do right even when it's costly, inconvenient or difficult. Becoming a person of character is a lifelong quest to be better.
A person of character values honesty and integrity and pays whatever price is needed to be worthy of trust, earning the pride of family and friends and self-respect.
A person of character plays fair even when others don't and values no achievement unless it was attained with honor.
A person of character has strong convictions, yet avoids self-righteousness.
A person of character believes in the inherent dignity of all people and treats everyone with respect, even those whose ideas and ideologies evoke strong disagreement.
A person of character deals with criticism constructively and is self-confident enough to take good advice, admit and learn from mistakes, feel and express genuine remorse and apologize graciously.
A person of character knows what's important, sacrifices the now for later, is in control of attitudes and actions, overcomes negative impulses and makes the best of every situation.
A person of character willingly faces fears and tackles unpleasant tasks.
A person of character is consistently and self-consciously kind and empathetic, giving generously without concern for reward.
A person of character feels and expresses gratitude freely and frequently.
A person of character is not defeated by failure or dissuaded by disappointment.
A person of character seeks true happiness in living a life of purpose and meaning, placing a higher value on significance than success.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"Come, follow me," Jesus said [to fishermen Peter and Andrew], "and I will make you fishers of men."1
Some of us have the idea that our life can't make much of a difference. Sometimes we think, "What can one person do?" This reminds me of the man who, when walking along the beach, kept picking up starfish that had been washed ashore. There must have been hundreds of them. One by one he picked them up and threw each back into the ocean.
A stranger watching said to the man, "Why are you doing that? There are so many starfish on the beach. What you are doing makes no difference."
"Makes a difference to that one," the man replied as he threw another starfish back into the ocean.
Robert Kennedy once said, "Many of the world's great movements, of thought and action, have flowed from the work of a single person. A young monk began the Protestant Reformation.... It was a young Italian explorer who discovered the New World, and it was the 32-year-old Thomas Jefferson who proclaimed that all men are created equal."
When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in a bus to a white man on December 1, 1955, she triggered the civil rights movement in the U.S.A. In so doing, she played a key role that changed a nation.
And it was a motley band of twelve very ordinary men— unsophisticated and uneducated—whom Jesus chose for his disciples to introduce the Christian message to pretty much a hostile world.
You and I may not achieve such greatness, but we can make a difference. We do so every time we stand up for what is right, lend a helping hand to a friend or stranger in need, and help communicate the love of God and the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Added up, our small ripples blend together to reach ever-widening circles. In so doing, one life does make a difference and can make an impact for Christ in our corner of the world.
As Edward Everett Hale said, "I am only one, but I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I can do. And by the grace of God, I will."
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, I'm available. Please help and use me to make a difference in somebody's life today. Help me to be as Jesus in some way to every life I touch. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
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