Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 15 – No. 3713 September 14, 2013
Thought for the week: "Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore." – Andre Gide
"Being happy doesn't mean everything is perfect. It means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections." – Unknown
"It is always the secure who are humble." – G.K. Chesterton
"Some people want it to happen; some wish it would happen; others make it happen." – Michael Jordan
"Look not mournfully into the past. It comes not back again. Wisely improve the present. It is thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy future, without fear." – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
"An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest." – Benjamin Franklin
"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about." – Albert Einstein
Dear God, please put another holiday between Christmas and Easter. There is nothing good in there now. – Amanda
Dear God, thank you for the baby brother but what I asked for was a puppy. I never asked for anything before. You can look it up. – Joyce
Dear Mr. God, I wish you would not make it so easy for people to come apart; I had to have three stitches and a shot. – Janet
God, I read the Bible. What does beget mean? Nobody will tell me. – Love Alison
Dear God, how did you know you were God? Who told you? – Charlene
Dear God, is it true my father won't get in Heaven if he uses his golf words in the house? – Anita
Dear God,
I bet it's very hard for you to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only 4 people in our family and I can never do it. – Nancy
Dear God, I like the story about Noah the best of all of them. You really made up some good ones. I like walking on water, too. – Glenn
Dear God, my grandpa says you were around when he was a little boy. How far back do you go? – Love, Dennis
Dear God, do you draw the lines around the countries? If you don't, who does? – Nathan
Life is a cycle:
Spring follows winter,
Winter follows autumn,
Autumn follows summer,
Summer follows spring,
Sunshine follows rain,
Calm follows storms,
Morning follows night,
Death follows life,
Eternity follows death—
Where will you spend it?
1. Long Term Parking
Some people left their car in the long-term parking at San Jose airport while away, and someone broke into the car. Using the information on the car's registration in the glove compartment, they drove the car to the people's home in Pebble Beach and robbed it. So I guess if we are going to leave the car in long-term parking, we should NOT leave the registration/ insurance cards in it, nor your remote garage door opener.
2. GPS
Someone had their car broken into while they were at a football game. Their car was parked on the green which was adjacent to the football stadium and specially allotted to football fans. Things stolen from the car included a garage door remote control, some money and a GPS which had been prominently mounted on the dashboard. When the victims got home, they found that their house had been ransacked and just about everything worth anything had been stolen. The thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the house. They then used the garage remote control to open the garage door and gain entry to the house. The thieves knew the owners were at the football game; they knew what time the game was scheduled to finish; so they knew how much time they had to clean out the house.
Something to consider if you have a GPS: don't put your home address in it. Put a nearby address (like a store or gas station) so you can still find your way home if you need to, but no one else would know where you live if your GPS were stolen.
3. Cell Phones
This lady has now changed her habit of how she lists her names on her cell phone after her handbag was stolen. Her handbag, which contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet, etc., was stolen. Twenty minutes later when she called her hubby from a pay phone, telling him what had happened, hubby said, 'I received your text asking about our pin number and I replied a little while ago.' When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn. The thief had actually used the stolen cell phone to text 'hubby' in the contact list and got hold of the pin number. Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their bank account.
Moral of the lesson
a. Do not disclose the relationship between you and the people in your contact list. Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad, Mom, etc....
b. And very importantly, when sensitive info is being asked through texts, CONFIRM by calling back.
c. Also, when you're being texted by friends or family to meet them somewhere, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came from them. If you don't reach them, be very careful about going places to meet 'family and friends' who text you.
Today, Socrates is thought of as one of the world's great philosophers, but to the leaders of Greece he was annoying and dangerous.
Claiming, "The unexamined life is not worth living," he roamed the public places of Athens asking relentless questions that challenged assumptions and beliefs, and demanded that people think about social justice and personal worthiness. In the end, he was sentenced to death for his subversive ideas. He refused an opportunity to escape since it would violate his principles.
"My friend," he reportedly asked people, "are you not embarrassed by caring so much for money, fame, and reputation and not thinking of wisdom and truth and how to make your character as good as possible?" Socrates wasn't just trying to make people feel bad; he was encouraging them to be better.
You see, Socrates was an optimist about human nature. He believed wickedness is the result of ignorance, and those with true knowledge will act rightly. His question about priorities is relevant today, yet it takes courage and integrity to examine our motivations and goals and to measure our attitudes and conduct in relation to our principles.
Are you trying to make your character as good as possible?
Are you as honest as you should be?
Do you treat everyone with respect, even those you don't like?
Do you accept responsibility for your choices?
Are you fair?
Are you doing what you can charitably, and are you doing your share as a good citizen?
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
The Apostle Paul wrote: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."1
"Josh McDowell tells about an executive 'headhunter' who recruits corporate executives for large firms. This headhunter once told McDowell that when he interviews an executive, he likes to disarm him. 'I offer him a drink,' said the headhunter, 'take off my coat, undo my tie, throw up my feet and talk about baseball, football, family, whatever, until he's all relaxed. Then, when I think I've got him relaxed, I lean over, look him square in the eye and say, "What's your purpose in life?" It's amazing how top executives fall apart at that question.'
"Then he told about interviewing one fellow recently. He had him all disarmed, had his feet up on his desk, talking about football. Then the headhunter leaned over and said, 'What's your purpose in life, Bob?' And the executive said, without blinking an eye, 'To go to heaven and take as many people with me as I can.'
"'For the first time in my career,' said the headhunter, 'I was speechless.'"2
I've asked this same question to scores of people over the years in seminars I have led. Just about everybody believes God has a God-given life purpose for them, but when I ask them what it is, very few have the slightest idea what it might be. They have never carefully thought through it and written it down.
If we want to die well, we need to live well, and if we are to live well, it is imperative that we know what our God-given life purpose is and with God's help give it our best shot.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to discern my God-given life purpose so that I know exactly what it is. And please help to fulfill this purpose so when I come to the end of my life's journey, I will know that I have not lived in vain. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
1. 2 Timothy 4:7-8 (NIV).
2. Dr. Gary Nicolosi, "Preparing for the End Time," sermon, www.stbartschurch.org.
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