Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 15 – No. 3813 September 21, 2013
Thought for the week: "The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it." – General Norman Schwarzkopf, US Army General
"Most of the important things in the world have been accompanied by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all." – Dale Carnegie
"Temptation usually comes in through a door that has deliberately been left open." – Unknown
"The last thing one knows is what to put first." – Blaise Pascal
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." – Albert Einstein
"Today is the first day of the rest of your life." – Charles Dederich
"I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been." – Wayne Gretzky
"Courage is not the lack of fear. It is acting in spite of it." – Mark Twain
Somebody said that it couldn't be done,
But he with a chuckle replied,
That maybe it couldn't, but he would be one
Who wouldn't say no till he tried.
So he buckled right in, with a trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried, he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he DID it!
In one well-known study, a group of psychologists asked people living in the Dyckman public housing project in northern Manhattan to name their closest friend in the project; 88 percent of the friends lived in the same building, and half lived on the same floor. In general, people chose friends of similar age and race. But if the friend lived down the hall, then age and race became a lot less important. Proximity overpowered similarity.
Another study, done on students at the University of Utah, found that if you ask someone why he is friendly with someone else, he'll say it is because he and his friend share similar attitudes. But if you actually quiz the two of them on their attitudes, you'll find out that what they actually share is similar activities. We're friends with the people we do things with, as much as we are with the people we resemble.
– Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point (New
York: Little, Brown and Company, 2000),
p. 35. Cited on www.Sermons.com
Beautifully printed copy available.
See on the above picture for details.
Rise and pray every day: "Again today, dear God, I commit an trust my life and way to you. I'm available. Please use me to be 'as Jesus' to every life I touch."
Don't sweat the small stuff.
Remember these simple sentences: "I was wrong." "I am
sorry." "Please forgive me." "Thank you." Say them
whenever needed and say, "I love you" often—whether needed or not.
Come apart and rest a while before you come apart—stress
is a killer.
Remember, "Nothing changes if nothing changes."
Don't nurse grudges: "Failing to forgive is like drinking poison
and waiting for the other person to die."
Carpe diem. Seize the day. "Opportunity comes to pass—not to pause."
Quit the blame-game: "It's choice, not chance, that
determines destiny."
Control your thinking or your thinking will control you. "What
the mind dwells on the body acts on."
Invest your life in a worthwhile cause by having a noble
purpose for which to live—one that is bigger than yourself—one that will help make your world a better place in which
to live.
Be a positive realist. You will always see what you are looking
for: "Two men look out the same prison bars. One sees mud,
the other stars."
"The greatest abilities are availability, dependability and
responsibility."
"There is no pillow as soft as a clear conscience."
"Smooth seas never make skillful sailors."
When God is silent: "I believe in the sun even when it isn't
shining. I believe in love even when I am alone. I believe
in God even when he is silent."
Cry when needed. "Every unshed tear is a prism through
which all of life's hurts are distorted."
Laugh a lot. It's still the best medicine.
Remember, "The bumps are what we climb on."
Fear not. At least 95 percent of the things we fear never
happen. Trust God for the other five percent.
Have faith and put God first with your time, talents and tithe.
"Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun" (Psalm 37:3-6, NIV).
A beautifully presented printed copy, of "Tips for Better Living" and other poems are available and can be purchased on the ACTS online store at: www.actscom.store
It's [never too early] to rethink and possibly reshuffle our priorities so that we spend more time living the kind of life we and those who love us would be proud of. This poem called, "What Will Matter," may provide a useful guide:
What Will Matter
Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end. There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days. All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else. Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed. Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear.
So too, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to-do lists will expire. The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away. It won't matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you lived on at the end. It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant. Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.
So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?
What will matter is not what you bought but what you built, not what you got but what you gave. What will matter is not your success but your significance. What will matter is not what you learned but what you taught. What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage, or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.
What will matter is not your competence but your character. What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone. What will matter is not your memories but the memories that live in those who loved you. What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what. Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident. It's not a matter of circumstance but of choice. Choose to live a life that matters.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
Jesus said, "You are to go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere."1
You may have read about "layman Edward Kimball who gathered the nerve to witness and win the soul of a young shoe salesman named D.L. Moody to Christ. D.L. Moody went on to become one of the greatest evangelists of his day. But, do you know the rest of the story? D.L. Moody went to England and worked a profound change in the ministry of F.B. Meyer. F.B. Meyer, with his new evangelistic fervor, influenced J. Wilbur Chapman. Chapman helped in the ministry of converted baseball player Billy Sunday, who had a profound impact upon Mordacai Ham. And Mordacai Ham, holding a revival in North Carolina, led Billy Graham to Christ. And the man who started it all was a layman, Edward Kimball, who took seriously Christ's commission to be a witness in his world."2
And we all know the incredible way God has used Billy Graham to reach millions of people worldwide with the gospel.
You and I are not too likely to ever become a Billy Sunday or a Billy Graham, but every single one of us can be an "Edward Kimball" witness for Christ.
As the hymn writer so eloquently said, "When we all get to heaven what a day of rejoicing that will be, when we all see Jesus we'll sing and shout the victory." And how wonderful it will also be to meet the ones who are in heaven because of your and my witness for Jesus. Only heaven will reveal who these ones are.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, I'm available for you to use ... please make me usable and use me today and every day to be an effective witness for you and to be 'as Jesus' in some way to every life I touch. And grant that they, seeing Jesus in me, will want you for themselves. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
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