Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 16 – No. 1614 April 19, 2014
Thought for the week: "I find that I agree fully with my good friend Patrick Henry when he said it cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation [USA] was founded not by religionists, but by Christians, not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ." – Edward Rutledge
Dr. Benjamin Porter visited the school yesterday and lectured on "Destructive Pests." A large number were present.
The sewer expansion project is nearing completion but City officials are holding their breath until it is officially finished.
The ladies of the county medical society auxiliary plan to publish a cookbook. Part of the money will go to the Samaritan Hospital to purchase a stomach pump.
Columbia, Tennessee, which calls itself the largest outdoor mule market in the world, held a mule parade yesterday headed by the Governor.
The attorney general's office said yesterday that an autopsy performed on the headless body of a man found in Mason failed to determine the cause of death.
Weather: Sunny with a few cloudy periods today and Thursday, which will be followed by Friday.
Answer: People's beliefs concerning Satan range from the silly to the abstract—from a little red guy with horns who sits on your shoulder urging you to sin, to an expression used to describe the personification of evil. The Bible, however, gives us a clear portrait of who Satan is and how he affects our lives. Put simply, the Bible defines Satan as an angelic being who fell from his position in heaven due to sin and is now completely opposed to God, doing all in his power to thwart God's purposes.
Satan was created as a holy angel. Isaiah 14:12 possibly gives Satan's pre-fall name as Lucifer. Ezekiel 28:12-14 describes Satan as having been created a cherubim, apparently the highest created angel. He became arrogant in his beauty and status and decided he wanted to sit on a throne above that of God (Isaiah 14:13-14; Ezekiel 28:15; 1 Timothy 3:6). Satan's pride led to his fall. Notice the many "I will" statements in Isaiah 14:12-15. Because of his sin, God barred Satan from heaven.
Satan became the ruler of this world and the prince of the power of the air (John 12:31; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2). He is an accuser (Revelation 12:10), a tempter (Matthew 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:5), and a deceiver (Genesis 3; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 20:3). His very name means "adversary" or "one who opposes." Another of his titles, the devil, means "slanderer."
Even though he was cast out of heaven, he still seeks to elevate his throne above God. He counterfeits all that God does, hoping to gain the worship of the world and encourage opposition to God's kingdom. Satan is the ultimate source behind every false cult and world religion. Satan will do anything and everything in his power to oppose God and those who follow God. However, Satan's destiny is sealed—an eternity in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10).
"Life's not about expecting, hoping and wishing; it's about doing, being and becoming. It's about the choices you've just made, and the ones you're about to make; it's about the things you choose to say [and do]—today.
In the early 1900s, a little-known philosopher named James Allen wrote a powerful essay called "As a Man Thinketh" in which he argued that we are what we think, that a person's character is the sum of his thoughts. He declared that the power to control our thoughts (whether we use that power or not) is the ability to mold our character and shape our destiny.
This is a profound insight, making us personally responsible not only for our conduct but for our circumstances.
He wrote, "As a plant springs from the seed, our actions, character, and even our circumstances spring from our thoughts." As long as we believe we're the creatures of outside conditions, we will fail to become the rightful masters of our lives. But if we do the hard work of reflecting continually to identify and modify negative beliefs and attitudes, we'll be astonished at the rapid transformation it will produce in our lives.
Our thoughts and actions can be either jailors of negativity, imprisoning us in degrading circumstances, or angels of freedom, liberating us to achieve our noble potential.
The relationship between attitudes and circumstances is now well recognized, captured in aphorisms like "Change your attitudes and you change your life," and "It's not your aptitude but your attitude that determines your altitude."
But it's Allen's connection between thoughts and character that is especially interesting. Yes, our destiny is determined by our character, but our character is not determined by destiny.
We can't always control when bad thoughts and negative impulses enter our minds, but we can decide either to nurture or to reject them.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"One of them [a leper], when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan."1
Even Jesus was disappointed when he healed ten lepers and only one returned to say thank you and give praise to God. "He asked, 'Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?' Then he said to him, 'Rise and go; your faith has made you well.'"2
One of my constant prayers is that God will give me a thankful heart, not just at Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, but every day of the year.
No matter what trials I am going through there are always many things to be thankful for: food, clothing, shelter, friends, family, for life itself or to put it this way:
I love the gift of life, Dear God,
with all its beauty everywhere:
Blue skies, white fluffy clouds,
green trees, rocky mountains,
open meadows, the restless timeless sea,
the black bird on my window sill...
But most of all I love dear friends,
and if you will, please give to me
a greater love for you—
my dearest friend of all.3
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, for all of these and so much more—especially for dying for my sins and giving me the gift of eternal life—I give you thanks. And please help me always to appreciate all that you have done for me, and give me a generous heart so that I will give to others as you have given to me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
1. Luke 17:15-16 (NIV).
2. Luke 17:17-19 (NIV).
3. Dick Innes. Copyright. From the poem, "Life." See more poems by Dick at: http://tinyurl.com/poems-rwi
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