Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 16 – No. 2314 June 07, 2014
Thought for the week: "The love we give away is the only love we keep." – Elbert Hubbard
The way Jesus befriends us is nicely reflected in one of the world's most
popular hymns, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus." Out of Christendom's some 400,000 hymns, it is considered to be one of the top ten. This incredible popularity comes for a hymn that was never intended to be published. Joseph Scriven wrote the hymn in 1855 to send from his home in Ontario, Canada, to his mother in Ireland. His goal was simply to comfort his mother during a difficult time in her life.
It wasn't until 30 years later that the hymn was discovered by a friend who was caring for Scriven in his final illness. Once put in circulation the hymn quickly became a favorite.
From "Hymns" section of Luther Seminary home page, St. Paul, MN. Cited in "Preaching on the Lessons" by Carol M.
Gregg, The Clergy Journal, Feb. 2000, p. 54. Cited on www.sermons.com.
An eye witness account from New York City, on a cold day in December, some years ago: A little boy, about 10-years-old, was standing before a shoe store on the roadway, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering with cold.
A lady approached the young boy and said, "My, but you're in such deep thought staring in that window!"
"I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes," was the boy's reply.
The lady took him by the hand, went into the store, and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks
for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water and a towel. He quickly brought them to her.
She took the little fellow to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little feet, and dried them with the towel.
By this time, the clerk had returned with the socks. Placing a pair upon the boy's feet, she purchased him
a pair of shoes.
She tied up the remaining pairs of socks and gave them to him. She patted him on the head and said, "No doubt, you will be more comfortable now."
As she turned to go, the astonished kid caught her by the hand, and looking up into her face, with tears in his eyes, asked her: "Are you God's wife?"
Today, after winning a big game it's common for athletes and fans to chant, "We're number one," in a classless display of self-praise that comes off as conceit and disrespectful taunting. I sometimes feel that way about materials praising America. Still, national pride is important. Reminders about the high principles on which this nation was based are essential to keep our idealism alive.
A listener once sent me an essay commenting on a report that someone in Pakistan had offered a reward to anyone who killed an American. To tell potential assassins what to look for, the unidentified author wrote that it's hard to identify Americans because they are of every nationality and religion. In fact, he said, "There are more Muslims in America than in Afghanistan. The only difference is that in America they are free to worship as each of them chooses. An American is also free to believe in no religion. For that, he will answer only to God, not to the government or to armed thugs claiming to speak for the government and for God."
This is a legacy of freedom we have a right to be proud of. We also can be proud that despite high rhetoric, no other country gives as much or as often to aid the poor and oppressed, including those in Afghanistan.
We shouldn't boast or brag or claim superiority. After all, what we do is often in our self-interest. But we should embrace for all to see the ideals that lead us to what Lincoln called "our better angels."
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."1
"Whatever our hands touch... we leave fingerprints. On walls, on furniture, on door knobs, dishes and books. As we touch we leave our identity.
"Oh [God], please wherever I go today... help me leave heartprints—heartprints of compassion, understanding and love. Heartprints of kindness and genuine concern.
"May my heart touch a lonely neighbor, or a runaway daughter, or an anxious mother, or perhaps a dear friend!
"I shall go out today to leave heartprints, and if someone should say, 'I felt your touch,' may that sense be your loving touch through me!"2
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me today and every day so that my life will reflect your likeness so that the people I rub shoulders with will see your love shining through me so that I will leave heartprints from you on them. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
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