Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 16 – No. 2714 July 05, 2014
Thought for the week:
"The flowers of all tomorrows are the seeds of today." – Printed on a roll of paper towels in our kitchen
"One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. 'Which road do I take?' she asked. 'Where do you want to go?' was his response. 'I don't know,' Alice answered. 'Then,' said the cat, 'it doesn't matter.'" – Lewis Carroll
"We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated." – Maya Angelou
"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." – Jack London
"To be a good loser is to learn how to win." – Carl Sandburg
"No matter how many goals you have achieved, you must set your sights on a higher one." – Jessica Savitch
"The most significant decision I make each day is my choice of an attitude. When my attitudes are right, there's no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme and no challenge too great." – Charles Swindoll
A pastor's wife I know personally was awakened one night at 2:00a.m. with a sense of urgency to pray for her married daughter who was home alone in another city. The following morning her daughter called to say that she was awakened at 2:00a.m. by a masked stranger standing at the end of her bed. The daughter saw no one else in the room, but could feel light "steps" all over her bed.
Suddenly the intruder turned as if terrified and ran from the house, exiting as quickly as he could! Was it the presence of an angel that caused him to run? I believe so.
The Bible is filled with examples of the involvement of angels in the affairs of mankind. We are not given too many details of how they actually help God's people, but we know they are His messengers sent to assist us. They are not to be worshiped. Worship belongs only to God, but we do need to thank God for sending not only His Son to die for us, but also for sending His angels to minister to us.
The writer of the letter to the Hebrew Christians also said, "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it"1 or, as the King James Version puts it, "entertained angels unawares."
Note: If you have never received Jesus as your Savior or received God's forgiveness, I encourage you to do that today. To do so see "God's Invitation" at: www.actsweb.org/invitation.php.
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, he 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 Twenty 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.
PLEASE PASS THIS ON ... Even if this does not pertain to you, pass it on to your family and friends.
6. One Way to Change Your Life—Change Your Expectations
By Michael Josephson, CHARACTER COUNTS
(860:3)
Einstein said it's a form of insanity to keep doing the same thing over and over and expect a different result. So, if you want something different, do something different, or change your expectations, or both.
In my own life, I've found that adjusting my expectations has made a big difference in my ability to enjoy my life.
Unmet expectations are frequent and potent sources of disappointment and resentment—both of which generate unhappiness. For a long time, however, I resisted the idea of changing my expectations because it seemed as if I was just lowering my standards so I could become more accepting of failure, mediocrity or a lack of follow-through.
Recently, I discovered I could comfortably adjust my perspective about expectations in a way that has dramatically reduced frustration without compromising my integrity.
I came to realize I have two very different sorts of expectations.
The first relates to my aspirational standards—what I want and hope for from myself, and what I often think I'm entitled to from others. In this sense of the word I think it is reasonable and proper to expect the people I deal with to be wise, prudent and genuinely grateful. Or, in another venue, I expect my teenage children to really want to spend time with me.
The second type of expectation is a prediction, not a standard. It is a reflection of what I realistically think will happen—how I truly expect people to act.
When I impose my aspirational expectations on others, I am bound to be
disappointed, and often my judgmentalnesss is resented by those who have disappointed me. On the other hand, when I look at events through the lens of realistic expectations in the context of the way things really are, rather than how I want them to be, it is more likely that I will be pleasantly surprised than frustrated.
I've come to realize that expecting people to meet my hopes and desires is not only unfair, it's unrealistic. Human nature is such that expecting all people to be wise, prudent and grateful all the time is foolish; and when I put myself in the position of a teenager and realize how much more important it was to me to spend time with my friends than with my parents, I realize my "expectations" had no basis in reality or common sense.I find I still hope for the best, but expect much less.
So when the adults in my life are uninformed, careless or ungrateful, or my children seem neglectful, it just doesn't annoy me as much.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."1
In 1832, French engineer Ferdinand Marie de Lesseps was traveling on the Mediterranean Sea. One of the other passengers (on the ship he was on) came down with a contagious disease and the ship was quarantined. Lesseps became very frustrated. To help kill time he read the memoirs of Charles le Pere who had considered the feasibility of building a canal from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. In 1869 the Suez Canal was completed. It was constructed following the design by and under the leadership of Lesseps.
It was during that quarantine thirty-seven years earlier that the plan for the Suez Canal was germinated and conceived by Ferdinand Marie de Lesseps. The world has reaped the benefit ever since.
Probably more often than we realize, God uses adversity to help us grow, to motivate us to find creative solutions to life's problems, or to further His work. For example, the early Christians didn't fulfill Christ's commission to move out of Jerusalem with the gospel to the ends of the earth until the Church faced persecution. They were forced to move to the ends of the earth.
This principle has been true in my life, too. Just about every major change in my life for the better has been the result of some kind of setback or adversity.
So, every time adversity comes into your life, may I suggest that you embrace it, and ask God what He is saying or seeking you to learn or do through it.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, when facing a setback, or enduring a loss, a disappointment, or a trial, help me to 'hear' what You are saying to me through this experience and how You want to use it in my life for Your glory. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus's name, amen."
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