Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 16 – No. 4214 October 18, 2014
Thought for the week: "Every man decides the way his soul shall go." – Anonymous
A young pastor was invited to speak at a conference in which there were multiple speakers. He was honored at the opportunity to speak and felt that this would be his first real break for recognition outside the confines of his own congregation.
At the beginning of the conference the auditorium was packed. During the course of the event, the crowds dwindled, and when it was his turn to speak, there was only one man left. Nonetheless, the preacher had come to preach, and preach he did. At the conclusion of his sermon, he walked down and thanked the man for coming to listen to his sermon.
"Oh," said the man, "I didn't come to hear you speak; I'm the final speaker."
Jesus, tender lover of women and children, of his friends and the friendless, I come to you for a special gift of love for my husband and family. Lord, help me to respect him, not because he's perfect (you and I know he isn't), but because he is made in your image and you have commanded wives to respect their husbands, as you have also commanded husbands to love their wives.
Lord, I offer to you and to him my beauty -- the beauty of a quiet, serene spirit and the beauty of my mind and my emotions and my body. Help me to be interested in the things he's interested in and be willing to share those interests with him.
Help me Lord to be willing to be an excellent sexual partner for him. Help us to talk freely about how we "tick" so that our sexual life will be satisfying and enjoyable.
May our home be a haven of peace in a turbulent world, a place of quiet rest when life is too noisy and stressful. Help me to have the grace and strength to be a secure mother of our children; help us both to plan fun times together as a family.
Help me to be interested in my husband's work and achievements; to be an interesting conversation-mate; and above all, help me to pray for him, for us, and for our family regularly.
I offer my life to you, Lord. May I bring joy to you as I live in obedience to your perfect will. Amen.
Lord Jesus, gentle and strong, who related with tenderness to woman, to children, and to the marginalized, please give me a big dose of gentle strength for my wife. Help me to love her as you loved the church, a love that was willing to endure the ultimate sacrifice of death.
Help me to meet my wife's needs for genuine affection, for honest communication, for little surprises and common courtesies. Help me to listen to her feelings—not merely her words—to understand the differences between us that enrich our life together; to be willing to accept her as she is, without wanting to change her.
Help me as I look into her eyes to give her the gift of openness, of trust, and security. Help me to work hard to support her and the family financially. If my earnings areinadequate, give me the gift of creativity to figure out ways of earning more or spending less.
Help me, however, to put my wife and family before myself. May I be faithful in the gift of listening time, the gift of my interested presence, and the gift of my learning and skills to those I love.
Sometimes I feel so inadequate. I confess my sins of neglect, of the idolatry of my vocation, of being second best when at home. Lord, forgive me. I commit myself to you, to my wife and family. May I really believe that "success" is unimportant anywhere if it is not a goal of my life at home. I pray in your strong name. Amen.
On the USS Bayfield, an attack transport that served as headquarters for Major General Raymond O. Barton, commander of the 4th Infantry Division, the decks were jammed with troops and sailors. Barton's deputy commander, Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, moved among the men, speaking softly and soothingly. Countless members of the 4th Division recall the words of reassurance that Roosevelt, the oldest man going ashore that day, said to them. They remember, too, that he began singing and urged them to join in.
Lt. John Robert Lewis described the scene: "During the cruise across, we all assembled on the deck of the Bayfield and sang, 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic' and 'Onward Christian Soldiers.' This was a very sobering time to sing the words, 'As God died to make men holy, let us die to make men free.'1
Ed. note: Undoubtedly, some, if not many, of these men did die to help make at least those of us in the Western World free. May we never forget their sacrifice. And because Jesus gave his life to set us free for all eternity, may we live to help others find this same freedom.
"For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock." - King David (Psalm 27:5, NIV)
In her bestseller book, The Hiding Place, Corrie Ten Boom tells of the tense times in Holland during the German invasion. One night when there was bombing and shelling happening all around the house where she and her sister lived, Corrie couldn't sleep. Hearing her sister in the kitchen, she decided to go down and join her.
Long into the night after all the bombing ceased and all was silent, Corrie returned to her bed only to find that her pillow—right where her head laid—had been pierced with a sizable piece of sharp metal shrapnel from an exploding bomb! Going downstairs to the kitchen saved her life!
She rushed to tell her sister saying, "Betsie, if I hadn't heard you in the kitchen ...." To this her saintly sister interrupted, "Don't say it, Corrie. There are no ifs in God's world. The center of his will is our safety."
Later through terrible trying times in a Nazi prison, Miss Ten Boom was to learn over and over this marvelous truth: "God's will is our hiding place."
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, I don't ask that You deliver me from the storms of life, but please help me to find deliverance in them. Hide me in the hollow of Your hand and in the shelter of Your tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. Gratefully in Jesus' name. Amen."
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