Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 16 – No. 4414 November 01, 2014
Thought for the week: "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." – Eleanor Roosevelt
"The more you are willing to accept responsibility for your actions, the more credibility you will have." – Brian Koslow
"The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves." – Ray Kroc
"We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender." – Winston Churchill
"There are two ways of spreading the light: To be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." – Edith Wharton
"No one changes the world who isn't obsessed." – Billie Jean King
"Those who criticize our generation forget who raised it." – Unknown
Like the trees of the forest,
may you find nourishment
in rain as well as sunshine,
bend with the winds of misfortune
without breaking;
give of yourself to others
to provide shade from the blistering heat,
grow old gracefully and not
become rigid or unbending;
and above all
may you keep reaching ever upwards
towards heaven and to God.
Children who play computer games for hours on end risk stunted brain growth and loss of self-control.
A study found that the thought processes required by computer games were too simple to stimulate crucial areas of the brain, leading to underdevelopment and consequent behavioral problems....
Prof Ryuta Kawashima, of the Tohoku University in Japan, said the greatest threat from computer games was not in their tendency to arouse aggression, as previously thought, but in the lack of mental stimulation they provided.
Prof Kawashima and his team measured the brain activity of hundreds of teenagers while they played a Nintendo game and compared it to another group doing simple arithmetic. The results showed that, unlike the math exercises, the computer game did not stimulate the brain's frontal lobe [an area which plays an important role in the repression of anti-social impulses and is associated with memory, learning and emotion].
World Net Daily internet service, 8/20/01. Cited on KneEmail.
In December, 1775, an American colonist (believed by many scholars to be Benjamin Franklin), noticed the increasing use of a symbol throughout the colonies, stamped onto barrels and other items, depicting a coiled rattlesnake with the words, "Don't tread on me," written below the snake. And he wondered how the symbol of a rattlesnake could be a symbol of the American desire for freedom? He wrote the following words, after giving it some thought. Words which are just as relevant now as they were back in 1775.
"... The Rattlesnake is found in no other quarter of the world besides America. She never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders: she is therefore an emblem of magnanimity and true courage.... She never wounds 'till she has generously given notice, even to her enemy, and cautioned him against the danger of treading on her." However, once aroused and provoked to attack, she is LETHAL!
Abe was fiercely independent, even at age 85, but after a mild stroke his son insisted he move in with him. Abe missed going to the park near his old apartment, and one Saturday he set out to find it.
When he became disoriented, he asked a young boy named Timmy where the park was. Timmy said he'd like to take him there, but he didn't have time because he was looking for God. He said he needed to talk to Him about why his parents were getting a divorce.
"Maybe God's in the park," the old man said. "I'd like to talk to Him, too, about why He's made me useless." And so they set off together to find God.
At the park, Timmy began to cry about the divorce, and Abe lovingly held his face in both hands and looked him straight in the eyes. "Timmy, I don't know why bad things happen, but I know it wasn't because of you. I know you're a good boy and your parents love you and you'll be okay."
Timmy gave Abe a big hug and said, "I'm so glad I met you. Thanks. I think I can go now."
From across the street, Timmy's mother saw them hug and approached her son in a worried voice. "Who was that old man?"
"I think he's God," Timmy said.
"Did he say that?" she demanded.
"No, but when he touched me and told me I'm going to be okay, I felt really better. Only God can do that."
When Abe got home, his son asked in a scolding voice, "Where were you?"
"I was in the park with God."
"Really? What makes you think you were with God?"
"Because He sent me a boy who needed me, and when the boy hugged me, I felt God telling me I wasn't useless anymore."
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom."1
"Many of us are prone to chuckle at the idea of sin today. It is an old joke, but it still gets a laugh: A man visiting a strange town stopped at a telephone booth to call his motel. In the booth he saw a sticker that said, 'If you are tired of sin, read John 3: 16.' Some wayward scribe had written in below the sticker, 'If you are not tired of sin, call Klondike 3-3344.'
"We chuckle but the truth of the matter is that the more we know about life and people, the more aware we are of how great a price is paid because of moral weakness. As Elbert Hubbard once noted, 'People are not punished for their sins, but by them.'
"Many years ago a large fishing boat sprung a leak. Bringing it in for repairs, the owners discovered a hammer that had been left in the bottom of the boat years before by the builders. The constant motion of the ship had caused the hammer to beat against the insides of the boat until it had worn away the wood and the metal, and caused the leak that nearly sank the ship. Unresolved sin and guilt can do that to a person. Sin has a tendency to destroy from within."2
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please face me with every sin, weakness and unresolved character issue in my life, and give me the help I need to overcome these things so they won't hurt or destroy my life, or hurt any of my loved ones. Gratefully, in Jesus' name. Amen."
1. Song of Solomon 2:15 (NIV).
2. From King Duncan www.sermons.com
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Oprah Winfrey: "Books were my pass to personal freedom. I learned to read at age three, and soon discovered there was a whole world to conquer that went beyond our farm in Mississippi." – Oprah Winfrey
1. Bible concordance and Bible helps
2. New Hope Crisis Counseling with trained
lay/volunteer counselors. www.newhopenow.org 3. E-Word Today for a daily Bible reading
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"Because the world is hungry,
go with bread.
Because the world is filled with strife,
go with peace.
Because the world is filled with deceptions and lies,
go with truth.
Because the world would die without,
go with the love of God."
