Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 16 – No. 4514 November 08, 2014
Thought for the week: "When you come to the edge of all the light you know, and are about to step off into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing one of two things will happen: there will be something solid to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly." – Barbara J. Winter
"God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of people that these liberties are a gift from God?" – Inscription on a wall of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.
"Money is a good servant but a bad master." – French Proverb
"You may delay, but time will not." – Benjamin Franklin
"Either you decide to stay in the shallow end of the pool or you go out in the ocean." – Christopher Reeve
"Better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all." – Saint Augustine
"In God I trust; I will not be afraid." – King David (Psalm 56:11)
Years ago, Jacob Ditzler and J.S. Sweeney were in the midst of a debate concerning the scriptural mode of baptism. Ditzler alleged that sprinkling was acceptable while Sweeney taught that immersion was the only Biblical procedure.
In an effort to support his view, Ditzler showed that the secondary meaning of the word "baptize" was to "sprinkle." In turn, Sweeney showed that a secondary meaning of "believe" was "opinion," and a secondary meaning of "saved" was to "be pickled." He then gave the resulting translation of Mark 16:16, "He that hath an opinion and is sprinkled shall be pickled."
NOTE: This is for humor purposes only, and is not to imply which mode of baptism is or isn't correct.
If you think you are beaten,
you are;
If you think you dare not,
you don't;
If you'd like to win,
but think you'll lose,
already you have lost.
For out in the world we find
success begins with a person's faith;
It's all in the state of mind.
Life's battles don't always go
to the stronger or faster hand;
They go to the one who
trusts in God and always thinks
[with God's help] "I can."
I read of a man who was involved in a tragic accident. He lost both legs and his left arm and only a finger and thumb remained on the right hand. There was only enough left of the man that had been, to suffer and remember. But he still possessed a brilliant mind, enriched with a good education and broadened with world travel. At first he thought there was nothing he could do but remain a helpless sufferer.
A thought came to him. It was always nice to receive letters, but why not write them—he could still use his right hand with some difficulty. But whom could he write to?
Was there anyone shut in and incapacitated like he was whom his letters could encourage? He thought of men in prison—they did have some hope of release, whereas he had none—but it was worth a try.
He wrote to a Christian organization concerned with prison ministry. He was told that his letters could not be answered as it was against prison rules, but he commenced this one-sided correspondence.
He wrote twice a week and it taxed his strength. But into those letters he put his whole soul, all his experience, all his faith, all his wit, and all his Christian optimism. It must have been hard writing those letters, often in pain, and particularly when there was no reply.
Frequently he felt discouraged and was tempted to give it up. But it was his one remaining activity and he resolved to continue as long as he could.
At last he got a letter. It was very short, written on prison stationery by the officer whose duty it was to censor the mail. All it said was: "Please write on the best paper you can afford. Your letters are passed from cell to cell 'til they literally fall to pieces."
No matter what our personal situation is, we still have God-given gifts and talents, experience, and encouragement that we can share with others.
We who lived in the concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: The last of his freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.
In the past year, did you keep the money if a cashier gave you too much change? Did you lie to your boss, a customer, or a significant other? Did you use the Internet for personal reasons at work? Did you distort or conceal facts on a resumé or in a job interview? Did you inflate an expense or insurance claim? Did you make unauthorized copies of software or music?
Have you ever lied about your child's age to save money or provided your youngster with a false excuse for missing school? If it was the only way to get your child into a better school, would you lie about your address?
A lack of integrity in any of the everyday matters above may be just a moral misdemeanor, compared to the felonious sorts of fraud and corruption that have shredded the economic foundation of our country. Nonetheless, they demonstrate an unwillingness to walk the talk when it comes to honesty.
Most of us stray from our highest ethical ambitions from time to time, but we do so selectively, convincing ourselves that we're justified and that occasional departures from ethical principles are inconsequential when it comes to our character.
Most of us judge ourselves by our best actions and intentions, but children who watch everything we do may be learning from our worst.
No one expects you to be perfect, but you might find it informative to ... see if you stray from the straight and narrow path of your own ideals too far or too often.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."1
A pastor friend of mine and I were sharing the other day. We both came from dysfunctional family backgrounds (it used to be called a broken home) and have attachment issues. We've both had a lot of work to do to overcome and will probably struggle with it to some degree for the rest of our lives. This is because we live in a broken world, and to some degree we are all broken in some ways—some more, some less—because of the fall of man.
The good news we both agreed on is that if it weren't for our own struggles, neither one of us would have the ministry we have today. Life's lessons were not learned in college courses or textbooks. They were learned in the "College of Hard Knocks."
The important point in all of our struggles is that we don't waste our pain, but invest it wisely: first in our own growth, and then in reaching out to help other fellow strugglers.
Today's prayer:
Dear Lord,
Please grant that I shall never waste my pain for...
To fail without learning,
To fall without getting up,
To sin without overcoming,
To be hurt without forgiving,
To be discontent without improving,
To be crushed without becoming more caring,
To suffer without growing more sensitive,
Makes of suffering a senseless, futile exercise,
A tragic loss,
And of pain —
The greatest waste of all.
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