Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 17 – No. 0315 January 17, 2015
Thought for the week: "I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day; I'd rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way." – Edgar Albert Guest
"Character, the willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life, is the source from which self-respect springs." – Joan Didion
"I contend that not only can you laugh at adversity, but it is essential to do so if you are to deal with setbacks without defeat." – Allen Klein
"If ever a time should come when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." – Samuel Adams
"A man prayed, and at first he thought that prayer was talking. But he became more and more quiet until in the end he realized that prayer is listening" – Soren Kierkegaard
"Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young." – Henry Ford
"Our greatest enemies, the ones we must fight most often, are within." – Thomas Paine
"Teacher," announced little Joey, "there's somethin' I can't figger out."
"What's that Joey?" asked the Sunday school teacher.
"Well accordin' to the Bible, the Children of Israel crossed the Red Sea, right?"
"Right."
"An' the Children of Israel beat up the Philistines, right?"
"Er--right."
"An' the Children of Israel built the Temple, right?"
"Again you're right."
"An' the Children of Israel fought the 'gyptians, an' the Children of Israel fought the Romans, an' the Children of Israel wuz always doin' somethin' important, right?"
"All that is right, too," agreed the teacher. "So what's your question?"
"What I wanna know is this," demanded Joey. "What wuz all the grown-ups doin'?"
3. How Does the Atheist Answer This Question: by Chance or Creation?
Why does the earthworm always look clean,
When you consider where it has been?
How does the butterfly with new-formed wings
Know how to fly with such cumbersome things?
Where does the spider keep all its thread?
Who put the web-pattern into its head?
How does the ant carry food twice its size,
And store for the winter?
Who made it so wise?
Dorothy Bull, Cited in ACTS (Australia) Encounter magazine, Sep/Oct, 2001.
I saw him in the church building for the first time on Wednesday. He was in his mid-70's, with thinning silver hair and a neat brown suit. Many times in the past I had invited him to come. Several other Christian friends had talked to him about the Lord and had tried to share the good news with him.
He was a well-respected, honest man with so many characteristics a Christian should have, but he had never put on Christ, nor entered the doors of the church.
"Have you ever been to a church service in your life?" I had asked him a few years ago.
We had just finished a pleasant day of visiting and talking.
He hesitated. Then with a bitter smile he told me of his childhood experience some fifty years ago. He was one of many children in a large impoverished family. His parents had struggled to provide food, with little left for housing and clothing. When he was about ten, some neighbors invited him to worship with them.
The Sunday School class had been very exciting! He had never heard such songs and stories before! He had never heard anyone read from the Bible!
After class was over, the teacher took him aside and said, "Son, please don't come again dressed as you are now. We want to look our best when we come into God's house."
He stood in his ragged, unpatched overalls. Then looking at his dirty bare feet, he answered softly, "No, ma'am, I won't ever."
"And I never did," he said, abruptly ending our conversation.
There must have been other factors to have hardened him so, but this experience formed a significant part of the bitterness in his heart.
I'm sure that Sunday School teacher meant well. But did she really understand the love of Christ? Had she studied and accepted the teachings found in the second chapter of James?
What if she had put her arms around the dirty, ragged little boy and said, "Son, I am so glad you are here, and I hope you will come every chance you get to hear more about Jesus."
I reflected on the awesome responsibility a teacher or pastor or a parent has to welcome little ones in His name. How far reaching her influence was!
I prayed that I might be ever open to the tenderness of a child's heart, and that I might never fail to see beyond the appearance and behavior of a child to the eternal possibilities within.
Yes, I saw him in the church house for the first time on Wednesday. As I looked at that immaculately dressed old gentleman lying in his casket, I thought of the little boy of long ago. I could almost hear him say, "No, ma'am, I won't ever."
Tim Wrightman, a former All-American UCLA football player, tells a story about how, as a rookie lineman in the National Football League, he was up against the legendary pass rusher Lawrence Taylor. Taylor was not only physically powerful and uncommonly quick, but a master at verbal intimidation.
Looking young Tim in the eye, he said, "Sonny, get ready. I'm going to the left and there's nothing you can do about it."
Wrightman coolly responded, "Sir, is that your left or mine?"
The question froze Taylor long enough to allow Wrightman to throw a perfect block on him.
It's amazing what we can accomplish if we refuse to be afraid. Fear—whether it's of pain, failure, or rejection—is a toxic emotion that creates monsters in our mind that consume self-confidence and intimidate us from doing our best or sometimes even trying at all.
As a law professor, I saw scores of capable students fail the bar exam, not because they didn't know enough, but because their anxiety hindered their ability to remember or coherently express what they did know.
For most law graduates, passing the bar exam should be no more difficult than walking across a board 20 feet long and two feet wide. The trouble is, they don't walk normally because they're intimidated by the illusion that the board is suspended 100 feet in the air, and that getting across is a life-or-death matter. What's the worst thing that could happen? Embarrassment, inconvenience, and expense—but none of these is fatal.
Perspective is an antidote to fear. Most things you fear will never happen, and even if they do, you can handle it.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
Beverly Muffin stood "ten feet (three meters) tall" when she saw her daughter, Susan (name changed) step from the airplane dressed immaculately in her U.S. Navy whites. Susan had just returned from boot camp training. How proud Beverly was of her daughter.
Three generations of Beverly's family have served in the military. She tells how, as a small girl, she read a telegram from World War II that her grandmother kept in her Bible. The telegram was sent to tell her that one of her sons had been shot down, was missing in action, and presumed dead.
Beverly also shared with us a valuable lesson her Navy daughter taught her when she told her mother that every time she saw a service person in uniform, she ought to pray. When Beverly asked why, Susan replied, "Because that person is willing to die to protect the ground you're standing on!"
War in any man's language is a tragedy. As Rear Admiral A. Byron Holderby, Jr., a former U.S. Navy Chief of Chaplains, said, "Because there is evil in the world, we will always need a military."
As we live next door to Camp Pendleton Marine Base here in California, we often see Marines. Whenever I see any (even if they are not in uniform, as I recognize so many by their very short hair), or any other military personnel, and have the opportunity, I stop and thank them for their service and let them know they are greatly appreciated. All of us who live in free countries need to always be thankful for the thousands of service men and woman who risk their lives--and for the many who made the supreme sacrifice by giving their life--to protect the land that you and I stand on.
Let us never forget their sacrifice. And may we never forget the supreme sacrifice that Jesus, the Son of God, made when He gave His life to save us from a hellish, lost eternity. And whether we live in a free country or otherwise, every one of us is equal in the sight of God, and all are greatly loved by God; so every one of us can equally ask for and receive His forgiveness and gift of eternal life.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, those of us who live in a free country express our deepest gratitude for all who gave their lives to pay for our freedom. And we pray for our brothers and sisters who have no religious freedom, or their land is being ravaged by war, who have been forced to become a refugee, or are suffering under terrible bondage. May they find freedom in their heart by knowing and loving You as their personal Lord and Savior. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus's name, amen."
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