Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 17 – No. 1515 April 11, 2015
Thought for the week: "Better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness."– Chinese Proverb
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." –
William Shedd
"Whatever we expect with confidence becomes our own self-fulfilling
prophecy." – Brian Tracy
"Living consciously involves being genuine; it involves listening and
responding to others honestly and openly; it involves being in the
moment." – Sidney Poitier
"Never does the human soul appear so strong and noble as when it forgoes
revenge and dares to forgive an injury." – E. H. Chapin
"You can't shake hands with a clenched fist." – Golda Meir
"A good way to have the last word is to apologize." – Barbara Johnson
After years of scrimping and saving, a husband told his wife the good news: "Honey, we've finally saved enough money to buy what we started saving for way back in 2000."
"You mean a brand-new Mercedes?" she asked eagerly.
To those who see with loving eyes, life is beautiful.
To those who speak with tender voices, life is peaceful.
To those who help with gentle hands, life is full.
And to those who care with compassionate hearts,
life is good beyond all measure.
There are two serious diseases of the mind that most, if not all of us, will encounter at some time. These diseases have been the cause of ineffectiveness and the death of innumerable churches, organizations, businesses, individuals and nations!
They can afflict the young but mostly those who are above 40. The symptoms are often obvious to outsiders, but usually totally oblivious to those inflicted with either of these diseases.
The first disease is "homeostatus" which is a clinging to the status quo with a refusal to change no matter what. The ancient Israelites suffered from this disease when God delivered them out of slavery in Egypt. When things got tough on their road to "recovery," they doubted God and wanted to go back to Egypt. Crazy, you say, but that's what they wanted. As the saying goes, "Better the devil you know than the one you don't know!"
The other disease is "psychosclerosis," a hardening of the attitudes. This disease is equally destructive. Its symptoms can be varied such as legalism, rigidity, arrogance, apathy, Phariseeism, having a closed mind and so on. It is just as deadly as homeostatus.
We need God's wisdom and insight to guard against these crippling diseases. They are two of the enemy's powerful weapons designed to render us ineffective in God's causes.
The remedy? Daily commit and trust your life and way to God, know what His Word, the Bible, teaches, and genuinely seek to live in harmony with His will. Ask God every day to keep your eyes open and keep you on the "Truth Road."
NOTE: The following is primarily for those for whom ENGLISH is their primary language. It is another trick of "Doctor Dementia" to test your skills.
The writer who sent this said: I've seen this with the letters out of order, but this is the first time I've seen it with numbers. It is a good example of a Brain Study: If you can read this OUT LOUD, you have a strong mind. And better than that: Alzheimer's is a long, long way down the road before it ever gets anywhere near you.
If you can also read the following, you have a strong mind, too.
I cdnuolt blveiee that I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd what I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in what oerdr the ltteres in a word are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is that the frsit and last ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed it whotuit a pboerlm. This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the word as a wlohe. Azanmig, huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!
You can tell a lot about people's character by how they act at the grocery store. I remember being in a crowded store when there was a shortage of shopping carts. A prosperous-looking fellow was pushing a cart when another man stopped him.
"Excuse me," the second man said, "but this is my cart."
The first guy looked really annoyed. Instead of apologizing, he protested, "But someone took my cart."
His wife glared at him, and he reluctantly relinquished his ill-gotten gain. He had ignored the age-old wisdom that two wrongs don't make a right in favor of a distorted version of the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as they have done unto you."
Then there are the folks who change their mind about buying some item and put it on the nearest shelf, rationalizing that the store hires people to put things back. Well, schools employ custodians to clean the halls. Does that mean it's OK for kids to throw their candy wrappers on the floor?
Finally, there are express-line cheaters who enter the "10 items or less" line with 14 items because they're in a hurry, or simply because they love having a competitive edge. They count on the fact that no one will call them on this moral misdemeanor, and even if someone does, they're ready to play lawyer: "It depends on what you call an item. I consider these melons part of the 'fruit group' and I count them as one."
Being considerate, playing by the rules, and setting a good example are important, even in the grocery store.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life."1
The religious leaders of Christ's day, especially the Pharisees, outwardly lived by the letter of the law. They prided themselves in their good works and their strict religiosity. If you hear what Jesus had to say to some of them, one would be hard-pressed to call them godly or "men of God." They had religion, but they didn't have godliness nor did they have a right relationship with God.
A vital part of being involved in godliness, as the Apostle Paul admonished Timothy, is to: "Flee ...Follow ... Fight ... and to Lay hold on eternal life.
FLEE. First, is that we flee or avoid the following actions: 1) Not standing for sound doctrine as taught in God's Word, the Bible. No matter what I am taught by my church or anyone else, if it is not in harmony with, or is contrary to God's Word, it is not from God. Quite possibly, man-made doctrines may be sending more people to hell than anything else. 2) The man or woman of God is to avoid having false motives, and 3) he/she is to avoid falling into the trap of materialism. In the broader context, the godly person is also to avoid greed, selfishness, gossip, immorality and all sins of commission and omission.
FOLLOW. Second, the man or woman of God needs to follow these characteristics: 1) Righteousness (right living). 2) Godliness (godly living). 3) Faith. 4) Love. 5) Patience, and 6) Meekness.
FIGHT. The godly person is also instructed to fight the good fight of faith; that is, to take a stand and fight for justice, purity, honesty, moral living, ministering to the poor and the hungry; taking care of the elderly; and being God's agents in every area of life. In other words, we are to hate and fight against the things God hates—things that are destructive to those whom God loves—and love and fight for the things that God loves. Furthermore, we are to fight for the "supreme task of the church" which is the evangelization of the world. That is, we are to do everything in our power to reach every person in the world with the saving gospel message of Jesus Christ.
LAY HOLD ON ETERNAL LIFE. Finally, the godly person is to lay hold on eternal life; that is, to live with eternal values in mind and to make absolutely sure that he/she is on the way that leads to eternal life by committing him/herself to Jesus Christ who is the way, the truth, and the life—and the only way into God's heaven and eternal life.2
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to be a man/woman of God—never in a spirit of legalism—but from a grateful heart in appreciation for all that you have done for me, especially in the giving of your Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in my place to pay the penalty for all my sins so I can be freely forgiven and receive your gift of eternal life. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
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