Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 17 – No. 2915 July 18, 2015
Thought for the week: "Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." – Martin Luther King Jr.
"We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give." – Winston Churchill
"Do not wait for leaders—do it alone, person to person." – Mother Teresa
"You control your life by controlling your time." – Conrad Hilton
"A thought a day is a worthwhile investment of time. A word from the Creator, as recorded in the book of books, The Holy Bible, makes the best reference." – Unknown.
"One day at a time—this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past, for it is gone: and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering." – Ida Scott Taylor
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." – Abraham Lincoln, 16th US President
During a practical exercise at a military police base, the instructor was giving the class instruction in unarmed self-defense.
After he presented a number of different situations in which they might find themselves, he asked a student, "What steps would you take if someone were coming at you with a large, sharp knife?"
Years ago I heard Houston pastor, John Bisango, speak. He described a time when his daughter, Melodye Jan, age five, asked for a dollhouse. John nodded and promised to build her one, then returned to his book. But glancing out the window, he saw Melodye, arms crammed with dishes and dolls, making trip after trip until she had a great pile in the yard. He asked his wife what she was doing.
"Oh, you promised to build her a dollhouse, and she believes you. She's just getting ready for it."
"I tossed aside that book, raced to the lumberyard for supplies and quickly built that little girl a doll house," John said. "Why? It was her simple, childlike faith in his promise."1
1. Robert J. Morgan, The Red Sea Rules, 10 God-Given Strategies for Difficult Times, Thomas Nelson, Publishers ( Nashville, 2001). Cited onwww.sermons.com.
Dr. Ed Wheat writes that "Bad marriages are contagious. Numerous psychiatric research studies have shown that when couples with neurotic marriage relationships get divorced—no matter how good their intentions may be—they nearly always remarry into the very same type of neurotic relationship they had before."1
This is true if divorced people don't get into a recovery program to overcome the unresolved issues in their life that caused them to be attracted to the person they married in the first place. The reality is that we are either as sick or as healthy as the partner we are attracted to.
It's either resolution or repetition—for what we fail to resolve we are destined to repeat. Only healthy, mature people have healthy, mature relationships. To expect otherwise is being totally unrealistic.
1. Ed Wheat, How to Fall in Love, Stay in Love, Zondervan, 1980. p, 204.
The older I get the less I know, but I know some things:
I know that I'm a work in progress and that there will always be a gap between who I am and who I want to be.
I know that I don't have to be sick to get better, and that every day brings opportunities to improve my life and my character.
I know that it's easier to talk about integrity than to live it, and that the true test is my willingness to do the right thing even when it costs more than I want to pay.
I know that character is more important than competence.
I know that it takes years to build up trust and only seconds to destroy it.
I know that I often judge myself by my best intentions and most noble acts, but that I'll be judged by my last worst act.
I know that I can't control what will happen to me, but that I have a lot to say about what happens in me.
I know that pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.
I know that attitudes, both good and bad, are contagious.
I know that winning is more than coming in first and that there's no real victory without honor.
I know that it takes a conscientious effort to be kind, but that kindness changes lives.
I know that neither gratitude nor forgiveness comes naturally; both often require acts of will.
I know that real success is being significant.
I know that happiness is deeper and more enduring than either pleasure or fun and that I'm generally as happy as I'm willing to be.
I know that the surest road to happiness is good relationships, and that the best way to have good relationships is to be a good person.
"Moses answered [God], 'What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The LORD did not appear to you?' Then the LORD said to him, 'What is that in your hand?' 'A staff,' he replied. The LORD said, 'Throw it on the ground.' Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it."1
I have read how "there was a 10-year-old boy, who's left arm was damaged and subsequently amputated. He decided to learn judo. His sensei (teacher) was an old Japanese judo expert.
"The boy learned quickly. After a short time, he had mastered one important move. He asked his teacher to teach him more moves. The sensei told him that this was all he would need.
"Soon after, the boy entered a tournament where his opponent was bigger and more experienced. The boy seemed outmatched. After a long match, the opponent seemed to lose concentration. Quickly, the boy took advantage and pinned what seemed to be his superior opponent.
"On the ride home, the boy asked his sensei. 'How could I win with this one move?' The sensei replied, 'You have mastered one of the difficult moves in judo. And, a good defense against that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm.'"2
Sometimes we don't think we have much to offer in service to God. But we all have at least "one thing in our hand." If we offer that willingly to God, he will use it for his glory. And as the writer of the above story said, "Sometimes your biggest weakness can become your greatest strength."
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank You for the gifts you have given to me. Help me to know what these are and how I can best use them for serving You and helping others—and for your glory. I want to be a winner in Your book. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus's name, amen."
1. Exodus 4:1-3 (NIV).
2. Author Unknown.Cited by Brian Proctor.
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