Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 17 – No. 5015 December 12, 2015
Thought for the week: "Some people grumble because roses have thorns; I am thankful that the thorns have roses." – Jean Baptiste Alphonse Karr
As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man. He had no family or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper's cemetery in the Nova Scotia back country.
As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost and, being a typical man, I didn't stop for directions. I finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy had evidently gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight. There were only the diggers and crew left and they were eating lunch. I felt badly and apologized to the men for being late.
I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was already in place. I didn't know what else to do, so I started to play. The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around. I played out my heart and soul for this man with no family and friends. I played like I've never played before for this homeless man.
And as I played "Amazing Grace," the workers began to weep. They wept, I wept; we all wept together. When I finished, I packed up my bagpipes and started for my car. Though my head was hung low, my heart was full. As I opened the door to my car, I heard one of the workers say, "I never seen anything like that before, and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty years."
Jesus had no servants, yet they called Him Master.
Had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher.
Had no medicines, yet they called Him Healer.
Had no army, yet kings feared Him.
He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world.
He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him.
He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today.
As children bring their broken toys, with tears for us to mend,
I brought my broken dreams to God, because He was my friend.
But then, instead of leaving Him in peace to work along with ways
That were my own, at last I snatched them back and cried, "How can you be so slow?"
"My Child," He said, "What could I do? You never did let go!"
"Did you know that of the 110 uses of the word 'preach' in the New Testament section of the Bible, most relate to what we would call conversation? Only Mars Hill in Acts 17 was a formal address as we understand it—and that was a Greek locale where the Greek philosophers gathered. The only other time where Paul preached in the contemporary sense of the term was when someone fell asleep in the window and had to be resurrected! "
Our values—the core beliefs that drive behavior—determine our character, our ethics and our potential.
Thus, the most important thing we can do for our children is to stimulate them to develop positive values that will help them become wise, happy and good. This is no simple matter.
The first step is to achieve greater clarity about what we really believe and what we really want our children to believe.
Often there is an inconsistency between what we say we value (our stated values) and what we actually value as revealed by our choices (our operative values).
We also need to recognize the complexity of our value structures. Our life goals are determined by our desires and wants. Another category of values concerns our beliefs as to what works. These often dictate what we do to get what we want. Still a final type of values comprises our ethical views as to what is right. In a person of character, these values supersede others.
As my children are getting older, I've been thinking about constructing with my wife a Statement of Family Values expressing our beliefs about the nature and relative importance of a dozen basic matters. If you want to try it, concisely state the beliefs you hope to instill in your children regarding:
Character and ethics
Faith and spirituality
Marriage and family relationships
Friendship
Education
Self-reliance
Attitude
Service
Success
Money and material possessions
Drinking and drugs
Premarital sex
We teach our children values with everything we say and do. The trouble is we're not always aware of what value we're teaching. Taking the time to formulate a Statement of Family Values can provide an unambiguous source of values your children will never forget. You can get this list at our website at charactercounts.org. This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"We proclaim him [Jesus Christ], admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect [complete and mature] in Christ.""1
It is true that God loves and accepts us as we are, but he loves us too much to leave us as we are.
God's design for each one of us is that we become the person he envisioned us to be—not only to receive forgiveness for our sins and the gift of eternal life, but also to grow and become mature, to be made whole, to resolve any and all impaired relationships, and to learn to love and accept ourselves, others, and God more fully.
Forgiveness and eternal life are gifts from God. There is nothing we can do to earn them. We receive them by faith in Jesus Christ. But growth and maturity are a life-long process. These are our responsibility. When we begin, we are like diamonds in the rough. To be polished takes a lot of time and hard work.
As Stuart Briscoe said, "The same sun that melts wax hardens clay." In the same way God's discipline hardens some folk and they become bitter; in others it produces gentleness, a loving spirit, growth and maturity. God's will is the latter but the choice is ours.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, in every trial please help me to see what I need to learn, what I need to change, and how I can keep growing to become the person you have envisioned for me to be. And please give me the grace and courage I need to submit to your molding. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
1. Colossians 1:28 (NIV).
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