Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 17 – No. 5115 December 19, 2015
Wishing all our readers a very Merry and God blessed Christmas, and many thanks for the opportunity to share with you in this way every week. From Dick and Joy Innes.
Thought for the week: "Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant." – Robert Louis Stephenson
"When we refuse to hear criticism, we might miss a chance to learn something." – Author Unknown
"Today's problems cannot be solved if we still think the way we thought when we created them." – Unknown
"Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back into the same box." – Unknown
"Cooperation is working together agreeably... Collaboration is working together aggressively; and there's a world of difference between those two." – John C. Maxwell
"If you want to sail your ship in a different direction, you must turn one degree at a time." – Brian Tracy
"Always remember that striving and struggle precede success, even in the dictionary." – Sarah Ban Breathnach
"You may delay, but time will not, and lost time is never found again." – Benjamin Franklin
His grief was multiplied by the sudden death of his precious wife. The only thing he had left was his faith, and it was weakening.
One day he was combing the neighborhood looking for work. He stopped to watch some men who were doing the stonework on a church building. One of those men was skillfully chiseling a triangular piece of rock. Not seeing a spot where it would fit, he asked, "Where are you going to put that?"
The man pointed toward the top of the building and said. "See that little opening up there near the spire? That's where it goes. I'm shaping it down here so it will fit up there.
Tears filled this good man's eyes as he walked away. "Shaping it down here so it will fit up there" gave new meaning in his difficult situation.
1. Speak to people. There is nothing as nice as a cheerful word of greeting.
2. Smile at people. It takes 72 muscles to frown, but only 14 to smile!
3. Call people by name. The sweetest music to anyone's ear is the sound of
his or her own name.
4. Be friendly and helpful. If you would have friends, be friendly.
5. Be cordial. speak and act as if everything you do were a real pleasure.
6. Be genuinely interested in people. You can like everyone if you try.
7. Be generous with praise, cautious with criticism. Praise will win out when
it comes to gaining friends.
8. Be considerate of the feelings of others. It will be appreciated.
9. Be thoughtful of the opinions of others. People love their opinions as they do
their own children; calling them ugly won't get you anything but anger.
10. Be alert to give service. what counts most in life is what we do for others!
Henry Carter was working feverishly trying to prepare something fresh for his Christmas sermon when he was disturbed by a knock on his study door. It was the dorm mother of the church's home for disturbed children. There was a crisis upstairs with one of the boys. Most of the boys go home for Christmas and only a few were left behind and were feeling very much abandoned and unloved.
Henry reluctantly followed the dorm mother up the stairs to the small dormitory, chafing inwardly at yet another interruption. This time it was Tommy. He had crawled under his bed and refused to come out. The woman pointed to one of the beds. Not even a toe showed, so Henry addressed the cowboys and bucking broncos on the bedspread. He told them of the beautifully decorated Christmas tree with all the presents in the church next door—and how there was a special present for Tommy.
Tommy was not impressed and continued to "play dead."
Henry's frustration increased as he knelt down on all fours and lifted the bedspread. As he peered under the bed his eyes met two enormous blue eyes—expressing the fear and pain Tommy was experiencing. Henry could have easily pulled little eight-year-old-looking-like-a-five-year-old child from under the bed, but he knew that this wouldn't help. It was trust, not coercion, that Tommy needed—plus he needed to make the decision to come out by himself. So Henry tried as best he could to get Tommy excited about the special Christmas supper to be offered after the service, the wonderful presents, and the stocking filled with magnificent Christmas gifts with Tommy's name on it.
All to no avail.
So—what else could Henry do? He got down on his stomach and wriggled himself under the bed to lay with his cheek pressed into the floor beside Tommy.
After a while Henry said, "You know, Tommy, it's pretty uncomfortable under here. Let's you and me go where we can stand up."
Ever so slowly they did.
Henry had no more worries about finding a Christmas message.
A few years ago I met a newly appointed president of a prestigious liberal arts college. Earlier in the day I had chided an audience of educators about using radar detectors so they could get away with speeding, and the president took me to task, saying I was trivializing ethics.
As a former law school dean, she said many laws are not intended to be strictly followed. So she not only had a radar detector, but she also saw nothing wrong with treating a red light as if it were simply a stop sign when she drives at night and there's very little traffic. After pausing for a moment, if it appears safe, she drives through, treating the red light as if it were merely a suggestion.
When I offered that this conduct is not only illegal but dangerous, she said, "Not if I use good judgment." I thought of all the people who've been shot with guns thought to be unloaded and the fatal accidents caused by people who were sure they could drive safely after a few drinks.
If we see a green light, we can drive directly through an intersection without slowing down because we count on others to stop at the red lights. When people take it on themselves to pick and choose which laws they will obey and when they will obey them, life becomes more chaotic and risky.
Sure, there are situations where strict compliance with a law seems unnecessary, even foolish. But on the whole, society is more stable, safe and orderly when we all play by the rules, even when they're annoying and inconvenient.
"He [Jesus] was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with bitterest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way when he went by. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God for his own sins!"1
Soon it will be Christmas Day—the day we celebrate the birth of the Savior—the One who was rejected by men—the One who came from heaven to earth to give his life a ransom for your sins and mine—the One who is now in heaven preparing a place for his followers—the One who is coming again to take us to be with him in glory forever. How can we ever thank God and the Son of God enough for so great salvation? One of my favorite gospel songs written by Keith Green expresses my feelings very well. I trust it will yours too. Let's make this our suggested prayer for today:
"Oh Lord, You're beautiful,
Your face is all I seek,
And when Your eyes are on this child,
Your grace abounds to me.
Chorus:
I wanna take Your Word
and shine it all around.
But first help me just to live it, Lord!
And when I'm doing well.
Help me to never seek a crown.
For my reward is giving glory to You.
Oh, Lord, You're wonderful,
Your touch is all I need,
And when Your hand is on this child,
Your healing I receive.
"Oh Lord, please light the fire,
That once burned bright and clear,
Replace the lamp of my first love,
That burned with holy fear.2
Gratefully, in Jesus's name. Amen."
1. Isaiah 53:3–4 (NLT).
2.
Keith Green.
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