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 Dick Innes


Weekend Encounter

Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes          
Published by: ACTS International

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Vol. 18 – No. 1216 March 19, 2016

 
Thought for the week: "Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish. But you can only spend it once." – Unknown
 
Index
1.   Words of Wisdom
2.   On the Lighter Side
3.   Directions
4.   Goal Setting for Good Success
5.   Better to Walk Alone
6.   The Best Is Yet to Come ... But Only if You Believe It
7.   Why Did Jesus Have to Die?
8.   Receive Daily Encounter Devotional  without Charge
9.   Weekend Encounter E-mail Edition  without Charge
10.   Know God ... Without Having to Be Religious
11.   Prayer Partners Needed
12.   Please Help Support Weekend Encounter
13.   Helpful Books, CDs, and Cassettes
14.   Services without Charge
15.   ACTS in Action Report
16.   Archives for Daily and Weekend Encounter

1. Words of Wisdom

"Denying our actions when we have done wrong and willfully continuing with these wrong or sinful actions can readily lead to a seared conscience." – Dick Innes

"If humans evolved from apes, why do we still have apes?" – Unknown

"Courage is not limited to the battlefield. The real tests of courage are much quieter. They are the inner tests, like enduring pain when the room is empty or standing alone when you're misunderstood." – Charles Swindoll

"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly." – Robert F. Kennedy

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God." – Corrie ten Boom, author, The Hiding Place

"Highly successful people often make more mistakes than those they surpass. They succeed because they learn from every mistake and turn them into stepping stones." Michael Josephson

Index

2. On the Lighter Side

In our home we tend to get the children to help out. One day our youngest son came in to the living room and asked, "Does anyone want a cup of coffee?"

"Yes, please," we said.

He asked, "What kind of coffee do you want? Capitated or decapitated?"

Source: Mickey's Funnies. Submitted by Jerry Lambert.
To subscribe go to: http://www.mikeysFunnies.com/sub/

Index

3. Directions

Directions

My life is like a sailing ship
depending on the winds
to take me where I want to go,
sometimes the winds
are in my favor.
Other times they're not.
And when the gales
of adversity blow
the winds I can't control,
but the set of the sails I can—
for that, and not the
direction of the wind,
is what takes me where
I dream and plan to go.

– Dick Innes
   © Copyright

This poem, 8" x 10" ready for framing and beautifully produced is available online at: Click HERE

Index

4. Goal Setting for Good Success

Motivational speaker, Mark Victor Hansen, said, "Setting goals is one of the most important things you can do to guarantee your personal, professional and financial success. Goals are like a road map to your target destination. Each goal accomplished is another mile behind you on the way to where you want to be."

Years ago I heard another speaker say, "Success is the ability to embrace a worthwhile goal and employ all of your powers for the achievement of that goal."

A life without goals is like a ship without a rudder drifting where the winds and waves of chance direct. However, even more important than setting goals is to first discover one's God-given life purpose and then establish goals to fulfill that purpose.

This is exactly what Joshua did. And as long as he and the people of Israel lived by God's laws and followed God's plan, God assured them that they would have good success.1 God will do the same for you and me, too, as we live in harmony with his will and follow God's plan and purpose for our life.

1. Joshua 1:7 (NIV).

Index

5. Better to Walk Alone

Index

6. The Best Is Yet to Come ... But Only if You Believe It

      By Michael Josephson of CHARACTER COUNTS (941.5)

If you are having a bad day ... or week ... or month ... have a serious talk with yourself and decide what it will take to move on.

Preoccupation with your problems, no matter how serious, compounds them and imprisons you in a dark dungeon. There is no lock on the dungeon you just have to muster the will and optimism to walk out and make a reality of the phrase: "The best is yet to come."

Being positive and optimistic doesn't make your problems go away but it opens up your life to experiences beyond your problems. Tell yourself "the best is yet to come" every day. While at first it will seem like a hollow mantra, if you begin to think of it as a life strategy it will become so. And if you can't quite reach the "best", you most certainly will get to better. And that's a very good thing.

For Commentaries go to: http://whatwillmatter.com/category/commentary/

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.

© 2016 Josephson Institute of Ethics; reprinted with permission. Michael Josephson, one of the nation's leading ethicists, is the founder of the Josephson Institute of Ethics and the premier youth character education program, CHARACTER COUNTS! For further information visit www.charactercounts.org

Index

7. Why Did Jesus Have to Die?

A sample of Daily Encounter by Dick Innes

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering."1

A Daily Encounter reader writes, "I understand Jesus died for our sins. I believe it but I just can't understand why He had to do it. Didn't God have power over everything? I have looked for the answer to this question for a long time. Please help."

I'm sure that many people struggle with this same issue so let me explain. Because God is a God of infinite justice, He cannot forgive sin without justice being served. Otherwise He wouldn't be God. This means that all sin must be judged according to the moral law of God and the universe. We can no more defy this law and live than we can defy the law of gravity by jumping out of an airplane without a parachute. The end result will be death unless—unless we apply another law, the law of aerodynamics. This law makes it possible for an airplane to fly and a parachute to lower us to the earth gradually and thereby save us.

There is another universal law that we cannot defy and live. It is "the law of sin and death," which means that the judgment and penalty of all sin is death and eternal separation from God. That is, unless we apply a higher law which is "the law of the Spirit of Life," which is a God-given "spiritual parachute" to save us from eternal death. God provided this law through the death of Jesus who died in our place to pay the penalty for our sin.

Furthermore, because God is also a God of absolute holiness, no sin or unforgiven sinners can survive in His presence. As some bacteria are not able to survive in the light and die if they are exposed to it, so it is with us. In our sinful state if we were exposed to God and His incredible light, we would be destroyed instantaneously. And herein lies our dilemma.

However, God's answer to our dilemma lies in the fact that God is not only a God of infinite justice and absolute holiness, but also a God of eternal love. Because of His love, God gave His very own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in our place to pay the penalty for our sins to meet the automatic demands of His (God's) justice and holiness. Christ's death made possible God's "law of the Spirit of Life"—our God-given "spiritual parachute"—to save us from eternal death.

Not to accept and use God's "parachute" means certain death from which there is no other escape. In other words, anyone who doesn't accept God's pardon will automatically die for him/herself—which means eternal separation from God, the Creator of all love and life, in the place or condition the Bible calls hell. All we need to do is confess our sinfulness, believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died in our place for our sins, and ask God for, and accept, His forgiveness and pardon. If you have never done this, you can do so right now by praying the following prayer.

"Dear God, I confess that I am a sinner and am sorry for all the wrongs that I have done. I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross for my sins. Please forgive me. I invite You, Jesus, to come into my heart and life as Lord and Savior. I commit and trust my life to You. Please give me the desire to be what You want me to be and to do what You want me to do. Thank You for dying for my sins, for Your free pardon, for Your gift of eternal life, and for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus's name. Amen."

If you prayed this prayer and truly meant it, please let us know by clicking on the "My Decision" link at http://tinyurl.com/pgntm and we will send you a free copy of the e-leaflet, "How to Grow" to help you in your new spiritual life.

For further help, click on the "How to Be Sure You're a Real Christian" link at http://tinyurl.com/8glq9

1. Romans 8:1–3 (NIV).

<:))))><

NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon, click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php.

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Index

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Index

9. Receive E-mail Edition of Weekend Encounter ... Without Charge

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Index

10. Know God ... Without having to be religious

Click HERE to Know God and be sure you're a real Christian

 

Index

11. Prayer Partners Needed

One of ACTS greatest needs is Prayer Partners to stand with us as we seek to share the gospel with millions of people around the world through E-mail and the Internet and to win the lost to Jesus. If you would like to be an ACTS Prayer Partner, please subscribe to the Prayer Encounter list. Approximately one prayer report is e-mailed monthly. Thank you.

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Index

12. Help Support Weekend Encounter

    "Changing the World . . . One Person at a Time" 

Weekend Encounter and Daily Encounter are just two of the ways the nonprofit organization, ACTS International, is working to improve the spiritual and emotional life of many thousands of people around the world.

Every weekday Daily Encounter is going to 376,000+ subscribers, and every week Weekend Encounter is going to 7,000+ subscribers worldwide—many of whom are in places where it is forbidden to spread the Christian gospel and message. Plus, we reach several hundred thousand more every week through our advertising. As a result, every day we are seeing an average of 5-6 salvation responses from around the world—almost 3,000 in the past 12 months!

If you find value in the Weekend Encounter and/or Daily Encounter, we hope you will be comfortable donating at least $26. That's only 50 cents a week for an entire year (tax-deductible in the U.S.). You can donate in one of the following ways:

Donate Online: You can donate online at ACTS secure web site. Click HERE on ACTS support donations.

Donate Through PayPal:You can donate securely through PAYPAL. Click HERE on PayPal. Where it says Payment For: type in Donation.

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     San Clemente, California 92673-0119
     U.S.A.

Index

13. Helpful Books, CDs and Cassettes

Oprah Winfrey: "Books were my pass to personal freedom. I learned to read at age three, and soon discovered there was a whole world to conquer that went beyond our farm in Mississippi." – Oprah Winfrey

Books:

Books by Dick Innes, Editor of Weekend Encounter
   You Can't Fly With a Broken Wing
   How to Mend a Broken Heart
   I Hate Witnessing—A Handbook for Effective Christian
      Communications

   On Sale at: http://www.actscom.com/store

CDs/Cassettes:

  Healing, Wholeness & Happiness by Dick Innes
  Loving & Understanding People by Dick Innes
  I Hate Witnessing by Dick Innes
  God's Formula for Success by Dick Innes
  Damaged Emotions by David Seamands
  Healing of the Memories by David Seamands

  On SALE at: http://tinyurl.com/2unmmy

Index

14. Services Without Charge

 1. Bible concordance and Bible helps
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     lay/volunteer counselors. www.newhopenow.org
 
3. E-Word Today for a daily Bible reading
 4. To find your ZIP+4 Area Code in the U.S.A.
 5. How to find and write to your U.S. Representative
 6. ASK ... Smart answers fast
 7. Send a greeting card without charge for all occasions
 8. To check the weather in your area
 9. Hoax Web Sites
10. Plus many more sources of helpful information

GO TO: http://www.actsweb.org/links.php

Index

15. ACTS in Action Report
 
Click HERE for ACTS in Action ... Monthly Report Letter
 
16. Archives for Daily and Weekend Encounters
 
Click HERE for ARCHIVES: Daily and Weekend Encounters
 

"Because the world is hungry,
go with bread.
Because the world is filled with strife,
go with peace.
Because the world is filled with deceptions and lies,
go with truth.
Because the world would die without,
go with the love of God."



© 2016 ACTS International


Know God

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PO Box 73545
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To receive the email edition of Weekend Encounter
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