Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 8 – No. 0106 January 07, 2006
Thought for the week: "Until you love yourself (in a healthy sense) you are not free to love another—only to need them." – Dick Innes
"We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once." – Calvin Coolidge
"A word to the wise is sufficient. A word to the unwise is resented." – Anonymous
"A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still." – Unknown
"Out of clutter, find Simplicity. From discord, find Harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies Opportunity." – Albert Einstein
"I write when I'm inspired, and I see to it that I'm inspired at nine o'clock every morning." – Peter de Vries
"A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he [or she] is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What one can be, one must be." – Abraham Maslow
"Jesus' message is not to be good boys and girls so that when you die you can go to heaven. The message of Jesus is 'I love you. I love you so deeply it kills me.'" – Rich Mullins, Singer and Song-writer.
It's one thing for Muhammad Ali to float like a butterfly in a boxing ring, but on airplanes, seat belts are required.
Regarding one particular flight he took, Ali says in his new book, The Soul of a Butterfly (Simon & Schuster), "When the flight attendant asked me to put [a seat belt] on, I told her that Superman didn't need a seat belt.
"She smiled at me and said, 'Superman don't need no plane, either.'"
3. Teaching Creationism and Evolution in Public Schools
"In the New York Times in an excellent article religion writer Laurie Goodstein described the results of a new poll by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life: Nearly two-thirds of Americans want creationism taught alongside evolution in public schools. Surprisingly, it's not just Christians who want this: So do majorities of non-Christians."
Drop a pebble in the water, just a splash, and it is gone,
But there's half a hundred ripples circling on and on and on;
Spreading, spreading from the center, flowing out into
the sea,
But there isn't any way of telling where the end is
going to be.
Drop a pebble in the water; in a minute you forget,
But there's little waves a-flowing, and there's
ripples circling yet,
And there's little ripples flowing, to a great big wave
have grown.
And you've disturbed a mighty river just by dropping
in a stone.
Drop an unkind word or gesture; in a minute it is gone,
But there's half a hundred ripples circling on and on and on;
They keep spreading, spreading, spreading from the
center as they go,
And there isn't any way to stop them once you start
them on to flow.
Drop an unkind word or gesture, in a minute you forget,
But there's little waves a-flowing, and there's ripples
circling yet,
And perhaps in some sad heart a mighty wave of
tears you've stirred,
And disturbed a life that's happy when you dropped
that unkind word.
Drop a word of cheer and kindness; just a flash and
it is gone,
But there's half a hundred ripples, circling on and
on and on,
Bearing hope and joy and comfort on each splashing,
dashing wave,
'Til you wouldn't believe the volume of the one kind
word you gave.
Drop a word of cheer and kindness; in a minute you forget,
But there's gladness still a-swelling and there's joy
a-circling yet,
And you've rolled a wave of comfort, whose sweet
music can be heard
Over miles and miles of water, just by dropping
a kind word.
Whether the following story is true or not, I have no idea. Either way it makes an excellent parable.
There was a fairly rich young man who had been taken to the hospital, critically ill. His condition worsened, and he was confined there for quite a few weeks. His doctor even had told him that he wasn't sure if he'd recover, but that they would continue to do all they could. The man was obviously scared to death, and said to the doctor, "Please, doctor, do everything you can, I don't want to die, I have so much to do yet in life, and if you can help me get better, I'll even donate $10,000 to the fund for the new hospital." The young man happily began to improve and recovered, and a few weeks later was released and went home.
Several months later, while he was out in the town, he saw the doctor on the street, and the doctor asked him how he felt. The young man said, "Doc, I haven't felt better any time in my life."
The doctor said, "That's great, because I wanted to ask you about the money you said you wanted to donate to the new hospital fund. You remember you said if you got well, you'd like to donate $10,000, and we could really use that now."
"Man, if I said that," the young man replied, "I must have been really sick."
A poem called "Mud Puddles and Dandelions" points out that when an adult sees a patch of dandelions he often thinks of weeds that can take over his yard, while kids are more likely to see flowers for mom or a white fluffy ball to wish on. The adult sees a mud puddle as a hazard to avoid; the child sees a pool to play in.
Though many people seem to be born pessimists or optimists—and indeed our disposition to look at the world through a gray or a rose-colored lens is formed early in life—we must know that we can change our perspective and the way we emotionally characterize events by an act of conscious will.
And the simple truth is: We'll all be a lot happier with our lives if we can train ourselves to see the beauty in dandelions and the fun in mud puddles.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin" (Psalm 51:1-2, NIV).
Before Ansel Adams became famous as a landscape photographer, he studied piano and showed some talent. At one of his first recitals he played Chopin's "Nocturne in F Major." "In some strange way," he said, "my right hand started off in F-sharp major while my left hand behaved well in F major. I could not bring them together. I went through the entire nocturne with the hands separated by a half-step. The next day, someone walked up to him and jokingly commented, "You never missed a wrong note."1
I can identify with Adams in that in much younger days I used to play trumpet on a gospel team and one of the first times I played a solo, I was so nervous I was thinking one song and playing another! You can imagine the effect. It was very embarrassing to say the least.
Such mistakes are easily overcome. But some mistakes we make in life can have long-lasting serious consequences. With these mistakes, however, the good news is that God's mercy is always available to all who confess their sins and failures and ask for his forgiveness.
Have you experienced God's forgiveness? If not, why not do that today. For further help be sure to read the article: "How to Know God and Be Sure You're a Real Christian." It's in the "Know God" link in No.10 below.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you that 'You are a God of forgiveness, Gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness,'2 and that you forgive all my sins and trespasses when I genuinely confess them to you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
1. David Roper. Cited in KneEmail. To subscribe send
a blank message to: kneemail-subscribe@welovegod.org
2. Nehemiah 9:17, (NIV).
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