Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 8 – No. 1806 May 06, 2006
Thought for the week: "Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God" – William Carey
Over 1 billion people use the Web ... the
Internet is changing the world ... God is
using the Web to transform lives. For more information go to:www.InternetEvangelismDay.com
1. Words of Wisdom
"Everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was." – Robert Louis Stevenson
"Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hate. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness." – William Arthur Ward
"You don't have to see the whole staircase; just the first step." – Martin Luther King, Jr.
"The church exists by mission as fire exists by burning." – Emil Brunner
"The price of hating other human beings is loving one's own self less." – Eldridge Cleaver
"You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try." – Beverly Sills, Opera Singer
"Most successful men have not achieved their distinction by having some new talent or opportunity presented to them. They have developed the opportunity that was at hand." – Bruce Barton
I urgently needed a few days off work, but I knew the boss would not allow me to take a leave.
I thought that maybe if I acted crazy, he would tell me to take a few days off. So I hung upside down on the ceiling and made funny noises.
My co-worker asked me what I was doing. I told her that I was pretending to be a light bulb so that the boss would think I was "crazy" and give me a few days off.
A few minutes later the boss came into the office and asked, "What are you doing?"
I told him I was a light bulb. He said, "You are clearly stressed out. Go home and recuperate for a couple of days."
I jumped down and walked out of the office. When my co-worker followed me, the boss asked her, "And where do you think you're going?"
She said, "I'm going home too. I can't work in the dark!"
– Cited in Parables, Etc. Vol. 25,
No. 9, November 2005
"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."
Many people would like to believe that how we view God doesn't really matter in the real world. The problem, of course, is that this just isn't true. Consider, for example, Karl Marx, the founder of modern communism. Early on, Marx was influenced by a book, The Essence of Christianity, in which Ludwig Feuerbach argued that God was really just a creation of humanity. Believing that God wasn't the solution, Marx advocated revolution to achieve social change. His ideas inspired some of the most brutal regimes in history. Clearly how we view God does matter and does have consequences.
Picture the major league baseball pitcher taking his warm-up pitches just before you.
The batter steps up to the plate. The first pitch sails over the catcher's head and slams into the screen. The next one burrows wildly in the dirt and bounces up, almost hitting you in the on-deck circle 20 feet from home plate. Nervous and uncertain, you finally step up to the plate. After three swings at the missile burning across the plate at 90 miles an hour, you're glad to trot back to the safety of the dugout.
Ryne Duren, former pitcher for the New York Yankees, liked to intimidate batters like that. He was known as the patron saint of the "psych out." He knew how to mentally harass opposing batters, "dusting them off" with an assortment of wildly launched pitches that left them terrified.
Words are sometimes hurled like that in the home. Instead of a baseball, we launch hurtful, intimidating words at each other, inflicting fear, pain and guilt.
If we interviewed 100 people who are unusually happy, I think the most prominent common denominator would be unusually good relationships. Despite the widespread promotion of materialism and vanity in our popular culture, wealth and beauty are simply not enough to produce happiness. In fact, they're not even necessary. What's more, bad relationships—at work, in the family or at home—are a surefire source of anguish and heartache.
For most of us, the relationships that most strongly influence our level of happiness are family relationships. And the most powerful of all are at the inner core of family, especially parent-child relationships.
No matter what your age, your relationship with your parents will always have a unique capacity to generate comfort or pain. Many children have ambivalent feelings about their parents. Yet most crave their approval, respect and love. Parents have a similar need.
If you're a parent, resolve to make more consistent and conscientious efforts to make your children feel appreciated. If you want to make their lives and yours happier, be careful to not demean or diminish their achievements and to avoid expressions of disappointment. Tell your child that you are proud to have him or her as a son or daughter.
And if you still can, give your parents pleasure by showing them that you love them, not only for what they did for you as a child, but for who they are now. Talk to them frequently and talk of meaningful things. Ask their advice and don't roll your eyes in disdain when you disagree with it. One of the best ways to express your love is through respect.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
"Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep" (Romans 12:15, NKJV).
"Dear Dick," a Daily Encounter reader writes, "I am hoping you can provide some words of wisdom that I can use to help a friend whose 18-year-old daughter has become pregnant. The daughter had received a scholarship to Xxxxx College, but it has been revoked. I would appreciate any advice you can provide for this mother as well as the mother to be. I value your Daily Encounter. It has made a huge impact on my life and my relationship with God."
"Dear Eileen (name changed)," I replied, "sometimes the best 'advice' to give to hurting people is not to give any advice but to 'weep with those who weep' and let them know that we care and that we love them.
"I did this for a family member last night who was hurting real bad ... I just held him while he (a young adult) sobbed and sobbed in my arms. After his pain subsided, we prayed together and I assured him that I loved him. He was dealing with some major childhood hurts he had never resolved as well as the recent loss of his girlfriend.
"At least for right now this is probably the best thing the distraught mother can do for her hurting daughter ... and perhaps the best thing you can do for your friend. Life surely can have its painful times. Do remember however, that when Jesus grieved, he wept too."
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to develop a compassionate heart so that I will always be a friend who knows not only how to rejoice with those who rejoice; but also to weep with those who weep. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
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"Revisiting the Radical Islamic Worldview" by Chuck Colson of Prison Fellowship.
"During the Cold War, there was a great clash of civilizations—communism vs. Western liberal democracy. And it threatened to destroy us in a nuclear holocaust. I was in the White House during those years. I can tell you, it was terrifying getting those daily briefings from the military. But the danger that we face from radical Islam today is even greater than the Cold War."
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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
Books by Bestseller and Popular Authors: The Miracle of Kindness His Needs, Her Needs by Willard F. Harley, Jr.
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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://actscom.com/store/cassettes.htm
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