Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 18 – No. 2916 July 16, 2016
Thought for the week: "Do I live a spiritual life that causes others to want to know the God I love, or do I lead a religious life that causes others to hate the god I follow?" – Oswald Chambers
"The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot." – Michael Althsuler
"The height of your accomplishments will equal the depth of your convictions." – William F. Scolavino
"A 'NO' uttered from deepest conviction is better and greater than a 'YES' merely uttered to please, or what is worse, to avoid trouble." – Mahatma Gandhi
"He that waits upon fortune, is never sure of a dinner." – Benjamin Franklin
"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them." – Mark Twain
"There's only one way to succeed in anything, and that is to give everything." – Vince Lombardi, football coach
"Anyone who uses the phrase 'easy as taking candy from a baby' has never tried taking candy from a baby." – Unknown
A man was driving to work when a truck ran a stop sign, hit his car broadside, and knocked him cold. Passersby pulled him from the wreck and revived him. He began a terrific struggle and had to be tranquilized by the medics.
Later, when he was calm, they asked him why he struggled so. He said, "I remember the impact, then nothing. I woke up on a concrete slab in front of a huge, flashing 'Shell' sign. And somebody was standing in front of the 'S.'"
1. Listen to them and let them vent for limited amount of time. Let them get the emotion out.
2. Acknowledge their complaint. You are not necessarily agreeing with them but you are acknowledging their complaint by saying it back to them so they know you heard them.
3. As for a solution. Complainers often don't have a solution, they just want to complain. Ask them to come back when they have a solution or an idea for solving the problem.
4. Ask them how they would like things to turn out. This moves the conversation from the problem toward a solution.
5. Ask them how they can be part of the solution. This makes them take some responsibility for what they are complaining about.
– Author Unknown. Cited in
The Pastor's Story File, Sept., 2005.
There once was a rich man who was near death. He was very grieved because he had worked so hard for his money and he wanted to be able to take it with him to heaven. So he began to pray that he might be able to take some of his wealth with him.
An angel hears his plea and appears to him, "Sorry, but you can't take your wealth with you."
The man implores the angel to speak to God to see if He might bend the rules.
The man continues to pray that his wealth could follow him. The angel reappears and informs the man that God has decided to allow him to take one suitcase with him. Overjoyed, the man gathers his largest suitcase and fills it with pure gold bars and places it beside his bed.
Soon afterward the man dies and shows up at the Gates of Heaven to greet St. Peter. Seeing the suitcase, Peter says, "Hold on, you can't bring that in here!"
But the man explains to him that he has permission and asks him to verify his story with the Lord. Sure enough, Peter checks and comes back saying, "You're right. You are allowed one carry-on bag, but I'm supposed to check its contents before letting it through."
Peter opens the suitcase to inspect the worldly items that the man found too precious to leave behind and exclaims, "You brought pavement?"
Some current critics of the U.S. Supreme Court like to point out that it does not allow the Ten Commandments, though written upon the walls of its own chambers, to be displayed in public schools.
But where do we find churches, right or left, that put them on their walls? The Ten Commandments really aren't very popular anywhere. This is so in spite of the fact that even a fairly general practice of them would lead to a solution of almost every problem of meaning and order now facing Western societies. They are God's best information on how to lead a basically decent human existence.
– Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy, pp. 56-57.
According to legend, an old Sultan, known as a wise and just leader, was to choose his successor from among his nine sons. He gave the sons each a single seed and directed them to plant and nurture it. "In one year," he said, "I will judge the results of your efforts and choose the next Sultan."
At the end of the year, the Sultan examined each pot and found eight healthy plants and one barren pot presented by his youngest son. He asked what happened and the son replied, "Despite my greatest efforts I could not make my seed grow. I think I was chosen to serve rather than lead."
"My son," the Sultan said, "you have been chosen to serve, but you shall do so as the next Sultan. You alone among your brothers are a man of honor." He then revealed that all the seeds he had given were dead, and he banished his other eight sons for dishonoring his name.
Every temptation to cheat is a test of integrity, but, like the eight banished sons, we usually don't see it that way. Instead, we often see life's challenges as a test of cleverness, a test of what we can get away with.
Character is revealed by how we behave when we think no one is looking. But people of character know that someone is always looking.
In this case, the cheating sons yielded no reward for their cheating. This is not always the case. Cheaters sometimes do prosper—for a while.
But in the end, it's like a bargain with the devil. Just ask the dozens of brilliant executives from Enron, Adelphia, Rite-Aid, Dynegy, WorldCom, ImClone and Tyco who lived lives of enormous luxury and enjoyed the envy and admiration of millions—until they were found out. Now they face complete disgrace and years of prison.
"There is a time for everything ... a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance" (Ecclesiastes 3:1,4, NIV).
Imagine living in a world where you couldn't laugh when you were highly amused, where you couldn't yell your head off at a ball game, sing your heart out in church or at a party, or cry when you are sad. Life would be deadly dull, empty and boring. As another has said, "Life without feelings would be like playing a trombone with a stuck slide." It is also a very unhealthy way to live. As John Powell put it, "When I repress my emotions my stomach keeps score."
Feelings or emotions—whether positive or negative—need to be acknowledged, owned, and expressed or dealt with in healthy ways. Proverbs even advises, "Open rebuke is better than secret love."1
Feelings in and of themselves are amoral; that is, they are neither right nor wrong. Jesus never told us how to feel, only how to act. It's what we do with feelings and how we handle them that matters.
Bottling up emotions hurts ourselves and damages our relationships. Lashing out hurts others and also damages our relationships. Expressing them in love and kindness brings us closer to others and reinforces our relationships. Furthermore, sharing feelings openly in a loving manner is the heart and soul of intimacy. In fact, without this there is no closeness or intimacy and we end up living together alone apart.
Listen to your heart and share some of your feelings in a loving and creative way with a friend or loved one today!
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, help me to handle my emotions as Jesus did. When he was sad, he wept. When he was angry at evil, he expressed his anger to bring about change. So help me to do likewise but to always speak the truth in love. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
1. Proverbs 27:5
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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
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
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