Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 17 – No. 2615 June 27, 2015
Thought for the week: "Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product." – Eleanor Roosevelt
"If you stand for something, you will always find some people for you and some against you. If you stand for nothing, you will find nobody against you and nobody for you." – Bill Bernbach
"Only to the degree that I am known can I be fully loved and accepted." – Dick Innes
"Keep your face always towards the sunshine and the shadows will fall behind you." – M.B. Whitman
"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." – John Quincy Adams
"Be true to yourself. Don't sell out your core beliefs and values, for money or glory. In the end you will find yourself feeling empty, the money gone, no glory and wondering who you really are. Nothing is worth that." – Ray Lammie
"To a child, 'love' is spelled T-I-M-E." – Zig Ziglar
A few years ago the psychology department of Duke University carried on an interesting experiment. They wanted to see how long rats could swim. In one container they placed a rat for whom there was no possibility of escape. He swam a few moments and then ducked his head to drown. In the other container they made the hope of escape a possibility for the rat. The rat swam for several hours before finally giving up. The conclusion of the experiment was just the opposite of our common conclusion. We usually say, "As long as there is life, there is hope." The Duke experiment proved, "As long as there is hope, there is life."
It is written in the Bible: "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap" (Galatians 6:7 NKJV).
Following are some men and women who mocked God:
John Lennon (Singer): Some years before, during his interview with an American magazine, he said: "Christianity will end; it will disappear. I do not have to argue about that. I am certain. Jesus was ok, but his subjects were too simple; today we are more famous than Him" (1966).
Lennon, after saying that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, was shot six times.
Tancredo Neves (President of Brazil): During the Presidential campaign, he said if he got 500,000 votes from his party, not even God would remove him from Presidency. Sure he got the votes, but he got sick a day before being made President, then he died.
Cazuza (Bi-sexual Brazilian composer, singer and poet): During a show in Canecio
(Rio de Janeiro), while smoking his cigarette, he puffed out some smoke into the air and said: "God, that's for you." He died at the age of 32 of LUNG CANCER in a horrible manner.
The man who built the Titanic. After the construction of Titanic, a reporter asked him how safe the Titanic would be. With an ironic tone he said: "Not even God can sink it." The result: I think you all know what happened to the Titanic.
Marilyn Monroe (Actress) She was visited by Billy Graham during a presentation of a show. He said the Spirit of God had sent him to preach to her. After hearing what the Preacher had to say, she said: "I don't need your Jesus." A week later, she was found dead in her apartment.
Bon Scott (Singer) the ex-vocalist of the AC/DC. On one of his 1979 songs he sang: "Don't stop me; I'm going down all the way, down the highway to hell." On the 19th of February 1980, Bon Scott was found dead; he had been choked by his own vomit.
In Campinas (in 2005), Brazil, a group of drunk friends went to pick up a friend. The mother accompanied her to the car and was so worried about the drunkenness of her friends, she said to the daughter holding her hand, who was already seated in the car: "My Daughter, go with God and may He protect you."
She responded: "Only if He (God) travels in the trunk, because inside here, it's already full." Hours later, news came by that they had been involved in a fatal accident; everyone had died. The car could not be recognized what type of car it had been, but surprisingly, the trunk was intact.
The police said there was no way the trunk could have remained intact. To their surprise, inside the trunk was a crate of eggs; none was broken.
Christine Hewitt (Jamaican Journalist and entertainer) said the Bible (Word of God) was the worst book ever written. In June 2006 she was found burnt beyond recognition in her motor vehicle.
Many more important people have forgotten that there is no other name that was given so much authority as the name of Jesus.
Many have died, but only Jesus died and rose again, and He is still alive.
There was a boy in India who was sent by his parents to a boarding school. Before being sent away, this boy was the brightest student in his class. He was at the top in every competition. He was a champion.
But the boy changed after leaving home and attending boarding school. His grades started dropping. He hated being in a group. He was lonely all the time. And there were especially dark times when he felt like committing suicide. All of this because he felt worthless and that no one loved him.
His parents started worrying about the boy. But even they did not know what was wrong with him. So his dad decided to travel to the boarding school and talk with him.
They sat on the bank of the lake near the school. The father started asking him casual questions about his classes, teachers and sports. After some time his dad said, 'Do you know son, why I am here today?"
The boy answered back, "to check my grades?"
"No, no" his dad replied, "I am here to tell you that you are the most important person for me. I want to see you happy. I don't care about grades; I care about you and about your happiness. YOU ARE MY LIFE."
These words caused the boy's eyes to fill with tears. He hugged his dad. They didn't say anything to each other for a long time.
Now the boy had everything he wanted. He knew there was someone on this earth who cared for him deeply. He meant the world to someone. Today this young man is in college at the top of his class, and no one has ever seen him sad!
Thanks a lot, dad. YOU ARE MY LIFE.
"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring; all of which have the potential to turn a life around."
Most of us are regularly confronted with choices that can have serious and lasting impact on our lives. What's more, most really bad decisions—the ones that mess up our lives—are made impulsively or without sufficient reflection.
Thus, the wisdom of the oldest advice in the world: "Think ahead." The maxim telling us to count to three when we're angry and to ten when we're very angry is designed to prevent foolish and impulsive behavior. But anger is just one obstacle to good choices. Others are fatigue, frustration, impatience and ignorance.
We can improve our lives immeasurably if we can get in the habit of self-consciously stopping the momentum of thoughtless behavior. We must force ourselves to reflect on what we are about to do. Just like we teach our children to look both ways before they cross the street, we can and should instill the habit of looking ahead in making decisions.
So every good decision starts with a stop. We must stop to sort out facts from rumors, to evaluate the evidence and devise alternatives so we can choose the most effective and ethical course of action. Stopping to think before we act also allows us to muster our moral will power to overcome temptations.
The "stop" is a break in the action that allows us to ask ourselves a few crucial questions that could set us on a better road:
"Wait, what do I really want to accomplish here?"
"How will my decision affect others?"
"What are my alternatives?"
"What could go wrong?"
This is Michael Josephson reminding you to think ahead because character counts.
God's Word says, "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."1
Several years ago I invited Jennifer, a cousin of mine, and her husband to come to a special week of gospel meetings at our church. During the invitation to accept Jesus as one's Savior, I could see that my cousin was really struggling with the call to accept Jesus as her Savior. Tragically she resisted and said no to Him. She passed away recently and I don't know if she ever did accept Jesus as her Savior. All I know is that she had the opportunity to receive God's forgiveness and His gift of eternal life, but at that time she said no to God's offer.
Motivational speaker, Jim Rohn, said, "I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacations with better care than they plan their lives." To this I would add—how unbelievably tragic it is when, even if we do plan for this life carefully, we fail to make plans for the afterlife—which is forever—forever.
I know that when I get to Heaven, I will see my mother, my father, and my sisters and friends who have gone ahead of me because they had made their peace with God by asking for God's forgiveness and accepting Jesus as their Savior, but I don't know if I will ever see my cousin again. That makes me very sad.
Remember that for all of us, "Opportunity comes to pass—not to pause." So whatever you do, Dear Friend, make plans for life after death by making peace with God today! We have absolutely no guarantee of tomorrow so be sure to do that—today—for as God's Word reminds us: "Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."1
Suggested prayer: Dear God, thank You that today You are giving me the invitation and opportunity to receive Your forgiveness for all my sins, and for giving me the gift of eternal life with the assurance of a home in heaven to be with You forever. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus's name, amen."
If you have never made your peace with God or accepted His gift of forgiveness, you can do that today. For help read "God's Invitation" at: http://tinyurl.com/6k49w
For additional help be sure to read the article, "Life After Death" at: http://tinyurl.com/8brzh
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