"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though chequered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt
"Let us not bankrupt our todays by paying interest on the regrets of yesterday and by borrowing in advance the troubles of tomorrow."
- Ralph W. Sockman
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"If we are basically positive in attitude, expecting and envisioning pleasure, satisfaction and happiness, we will attract and create people, situations, and events which conform to our positive expectations."
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There's a nice poem by Valerie Cox circulating on the Internet about a woman who bought some cookies and a book at an airport and sat down to read and nibble while waiting for her plane. She soon noticed a man sitting next to her, who casually took a cookie from the bag.
Although shocked and seething, the woman remained silent as the man, without the slightest sign of shame or gratitude, quietly helped himself, matching her cookie for cookie.
When there was one cookie left, she watched in amazement as he picked it up, smiled at her as if he were being gracious, and broke it in half. He ate one half and gave her the other.
Congratulating herself for maintaining her cool, she said nothing to this rude cookie thief, astonished at the nerve of some people.
Later, when she was settling into her seat on the plane, she rummaged through her purse and discovered the bag of cookies she'd purchased, still unopened. The moral message is contained in the poem's closing stanza:
"If mine are here," she moaned with despair,
"Then the others were his, and he tried to share."
Too late to apologize, she realized with grief,
That she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief.
Being sure is not the same as being right. Certainty without humility can lead to self-righteousness that distorts our view and understanding of the world and of people.
Humility doesn't require us to be equivocal or doubtful about our deepest convictions. What it asks is that we hold and advocate our beliefs without dismissing the possibility that others may be right instead.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
Michael Josephson
www.charactercounts.org
"The man who has no imagination has no wings."
Muhammad Ali
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We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when Albert Einstein |
A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag’s side door!
He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, “What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That’s a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?”
The young boy was apologetic. “Please, mister…please! I’m sorry but I didn’t know what else to do,” he pleaded. “I threw the brick because no one else would stop!” With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car.
“It’s my brother,” he said. “He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up.” Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, “Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.”
Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.
“Thank you and may God bless you,” the grateful child told the stranger. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar.
The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message “Don’t go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!”
When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
James 4:3
Prayer does not change God; it changes me.
C. S. Lewis
No other biblical writer is more pragmatic and in-your-face than James. In his letter, he puts great emphasis on faith in action. Does this mean he was a legalist who didn't believe in salvation as a gift? Was he calling for us to base our relationship with God on our good works? Not at all. He simply believed that the person who has experienced God's grace will evidence it in his or her daily walk.
On the topic of prayer, James extols the power of prayer - "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" (5:16) - but he also challenges us to check our motives. Is our prayer focused on an easy life or on doing great things for God? Never stop taking your needs before God, but do pause and check your heart from time to time.
To watch a short movie about the purposeful life of Christ, click here. Be inspired to follow our Lord's example in prayer and service to our Heavenly Father.
And be sure to pass this note along to anyone in your life who needs a boost today.
God, make my prayer life a powerful force to do great things for You and the building of Your kingdom. Amen.
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened (Matthew 7:7-8).
For anyone who has put his or her faith in Jesus Christ, prayer is "communion with God." Through the cross of Jesus, the barriers to a relationship with God our Father were removed. When we begin to trust God and turn from our sin, He comes into our lives to begin a new relationship of love with us (Romans 8:9-10; John 14:23; Revelation 3:20; 2 Corinthians 13:5). Through prayer we actually experience a relationship with God, and the quality of our prayer life correspondingly determines the quality of our relationship with God.
Prayer is talking with God.
Prayer is listening to God.
Prayer is enjoying the presence of God.
Prayer is not simply saying words or repeating religious formulas. Jesus warned His disciples not to make meaningless repetitions of words when we pray (Matthew 6:7). There is a lot of what gives the appearance of prayer that never reaches God. For example, "The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself" (Luke 18:11). Perhaps the reason was that "If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law, even his prayers are detestable" (Proverbs 28:9).
God is looking for heartfelt relationship. Our faith and love toward God will lead us to recognize His presence with us, to talk with Him, to listen to Him, to sense Him. This is prayer. We express our thanks, our faith, our love, our hopes with God in prayer, and we receive from Him answers, assurance, guidance, peace, strength, power, revelation of who He is and what He wants to do (Matthew 7:7-8; John 16:13; Philippians 4:6-7; Ephesians 1:17-18).
The late E. Stanley Jones, missionary and preacher, wrote:
"Prayer...is the opening of a channel from my emptiness into His fullness."
You just read an excerpt from the book A Time for Prayer. This book is filled with prayers and thoughts that will encourage you and help you to intercede for the world around you.
A Time for Prayer is a great devotional resource, and makes a wonderful gift. For more information, or to look inside the book, click here.
