Daily Encounter with: ACTS International

Today's Daily Encounter

Oh God, Please Change My…  

"There be three things which are too wonderful for me,
yea, four which I know not: The way of an eagle in the
air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a
ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with
a maid."1

"It's not my problem. It's my wife/husband who needs
help!" 

How many times have you heard this defensive type of
statement? Having worked in the area of divorce
recovery for over two decades, I have heard it
repeatedly. One person recently said to me, "How do I
make my husband understand that he is the one who needs
help. He needs to know that he is wrong so he can get
counseling." 

"And why did you marry this person? What attracted you
to him/her in the first place?" I ask. Rarely do I get
an honest answer. 

This is not true in all cultures but, at least where we
make our own choice about whom we marry, there are
always underlying reasons why we are attracted and
drawn to a particular person of the opposite sex. 

At least one single man I know was facing reality when
he said that he could walk into a room full of women
and would automatically be attracted to the sickest
(emotionally sickest) woman in the room! He knew it was
because of his own emotional sickness. There's hope for
this man. 

No matter what your wife/husband has done, the reality
is you can't change her or him. If you try to, it just
makes them angry or angrier. As I've said many times,
the only one we can ever change is our self, and as we
change, those around us are almost forced to change in
one way or another. However, this is not always for the
best because some people don't want us to change and
get angry when we do. Change upsets the games they are
playing! 

I'm not saying that we should put up with someone
else's abusive behavior. Not at all. But we need to
remember that we are the only person we can ever
change. And while we pray for the other person, we need
to first ask God to change us--and to confront us with
the truth about ourselves so we can see any character
flaws we have that we need to work on and resolve. 

And we can always ask God to help us to be as Jesus to
our husband/wife so that they, seeing Jesus in us, will
want Him for themselves. That may be the only hope for
encouraging others to change. 

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, help me to quit playing
the blame-game and always accept responsibility for
whatever I am contributing in any conflicting situation
in which I find myself. Help me to keep on changing and
growing to become the person You want me to be. Thank
You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in
Jesus's name, amen."

1. Proverbs 30:18-19 (NIV).

<:((((><    
  
  NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness
  for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon
  Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or
  if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, 
  please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.
  
  * * * * * * * 
  
  Daily Encounter is published at no charge by 
  ACTS International, a non-profit organization, 
  and made possible through the donations of 
  interested friends. Donations can be sent at: 
  http://www.actscom.com
  
  ACTS International
  P.O. Box 73545
  San Clemente, California 92673-0119
  U.S.A.
  
  Phone: 949-940-9050  
  http://www.actsweb.org 
  
  Copyright (c) 2016 by ACTS International. 
  
  When copying or forwarding include the following: 
  "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2016
  ACTS International.

Today's Daily Encounter

Believing a Lie  

"’I will scatter you like chaff driven by the desert
wind. This is your lot, the portion I have decreed for
you,’ declares the LORD, ‘because you have forgotten me
and trusted in false gods.’"1

Ravi Zacharias in "A Slice of Infinity" shares how he
was invited to participate in a discussion with six
Russian generals (all of whom but one were atheists) at
the Lenin Military Academy in Moscow. 

Zacharias reported, "As the conversation unfolded from
early unease through robust argumentation all the way
to our warm conclusion, something incredible happened.
One by one, each of these generals conceded that Russia
was now in a pathetic state, not just economically but
morally. As the men stood to bid us good-bye, the
senior-ranking general grasped my hand and said, 'Dr.
Zacharias, I believe what you have brought us is the
truth. But it is so hard to change after seventy years
of believing a lie.'"2

Again I recall the words of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the
Russian-born Nobel Prize winner for literature(1970),
who said, "Over half a century ago while I was still a
child, I recall hearing a number of older people offer
the following explanation for the great disasters that
had befallen Russia: 'Men have forgotten God, that's
why all this has happened.'" 

How tragic when nations forget God and exchange the
truth for a lie. Over and over again history records
the results of those nations who forgot the one true
God and believed a lie. And it's happening today in the
world in which you and I live--and that includes here
in the United States of America. 

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to be a
messenger of grace and truth in all that I am, do, and
say--and help me to live it first so that others seeing
Your love flowing through me will want Your truth and
love for themselves. And please save our nation from
believing any and all lies about You and the
devastation that believing lies cause. Thank You for
hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus's
name, amen."

1. Jeremiah 13:24-25 (NIV).
2. Ravi Zacharias, "Believing A Lie, Believing The
Truth" Copyright (c) 2001 Ravi Zacharias International
Ministries (RZIM) in "A Slice of Infinity"
http://www.sliceofinfinity.org.

<:((((><    
  
  NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness
  for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon
  Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or
  if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, 
  please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.
  
  * * * * * * * 
  
  Daily Encounter is published at no charge by 
  ACTS International, a non-profit organization, 
  and made possible through the donations of 
  interested friends. Donations can be sent at: 
  http://www.actscom.com
  
  ACTS International
  P.O. Box 73545
  San Clemente, California 92673-0119
  U.S.A.
  Phone: 949-940-9050  
  http://www.actsweb.org 
  Copyright (c) 2016 by ACTS International. 
  When copying or forwarding include the following: 
  "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2016
  ACTS International.

Today's Daily Encounter

With a Different God  

"For there is one God, and one mediator also between
God and men, the man Christ Jesus."1

In, James Michener’s novel, The Source, he describes an
ancient family. The father of the family sacrifices his
son to Malek, an ancient god. The mother grieves while
the father then goes and visits the temple prostitutes.
She is deeply grieved at what her husband is doing in
the name of religion. She laments: "With a different
god, he would have been a different man." 

How true these words are in real life. Time and again
we've seen the carnage caused by those with a different
god. Bali--until the Islamic terrorist attack several
years ago which killed almost 200 people--was looked
upon as Paradise by Westerners. 

Even since 9-11 many Western leaders and others have
stated how Islam is a peace-loving religion claiming
that we worship the same God. The fact is we don't.
Allah is not the triune God [God the Father, God the
Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit] in whom
Christians believe. For Muslims Jesus Christ is not God
the Son nor is He the Savior of the World. He is only a
prophet and second to Mohammad. True, not all Muslims
are terrorists by any means and while most Muslims are
moderate, there are many who take the Qur'án seriously
and are dedicated to the destruction of Jews,
Christians, Israel and the West. 

As Chuck Colson pointed out in BreakPoint some time
ago, "If you want evidence of Islamic extremism, just
ask any Indonesian Christian. For three decades,
Indonesia's Christians have endured one outrage after
another at the hands of their Muslim neighbors. In
1975, Indonesia invaded and annexed East Timor, killing
hundreds of thousands of East Timorese Christians.
Twenty years later, as East Timor gained its
independence, the government again did nothing as more
Christians were slaughtered. In the mid-nineties,
Indonesia's Christian Chinese were made the scapegoat
for the country's economic woes. Again, the government
stood by as Christian businesses, homes, and churches
were looted and burned. 

"And in the last few years, an Islamic militia, the
Laksar Jihad, has declared war on Christians living on
the islands of Sulawesi and the Moluccas. The militia,
which includes members from Pakistan, Saudi  Arabia,
Albania, and Bosnia, has attacked Christian villages
and forced Christians to either convert to Islam or be
beheaded." 

So, said Colson, "Overlooking the true nature of Islam
is not only wrong, it's folly--the kind of folly that
can turn any paradise into hell on earth."2

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, forgive us Westerners for
overlooking the plight of Christians in other lands
where they have been and are being slaughtered by the
thousands. And help us to wake up and realize that if
we continue to turn from You--the one and only true
God--we too (or our children's children) may very well
be facing the same kind of terrorism as Christians in
other lands are facing. Thank You for hearing and
answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus's name,
amen."

1. I Timothy 2:5 (NASB).
2.  Copyright 2002 Prison Fellowship Ministries
http://www.breakpoint.org.

<:((((><    
  
  NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness
  for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon
  Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or
  if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, 
  please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.
  
  * * * * * * * 
  
  Daily Encounter is published at no charge by 
  ACTS International, a non-profit organization, 
  and made possible through the donations of 
  interested friends. Donations can be sent at: 
  http://www.actscom.com
  
  ACTS International
  P.O. Box 73545
  San Clemente, California 92673-0119
  U.S.A.
  
  Phone: 949-940-9050  
  http://www.actsweb.org 
  Copyright (c) 2016 by ACTS International. 
  When copying or forwarding include the following: 
  "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2016
  ACTS International.

Today's Daily Encounter

Angels Unaware  

"Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to
entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained
angels unawares."1

According to an article by G.K. Chesterton, "Francis of
Assisi was terrified of leprosy. One day, full in the
narrow path that he was traveling, he saw, horribly
white in the sunshine, a leper! Instinctively his heart
shrank back, recoiling from the contamination of that
loathsome disease. But then he rallied; and ashamed of
himself, ran and cast his arms about the sufferer's
neck and kissed him and passed on. A moment later he
looked back, only to find that there was no one there,
only the empty road in the hot sunlight. All his days
thereafter he was sure it was no leper, but Christ
Himself disguised as a leper whom he had met." 

Perhaps this is why he wrote the beautiful prayer known
as the "Prayer of St. Francis," which reads: 

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace; 
where there is hatred, let me sow love; 
where there is injury, pardon; 
where there is doubt, faith; 
where there is despair, hope; 
where there is darkness, light; 
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek 
to be consoled as to console; 
to be understood, as to understand; 
to be loved, as to love; 
for it is in giving that we receive, 
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, 
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Let this beautiful prayer be our suggested prayer for
today.

1. Hebrews 13:1-2 (KJV).

<:((((><     
  
  NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness
  for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon
  Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or
  if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, 
  please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.
  
  * * * * * * * 
  
  Daily Encounter is published at no charge by 
  ACTS International, a non-profit organization, 
  and made possible through the donations of 
  interested friends. Donations can be sent at: 
  http://www.actscom.com
  
  ACTS International
  P.O. Box 73545
  San Clemente, California 92673-0119
  U.S.A.
  
  Phone: 949-940-9050  
  http://www.actsweb.org 
  
  Copyright (c) 2016 by ACTS International. 
  When copying or forwarding include the following: 
  "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Inne

Today's Daily Encounter

The Power of Attitude  

"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your
might."1

I have read how William Wilberforce (who became an
evangelical Christian) was a diminutive man and never
enjoyed good health. For twenty years he was under
doctor's orders and had to take drugs to keep body and
soul together. Yet he stopped the British slave trade.
Boswell once went to hear him speak and said afterward:
"I saw what seemed a mere shrimp mounted upon the
platform, but as I listened, he grew and grew till the
shrimp became a whale." 

The interesting thing is that so many successes in
history have been achieved by people who have either
been limited by some kind of handicap or have suffered
a major setback or failure of one kind or another.

It's one's attitude in life that makes the difference.
No matter what happens to us, with a positive attitude
we can rise above our difficulties and achieve notable
things with our life. 

By having a positive attitude I don't mean the denial
of reality, but rather to be a positive realist. For
instance, if I have been hit by a truck, all the
positive thinking in the world won't take away the
pain. To be a positive realist means that I admit that
I have been hit and hurt real bad--but with God's help,
and that of the medical profession and the support of
loving friends, I will recover to the fullest possible
extent and turn this experience into another blessing. 

As another has said, "Our lives are not determined by
what happens to us, but how we react to what happens;
not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we
bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain
reaction of positive thoughts, events and outcomes. It
is a catalyst … a spark that creates extraordinary
results." 

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, whatever it is that I can
do, regardless of my circumstances,  please help me to
see what it is and do it with all my might. Thank You
for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in
Jesus's name, amen."

1. Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NKJV).

<:((((><    
  
  NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness
  for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon
  Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or
  if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, 
  please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.
  
  * * * * * * * 
  
  Daily Encounter is published at no charge by 
  ACTS International, a non-profit organization, 
  and made possible through the donations of 
  interested friends. Donations can be sent at: 
  http://www.actscom.com
  
  ACTS International
  P.O. Box 73545
  San Clemente, California 92673-0119
  U.S.A.
  
  Phone: 949-940-9050  
  http://www.actsweb.org 
  
  Copyright (c) 2016 by ACTS International. 
  When copying or forwarding include the following: 
  "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2016
  ACTS International.

Today's Daily Encounter

Where Is God?  

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD ... From
heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind … [and]
considers everything they do. No king is saved by the
size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great
strength…But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear
Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love, to
deliver them from death and keep them alive in
famine."1

I recall having read in a college newspaper about a
student who painted in big white letters right across
the side of a garbage truck, "Where is God?" Perhaps he
was thinking at some level, why does God allow garbage
to happen? 

It's an age-old question, as old as Job and as fresh as
today: "Where is God when tragedy strikes … when a
loved one dies and the heart is torn with grief … when
innocent children are kidnapped, sexually abused, and
murdered? And where was he on September 11, 2001? And
again, when terrorist bombs blasted a resort hotel in
Bali? Or when a sniper in the Washington, D.C. area was
shooting and killing innocent people at random?" 

I don't want to sound callous by any means but we are
asking the wrong question because God is where He
always was and always is. The Apostle Paul said it
best, in that God "is not far from each one of us. 'For
in Him we live and move and have our being.'"2

So the question needs to be, "Not where is God, but
where is man?" 

Our problem lies in the fact that we as nations have
left God--or are fast leaving Him. As God's Word, the
Bible, says, "Blessed is that nation whose God is the
Lord."3 And what of those nations whose God is not the
Lord? Perhaps history can best answer that question. 

But the great tragedy is, as Friedrich Hegel said, "The
only thing we learn from history is that we learn
nothing from history." 

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please open our eyes and
help us to see that when we leave You, forsake Your
Word and discard Your commandments, we open the door to
evil. Grant that we will see in today's senseless acts
of terror a wakeup call to turn back to You. Thank You
for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in
Jesus's name, amen."

1.  Psalm 33:12-19 (NIV).
2. See Acts 17:24, 26-28.
3. Psalm 33:12.

<:((((><    
  
  NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness
  for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon
  Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or
  if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, 
  please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.
  
  * * * * * * * 
  
  Daily Encounter is published at no charge by 
  ACTS International, a non-profit organization, 
  and made possible through the donations of 
  interested friends. Donations can be sent at: 
  http://www.actscom.com
  
  ACTS International
  P.O. Box 73545
  San Clemente, California 92673-0119
  U.S.A.
  
  Phone: 949-940-9050  
  http://www.actsweb.org 
  
  Copyright (c) 2016 by ACTS International. 
  
  When copying or forwarding include the following: 
  "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2016
  ACTS International.

Today's Daily Encounter

Lest We Forget  

"And He [Jesus] took bread, gave thanks and broke it,
and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is
given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."1

Today in the United States is Memorial Day--a national
holiday "originally held in commemoration of soldiers
killed in the American Civil War (1868). Its observance
later extended to all U.S. war dead. National
observance is marked by the placing of a wreath on the
Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery."2

It is good to remember every day, and to celebrate this
day with special thanksgiving for all who have given
their lives to give us freedom. May we also remember in
prayer today all who live in countries where they don't
know the freedoms that we have.

As a kid growing up in Australia during World War II,
how well I remember what the Americans did for my
homeland. Had it not been for the American soldiers
with the backing of the American Congress and people,
Australia would not know the freedom it knows
today--neither would the rest of the Western World.

Someone asked Albert Einstein what kind of weapons
would be used in the third World War. "Well," he
answered, "I don't know ... but I can tell you what
they'll use in the fourth world war. They'll use
rocks."

Sadly, however, unless the U.S.A. turns back the forces
that are seeking to take it away from its Christian
moral heritage and roots, it is highly improbable that
our children or our children's children will continue
to be blessed by the privileged freedoms that U.S.
citizens enjoy today. And for all who live in this land
of opportunity and despise, misuse, and/or abuse it,
unlike many countries, U.S.A. gives them the freedom to
leave! However, very few, including its worstcritics,
do so!

May all who live in the West never take our freedoms
for granted for, "Eternal vigilance is still the price
of freedom." And above all, that includes moral
vigilance. For as God's Word says, "Righteousness
exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people."3
And as Jesus told us to remember His death for us, let
us also remember all who have given their lives to give
us the wonderful freedoms we know today, for there is
always a great price to purchase and maintain freedom.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, we thank You especially
today for all who have given their lives to keep us
living in a land that knows unprecedented freedom. Help
all of us in the free world awaken to our need to be
eternally vigilant in moral integrity, righteous
living, and trusting in You. And we pray for all who
live in lands where they are under great bondage, and
where the gospel is forbidden to be preached,
proclaimed or followed. Thank You for hearing and
answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus's name,
amen."

1. Luke 22:19, (NKJV).
2. Encyclopedia Britannica. 
3. Proverbs 14:34, (NIV).

<)))><    
  
  NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness
  for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon
  Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or
  if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, 
  please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.
  
  * * * * * * * 
  
  Daily Encounter is published at no charge by 
  ACTS International, a non-profit organization, 
  and made possible through the donations of 
  interested friends. Donations can be sent at: 
  http://www.actscom.com
  
  ACTS International
  P.O. Box 73545
  San Clemente, California 92673-0119
  U.S.A.
  
  Phone: 949-940-9050  
  http://www.actsweb.org 
  
  Copyright (c) 2016 by ACTS International. 
  When copying or forwarding include the following: 
  "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2016
  ACTS International.

Today's Daily Encounter

Struggling to Believe  

“Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present
world."1

“Robert Robinson came from a poor family; his father
died when Robert was a child and his mother sent him to
London to learn barbering when he was a teenager.
Instead he fell in with a gang and was involved in
vandalism, looting and petty theft. They went to heckle
a traveling evangelist, George Whitefield, who was
preaching in the town square but Robert encountered the
Lord Jesus and eventually accepted Him as his Savior.
He went on to become a renowned preacher and pastor, as
well as a writer of extraordinary hymns and was well
known throughout Europe. But late in his life he left
the faith. We don’t know the reason why, we don’t know
the circumstances, but the story is told that there
came a day late in his life when he was traveling by
stage coach, seated next to a woman who was humming the
hymn, ‘Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.’ 

“If nothing else, maybe simply to make conversation,
she asked him, ‘Sir, do you know this song?’

“Robinson replied, ‘Know it? Madam, I am the miserable
man who wrote it and I would give a thousand lives to
know the joy and peace that I knew then but I’ve lost
it.’

“Mr. Robinson died shortly thereafter.

“’Come thou Fount’ is one of my favorite hymns and that
story is one of the saddest--and I am afraid,
all-too-familiar--ones that I know."2

This hymn also happens to be one of my favorites. The
words of the last stanza say: “O to grace how great a
debtor / Daily I’m constrained to be / Let Thy grace,
Lord, like a fetter / Bind my wand’ring heart to Thee /
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it / Prone to leave the
God I love / Take my heart, O take and seal it / Seal
it for Thy courts above." 

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please keep me from
straying from You for I, too, know that my heart is
prone to wander and that I could very easily leave the
God I love. Please take my heart and seal it for Your
courts above. Thank You for hearing and answering my
prayer. Gratefully in Jesus's name, amen."

1. 2 Timothy 4:10 (NKJV).
2. By Tod Bolsinger, Sermon, “The God Who Does the
Impossible … A story for those who struggle to
believe."

<:((((><    
  
  NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness
  for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon
  Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or
  if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, 
  please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.
  
  * * * * * * * 
  
  Daily Encounter is published at no charge by 
  ACTS International, a non-profit organization, 
  and made possible through the donations of 
  interested friends. Donations can be sent at: 
  http://www.actscom.com
  
  ACTS International
  Copyright (c) 2016 by ACTS International. 
  When copying or forwarding include the following: 
  "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2016
  ACTS International.

Today's Daily Encounter

Was Jesus Ever Politically Correct?  

“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will
judge the living and the dead, and in view of His
appearing and His kingdom, I give you this charge:
Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of
season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great
patience and careful instruction. For the time will
come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.
Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather
around them a great number of teachers to say what
their itching ears want to hear."1

It’s amazing how, in our day and age, so many are
afraid to stand up and be counted when it comes to
taking a public stand for that which is morally
correct, based on biblical principles and the
Judeo-Christian ethic, for fear of not being
politically correct. To bash Christianity, the Ten
Commandments, the Word of God and even Jesus’s “Sermon
on the Mount" has become acceptable among certain
circles, but try condemning gay marriage or other
religions such as Islam and it becomes a different
story.  

But did Jesus Christ ever allow Himself to be so
controlled? Never! 

Jesus was a man of passion. He hated the abuse of God’s
house so He drove out the money changers with a whip.
He hated evil and sin, not simply because these were
opposed to His Word but because they were, and are,
damaging to those whom God loves--us. But He always
loved sinners and was against anything that hurt them,
kept them in bondage, or hindered their growth. And He
was hated for His stand.

“In Jesus’s case, we have the story of the holiest man
who ever lived, and yet it was the prostitutes and
lepers and thieves who adored Him, and the religious
who hated His guts."2 Why? Because He loved people and
was opposed to religious dogma and programs that kept
people in bondage and used them for their own ends
rather than helping them to grow.

“People were offended with Jesus because He violated
their understanding of religion and piety. The
religious people of His day were particularly incensed
that He deliberately healed on the Sabbath.... They
accused Him of being a drunkard, a glutton and having
tacky taste in friends. As Gene Thomas is fond of
saying, ‘Jesus was simply not your ideal Rotarian.’ It
is a profound irony that the Son of God visited this
planet and one of the chief complaints against Him was
that He was not religious enough."3

In other words, Jesus was totally committed to people’s
spiritual and personal growth and was strongly opposed
to anything that stopped or hindered that growth.
Political correctness was never ever a part of His
agenda. 

As an English Bishop once said, “Wherever Jesus went
there was either a revival or a revolution. Wherever I
go, they serve tea."

Question: Do we, the members of our church, want to
start a revival or a revolution? Or do we just prefer
to serve tea?

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please give me the courage
to stand up and be counted as a true follower of Jesus
Christ and never be afraid to state clearly, in love,
what Your Word, the Bible, teaches--and help me to live
it first. And help me never to allow myself to be
controlled by today’s politically correct nonsense.
Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer.
Gratefully in Jesus’s name, amen."

1. 2 Timothy 4:1-3 (NIV).
2.  Rebecca Manley Pippert, Out of the Saltshaker and
Into the World (Downer’s Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity
Press, 1979), p. 39.   
3.  Ibid, p. 40.

<:((((><    
  
  NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness
  for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon
  Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or
  if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, 
  please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.
  
  * * * * * * * 
  
  Daily Encounter is published at no charge by 
  ACTS International, a non-profit organization, 
  and made possible through the donations of 
  interested friends. Donations can be sent at: 
  http://www.actscom.com
  
  ACTS International
  P.O. Box 73545
  San Clemente, California 92673-0119
  U.S.A.
  
  Phone: 949-940-9050  
  http://www.actsweb.org 
  Copyright (c) 2016 by ACTS International. 
  When copying or forwarding include the following: 
  "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2016
  ACTS International.

Today's Daily Encounter

Hurry, Hurry, Fast, Fast  

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted
among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."1

“I'm not a sociolinguist," writes Karen Carr,
missionary psychologist, “but I find languages
fascinating. The other day in Ghana I was walking past
a Ghanaian man talking on his cell phone in Twi (a
local language here). Suddenly, in the midst of a sea
of words I could not understand, I heard, ‘Hurry,
hurry. Fast, fast.’ 

“Why did he need to switch to English to use those
words? In a culture where relationships are valued more
than task, where listening to someone is more important
than crossing off my ‘to do’ list, where greeting
someone before you get to the point of your
conversation is a very high value--hurry, hurry, fast,
fast is apparently a value grafted in from the West. I
chuckled as I walked away and slowed my pace down just
a fraction--reminding myself that I can enjoy the
journey just as much as the destination."2

Back in college days I used to have a small placard on
my desk that said, “Beware of the barrenness of a busy
life." Some years ago there was a popular song that
said: “Slow down you move to fast, got to make the
morning last … looking for fun and feeling groovy."

I don’t know about you but I still struggle at times
with being too busy and need to remind myself that I
need to take time to have fun and to "smell the roses"
as life is short. At the same time I also realize that
my life is an investment in eternity so I need to make
sure my days are balanced and wisely spent. As William
Penn said, "I expect to pass through this world but
once. Any good, therefore, that I can do, or any
kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me
do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall
not pass this way again."3  

And as another has wisely said, “Only one life ‘twill
soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last."

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to live a
balanced life, to invest my life wisely with eternal
values in mind, and never be too busy to ‘be still and
know that You are God.’ Thank You for hearing and
answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus's name, amen."

1. Psalm 46:10 (NIV).
2. Karen Carr of Mobile Member Care Team, Ghana, West
Africa, http://www.mmct.org/
3. Steven Grellet.  

<:((((><    
  
  NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness
  for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon
  Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or
  if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, 
  please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.
  
  * * * * * * * 
  
  Daily Encounter is published at no charge by 
  ACTS International, a non-profit organization, 
  and made possible through the donations of 
  interested friends. Donations can be sent at: 
  http://www.actscom.com
  
  ACTS International
  P.O. Box 73545
  San Clemente, California 92673-0119
  U.S.A.
  
  Phone: 949-940-9050  
  http://www.actsweb.org 
  
  Copyright (c) 2016 by ACTS International. 
  When copying or forwarding include the following: 
  "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2016
  ACTS International.

Today's Daily Encounter

The "Demon" of Lust?  

“If you are angry, don’t sin by nursing your grudge.
Don’t let the sun go down with you still angry--get
over it quickly; for when you are angry you give a
mighty foothold to the devil."1

A Daily Encounter reader writes, “I have been fighting
with a lust demon for years. I have asked GOD to
relieve me of this demon but I keep slipping back and
doing the same thing all over again. I have just
rededicated my life to God and am on my church's
outreach team. I want this demon of Satan out of my
body never to return. Will you pray for me?"

Hello, Jim (name changed), Thank you for being honest
and sharing your struggle with lust. To resolve any
problem it is imperative to understand the root cause
of the problem. Let me assure you that lust, as with
anger, is NOT a demon. If I am wrongfully angry, that
is my problem and when I fail to resolve it, I give the
foothold to the enemy. 

It’s the same with lust. Lust is a struggle most
red-blooded men struggle with at one time or another.
Severe lust, however, is usually a symptom of repressed
love or unmet love needs. As long as you blame the
problem on anything outside of yourself, you will never
overcome it because lust is a problem within. I don't
know who told you it was a demon but I challenge this
person to find anywhere in the Bible where it says
there is "a demon of lust."

Sure, Satan is the originator of all sin and does tempt
us, but most of us don't need the devil or a demon to
make, or even cause, us to lust. We can do it all by
ourselves because we are all sinners.

So how do you overcome? First and foremost, you need
not only confess your lust to God, but also ask Him to
confront you with the real cause of your lust ... to
show you the root cause of the problem … and then to
lead you to the help you need to overcome. Only by
facing the truth will you be set free.

Remember too, as David wrote in the Psalms, "The Lord
is near to all who call on him; to all who call on him
in truth."2 

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, whenever I have any
problem that I can’t resolve, please help me to see the
truth regarding the root cause of it and help me to
find the support I need to overcome. Thank You for
hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’s
name, amen."

1. Ephesians 4:26-27 (TLB).
2. Psalm 145:18 (NIV).

<:((((><    
  
  NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness
  for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon
  Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or
  if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, 
  please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.
  
  * * * * * * * 
  
  Daily Encounter is published at no charge by 
  ACTS International, a non-profit organization, 
  and made possible through the donations of 
  interested friends. Donations can be sent at: 
  http://www.actscom.com
  Copyright (c) 2016 by ACTS International. 
  When copying or forwarding include the following: 
  "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2016
  ACTS International.

Today's Daily Encounter

On Specks and Logs  

“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when
you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying
to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck
in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your
own eye?"1

Mike Atkinson in his Mickey’s Funnies shares the
following humorous story: 

A young couple moved into a new neighborhood. The next
morning while they are eating breakfast, the young
woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside. 

"That laundry is not very clean," she said. "She
doesn't know how to wash correctly.  Perhaps she needs
better laundry soap." Her husband looked on, but
remained silent. 

Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the
young woman would make the same comments. 

About a month later, the woman was surprised to see a
nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband:
"Look, she has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder
who taught her this." 

The husband said, "I got up early this morning and
cleaned our windows."2

Need I say more?

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please deliver me from the
sin of playing the blame-game and projecting my blind
spots onto others--and judging them accordingly. Thank
You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in
Jesus’s name, amen."

1. Matthew 7:3-4 (NLT). 
2. Mickey’s Funnies © 2008 Mike Atkinson.
http://www.mikeysFunnies.com.

<:((((><    
  
  NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness
  for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon
  Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or
  if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, 
  please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.
  
  * * * * * * * 
  
  Daily Encounter is published at no charge by 
  ACTS International, a non-profit organization, 
  and made possible through the donations of 
  interested friends. Donations can be sent at: 
  http://www.actscom.com
  
  ACTS International
  P.O. Box 73545
  San Clemente, California 92673-0119
  U.S.A.
  
  Phone: 949-940-9050  
  http://www.actsweb.org 
  
  Copyright (c) 2016 by ACTS International. 
  When copying or forwarding include the following: 
  "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2016
  ACTS International.

Today's Daily Encounter

Attitude of Gratitude  

"Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His
mercy endures forever. Oh, give thanks to the God of
gods! For His mercy endures forever. Oh, give thanks to
the Lord of lords! For His mercy endures forever."1

A legend tells the story of a fisherman called Aaron
who lived on the banks of a river. Walking home with
his eyes half-closed one evening after a hard day's
work, he was dreaming of what he could do if he were
rich. As he walked his foot struck a leather pouch
filled with what seemed to him to be small stones.
Absentmindedly he picked up the pouch and began
throwing the pebbles into the water. 

"When I am a rich man," he said to himself, "I'll have
a large house". And he threw another pebble into the
river. He threw another one and thought, "My wife and I
will have servants and rich food, and many fine
things." And this went on until just one stone was
left. As Aaron held it in his hand, a ray of light
caught it and made it sparkle. He was not throwing
ordinary stones but valuable gems, throwing away the
real riches in his hand, while he dreamed of unreal
riches in the future."2

Don't wait until tomorrow because "what-ifs" rarely, if
ever, come. Be thankful for the blessings you have
today for today is the only day we ever have. Live in
the present for yesterdays are gone forever and
tomorrows are only a hope and always a day away! 

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please open my eyes that I
may see the countless blessings You have already
provided for and given to me. Help me to feel the
wonder of it all and give me a thankful heart for all
You have done and are doing for me. Thank You for
hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus's
name, amen."

1. Psalm 136:1-3 (NKJV).
2. Brett Blair www.eSermons.com. Adapted from a sermon
by Rev. Richard J. Fairchild: "The Man Without Wedding
Clothes." 

<:((((><    
  
  NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness
  for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon
  Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or
  if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, 
  please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.
  
  * * * * * * * 
  
  Daily Encounter is published at no charge by 
  ACTS International, a non-profit organization, 
  and made possible through the donations of 
  interested friends. Donations can be sent at: 
  http://www.actscom.com
  
  ACTS International
  P.O. Box 73545
  San Clemente, California 92673-0119
  U.S.A.
  
  Phone: 949-940-9050  
  http://www.actsweb.org 
  
  Copyright (c) 2016 by ACTS International. 
  When copying or forwarding include the following: 
  "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2016
  ACTS International.

Today's Daily Encounter

Listen to Your Heart  

"When you are on your beds, search your hearts and be
silent."1 

Melody Beattie in The Language of Letting Go emphasized
the importance of contemplating what is on your mind
first thing when you wake up in the morning. What is it
in that half-asleep, half-awake place? Are you troubled
about something? Is there some responsibility you have
neglected that is bothering you? Is it a goal you've
been planning on starting but keep putting off? Is it
an unhealthy relationship you are in and you know you
need to get out of it? Is it a destructive habit or sin
that you feel convicted about? 

What is on your mind at this time is coming from your
inner self, your unconscious mind, or it may be coming
from God's Spirit. It may be revealing a truth you need
to deal with. Listen to that inner voice--the voice of
your heart--and do what you know you need to do about
that issue that is troubling or challenging you. Don't
put it off. Take care of it each day.  

We’re not talking about compulsive obsessive behavior
but learning to discern the voice of one’s inner self
and that of the leading of God’s Spirit.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, when my inner self or Your
Holy Spirit reminds me of something I need to fix,
start, put right, or to do today, please help me to
write it down so I don't forget, and then do something
about it that day. Thank You for hearing and answering
my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus's name, amen."

1. Psalm 4:4 (NIV).

<:((((><    
  
  NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness
  for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon
  Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or
  if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, 
  please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.
  
  * * * * * * * 
  
  Daily Encounter is published at no charge by 
  ACTS International, a non-profit organization, 
  and made possible through the donations of 
  interested friends. Donations can be sent at: 
  http://www.actscom.com
  
  ACTS International
  P.O. Box 73545
  San Clemente, California 92673-0119
  U.S.A.
  
  Phone: 949-940-9050  
  http://www.actsweb.org 
  
  Copyright (c) 2016 by ACTS International. 
  
  When copying or forwarding include the following: 
  "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2016
  ACTS International.

Today's Daily Encounter

Politically Incorrect  

"And He [Jesus] said to them, 'But who do you say that
I am?' And Peter answered and said, 'The Christ
[Messiah] of God.'"1

Amidst all the hoopla of political correct nonsense is
the claim of those who deny that the holocaust ever
happened, and the claim that some of the violent acts
of recent times were not by Islamic terrorists.

As Chuck Colson pointed out a few short years ago in
BreakPoint, some are claiming that, "'We have no idea
who flew those jets into the World Trade  Center and
the Pentagon.' 'I thought the videotape of Osama bin
Laden and his cohorts celebrating their success was
evidence enough,' said Colson, 'you know, the tape
where they say that the attacks on America went even
better than they'd expected.'"

There is also the denial of reality regarding the
Islamic faith.

Colson continues: "Then there's the program put
together by scholars at my alma mater Brown University
that will be taught at more than one thousand high
schools. It's called 'Responding to Terrorism:
Challenges for Democracy.' Student readings emphasize
that Islam 'is a religion that values family and
tolerance,' and that 'throughout much of history,
Muslims have lived peacefully with followers of other
religions.' They did--but only after they conquered the
Middle East, North Africa, and much of Europe in holy
wars.

"The 'Islam is peaceful' message was recently
reinforced at the University  of North Carolina, when
freshmen were assigned selections of the
Qur'án--peaceful selections, that is. The parts about
how it is the duty of Muslims to kill Jews, Christians,
and other 'infidels'--the parts about holy wars that
are of vital importance in light of September 11--were
somehow left out."2

According to FoxNews.com a few short years back copies
of the Qur'án were placed on the doorsteps of 30,000
homes in southwest Houston. Could you imagine if an
organization placed copies of the Bible on the door
steps of 30,000 homes in a Muslim country? 

True, not all Muslims by any means are terrorists or
adhere to all that the Qur'án teaches regarding the
killing of Jews and Christians. At the same time school
kids and others are being led to believe that there is
little difference between Islam and Christianity which
is also a denial of reality. Yes, there are some
similarities but at the core of both faiths they are
worlds apart.

For instance, is the God of Christians and the Bible
the same as Allah is to Muslims?

The Bible (as did Jesus) clearly teaches that God is a
holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the
Holy Spirit. On the other hand, Islam states that Allah
is a unity, when in fact, to them he is a single unit.
Thus Muslims emphatically deny the triune nature of
God.

The Bible teaches: "In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was
with God in the beginning. Through him all things were
made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
. . The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among
us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and
Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and
truth."3 The "Word" refers to Jesus--the Word or
"Expression of God" in the flesh.

The Qur'án teaches: "Far be it from Him [Allah] that He
should have a son" (4:171). Thus Islam totally denies
the deity of Jesus Christ.

"Others (Muslims included) are equally adamant in
affirming that the Allah of Islam is NOT the God of the
Bible."

Jesus Christ, according to God's Word is the Christ,
Son of the Living God. For Christians Jesus is our
Lord, our God, and our Savior. To Muslims, while Jesus
is highly esteemed as a prophet of God, He is not the
Son of God, is not part of the Triune God, and is not
the Savior of the World. 

According to Arab World Ministries, "Islam offers a
conversion experience and the opportunity to get one's
life in order, without needing to confess one’s sin and
need of salvation. In fact, Islam makes quite a point
of denying these truths. It tells people they do not
need salvation; all they need is to follow the
’guidance’ of God's [Allah's] law, and they will make
it to heaven."4

The important issue at stake is that people need to
understand the true teachings of both Christianity and
Islam, not to criticize or condemn, but to be sure that
they personally are on the path of truth and be sure of
their eternal salvation. As Jesus said about Himself,
"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes
to the Father [God the Father] except through Me."5 If
this is not true, then Jesus is not a great Prophet of
God but a liar and a deceiver of mankind. 

Tragically, politically correct nonsense that denies
truth and reality will send people to hell.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, in a world where there is
a constant battle between good and evil, truth and
lies, please help me to see the truth of who You are,
who Jesus is, and Your way of salvation. Give me the
courage to always stand for Truth regardless of whether
it is politically correct or not. Thank You for hearing
and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus's name,
amen." 

1. Luke 9:20 (NIV).
2. Breakpoint, August 23, 2002. See
http://www.breakpoint.org.
3. John 1:1-3,14 (NIV).
4. For answers "About Islam" go to Arab World
Ministries at:
    
  
  NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness
  for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon
  Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or
  if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, 
  please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.
  
  * * * * * * * 
  
  Daily Encounter is published at no charge by 
  ACTS International, a non-profit organization, 
  and made possible through the donations of 
  interested friends. Donations can be sent at: 
  http://www.actscom.com
  
  ACTS International
  P.O. Box 73545
  San Clemente, California 92673-0119
  U.S.A.
  
  Phone: 949-940-9050  
  http://www.actsweb.org 
  
  Copyright (c) 2016 by ACTS International. 
  
  When copying or forwarding include the following: 
  "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2016
  ACTS International.

Today's Daily Encounter

Forgiveness vs. Reconciliation  

"Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what
is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far
as it depends on you, be at peace with all men."1

Following a series of Daily Encounters on
"Forgiveness," a number of readers wanted to know if
forgiving another person meant that we have to forget
what has happened; or to love and stay with them if
they are abusive; or to trust them? 

The answer is no, no, no! Let me explain further.

When we have sinned, we need to be reconciled to God,2
but while reconciliation with others is the ideal, it
isn't always possible--and sometimes not to be desired.
Some teachers argue that forgiveness isn't possible
unless the offending person admits what she/he has done
and asks for forgiveness of the one they have hurt. If
this were true, many of us would be stuck for life for
the fact that many people do not, or will not, admit
that they have done anything wrong, let alone apologize
for it.

Forgiveness is dependent only on the person who has
been hurt. Reconciliation is dependent on both the
offended and the one who has offended.

One reader, whose husband was an alcoholic and
physically abusive and dangerous when drunk, wanted to
know if forgiving him meant loving and trusting him.
Whew! She was in quite a predicament. However, the most
loving thing she could do, was to confront him and let
him know that she was not going to tolerate his
behavior any longer.

Furthermore, unless he gets into recovery, and
overcames his alcoholism and abusive behavior, she
needs to separate herself and the children from him,
and not return until his counselor can assure her that
she and the children will be safe to live with him
again. If she keeps tolerating his abusive and
destructive behavior, she becomes part of his sickness.

In cases like this, the first thing victims need to do
is to get professional counsel and help because some of
these abusive husbands can become very dangerous.

And unless destructive and/or toxic, abusive people
repent and change their ways, it is wise to avoid
associating with them wherever possible. As the Bible
indicates, it just isn't possible to live peaceably
with all people.

Suggested prayer, "Dear God, in all my relationships,
please help me to forgive all who have hurt me, to seek
forgiveness where I have hurt others, and give me the
wisdom to know when reconciliation is or isn't
advisable or possible, and give me the courage to do
what I need to do no matter how painful or frightening
it may be. Thank You for hearing and answering my
prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus's name, amen."

1. Romans 12:17-18 (NASB).
2. 2 Corinthians 5:20 (NIV). 

<)))><    
  
  NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness
  for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon
  Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or
  if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, 
  please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.
  
  * * * * * * * 
  
  Daily Encounter is published at no charge by 
  ACTS International, a non-profit organization, 
  and made possible through the donations of 
  interested friends. Donations can be sent at: 
  http://www.actscom.com
  
  ACTS International
  P.O. Box 73545
  San Clemente, California 92673-0119
  U.S.A.
  
  Phone: 949-940-9050  
  http://www.actsweb.org 
  
  Copyright (c) 2016 by ACTS International. 
  When copying or forwarding include the following: 
  "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2016
  ACTS International.

Today's Daily Encounter

Observing the Obvious  

"Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for
wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling
block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles."1

I have read how in a park on the beautiful island of
Bermuda there is a rock hanging on a rope with a large
sign beside it which says, "Weather Station: Check the
Rock. If it's wet, it's raining. If it's moving, it's
windy. If you can't see it, it's foggy. If the rock is
gone, it's a hurricane."

Don't you just love it? At least it's reliable!

I sometime joke, too, that the best way to get the
latest weather report is to look out the window! Some
things in life are obvious. And yet it is amazing how
the obvious can stare us in the face and we not see it.
And sometimes, with God, instead of "looking out the
window" where the answer is staring us in the face, we
want a special sign from him! All the evidence was
staring the Jews in the face and still they refused to
accept Jesus as their promised Messiah--because he
didn't arrive the way they wanted or expected!

Sometimes we, too, want a special sign from God for
various reasons when the answer is staring us in the
face. Sometimes we want God to be co-dependent and tell
us everything we should or shouldn't do--or even do for
us what we need to do for ourselves. It should be
obvious to the alcoholic who wants his wife and family
back that he first needs to come to grips with his
problem and overcome it, before he can expect his wife
to return to him. Instead, he wants God to deliver him
from the obvious consequences of his irresponsible
behavior and give him his wife and family back now. It
doesn't work that way. Never has. Never will.

I have to admit that, when in college on more than one
occasion, I prayed that God would help me pass an exam
when I knew very well that I wasn't adequately prepared
because I hadn't studied sufficiently throughout the
school term. It had nothing to do with God's mercy that
I passed this course. I had studied enough to get by.
Had I not done this, I would have failed ... with God's
blessing, no less!

But God isn't codependent. He will not do anything for
us that we need and can do for ourselves. Otherwise He
would be keeping us over-dependent and immature. He
will give us wisdom if we ask for it and guidance if we
trust our life to Him, but He does not and will not
make our decisions for us, any more than a healthy
parent will tell their adult children what they should
or shouldn't do. A healthy and wise parent will be a
good sounding board for their adult children and help
them to see their options so they can make their own
decisions and choices. God will also do this for us if
we ask Him.

And when people ask questions such as, is it God's will
that I should or shouldn't marry this person? Or get
this job? Or join this group? etc., etc., there may be
some exceptions--and some won't like this--but whether
we should or shouldn't get married is our choice. Also,
God doesn't send the right person to us (as so many
pray for and expect). We need to be the right person if
we are to be attracted to the right partner and they to
us. Also, if I want to have a happy marriage, I need to
be a happy person, for only happy partners make happy
marriages. The fact is nobody else can make me
happy--or unhappy for that matter, unless I allow them
to. And where we work or for whom we work is also our
choice. While God does call some people for specific
ministries, he doesn't have our lives in narrow, rigid,
pigeon-holes. He gives us freedom to make our own
choices and to live our lives as we will--and the
responsibility for the choices we make. If we make bad
choices, we will get bad results.

God has given us both a head and a heart and expects us
to use them both. God's will for us covers a broad
spectrum and a large framework. The important thing is
that we live in harmony with His will; that is in
accordance with the principles for effective living as
found in His Word, the Bible. When we do this, while no
life is perfect, we will find that most of life falls
into place in harmonious ways. And the only way we can
discover what these principles are is to read them in
the Bible.

People who want God to tell them every detail of their
lives are like little children wanting mommy or daddy
to tell them every move. God wants us to grow up and be
responsible, to become whole, and learn to make healthy
choices and decisions. As I so often say, it's only to
the degree that we are made whole will our lifestyle,
behavior, actions, relationships, choices and decisions
be wholesome.

So where do we begin to know how to make right choices?
By reading, studying and knowing God's Word, the Bible.
This is where we find his principles for effective and
wholesome daily living.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please give me a love for
Your Word and with the help of Your Spirit, help me to
understand it and learn Your laws and principles for
healthy, wholesome living. And please give me a longing
to be made whole and a willingness to accept
responsibility to do what I need to do. Thank You for
hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus's
name, amen."

1. 1 Corinthians 1:22 (NIV).

<)))><    
  
  NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness
  for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon
  Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or
  if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, 
  please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.
  
  * * * * * * * 
  
  Daily Encounter is published at no charge by 
  ACTS International, a non-profit organization, 
  and made possible through the donations of 
  interested friends. Donations can be sent at: 
  http://www.actscom.com
  
  ACTS International
  P.O. Box 73545
  San Clemente, California 92673-0119
  U.S.A.
  
  Phone: 949-940-9050  
  http://www.actsweb.org 
  
  Copyright (c) 2016 by ACTS International. 
  When copying or forwarding include the following: 
  "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2016
  ACTS International.

Today's Daily Encounter

Foundations  

"Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens,
but fellow citizens with God's people and members of
God's household, built on the foundation of the
apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the
chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined
together and rises to become a holy temple in the
Lord."1

I have read that the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy was
built from 1173 to 1372. This 12-story, solid marble
structure began to lean even before it was completed.
Quite significantly, the word "pisa" means "marshy
land," which gives some clue as to why--after the first
three stories were completed, the ground underneath the
tower began to sink. Also, its foundation was only 10
feet deep! Scientists have now been working to keep
this massive structure in place. They reported that the
tower had been moving one-twentieth of an inch each
year. Unless scientists and engineers could fix the
foundation, in time this tower would eventually
collapse.

It goes without saying that no building is any stronger
or surer than its foundation.

Compare the tower of Pisa with its ten-foot foundation,
to the foundations of the great European cathedrals.
Some of these foundations go down as far as forty or
fifty feet. In some instances, they form a mass of
stone below the ground as great as that of the visible
building above the ground. To build a great life is
like building a great cathedral. You start with a sure
foundation.2

And there is no greater foundation to build our life on
than Christ Jesus, the solid rock and cornerstone of
God's kingdom, which brings to mind the old hymn we
used to sing as kids: "On Christ the solid rock I
stand, All other ground is sinking sand, All other
ground is sinking sand." Pity we don't teach many of
these old hymns to our kids today along with the new
praise choruses.

Pastor Neil Strait tells about a woman who fought a
long battle with cancer. Her brother, Dr. Earl Wolf,
made the trip from Missouri to Pennsylvania to attend
her funeral. While he was there, he spent some time
leafing through his sister's Bible. He found this
handwritten poem tucked in its pages:

       Often on the Rock I tremble, 
       Faint of heart and weak of knee; 
       But the steadfast Rock of Ages 
       Never trembles under me.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, I thank You that Jesus
Christ is the living foundation of Your Church and of
Your Kingdom. Help me to make Him the sure foundation
of my life and of my family. Thank You for hearing and
answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus's name,
amen."

1. Ephesians 2:19-21 (NIV).
2. Author Unknown. Cited in Wit & Wisdom, October 7,
1998.

<)))><    
  
  NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness
  for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon
  Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or
  if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, 
  please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.
  
  * * * * * * * 
  
  Daily Encounter is published at no charge by 
  ACTS International, a non-profit organization, 
  and made possible through the donations of 
  interested friends. Donations can be sent at: 
  http://www.actscom.com
  
  ACTS International
  P.O. Box 73545
  San Clemente, California 92673-0119
  U.S.A.
  
  Phone: 949-940-9050  
  http://www.actsweb.org 
  
  Copyright (c) 2016 by ACTS International. 
  
  When copying or forwarding include the following: 
  "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2016
  ACTS International.

Today's Daily Encounter

Christ's Promise to Come Again  

Jesus said: "Let not your heart be troubled; you
believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's
house are many mansions [dwellings]; if it were not so,
I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come
again and receive you to myself; that where I am, there
you may be also."1

Max Lucado tells how, in 1989, a terrible earthquake in
Armenia killed 30,000 people. Among those uninjured
were a man and his wife. Their son was in an elementary
school that collapsed. The father rushed to the school.
He had always told Armon that he would come for him if
he was ever in trouble. He worked intensely removing
debris trying to find Armon and after thirty-eight
hours he heard his child's voice and with the help of
other workers freed Armon and the other children.

Armon said, "I told them you would come because you had
promised. I told them you would always be there for me.
I knew you would return."2

Just as Armon's father promised his son he would always
come for him, even more certain is Jesus' promise to
his followers. His first coming to earth is an
indisputable fact of history. His second coming for his
followers is just as certain as he promised that if he
went back to heaven, he would come back to earth again
to take us to be with him forever. And as every
prophecy in the Old Testament regarding Christ's first
coming was fulfilled in minutest detail, we can be just
as certain that every promise concerning his second
coming in the New Testament will also be fulfilled in
minutest detail.

The important thing is to be ready for him, as Jesus
also said, "So you also must be ready, because the Son
of Man [Jesus] will come at an hour when you do not
expect him."3 To be sure you are ready for Christ's
return, please see "How to Be Sure You're a Real
Christian" at: http://tinyurl.com/8glq9.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank You for the
wonderful hope that every Christian has in that You
came to earth the first time to pay the penalty for all
my/our sins, and that You are now preparing a place for
Your followers in Heaven. And thank You for Your
wonderful promise that when the time is ready, You will
come back again to take me--and all Your true
followers--to be with You forever. Gratefully in
Jesus's name, amen."

1. John 14:1-3 (NKJV).
2. Adapted from Max Lucado, San Antonio, TX.
3. Matthew 24:44 (NIV). 

<)))><    
  
  NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness
  for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon
  Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or
  if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, 
  please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.
  
  * * * * * * * 
  
  Daily Encounter is published at no charge by 
  ACTS International, a non-profit organization, 
  and made possible through the donations of 
  interested friends. Donations can be sent at: 
  http://www.actscom.com
  
  ACTS International
  P.O. Box 73545
  San Clemente, California 92673-0119
  U.S.A.
  
  Phone: 949-940-9050  
  http://www.actsweb.org 
  Copyright (c) 2016 by ACTS International. 
  When copying or forwarding include the following: 
  "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2016
  ACTS International.

Today's Daily Encounter

God of Minorities  

"But the Lord said to Gideon, 'There are still too many
men.'"1

"It's easier to fight for one's principles," said
Alfred Adler, "than to live up to them." How true. It's
also easier to talk about losing weight, to think about
changing my ways, and to sing about love--than to do
these things. But for all who want to do more than
talk, there will never be a lack of opportunities
especially for those who want to serve God and be a
part of his plan.

Jesus started Christianity with twelve ordinary men,
was with them for three years, then left the task of
spreading the gospel and establishing his church on
earth to them. Think of it. Twelve very ordinary men!

As with Gideon and his tiny band of 300 "warriors," God
seems to work more often than not through individuals
and small groups. He'll work through you and me and our
small groups, too, if we truly want him to. The
wonderful thing is that God uses ordinary men and women
to do extraordinary things--when they make themselves
available to him and ask him to use them as a part of
what he is doing in the world today.

May I suggest that you pray the following prayer every
day for the rest of your life?

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, I'm available. Please make
me usable and use me to be a part of Your plans and
what You are doing in the world today. Please help me
to be 'as Jesus' to my family, to someone in need, and
in some way to every life I touch. Today! Thank You for
hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus's
name, amen."

1. Judges 7:4 (NIV).

<)))><     
  
  NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness
  for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon
  Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or
  if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, 
  please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.
  
  * * * * * * * 
  
  Daily Encounter is published at no charge by 
  ACTS International, a non-profit organization, 
  and made possible through the donations of 
  interested friends. Donations can be sent at: 
  http://www.actscom.com
  
  ACTS International
  P.O. Box 73545
  San Clemente, California 92673-0119
  U.S.A.
  
  Phone: 949-940-9050  
  http://www.actsweb.org 
  
  Copyright (c) 2016 by ACTS International. 
  
  When copying or forwarding include the following: 
  "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2016
  ACTS International.

Today's Daily Encounter

Divine Healing, Part I  

"Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of
the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in
the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith
will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him
up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore
confess your sins to each other and pray for each other
so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous
man is powerful and effective."1

A Daily Encounter reader asks: "I would really
appreciate it if you could shed some light on an issue
that I've been struggling with. What are your views
regarding divine healing? I was reading Andrew Murray's
book, Divine Healing, where he states that Christ Jesus
died both for our physical and spiritual lives. He goes
on to say that every sickness is inflicted by Satan
(the devil). Hence, we, as sons of God, can find
healing in Jesus."

Far be it from me to disagree with the above-mentioned
distinguished author, but while Satan is a direct cause
of some problems, he is not of all. Sometimes we blame
the devil for far too many things (and give him too
much "glory/attention"). I once gave a talk on the
following subject: "The Devil Didn't Make Me Do It--I
Can Foul Things Up All by Myself." True, Satan is the
originator of all that is evil and bad, and while he is
a powerful being, he is not omnipotent (all powerful),
omniscient (all knowing), or omnipresent (all present).
These are characteristics of no one but God.

We sin because we are sinners, not because the devil
made us do it! We also get sick because we live in a
broken, sick world. To blame Satan for every sin I
commit, for every problem, and every sickness can be a
handy excuse to hang on to if I don't want to accept
reality and responsibility.

When it comes to sicknesses ... some are caused by
germs, infections, and viruses; by eating contaminated
food or drinking germ-laden water; by not washing one's
hands before eating; by being bitten by a mosquito, and
so on. It is impossible to avoid some of the sicknesses
caused by these things. However, by practicing healthy
hygiene (and having loving relationships), we are able
to avoid some, if not many, of them.

While I believe in divine healing, I also believe in
living responsibly. Also, we sometimes get sick and
open to infections and viruses because we don't get
enough rest and exercise, or eat a well-balanced diet.
So will God heal us when we act irresponsibly? I have
my doubts and wouldn't plan on it.

Then, too, many of our diseases are DIS-EASES which are
caused or greatly aggravated by things that are
troubling us emotionally--such as unresolved,
supercharged, repressed negative emotions of guilt,
resentment, hatred, jealousy, worry, anxiety, an
unforgiving spirit, and so on. Stress, too, is a
"killer." And some ulcers, for example, are caused not
by what we eat but by what is eating us as are many
other ills.

I don't believe God will ever heal us from our symptoms
if we fail to face and deal with the cause/s. If he
did, he would be keeping us immature and irresponsible.
This is why James says that if we are to find healing,
we need to first confess our sins and faults--this
includes dealing with and resolving any and all
unresolved emotional issues, including deeply buried
super-charged negative emotions which cause many and
varied sicknesses.

Speaking personally, when I learned to admit and
resolve my buried grief and anger, I was healed of
distressing hay fever and bursitis. But I didn't
resolve my grief and anger overnight. It wasn't a quick
fix/healing, but rather a process of working through
and resolving these deeply buried negative emotions.
Only when I did, was I healed.

To be continued ... Click HERE for Part II.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to fully
understand Your divine principles for healing and
adhere to them faithfully, so I will find deliverance
from and healing for every ill--spiritual, emotional,
relational, as well as physical--in my life. Thank You
for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in
Jesus's name, amen."

1. James 5:14-16 (NIV).

<)))><    
  
  NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness
  for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon
  Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or
  if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, 
  please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.
  
  * * * * * * * 
  
  Daily Encounter is published at no charge by 
  ACTS International, a non-profit organization, 
  and made possible through the donations of 
  interested friends. Donations can be sent at: 
  http://www.actscom.com
  
  ACTS International
  P.O. Box 73545
  San Clemente, California 92673-0119
  U.S.A.
  
  Phone: 949-940-9050  
  http://www.actsweb.org 
  
  Copyright (c) 2016 by ACTS International. 
  
  When copying or forwarding include the following: 
  "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2016
  ACTS International.

Today's Daily Encounter

Divine Healing, Part II  

"Three times I [Paul] pleaded with the Lord to take it
away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is
sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in
weakness.'"1

Continuing from yesterday in our mini-series on divine
healing, the reality is if we follow and live by sound
biblical principles, we will have a much greater chance
of living healthily and being healed of many DIS-EASES;
that is, things that are troubling us and cause us to
be ill at ease. At other times, when our illness has
not been caused by irresponsible living and/or is
totally out of our control, God does heal. Thousands of
people can attest to this fact. Even the secular media
reports how prayer is a powerful means in the healing
process.

It seems to me that the important thing to do if we
have an illness or any other problem, and want to be
healed is to pray the right prayer. First (based on
James's admonition to confess our sins and faults
before praying for healing) if you know of any sin or
unresolved guilt, worry, anxiety, resentment in your
life, confess and resolve this/these to clear the way
for healing.

Second, if there is a deeper, hidden cause behind your
sickness, ask God to reveal this to you and lead you to
the help you need to resolve it.

Third--also in harmony with James' admonition--call for
the elders of the church to pray for you and anoint you
with oil in the name of the Lord.

Many, I'm afraid, go directly to the third step,
ignoring the first two. Not good nor effective!

On the other hand, regardless of what some people and
authors say (even if we follow the preceding steps),
not every Christian who gets prayed for is healed. Some
do. And some don't. Dorcas (in the Bible) was raised
from the dead. John the Baptist lost his head and
stayed dead. The Apostle Paul had some kind of problem
but was never healed of or delivered from it. (God had
a higher purpose for him and he may for us also.)

Here's what Paul wrote after having a profound,
heavenly experience: "To keep me from becoming
conceited because of these surpassingly great
revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a
messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I
pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he
said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my
power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will
boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that
Christ's power may rest on me."2

By way of interest, it was because of Paul's profound
spiritual experiences and responsible position that God
allowed a messenger of Satan to torment him. If we are
not truly committed to and faithfully serving God, it's
not too likely Satan is going to torment us for
something that we are not experiencing or doing!

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, here are the symptoms in
my life (name them). Please confront me with any area
in my life where I am not acting responsibly, and any
unresolved issues in my life that may be a cause behind
my symptoms, and lead me to the help I need to resolve
these so I can be healed. Help me to know what to do
and, if it is in harmony with Your will, please heal
me. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer.
Gratefully in Jesus's name, amen."

1. 2 Corinthians 12:8-9 (NIV).
2. 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 (NIV).

Click HERE to return to Part 1 of Divine Healing. 

<)))><    
  
  NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness
  for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon
  Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or
  if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, 
  please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.
  
  * * * * * * * 
  
  Daily Encounter is published at no charge by 
  ACTS International, a non-profit organization, 
  and made possible through the donations of 
  interested friends. Donations can be sent at: 
  http://www.actscom.com
  
  ACTS International
  P.O. Box 73545
  San Clemente, California 92673-0119
  U.S.A.
  
  Phone: 949-940-9050  
  http://www.actsweb.org 
  
  Copyright (c) 2016 by ACTS International. 
  
  When copying or forwarding include the following: 
  "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2016
  ACTS International.

Today's Daily Encounter

"Hug" One Another  

"Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of
Christ."1

Charles Swindoll once shared how, in the fall of the
year, Linda, a young woman, was traveling alone up the
rutted and rugged highway from Alberta, Canada, to the
Yukon. Linda didn't know that you don't travel to
Whitehorse alone in a rundown Honda Civic, so she set
off where only four-wheel drives normally venture.

The first evening she found a room in the mountains
near a summit and asked for a 5 A.M. wake-up call so
she could get an early start. She couldn't understand
why the clerk looked surprised at that request, but as
she awoke to early-morning fog shrouding the mountain
tops, she understood.

Not wanting to look foolish, she got up and went to
breakfast. Two truckers invited Linda to join them, and
since the place was so small, she felt obliged. "Where
are you headed?" one of the truckers asked.

"Whitehorse," she answered.

"In that little Civic?" one of them said. "No way! This
pass is DANGEROUS in weather like this."

"Well, I'm determined to try," was Linda's gutsy, if
not very informed, response.

"Then I guess we're just going to have to hug you," the
trucker suggested.

Linda drew back. "There's no way I'm going to let you
touch me!" she said angrily.

"Not like THAT!" the truckers chuckled. "We'll put one
truck in front of you and one in the rear. In that way,
we'll get you through the mountains."

All that foggy morning Linda followed the two red dots
(tail lights) in front, and had the reassurance of a
big escort behind her as they made their way safely
through the mountains.

Caught in the fog in our dangerous passage through
life, we need to be "hugged," says Chuck Swindoll. With
fellow Christians who know the way and can lead safely
ahead of us, and with others behind, gently encouraging
us along, we, too, can pass safely.2

Suggested prayer, "Dear God, please give me loving
friends to support me through life's journey, and help
me to be such a friend to other fellow strugglers.
Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer.
Gratefully in Jesus's name, amen."

1. Galatians 6:2 (NKJV).
2. Charles R. Swindoll, Growing Strong in the Seasons
of Life (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), p. 286.

<)))><    
  
  NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness
  for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon
  Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or
  if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, 
  please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.
  
  * * * * * * * 
  
  Daily Encounter is published at no charge by 
  ACTS International, a non-profit organization, 
  and made possible through the donations of 
  interested friends. Donations can be sent at: 
  http://www.actscom.com
  
  ACTS International
  P.O. Box 73545
  San Clemente, California 92673-0119
  U.S.A.
  
  Phone: 949-940-9050  
  http://www.actsweb.org 
  
  Copyright (c) 2016 by ACTS International. 
  When copying or forwarding include the following: 
  "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2016
  ACTS International.

Today's Daily Encounter

Resolution or Repetition  

"You will know the truth, and the truth will set you
free."1

A man whose wife has separated from him desperately
wants to know how to get his prayer answered and get
his wife back. His prayer is that God will save his
marriage from divorce and restore his family.

Good prayer? Maybe.

Here's the catch. This man has been unfaithful to his
wife--repeatedly.

My answer: "Dear George (name changed): The way to get
prayer answered is to pray the right prayer. By that I
mean, the most effective prayer you can pray right now
after you have confessed your sins and received God's
forgiveness, is to pray for truth. As the Bible says,
'The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who
call on Him in truth.'2

"While praying for God to save your marriage is very
important, before you do this, you need to ask God to
confront you with the truth about yourself and to show
you the deeper cause/s for your infidelity and
adulterous behavior. You have to want to face this
truth with all your heart (and resolve your problem at
this level); otherwise you will keep running from
it--and keep acting it out in further adulteries--and
drive your wife farther away from you.

"God is more interested in healing you at this deeper
level right now than your getting your wife back. Why
is this? If you don't get healed at this deeper level,
you will undoubtedly keep committing the same sins and
failing--no matter how noble your intentions. It's
resolution or repetition.

"The reality is that we either resolve the cause (or
causes) of our problems or we keep repeating them. We
fall ... we feel terrible ... we confess ... we promise
God we will never do this thing again if he will
forgive us just one more time. We fall again ... we
feel worse ... we confess ... we promise God we will
never do this thing again if He will forgive us just
one more time. We fall again ... and again ... and
again ... same prayer ... same results. As the old
saying about insanity goes, we keep doing the same
thing or praying the same prayer and expect different
results!

"Why? Because we're praying the wrong prayer. We focus
on the symptom/s instead of facing head-on the cause/s
of our behavior.

"It is imperative that you pray for God to confront you
with the truth about yourself and why you commit this
sin and keep failing. You will need to want this with
all your heart as it can be very painful to break
through the defenses you have built to avoid facing
your inner pain. Because your failure is a habitual sin
(and quite possibly an addiction), I also urge you to
get capable, professional Christian counseling to help
you work through and resolve your problem.

"You probably don't realize this right now but your
wife leaving you is God's wake-up call for you to get
into recovery. And if you pray the right prayer, God
will hear and answer your prayer.

"Tough words I know but as Jesus said, only the truth
will set you free."

Suggested prayer (for one and all): "Dear God please
help me to know how to pray the right prayer in all
situations and to always be honest with myself and with
You. Thank You that when I pray this way, You always
hear and answer my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus's name,
amen."

1. John 8:32 (NIV).
2. Psalm 145:18 (NIV).

<)))><     
  
  NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness
  for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon
  Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or
  if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, 
  please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.
  
  * * * * * * * 
  
  Daily Encounter is published at no charge by 
  ACTS International, a non-profit organization, 
  and made possible through the donations of 
  interested friends. Donations can be sent at: 
  http://www.actscom.com
  
  ACTS International
  P.O. Box 73545
  San Clemente, California 92673-0119
  U.S.A.
  
  Phone: 949-940-9050  
  http://www.actsweb.org 
  
  Copyright (c) 2016 by ACTS International. 
  When copying or forwarding include the following: 
  "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2016
  ACTS International.

Today's Daily Encounter

God Speaks, Part I  

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on
your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge
Him, and He will make your paths straight [or direct
your paths]."1

A Daily Encounter reader asks, "How can I know when God
is speaking to me, or when it is just my own thoughts?"
I often joke that God needs to throw a brick and hit me
upside the head with a note attached!" I can understand
how this person feels and feel confident that many
other readers struggle with the same question.

I once had a man tell me that God told him that he was
to work for me. I didn't buy his message. And I wasn't
struck down by lightning when I wouldn't give him a
job! When I was a deacon in a former church, this same
man and another deacon, when important matters were to
be discussed, claimed that God had told them the way it
was to be.

This could have been the end of any further discussion,
for who can argue against God? But my answer to these
people where it affects me is that "God hasn't told me
yet, so can we discuss the matter further?"These people
didn't like me very much!

God has never spoken to me in an audible voice but
apparently he does to some people. I believe that at
least on one occasion God has "spoken" to me in a vivid
dream. What we need to be certain of is to test the
message to see if it is from God or from myself or any
other source. How do we do this? 

First, God's message will always be in harmony with His
Word, the Bible, and never in opposition to it. I
recall hearing one speaker talking about a phenomenon
happening in his church saying that it must be a new
work of God because it isn't in the Bible! This can be
a very misleading path to follow.

Second, when God is speaking to us or leading us, there
is a quiet conviction and a sense of inner peace. As
His Word says, "Let the peace of God rule in your
heart."2 When I don't have this inner peace, I have
learned the hard way not to act on what I think I
should do.

In younger days, if what I thought was God speaking to
me, I would have been willing to stand on my head in
public. But I learned that there is a vast difference
between what God is saying (a conviction) and what is
my own compulsion. With a conviction there is a sense
of freedom and peace. But where the "little voice
inside my head" keeps saying, "You have to do this! You
have to do this! You have to do this!" and it is
distressing me, I can be certain that it is a
compulsion and not from God.

Third, God often "speaks to us" or leads us through our
circumstances. Speaking personally, as I look back over
the years, I can see how God has consistently led me
through various and sundry circumstances and as the
hymn-writer said, "Jesus led me all the way."

To be continued...

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank You that when I
commit my way to You and trust You with all my heart,
You always lead me in the way that I should go. Please
help me to learn how to discern when the "voice" I hear
is from You or from myself or another source. Thank You
for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in
Jesus's name, amen."

1. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV).
2. Colossians 3:15).

<)))><     
  
  NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness
  for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon
  Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or
  if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, 
  please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.
  
  * * * * * * * 
  
  Daily Encounter is published at no charge by 
  ACTS International, a non-profit organization, 
  and made possible through the donations of 
  interested friends. Donations can be sent at: 
  http://www.actscom.com
  
  ACTS International
  P.O. Box 73545
  San Clemente, California 92673-0119
  U.S.A.
  Phone: 949-940-9050  
  http://www.actsweb.org 
  Copyright (c) 2016 by ACTS International. 
  When copying or forwarding include the following: 
  "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2016
  ACTS International.
  
Today's Daily Encounter

God Speaks, Part II  

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the
spirits, whether they are of God; because many false
prophets have gone out into the world."1

Years ago I had a strong conviction that my own vision
for the Lord's work was too small. This was when I was
still doing ACTS ministry in my homeland of Australia.
But I had no idea what more God was leading me to do.
Shortly afterward, circumstances out of my control
brought me to California (which at the time I thought
would only be for a year or two). When I realized I was
"stuck" here for longer than I expected, and not having
any further leading, I told God that I would open an
office here in California and put my conviction to the
test!

Well here we are some two-plus decades later and God
has indeed greatly expanded the ministry of ACTS far
beyond anything I could have ever dreamed or hoped for!
Without the circumstances that brought me here in the
first place, I never would have had the courage (nor
the desire) to leave my homeland and, of all places,
open an office in California where there are numerous
Christian organizations.

Yesterday we pointed out how God "speaks" to or leads
us through His Word, the Bible, and never contrary to
it, through a sense of inner conviction and peace, and
through our circumstances.

Fourth, I hear some people saying that God told them
such and such, but the next week, according to them,
“He" is telling them something different. You can be
sure that this word is not from God.

When a word is from God, there is always 100% accuracy.
There was a severe penalty (death) in Old Testament
times for false prophets--that is, those who claimed
their message was from God and it wasn't. The test for
a true prophet or spokes-person for God was 100%
accuracy all the time.

Fifth, for me personally, whenever I feel God is
"speaking" to me or leading me, I pray and ask Him to
reveal to me the truth of the matter, and...

Finally, all the preceding steps need to line up (like
the markers in a harbor leading ships on a safe course
both in and out of the harbor), and when they do, we
can be confident that the leading or word is from God.
Then we need to step out in faith to test the leading
to make doubly sure it is from God. I prefer to do this
and even be wrong, rather than through fear of failure,
not put what I believe is God's leading to the test.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please teach me how to
test the spirits, to be certain when the word I hear is
from You, and not from myself or any other source. And
when I am certain You are speaking to me, please give
me the courage to step out in faith, and put to the
test what I believe is from You. Thank You for hearing
and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in  Jesus's name,
amen."

1. 1 John 4:1 (NKJV).

<)))><     
  
  NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness
  for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon
  Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or
  if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, 
  please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.
  
  * * * * * * * 
  
  Daily Encounter is published at no charge by 
  ACTS International, a non-profit organization, 
  and made possible through the donations of 
  interested friends. Donations can be sent at: 
  http://www.actscom.com
  
  ACTS International
  P.O. Box 73545
  San Clemente, California 92673-0119
  U.S.A.
  
  Phone: 949-940-9050  
  http://www.actsweb.org 
  Copyright (c) 2016 by ACTS International. 
  When copying or forwarding include the following: 
  "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2016
  ACTS International.

Today's Daily Encounter

The Power of Belief  

Paul the Apostle wrote, "For…the time has come for my
departure. I have fought the good fight, I have
finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is
in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the
Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that
day--and not only to me, but also to all who have
longed for His appearing."1

“Down the streets of Portsmouth more than two hundred
years ago," said Lt. General Ira C. Eaker in a speech
given some time ago, "walked a sailor with one arm, one
eye, and a persistent state of nerves and unable to
tread a ship's deck without being seasick. Indeed he
would probably have been in a home for incurables were
his name not Admiral Lord Nelson. The man's spirit
drove the flesh."

Born in 1758, Horatio Nelson, the son of a pastor, was
a small, frail child who loved sailing. As a young
teenager he joined the British navy and, while
journeying to the East Indies, caught a fever that
seriously damaged his health. But he never allowed this
to hold him back. At age 18 he was appointed a
lieutenant in the Royal Navy and by the year 1802 was
made commander-in-chief of the British fleet.

Two years later, at the Battle of Trafalgar, Nelson
defeated the combined French and Spanish fleets. This
was the greatest naval victory in British history and
left the British in control of the seas for the rest of
the 1800s. Unfortunately, Nelson was mortally wounded
during Trafalgar but lived long enough to know that his
fleet had won the battle. His last words were, "Thank
God I have done my duty."

Nelson was a man of fearless courage and devotion. He
believed in his country, in his cause, and in himself.
He proved this with his words and more so with his
life. He once said, "I am of the opinion that the
boldest measures are the safest." Nelson was a man
greatly admired by others who said about him, "His
frail body housed a great spirit."

John Stuart Mill would agree. He said, "One person with
a belief is equal to a force of ninety-nine who only
have interest."2

No matter what your limitations or your handicaps are,
God has a plan and purpose for your life. Believe it
and you will receive it. Act on it and you will achieve
it and like the Apostle Paul you, too, will be able to
say, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the
race, I have kept the faith."

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, help me to so believe and
live that when I come to the end of life's journey, I
too will be able to say, 'Thank God that I have done my
duty.' Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer.
Gratefully, in Jesus's name, amen."

1. 2 Timothy 4:6-8 (NIV).
2. Adapted from "The Power of Belief" by Dick Innes at 
http://tinyurl.com/79peh.

<:((((><    
  
  NOTE: If you would like to accept God's forgiveness
  for all your sins and His invitation for a full pardon
  Click on: http://www.actsweb.org/invitation.php. Or
  if you would like to re-commit your life to Jesus Christ, 
  please click on http://www.actsweb.org/decision.php to note this.
  
  * * * * * * * 
  
  Daily Encounter is published at no charge by 
  ACTS International, a non-profit organization, 
  and made possible through the donations of 
  interested friends. Donations can be sent at: 
  http://www.actscom.com
  
  ACTS International
  P.O. Box 73545
  San Clemente, California 92673-0119
  U.S.A.
  Phone: 949-940-9050  
  http://www.actsweb.org 
  Copyright (c) 2016 by ACTS International. 
  When copying or forwarding include the following: 
  "Daily Encounter by Richard (Dick) Innes (c) 2016
  ACTS International.