Wake Up !

"Wake up!" God says to every one of us, "Flee from the wrath to come"1 (God's judgment of sin and evil for the world that has turned from God will be judged and purified by fire).

Wake up, "It is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment."2

Wake up, "I will come again,"3 Jesus promised "to take all who believe in me to be with me in heaven forever."

"Wake up," Jesus is coming again … it may be today. Are you ready?

Again Jesus said, "I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in…."4

Whatever you do don't miss God's wake-up call. Have you opened the door of your life and invited Jesus, the Son of God, to come into your heart and life as your God and your Savior? If not, may I urge you to do that today … right now … by praying a simple prayer such as the following:

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, I hear your wake-up call, as faint though it may be. I confess that I am a sinner and ask for your forgiveness. Thank you, Jesus, for dying on the cross to pay the penalty for all my sins. I invite you to come into my heart and life as my God and my Savior. With your help I repent of and turn from my sinful ways. Thank you for hearing my prayer, for forgiving me of my sins, and for coming into my heart and life as my Savior. Help me to live for you always in all ways. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

NOTE: If you prayed this prayer, please let us know by clicking on http://tinyurl.com/pgntm and we will send you articles (without charge) to help you in your Christian life. (Be assured that we will never give any information about you to any other person, organization, or business.)

1. Matthew 3:7.
2. Hebrews 9:27.
3. John 14:3.
4. Revelation 3:20.

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Acts International - Daily Inspiration

Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.
Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy;
let them sing before the Lord, for He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the people with equity. Psalm98:7-9

Towards a Nonjudgmental life

One of the hardest spiritual tasks is to live without prejudices. Sometimes we aren't even aware how deeply rooted our prejudices are. We may think that we relate to people who are different from us in colour, religion, sexual orientation, or lifestyle as equals, but in concrete circumstances our spontaneous thoughts, uncensored words, and knee-jerk reactions often reveal that our prejudices are still there.
Strangers, people different than we are, stir up fear, discomfort, suspicion, and hostility. They make us lose our sense of security just by being "other." Only when we fully claim that God loves us in an unconditional way and look at "those other persons" as equally loved can we begin to discover that the great variety in being human is an expression of the immense richness of God's heart. Then the need to prejudge people can gradually disappear.

Daily Meditation - Henri Nouwen

"Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven-for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."

God's faithfulness and ours

When God makes a covenant with us, God says: "I will love you with an everlasting love. I will be faithful to you, even when you run away from me, reject me, or betray me."

In our society we don't speak much about covenants; we speak about contracts. When we make a contract with a person, we say: "I will fulfill my part as long as you fulfill yours. When you don't live up to your promises, I no longer have to live up to mine." Contracts are often broken because the partners are unwilling or unable to be faithful to their terms.
But God didn't make a contract with us; God made a covenant with us, and God wants our relationships with one another to reflect that covenant. That's why marriage, friendship, life in community are all ways to give visibility to God's faithfulness in our lives together.

Daily Meditation - Henri Nouwen

Angels Unaware

"Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it."1

There once was a little boy who wanted to meet God, or so the story goes. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with cupcakes, several cans of root beer and started on his journey.
When he had gone about three blocks, he saw an elderly woman. She was sitting on a park bench watching the pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed the lady looked hungry so he offered her a cupcake. She gratefully accepted and smiled at him.
Her smile was so wonderful that he wanted to see it again, so he offered a root beer as well. Once again she smiled at him. The boy was delighted!
They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling without saying a word.
As it began to grow dark, the boy realized how tired he was and wanted to go home. He got up to leave but before he had gone no more than a few steps, he turned around and ran back to the old woman, giving her a big hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever.
When the boy arrived home his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked, "What has made you so happy today?" He replied, "I had lunch with God." Before his mother could respond he added, "You know what? She's got the most beautiful smile in the whole world!"
Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face. He asked, "Mother, what has made you so happy today?" She replied, "I ate cupcakes in the park with God." And before her son could reply, she added, "You know, he is much younger than I expected."

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring; all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Take no one for granted and embrace all equally with joy.2

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to so live that people will see Jesus in me and, seeing him, will want Jesus in their heart and life too. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. Hebrews 13:2 (NKJV).
2. I believe this story to be written by Leo Buscaglia, author of Living, Loving and Learning. If anyone knows for sure, please let us know.
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Acts International - Daily Encounter

God's Appointments

"Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass."1

Late one evening a professor sat at his desk working on the next day's lectures. He shuffled through the papers and mail placed there by his housekeeper. He began to throw them in the wastebasket when one magazine—not even addressed to him but delivered to his office by mistake—fell open to an article titled, "The Needs of the Congo Mission."
The professor began reading it idly, but then was consumed by these words: "The need is great here. We have no one to work the northern province of Gabon in the central Congo. And it is my prayer as I write this article that God will lay His hand on one—one on whom, already, the Master's eyes have been cast—that he or she shall be called to this place to help us." The professor closed the magazine and wrote in his diary: "My search is over."2
He gave himself to the Congo. His name? Albert Schweitzer!

If you know about the marvelous missionary service done by Albert Schweitzer, you will realize that it was no accident that this magazine was delivered to Schweitzer's mailbox "by mistake" and then fell open at the article, "The Needs of the Congo Mission," as he was about to throw it in the trash.

Over and over again each of us who are committed to following Christ in our daily life can also testify to God's appointments in our life. And as we look back over the past, we can trace the footprints of God leading and guiding every step of the way. And they will keep doing so until the end of life's journey and we meet Jesus face to face and hear his, "Welcome home, good and faithful servant."

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you that my life is in your hands. Thank you, too, that you lead and guide me every step of the way when I daily commit and trust my life and way to you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. Psalm 37:5 (NKJV).
2. Leadership, Vol. 12 No. 3.
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Acts International - Daily Encounter

A Father, A Son and A Donkey

C. T. Studd, (1860-1931) the famed English missionary who served God in China, India, and Africa, once remarked: "Remember the miller's donkey. The miller, son and donkey went to the market. The miller rode the donkey all the way and people exclaimed, 'Cruel man, riding himself and making his son walk.' So he got down and his son rode; then people slanged, 'What a lazy son for riding while poor old father walks.' Then both father and son rode, and people then said, 'Cruelty to animals, poor donkey.' So they got down and carried the donkey on a pole, but folks said, 'Here are two asses carrying another ass.' Then all three walked and people said, 'What fools to have a donkey and not ride it.' So let's go ahead with our work for God and not care what folks say."
Studd also said, "Had I cared for the comments of people, I should never have been a Missionary."
With a sense of God's call in your heart there may be times when you need to do what you need to do even if the whole world votes against you. And that can be really hard to do, so be sure it's God's call and not that of your mother, father, friend, or anyone else—or from your own mixed motives—otherwise when the pressures of opposition hammer home, you'll crumble beneath the load.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, help me to know without a shadow of a doubt what your plan and purpose for my life is—and give me the faith, courage, and determination to pursue and achieve that goal no matter what—knowing that you are always with me and will never forsake me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

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Acts International - Daily Encounter

Christians Beware—Hate Crimes May Silence Us

"Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love."1
Gary Bauer of Campaign for Christian Families wrote, "On April 29, the United States House of Representatives passed the so-called 'hate crimes' bill, adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the federal hate crimes law…."
"The legislation also represents a threat to religious liberty. The Washington Post recently noted, "[F]aith organizations and individuals who view homosexuality as sinful and refuse to provide services to gay people are losing a growing number of legal battles that they say are costing them their religious freedom…."
Note, too, that, "In 2004, a pastor in Sweden was sentenced to one month in jail for preaching a sermon on the biblical view of human sexuality."2
In Tuesday's issue of BreakPoint, Chuck Colson in his article, "Same-Sex 'Marriage' and Religious Liberty … Why They Can't Coexist," wrote about the following:
Two women in New Jersey wanted to hold their civil union ceremony in a camp building owned by a Methodist group who didn't allow them to do so. The women filed a discrimination complaint against the church group and won. The camp lost their tax exemption—"a move that cost them $20,000."
Christian physicians refused to provide in-vitro fertilization treatment to a woman in a lesbian relationship. The doctors were sued—and lost.
In Massachusetts, a Catholic charity was ordered to accept homosexual couples in their adoption services or get out of the adoption business. They got out of the adoption business.
A counselor in Mississippi was fired for refusing to provide therapy for a woman wanting to improve her lesbian relationship.
In New York in 2001 a Jewish college of medicine was forced by the New York State Supreme Court to allow same-sex couples to live in married student housing which was against the school's orthodox Jewish teachings.
"In Albuquerque, a same-sex couple asked a Christian wedding photographer to film their commitment ceremony—and sued the photographer when she declined."3
I urge you to read both Gary Bauer and Chuck Colson's articles. The links are in the footnotes below. We are heading for major challenges.
Regardless of what we think about the Miss America Pageant, when Carrie Prejean was asked what she thought about gay marriage, she simply stated her belief that marriage was between a man and a woman. She was attacked mercilessly as a result.
According to a report on the Fox News website, "The slew of attacks against Miss California USA, Carrie Prejean, who answered a question about gay marriage during the Miss USA pageant two weeks ago, have been nothing short of a systematic 'character assassination,' her supporters say.
"They're really going after her," Focus on the Family President Jim Daley said of Prejean, whose critics have gone so far as to compare her to a Nazi war criminal."4
Because of the ever increasing anti-God, anti-Bible, and anti-Christian attitude here in North America, we can be sure that attacks against Christians, Christian beliefs, the Christian church and God's Word, the Bible, are going to increase dramatically in the days ahead. We who stand for God's Truth may begin to suffer persecution as Christians have in other lands for so long. Our faith may be tested as never before.
If we are going to "stand firm" in our Christian faith as God's Word instructs us to do, we need to make certain that we are true Christians and truly committed to Jesus Christ. For help read "How to Be Sure You're a Real Christian" at: www.actsweb.org/christian or to renew your commitment read the last prayer on this article at the end of page 2.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, in this day of ever increasing attacks against Christians, against your Church, your Word and your laws, please help me to stand firm in my faith in you knowing that the day is coming when your Son, Jesus Christ, will come again to earth and rule and reign supremely and deal with all evil and all sin and all unrepentant sinners. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, amen."
1 Corinthians 16:13-14, (NIV).
2. Gary Bauer, Campaign for Working Families, April 29, 2009, http://capwiz.com/cwf/issues/alert/?alertid=13295416
3. Chuck Colson, "Same-Sex 'Marriage' and Religious liberty … Why They Can't Coexist" May 12, 2009, http://www.informz.net/pfm/archives/archive_779848.html .
4. Fox News, Monday, May 11, 2009, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,519796,00.html.
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Acts International - Daily Encounter

May the Almighty Lord strengthen us, the Christians. Amen.