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Topic of the Week: Changes
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ILLUS: Moral erosion continues in America, according to James Patterson and Peter Kim. They report that 74 percent of Americans will steal from those who won’t miss it, and 64 percent will lie for convenience as long as no one is hurt. Most Americans (93 percent) say they alone decide moral issues, basing their decisions on their own experience or whims. Eighty-four percent say they would break the rules of their own religion. And 81 percent have violated a law they felt to be inappropriate. Only 30 percent say they would be willing to die for their religious beliefs or for God. -- Reported in The Day America Told the Truth (Prentice Hall, 1991).
· The Bible tells us that where your treasure is, there your heart is also. That means we could accurately say that many folks are more committed to professional sports than they are to the church. In 1993 the total attendance at worship services in the U.S. was 5.6 billion, while the total attendance at U.S. professional baseball, football, and basketball games combined was only 103 million (less than 2 percent of the worship attendance, or for every 100 people who attended church less than 2 were at a sporting event.)
· Now the rest of the story: Contributions to churches for the year totaled $56.7 billion (that’s just over $10 per person), but the amount spent on professional baseball, football, and basketball totaled $4 billion (that’s nearly $40 per person or almost 4 times what people gave to their local church per person). Is it any wonder that we look at some fans and say that they really are fanatics? They are more sold out for their team than many church attenders. HOW MIGHT WE CHANGE OUR NATION IF THE CHURCH QUADRUPLED ITS COMMITMENT TO OUR CAUSE? (Statistics reported in Citation: National & International Religion Report, 5/2/94. "To Verify," Leadership.)
Famous Firsts
Virginia Dare
1587 --- 1st child born in the American colonies, on August 18th, on what is now Roanoke Island, North Carolina.
André-Jacques Garnerin
1797 --- 1st parachute jump. Dropped from about 6,500 ft. over Monceau Park in Paris in a 23-ft.-diameter parachute made of white canvas with a basket attached (Oct. 22).
Charles Blondin (Jean Francois Gravelet)
1859 --- 1st person to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope
Jesse James
1873 --- committed the world’s first train robbery on July 21. (Adair, Iowa)
Herbert Hoover
1874 --- 1st US President born west of the Mississippi
Annie Moore
1892 --- 1st immigrant to pass through Ellis Island. She was 15 years old and from County Cork, Ireland
Alexander Winton
1903 --- set the 1st land speed record in car racing. Set at Daytona Beach, his speed was 68.18 mph.
Arthur R. Eldred
1912 --- 1st boy to reach the rank of Eagle Scout -- the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America program. He was of Oceanside, NY.
Dolly, the lamb
1996 --- 1st cloned mammal.
MEASURING UP
In Washington D.C. there is a building called the "National Institute of Standards & Technology." This facility is responsible for storing perfect samples of weights and measurements. They have what are called “prototypes” of pound weights and kilograms. Measuring rods for feet, yards & metric measurements like meters. For example, they have a “Meter Standard” a reinforced bar of platinum alloyed with exactly 10% iridium. When they want to know the exact measurement of a “meter” they cool this bar down to 0 degrees Celsius at a sea level of 45 degrees latitude then they know they will have the exact tip to tip measurement of a meter. That bar is known as “prototype #27, because the original is kept in a suburb of Paris at the International Bureau of Weights & Measures.
We Christians also have a measuring rod that never chang...
On January 20, 1953, Dwight Eisenhower, his wife, family, and Cabinet members went to the National Presbyterian Church before his inauguration as 34th president.
After the service, Ike went back to the hotel suite to write a prayer that he would read during the inauguration ceremonies.
He wrote: “Almighty God, give us, we pray thee, power to discern right from wrong, and allow our words and actions to be governed thereby and by the laws of this land. Especially we pray that our concern shall be for all the people, regardless of station, race, or calling, so that all may work for the good of our beloved country and thy glory. Amen.”
STATISTICS AND STUFF
God-ordained authorities:
Government: Rom 13, 1 Pt 2:17
Employer: Eph 6, 1 Pt 2:18
Husband: 1 Pt 3:1, Col 3:18, Eph 5:22
Parent: Eph 6
Elders: Heb 13:17
When the board of directors of a large food company was considering the selection of a new president, one of the directors worked out this questionnaire:
1. Who of the possible candidates is the best known as a personality to the most company people?
2. Who is the most liked and trusted by them?
3. Who is held in the highest regard outside the organization...in public life and "in the trade"?
4. Who is the most warmly human in his dealings with people?
5. Who has demonstrated the best capacity for selecting able people, and the greatest willingness to delegate authority and responsibility?
6. Who will be apt to do the best job of keeping his desk and mind clear of day-to-day operating problems, so he will have time to think in broader terms of tomorrow and next year?
7. Who does the boldest -- yet soundest -- thinking?
8. Who is most open-mined and willing to revise decisions when important new facts come to light?
9. Who inspires the best cooperation and exercises the best control and coordination, without "trespassing" on responsibility once delegated?
10. Who is most self-possessed in all situations, best able to adjust to personalities and circumstances and tact and understanding?
11. Who can be depended upon to make the most of a promising new plan or idea?
12. Who can "take it" the best under a heavy load of responsibility?
13. Who is the best builder of the people under him?
14. Who is most likely, in good times and bad, to remember that the basic job of the president is to operate the business at a profit?
Bits & Pieces, May 26, 1994, pp. 18-20.
HOW LONG IS MY LIFE
A few years ago People Magazine published an article entitled "Dead Ahead" telling about a new clock that keeps track of how much time you have left to live. It calculates an average life span of 75 years for men & 80 years for women. So you program your sex & age into the clock, & from then on it will tell you how much time you have left. It sold for $99.95.
I didn’t buy one. But it is an intriguing idea. In fact, that’s what the Psalmist told us to do - to number our days.
So if I live to be 75 years old, I have about 2,345 days left to live. That’s all, just 2,345 days left to live. But wait a minute. I don’t have a guarantee of even one day more to live.
In fact the Bible tells us not to count on tomorrow because tomorrow may not come for you or for me...
60% Of Canadians believe “through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, God provided the way for the forgiveness of sins,” but only 17% attend church at least weekly, down 4% over the last decade. (Leadership Network 5/06)
Introverted CEOs- 4 in 10 top executives are introverts, a little lower than the 50-50 ratio among those 40-plus in the U.S. Introverts say they succeed because they have inner strength and think before they act. When faced with difficult decisions they worry little about what others will think of them. Although not shy by definition, they become drained by social encounters and need solitude to recharge. Whereas, extroverts are energized when with people and drained by being alone. Extroverts typically have many friends. Introverts prefer to know a few people well, which fits many CEOs who often say it’s lonely at the top. (USA Today 6/7/06)
