Positive Words Newsletter #03

GREAT CHRISTMAS PRESENTS RIGHT HERE! by Peter Wade (available from Amazon.com)

In Christ Treasures -- 19th century great preachers on "in Christ".
God's Principles and Your Potential -- Principles to release the potential of every believer.
Seeds and Secrets -- Cultivating God's seeds of greatness and applying God's secrets of success.
La Dinámica del Vivir Positivo -- La Manera de Dios de vivir una Vida Positiva.
En Cristo: Una Nueva Creación -- ¡Este podría comenzar una revolución en su vida!.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This newsletter is sent only to subscribers. See the end of this message for subscription information if you received it from a friend. YES... please share it with your friends -- use the Redirect feature of your email program. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ #03/ 01-Jan-1999 P O S I T I V E W O R D S Editor: Peter Wade ----- http://www.peterwade.com/ ----- H A P P Y N E W Y E A R T O Y O U ! This is your year... IN THIS ISSUE... 1. New at the Positive Words site 2. Songs I Remember 3. Positive Words for Today 4. Searchlights from the Word 5. Humor ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 1. NEW AT THE POSITIVE WORDS SITE ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Another feast of good things! Our lead article is one of the best we have published and will set the stage for "Christ to shine in '99" through you. A.T. Pierson discusses the Epistle to the Philippians... "If this epistle has any special keynote which is the controlling thought... it is this: IN CHRIST JESUS SATISFIED." From chapter 4:4-19 he shows seven ways Christ is at work on your behalf: 1. Christ and hostile surroundings 2. Christ and anxiety 3. Christ and thought 4. Christ and contentment 5. Christ and strength 6. Christ and unselfishness 7. Christ and need. Head over to http://www.peterwade.com/articles/pierson/icj05.shtml and read it at least a couple of times! Other suggested reading for 1999 includes "God's 8 Secrets of Success for 1999", by Peter Wade, a bird's- eye-view Bible study at http://www.peterwade.com/articles/wade/sstour00.shtml ; "How to Have a Successful Year" by Peter Wade (see the Positive Words for Today below); and we present an author perhaps new to you, F.B. Meyer, with a challenging article on how we are to be "Channel-Beds, not Pitchers" -- in 1999 we need to flow with the river of God not scoop it up into our small containers. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 2. SONGS I REMEMBER ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The first glimpse I can remember of a positive aspect to Christianity came through a song... it certainly did not come from the pulpit. The song had a rather plain tune and the words are not quite there, but truth is where you find it, and a glimpse from one location can lead to a fuller view once you move closer. The words are by Hattie E. Buell. I'M THE CHILD OF A KING My Father is rich in houses and lands, He holdeth the wealth of the world in His hands, Of rubies and diamonds, of silver and gold His coffers are full, He has riches untold. I'm the child of a King, I'm the child of a King, With Jesus my Saviour, I'm the child of a King. My Father's own Son, the Saviour of men Once wandered on earth as the poorest of them, But now He is reigning for ever on high And will give me a home in Heaven by and by. I once was an outcast, a stranger on earth! A sinner by choice, and an alien by birth, But I've been adopted, my name's written down, An heir to a mansion, a robe, and a crown! A tent or a cottage, why should I care? They're building a palace for me over there. Tho' exile from home, yet still I may sing, All glory to God, I'm the child of a King! On the same theme, a couple of decades later, I fell in love with this song by Movie Lister. It was popular with southern gospel quartets in the 50s and 60s. THE KING AND I WALK HAND IN HAND The King and I walk down life's road together, Where many people go passing by; The greatest One and I, a lowly beggar, Walk hand in hand, the King and I. Why He should care for me will always be a mystery, He holds the whole world in His hand, but what am I? And so my heart somehow can't help but wonder, Why we're together, the King and I. The King and I not long ago were strangers, I walked alone, Not knowing why; Until He came and put His arms around me, Now we're not strangers, The King and I. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 3. A POSITIVE WORD FOR TODAY ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ HOW TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL YEAR "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." (Matthew 6:34 NKJV) Everybody wants to have a successful year. We want a year in which we can enjoy all the blessings of God. I have a simple secret to share with you. How can you have a successful year? Well, you put together a string of successful months. How can you have a successful month? You put together a string of successful weeks. How can you have a successful week? You put together a string of successful days. Are you getting the message? How can you have a successful day? You put together a string of successful hours. Now it's in an area where it is easier to handle. The task looks enormous and daunting when I think of the coming year. However, I realize the only time I can control is right now, not the rest of this year. I will be concerned with how to make this hour a successful hour. I will take the year an hour at a time, a day at a time, a week at a time. Instead of looking at the trouble of each day, I will say, "Each day has the right amount of good." I will use the good in each day to make my life successful. (From "Outdo, Outwit, & Outperform", Chapter 6, adapted by Hildy Matthews. You can read the whole article at http://www.peterwade.com/articles/wade/year.shtml ). AFFIRMATION: As I live one day at a time, it's going to be a tremendous year! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 4. SEARCHLIGHTS FROM THE WORD ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ G. Campbell Morgan was a well-known preacher and writer from the turn of the century. In this spot each issue we reproduce a comment from one verse in every chapter of the Bible. We continue with the so-called "Prison Epistles" of Paul: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon. "But God, being rich in mercy" (Ephesians 2:4). The word "But" here puts two matters into contrast. The first contrast is between man and God: the second is between the state of man and the mercy of God, and this is the main thought in the mind of the writer. The picture of man's state is very dark: "dead through your trespasses and sins" -- that is, cut off from all the true things of life; therefore, walking under the dominion of "the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience"; therefore living "in the lusts of the flesh"; therefore "children of wrath." Can any conditions more hopeless be imagined? How can it ever be that those living under such conditions shall become "holy and without blemish"? What wisdom can plan such a deliverance? What power can be equal to carrying out such a purpose? The complete and final answer is given in these words: "But God, being rich in mercy"! In the wealth of His mercy there is the wisdom that plans, and the might that accomplishes. Mercy is compassion, and in God that is more than passive, it is active; it is pity, working on behalf of those who are helpless; it is love, doing the things that love desires to be done. When that compassion, pity, love, is predicated of God, the vastness of it is postulated, the sufficiency of it is recognized. This is the very heart of the Gospel. Over against all the appalling facts of our weakness and wickedness, we must place the wealth of the mercy of God, which had its unveiling and found its mode of action in Christ. Presently Paul referred to the "exceeding riches of His grace", and we feel the power of the expression. It exceeds all our need. It is an ocean in which all our emptiness is filled, without loss to its super abundance. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 5. HUMOR ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The only thing Adam would recognize if he came back to earth would the jokes! Each issue we will include one of the best we have seen since our last issue. So here goes... TOP TEN THINGS PEOPLE WON'T SAY... Top Ten Things People Won't Say When They See the Christian Bumper Sticker or More Subtle Fish Symbol On Your Car: 10. "Look! Let's stop that car and ask those folks how we can become Christians." 9. "Don't worry, Billy, those people are Christians - - they must have a good reason for driving 90 miles an hour." 8. "What a joy to be sharing the highway with another car of Spirit-filled brothers and sisters." 7. "Isn't it wonderful how God blessed that Christian couple with a brand-new BMW?" 6. "Dad, how come people who drive like that don't get thrown in jail?" "Dad, can we get a bumper sticker like that, too?" 5. "Stay clear of those folks, Martha. If they get raptured, that car's gonna be all over the road!" 4. "Oh, look! That Christian woman is getting a chance to share Jesus with a police officer." 3. "No, that's not garbage coming out of their windows, Bert -- it's probably gospel tracts for the road workers." 2. "Oh, boy, we're in trouble now! We just rear- ended one of God's cars." 1. "Quick, Alice, honk the horn or they won't know that we love Jesus!" There was a man who entered a local paper's pun contest. He sent in ten different puns, in the hope that at least one of the puns would win. Unfortunately, no pun in ten did. THE PAINTER Once there was a painter who was very poor. When his parish church needed repainting the members of the congregation and the church elders got together and when bids were considered for the job, offered him the job because while his bid was not the lowest it was close and he was of their congregation. So the painter bought paint for the job and set to work. When he got about three quarters of the job finished it became apparent that he wouldnt have enough paint. Well his bid was about as low as he could go and so he decided to thin his paint some so that it would spread farther. Well he got about half of the remainder done and concluded that he would have to thin what he had left just a little and his paint would strech to cover the whole church. Unfortunately, that night a terrible storm came to the town and when the painter was awakened by the crash of thunder he realized the thinned paint wouldn't stick to walls of he church and would be washed away. Well then the painter is panicked and he realizes that he has betrayed the trust put in him by his neighbors and that he will be shamed in front of everyone. As soon as the next day has dawned, he rushed out of the house to the church and sees all of the thinned paint covering the lawn in front of the church. Faced with humiliation and possible ruin of his business, he does what is only natural and falls down on his knees and prays. "God," he says, "please forgive me and help me to see the error of my ways." Just then the heavens open above him and he is bathed in a pearly radiance from above. A voice can be heard in the sudden stillness of the morning that rings as if it comes from Heaven itself. God speaks to the painter and says: "Repaint and thin no more!" You can read more "humor" at our web site. Go to http://www.peterwade.com/articles/humor/humor00.shtml -- there are five pages from which to choose. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ THANKS for reading Positive Words. Please share it with a friend! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ (c) 1999 Peter Wade http://www.peterwade.com/


	"In Christ" quote for today
		Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come -- II Corinthians 5:17.