One summer morning as Ray Blankenship was preparing his breakfast, he gazed out the window and saw a small girl being swept along in a rain-flooded drainage ditch. Blankenship knew that farther downstream the ditch disappeared with a roar underneath a road, and then emptied into the main channel.
Ray dashed out the door and raced along the ditch, trying to get ahead of the floundering child. He hurled himself into the deep, churning water, and when he surfaced, was able to grasp her arm. They tumbled over and over until within about three feet of the deep drain, Ray’s free hand felt something—possibly a rock—protruding from the bank. He clung desperately as the tremendous force of the water tried to tear him and the child away. “If I can just hang on until help comes,” he thought. He did better than that. By the time the fire-department rescuers arrived, Blankenship had pulled the girl to safety. Both were treated for shock.
On April 12, 1989, Ray was awarded the Lifesaving Silver Medal by the US Coast Guard. The award is fitting, for this selfless person was at even greater risk to himself than most people knew…Ray can’t swim!
Lao Tzu said, “From caring comes courage.” I challenge you today, BE COURAGEOUS—put on the hero’s courage! What is the hero’s courage? It is knowing that you have the power to help someone else—and you have the power, or the courage to care. It is the fuel that makes a hero!
Quote: “Those who are at war with others are not at peace with themselves.” – William Hazlitt
Is it possible to obtain inner peace? Some believe that inner peace is found in the tranquility of meditation or the absence of thought or feeling. Jesus opened the door to inner peace when He said, “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”
What is Inner Peace? Inner peace (or peace of mind) refers to a state of being mentally and spiritually at peace. The ancient scriptures define peace as being well, happy, healthy prosperous, restful, safe, whole, secure, quiet and set at one with God. Peace brings those created in God’s image back into harmony with the Creator. J. Donald Walters said, “You will find peace not by trying to escape your problems, but by confronting them courageously. You will find peace not in denial, but in victory.”
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and this is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith! http://bit.ly/1HuIBWq
Scripture: John 14:27 NLT, 1 John 5:4
The Prophet Isaiah said, “the fearful heart will know and understand, and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear.” If you are fearful today, there are both practical and spiritual solutions available to you. You need to know that miracles are available today!
Regardless of your situation, today you can rise above whatever holds you back and discover that you have a friend with God! He will come to you today and reconcile what distresses you. Just say these simple words with me: come into my life, Lord, release me from the fear that holds me back.
Scripture: Isaiah 32:4
King George VI of Great Britain was known as the stuttering king and dreaded public speaking, a responsibility every monarch was expected to do often and well.
But as Germany threatened to invade England, King George rallied his strength, faced the people and found the resolve to inspire the nation as England declared war on Hitler. King George rose above his difficulties to lead a nation into war! With the help of Australian born speech therapist, Lionel Logue, he rose above his disability and courageously inspired a nation to action.
Quote: “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.” – Albert Einstein
How do you overcome apathy? First we have to understand it! What is apathy?
They observe but do not act.
They know but they do not care.
They hear but they do not respond.
They think of themselves rather than thinking of others.
Are YOU a part of the collective ‘THEY?’ Helen Keller said, “Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all – the apathy of human beings”.
How many destinies can be changed when we emerge from apathy to action? Consider it: wherever you are today, you have power to initiate change! It does not matter your sex, age, or culture!
Just as Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King, and Helen Keller overcame apathetic concern for their causes, you and I can discover renewed hope and expectation! Why wait? Let’s do it now! http://bit.ly/1NvFLQy
APATHY is THE SUCCESS NEUTRALIZER, the inhibitor of dreams, the limiter of realization, and the thief of progress or life.
Apathy comes for many reasons – an expectation of failure, insensitivity to injustice, and a sense of helplessness. Where apathy exists we find low expectation because initiative is lost, inhibiting our relationships and our opportunity in life.
Ask yourself some simple questions: Where have I set the standard for my life? Is failure my expectation, or is overcoming the impossible where I set my goal in life?
Did you know that apathy has a song made famous by the American singer Doris Day? “Que Sera, Sera… whatever will be, will be…” You can kill motivation by surrendering your emotions, your will, and your expectation to a fatalistic philosophy of whatever, whenever, or whoever.
The Psalmist said, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God…”
Scripture: Psalm 42:11
