Week Seven, 2019
TO THE MOON AND BACK IN THREE SECONDS
By Senator John Grant, Florida (retired)
“Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry come to you. Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress! Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call” (Psalm 102:2).
Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is a hobby enjoyed by several hundred thousand people in the United States and by over a million people worldwide. Recently I was visiting the home of a “ham.” He took me into his radio room and I was amazed. It was like walking into the cockpit of a big jet.
He proceeded to demonstrate his equipment and I was even more amazed as he projected a signal to the moon and back in three seconds. That’s a distance of 238,855 miles each way. The speed of light 186,282 miles per second. In theory nothing can travel faster than light. In miles per hour, light speed is: about 670,616,629 MPH.
But there is something faster: the speed of prayer. The speed of light is a non-issue when I realize that there is no distance or time delay between my mouth and God’s ear. I don’t need to do more; I need to pray more.
A Chinese company which recently became the world’s third largest maker of smartphones has declared that its new flagship product is the fastest smartphone in the world. This announcement no doubt came as good news to avid smartphone users. This information will likely result in the mass purchase of the phone, making plenty of people happy….and wealthy!Human beings have become reluctantly accustomed to waiting for many things. Perhaps that’s why fast download speeds on high-tech cell phones are a very attractive feature. Technically, to download means to receive data (pictures, files, etc.) to a local system (your computer) from a remote system, [email protected]. In the past, downloading took a long time, but today’s downloading speeds are simply unbelievable!
Although the speed of downloading has accelerated markedly over the last few years, it still can’t (and dare I say, won’t ever) beat the speed of prayer. No, your prayer won’t bounce off the ceiling, but in record time it will enter the very throne room of God. His response will be faster than the speed of light. “In the day that you call, He will answer you speedily.” (Psalm 102:2)
Take time to pray. He desires to hear from you. As long as you do this, your life will never be the same again.
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SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES
Consider trying these habits for success:
• Taking time to reflect on your day, every day. Keep a journal of your thoughts, successes, failures and the lessons you have learned. Review your journal each weekend.
• Giving back to your community. Volunteer for causes and organizations you feel strongly about, and especially help those who are less fortunate than you are.
• Being comfortable being by yourself. Scheduling some “me-time” each day can give you an opportunity to be alone with your thoughts to reflect and replenish your energy.
• Staying persistent. Don’t give up or stress when you encounter a bump in the road, persistence can often be the difference between success and failure.
• Having a good sense of self-awareness. Know your strengths, weaknesses, limits and never underestimate yourself.
• Knowing when to say no to things that don’t matter or add value to your life or career. If you say ‘yes’ to everything, your ‘no’ means nothing.
• Being disciplined and practicing self-control and avoid letting your emotions get the best of you. Visualize your goals and stick to them. Practice self-control like it’s a muscle you can strengthen with frequent use over time.
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Consumer spending is 68 percent of the US economy. Such spending is driven by marketers who persuade us that we need what they offer. They do this by connecting our sense of personal success and significance to what we own, using our 24/7 media-driven culture to sell us their goods and services.
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Did you see the big news? Scientists recently completed a massive study of genetic “bar codes” and were shocked to discover that all human beings are descended from two people. They could have saved time and money by just reading Chapter 1 of Genesis.
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QUOTES YOU CAN USE
There’s a difference between being alone and being lonely.
Life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity, and responsibility to give something back by becoming more.” Tony Robbins
Joy is not about the GOOD things, but the GOD things in our life. John Zeller
Our greatest superlatives do not describe the power of God. Add one to another, multiple them, and add them together and multiply again, and go on doing so. And still you have not succeeded in describing it. Martyn Lloyd Jones