Monthly Archives: October 2012

Carbon Copies Vs. Blind Carbon Copies

Most of you know I send out my material using the “blind carbon copy” [bcc] rather than the “carbon copy” [cc] feature offered with most email servers.  When you send out “carbon copy” the recipients of your email are shown ALL of the other email addresses that have been sent the email as well.  Unfortunately this provides the email hackers and advertisement guru’s a veritable gold mine when it comes to getting new email address for their spam.   Now consider if you will how sending your messages to a number of recipients using the carbon copy can multiply, multiply again, and again, etc.

Suppose you send an email to a dozen people, and you use the “carbon copy” feature in your email.  Let us suppose that six out of those twelve decide to forward your message to a dozen of their friends.  You now have the original six who have your email, plus seventy two more who, upon receiving the forwarded email, now have access to your email address [and many of these do not even know you personally].    Now let us assume further that each of these 72 to whom the email was forwarded decide to forward that to twelve of their friends, all using the “carbon copy” feature.   That means 72 x 12 = 864, plus the original 72, plus the original 12 – you now have an incredible 948 folks who have your email.  The more that article is forwarded, the more your email address is made public, and the more spam you get.  Unfortunately it increases proportionately.  And then you wonder, “Why am I getting so much spam!”  Well, now you know.

With that said, there is a really great lesson we can learn regarding the power of sowing, reaping, and multiplication.  I know you have heard the figures.  If you save one person this year, and then each of you are instrumental in saving one person the next year, and each one thus saved continues to multiply with each passing year, the figures become astronomical in a short period of time.  The power of the Gospel will permeate our society till change of the face of a society becomes inevitable.

I thoroughly believe that the time for judgment upon the United States has arrived.  But I also believe that God will spare a city, or a nation, if there can be found a sufficient number of “righteous” souls within that city or nation.   When Abraham pleaded with God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah, God agreed that if a certain number could be found He would, indeed, have mercy upon the city.  Unfortunately there could not be found ten righteous people in that city, and God’s judgment rained upon the ungodly cities of the plains.   If for no other reason,  perhaps we should consider going about planting the seed of God’s word in the hearts of men in hopes that enough souls will respond to the Gospel and avert the inevitable judgment that will come upon this nation should we fail to do so.

Surely there is at least one person with whom you are acquainted who, if taught the truth, would obey.  It may take inviting ten, or perhaps twenty, to find that one soul.  If we are willing to “forward” emails that are worth sharing with our friends, why not “forward” the message of the gospel that has been given to you by some precious soul that loved you enough to share God’s word.    Think about it!

Oh, by the way, if you are accustomed to forwarding emails to others, would you be so kind as to use the “blind carbon copy” feature so as to protect the email address information of all your friends who happen to be on your email list?  Thanks!

By Tom Wacaster

She quit. . . only one-mile from her goal

IT WAS A fog-shrouded morning, July 4, 1952, when a young woman named Florence Chadwick waded into the water off Catalina Island…

She intended to swim the channel from the island to the California coast. Long-distance swimming was not new to her; she had been the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions. The water was numbing cold that day. The fog was so thick she could hardly see the boats in her party. Several times sharks had to be driven away with rifle fire. She swam more than 15 hours before she asked to be taken out of the water. Her trainer tried to encourage her to swim on since they were so close to land, but when Florence looked, all she saw was fog. So she quit. . . only one-mile from her goal. Later she said, “I’m not excusing myself, but if I could have seen the land I might have made it.” It wasn’t the cold or fear or exhaustion that caused Florence Chadwick to fail. It was the fog.

Many times we too fail, not because we’re afraid or because of the peer pressure or because of anything other than the fact that we lose sight of the goal.  By the way, two months after her failure, Florence Chadwick walked off the same beach into the same channel and swam the distance, setting a new speed record, because she could see the land!

“…I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).

–Mike Benson