MONDAY MORNING BLOG

Why are you acting like a tourist, taking in the sights, here today and gone tomorrow? Why do you just stand there and stare, like someone who doesn’t know what to do in a crisis? But God, you are, in fact, here, here with us! You know who we are—you named us! Don’t leave us in the lurch. Jeremiah 14:8-9

Good Monday Morning to this week 06 of 2019

A rather scary thought indeed! God visiting his own as a tourist. A tourist, someone visiting a place of interest for a short while to move on again.

It reminds of the quote and then 2005 documentary, God Sleeps in Rwanda,  about five women affected by the Rwandan genocide, implying that he spends the day elsewhere but merely sleeps on his own land. But the proverb used to be applied in a different way, The Rwandans proudly used to say that their country was so beautiful that God spent the night there!

Before the genocide, Rwanda was widely considered to be one of the most successful examples of mission work. In 1991, about 90 percent of the population was Christian and a majority of 65 percent identified themselves as Roman Catholic. The country was widely considered to be an example of successful Christianization. But in the genocide, Christian values seemed to crumble rapidly in the face of ethnic hatred. In the face of genocide, the church was powerless. 

In this prophetic exchange, the immediate future is set by God’s commitment to remembering their iniquity. To remember iniquity means punishment. The severance of the covenant relationship does not mean out of sight, out of mind. It is not a matter of divine indifference; rather, the mind of God is focused on “this people.”  When covenantal blessing ceases, it is not a matter of a neutral absence of good. The cessation of covenantal blessing is the beginning of disaster, not merely the relenting of good.

In Rwanda very many crucial decisions were taking in the aftermath, one was that the restoration of justice was chosen in a different way, after many failed attempts in retributive justice, the restorative justice was applied.

Richard W. Nysse continues in his commentary that the false prophets had insisted that God would not reject. Instead, God, in their view, would only bless, even to the point of exempting them from the natural consequences of social injustice. They claimed that the community would not experience sword and famine. But the famine was already in place! Once God is active in punishment, the only way out, comes from God. That is what is being pleaded here, and the plea is rejected by God. God is, in this text, rejecting the intercession of the people,  not because it is insincere, but because the time for pleas is over.

We desperately want to be spared the thought that God is active in the dark cloud, not just against the dark cloud! 

Please, let’s just quickly move on to Jeremiah 31:34: “I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more.” The move to forgiveness goes through the heart of God, and we know from the New Testament that it is not a facile move. It involves a huge price!

Yes, we know that this not be the last chapter in the story of the Lord’s people.  The Lord will put these people through a fire, but it will be a refiner’s fire rather than a destroyer’s fire.  Their redemption will be a long time coming, but it will come. The Lord is abandoning his people, but the abandonment will be temporary.  It is the Lord’s way of acknowledging that cheap grace is no bargain, no solution.  Cheap grace at this point would not help these people.  It is time for Tough Love.

The answer is no,  no, no, God was not a tourist on his own land. But yes He did choose to sleep or to abandon them temporarily. The people appeal to God not to break this long-standing covenant.  This covenant does have two sides, it imposes responsibilities on both parties,  it is the people rather than Yahweh who have broken the covenant.  They have broken it over and over and over again, but now they ask the Lord not to break it.  The Lord, however, is not breaking the covenant but is acknowledging its brokenness.

Many questions remain, many things unanswered as in Jeremiah 14 or in the Rwandan history, as well as maybe in the context of your life.

One of the deep findings of Jeremiah 14 is:

God is active in the dark cloud, not just against the dark cloud! 

I wish you a very good week.

Philemon

Quotes taken from various Bible Commentaries mentioned.
‘God spends the day elsewhere, but He sleeps in Rwanda’. About Catholicism, conflict and peace in Rwanda. Master Thesis 12/2011 by Henrieke Buit
History of International Relations Utrecht University

 

Exodus asks, “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? Samuel declares, “There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.” Jesus declares; I desire mercy not sacrifice.

Good Monday Morning to this week 05 of 2019

Today I was preparing to translate a very interesting sermon called:

Mercy is the new holiness. (by M. Benz)

Due to a personal emergency in the family, I had to cancel and spent the afternoon at the hospital instead.

I will shortly go into the topic nevertheless.

Holiness means “to cut.” To be holy means to be cut off, or separate, from everything else. It means to be in a class of your own, distinct from anything that has ever existed or will ever exist.
Mercy is; the act of forgiving someone or not treating them severely, especially someone who you would have the right or authority to punish. (giving something they don’t deserve)
God’s holiness is not an aspect no, it’s the essence of who he is.

If you were to ask, “How is the holiness of God revealed?” the only right answer would be, “In everything he does.” Everything He thinks, desires, speaks and does is utterly holy in every way.

He is holy in justice.
He is holy in love.
He is holy in mercy.
He is holy in power.
He is holy in sovereignty.
He is holy in wisdom.
He is holy in patience.
He is holy in anger.
He is holy in grace.
He is holy in faithfulness.
He is holy in compassion.
He is even holy in his holiness!

Then Jesus came to this earth and gave another new a very different perspective. In many particularly and evident ways, Jesus corrected the understanding of holiness in Judaism to their day.
In Matthew 12:6-8 he spoke of holding the Sabbath and said:

I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent.
Tax collectors and other outcasts had gathered in Matthew’s house for a feast. In the center of the hubbub, Jesus and his followers reclined at the dinner table. Noticing Jesus’s presence among such riffraff, the Pharisees scoffed. How could Jesus consider himself a rabbi and party with such a disreputable bunch? So they pulled a few of Jesus’s converts aside and huffed, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” (Matthew 9:10).
Overhearing their question, Jesus responded, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick”. The religious leaders’ blindness astounded him. How could he reveal God’s love to these folks if he didn’t hang out with them?
Jesus then admonished the Pharisees. “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice’” . He was quoting the prophet Hosea, who, centuries earlier, had condemned the Jews for attempting to excuse their idolatry and their oppression of the poor by offering the prescribed animal sacrifices.
God always values “mercy” over “sacrifice.”

Jesus longs for us to move beyond the idea of sacrifice—what we feel obligated to give up to be perceived as religious. He wants us to get our hearts involved, tangled up with other people’s lives, so the word sacrifice drops out of our vocabulary so that all we know is the passion to love others as he loves us.

This is the roadmap Jesus set for our lives!

James 2:13
For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.!
Mercy triumphs over judgment!

Mercy triumphs, mercy wins, mercy has the last word.

No one needs to be afraid of the day of judgment if they have lived mercifully!
Jesus confronted the religious leaders because they cared more about proving
they were right about Sabbath law than they cared about a man with
a withered hand Jesus wanted to heal.

Do we as leaders and people of our time argue and talk about our theological positions, or keeping our theology correct and pure, or value “speaking truth” and “being right” significantly more than the value lifting a finger to help broken, hurting, wandering people?

If you were to ask, “How is the mercy of Jesus revealed?” the only right answer would be, “In everything Jesus does.” Everything He thinks, desires, speaks and does is utterly merciful in every way!

He is merciful in justice.
He is merciful in love.
He is compassionate in mercy.
He is merciful in power.
He is merciful in sovereignty.
He is merciful in wisdom.
He is merciful in patience.
He is merciful in anger.
He is merciful in grace.
He is merciful in faithfulness.
He is merciful in compassion.
He is even merciful in his holiness!

If you were to ask how we are to live a holy life then? The right answer would be, “In everything we do.” Everything we think, desire, speak and do in showing mercy and compassion in every way as Jesus did!
I wish you a compassionate week, full of His mercy!

Philemon

Good Monday Morning to this week 03/2019

Last week we dug deep into the top of failure not being the end. The opposite of failure is now; hope and faith and not success.

But what about success? It’s got to be a topic, there needs to be some success as much as I agree with all the nice and challenging things I wrote last week!

Some quotes and thoughts from the Bible and some smart and ordinary people:

For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Jeremiah 29:11

The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand. Psalm 37:23-24

Success is on the same road as failure; success is just a little further down the road.
Jack Hyles

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
Winston Churchill

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things
will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4

I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

Observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go. 1 Kings 2.3

A safe life is a wasted life. God made you for far, far more than the life you let your fears define for you. Rick Warren

The danger of expecting nothing (having no faith)  is that, in the end,
it might be all we’ll get.  Dan Ariely

Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live. Norman Cousins

You have to be brave with your life so others can be brave with theirs.  Brené Brown

Here some helpful points, seven actually, I still can’t get over all the blogs with 10 points so I’ll stick to seven!

1. Embrace life’s unwanted gifts! See what happens! A transforming new perspective of life, needing some deep thought, reflecting,  soul and God searching and finding!

2. Enduring harsh comments even criticism. Harsh comments can actually wake us up from a long slumber of settling for mediocrity though quite uncomfortable.

3. Embrace your failures. It appears in the biography of most successful people!

4. Life caters to the seekers. Get to work, allow doubts, deal with doubts, seek to find,  being stretched despite the pain and struggles, often produces good results.

If you can’t be a highway then just be a trail,
If you can’t be the sun be a star;
It isn’t by size that you win or you fail
Be the best of whatever you are!
D. Malloch

5. You have a magnificent obsession! Search it, live it, spread it!

We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop. Mother Theresa

6. Don’t mind that you are different! Most successful people are!

7. Define success for yourself, have a vision for your life! Write up a personal mission statement for your life. A personal mission statement is a declaration of an individual’s purpose and path in life, emphasizing what is truly important to you. It lays out your core values, your expectations, and your pledge to other people.

Apostle Paul also had a mission statement:
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace. Acts 20:24

In conclusion the vision of David in Psalm 1.3

You shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither
And whatever you do shall prosper!

Wishing a successful week!

Philemon

 

 

 

Good Monday Morning to this week 02/2019

Shortly before Christmas I was challenged again with the thought patterns, ideas and beliefs leading to the Theology of Prosperity. Christians, who hold that financial blessing and physical well-being are always the will of God for them and that faith, positive speech, and donations to religious causes will increase one’s material wealth. Prosperity theology views the Bible as a contract between God and humans: if humans have faith in God, he will deliver security and prosperity.

We could go into the many faces of poverty, economic injustices, financial dependencies, unemployment, or issues around ownership, material resources, use of land along with many other restrictions and injustices. Questions as notions of communal ownership of land of stewardship or the even the redistribution of resources and possessions from the rich to the poor come to mind. We’ll go there another time,  to John Fischer’s book; Theology of Possession.

But how can Theology of Failure help us currently in a world so much in need of change?

Mark 6:1-13, Jesus comes back to his hometown. He tries to do some great things for the people, but they reject him. Jesus just spent a few months doing some pretty amazing things, traveled from town to town and people are blessed by His power and authority: healing people, driving demons and feeding the poor. With his homecoming, he uses the same approach but only to fail. How could this happen? How could the Son of God fail?

Could it be here where the, theology of failure comes in, isn’t it often so in life , that if something fails, where things do not go as planned, where ways of thinking do not lead to success, where expectations are disappointed where projects remain inconclusive and where intentions simply fail, that we need redirection or another perspective?

1 Corinthians 1:28; God chose the lowly, the laughable in the world’s eyes, nobodies, so that He would shame the somebodies. For he chose what is regarded as insignificant in order to supersede what is regarded as prominent.

John Navone, an American Jesuit priest answered to Pope Francis as follows:
Theology of Failure is a book I wrote about how Jesus lived patiently. In the experience of limits, patience is forged in dialogue with human limits and limitations. There are times when our lives do not call so much for our ‘doing’ as for our ‘enduring,’ for bearing up with our own limitations and those of others. Being patient means accepting the fact that it takes time to mature and develop. Living with patience allows for time to integrate and shape our lives. The failure to patiently affirm and support others is the failure to love as Jesus loved and taught us to love. When he taught us the Lord’s Prayer, the only aspect of human relations he mentions is that of our needing to forgive finite, limited others as we, too, have been forgiven.

Markus Müller put’s this in other words:

Failure is not the end of things but very often the very beginning. Some things need to go a level deeper before they can grow. Look at the many seeds needing a certain amount of depth and darkness in order to germinate. God being strong in the weak is not meant to emphasize the weak but is embedded in the compassion of God. Weakness and failure are aligned and put in the order of Him who has all power in future of heaven and earth.

Failure is not in contradiction to success. Through the compassion and grace of God, failure finds a new expression in the power of God and His works. In this light, failure leads us to strength. This is relevant not only to individual failure but also collective failure as seen in people groups, cultures, churches and society. Paul sums this up wonderfully in the verse:
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who strengthens me.
Therefore taking weakness and failure seriously, is not just trying to overcome or avoid it, but seriously tackling it, leading us to transformation, to a renewing of our mind and thoughts. The opposite of failure is now; hope and faith and not success.

Heavenly Father, Son and Spirit, In your light we truly see; In your love we truly love; In your freedom we are truly free; In your peace we are truly at peace; In your joy we are truly joyful; In your wisdom we are truly wise; In your strength we are truly strong; In your goodness we are truly good; In your life we are truly alive; in your beauty we are truly beautiful; in your happiness we are truly happy. In you alone, we live and move and have our being. In you alone, we have this hope of unending joy.

Wishing a great start this week!
Philemon

Good Monday Morning to this last day of 2018

and to this first week of 2019,  about to begin!

A few prayers to this day of transition and to start a Happy New Year!

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lam. 3:22-23

Remember us, O God

from age to age be our comforter.

You have given us the wonder of time,

blessings in days and nights, seasons and years.

Bless us your children at the turning of the year

and fill the months ahead with the bright hope

that is ours in the coming of your Kingdom

You are our God, living and reigning, forever and ever.

Amen

It is not the actual physical exertion that counts towards a one’s progress, nor the nature of the task, but by the spirit of faith with which it is undertaken. St. Francis Xavier. (1506-1552 Missionary of the Portuguese empire) 

In the midst of life’s uncertainties in the days ahead, assure us of the certainty of Your unchanging love.

In the midst of life’s inevitable disappointments and heartaches, help us to turn to You for the stability and comfort we will need.

In the midst of life’s temptations and the pull of our stubborn self-will, help us not to lose our way but to have the courage to do what is right in Your sight, regardless of the cost.

In the midst of our daily preoccupations and pursuits, open our eyes to the sorrows and injustices of our hurting world, and help us to respond with compassion and sacrifice to those who are friendless and in need. Billy Graham

Prayer is powerful, it fills the earth with mercy, it makes the Divine compassion pass from generation to generation, right along the course of the centuries, wonderful works have been achieved through prayer. St. Francis Xavier

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.  St. Francis of Assisi

May Adonai bless you and keep you.

May Adonai make his face shine on you and show you his favor.

May Adonai lift up his face toward you and give you peace. (Num. 6.24-26)

Blessed transition!

Happy New Year

Philemon

Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men in whom He is well pleased.
Luke 2: 14

Good Monday Morning to this week 52/2018

Today’s reading from the Expositor’s Bible Commentary.

Luke, whose Gospel is the Gospel of the Humanity, lingers reverently over the Nativity, throwing a variety of side-lights upon the cradle of the Holy Child.  He has shown how the Roman State prepared the cradle of the Infancy, and how Caesar Augustus unconsciously wrought out the purpose of God, the breath of his imperial decree being but part of a higher inspiration.
Now he proceeds to show how the shepherds of Judaea bring the greetings of the Hebrew world, the first waving of gratin to be accepted by God which yet will be laid, by Jew and Gentile alike, at the feet of Him who was Son of David and Son of man.

While the shepherds were “watching the watches of the night over their flock,”  referring to the pastoral custom of dividing the night into watches, and keeping watch by turns, suddenly “an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them.” Now, in the dead of night, the angelic form is bright and luminous, throwing all around them a sort of heavenly halo, in which even the lustrous Syrian stars grow dim. Dazzled by the sudden burst of glory, the shepherds were awed by the vision, and stricken with a great fear, until the angel, borrowing the tones and accents of their own speech, addressed to them his message, the message he had been commissioned to bring: “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people: for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” And then he gave them a sign by which they might recognize the Savior Lord: “Ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger.”

Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men in whom He is well pleased.

In both expressions the underlying thought is the same, representing man as the object of the Divine good-pleasure, that Divine “benevolence” in the germ, the Divine favor, compassion, mercy, and love. There is thus a triple parallelism running through the song, the “Glory to God in the highest” finding its corresponding terms in the “peace among (or to) men in whom He is well pleased on earth”; while altogether it forms one complete circle of praise, the “good-pleasure to man,” the “peace on earth,” the “glory to God” marking off its three segments.

But is this song only a song in some far-distant sky-a sweet memory indeed, but no experience?

Directly the angel-song had ceased, and the singers had disappeared in the deep silence whence they came, the shepherds, gathering up their scattered thoughts, said one to another (as if their hearts were speaking all at once and all in unison), “Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing that is come to pass which the Lord hath made known unto us.” The response was immediate: They do not shut out this heavenly truth by doubt and vain questioning; they do not keep it at a distance from them, as if it only indirectly and distantly concerned themselves, but yield themselves up to it entirely; and as they go hastily to Bethlehem, in the quickstep and in the rapid beating of their heart, we can trace the vibrations of the angel-song.

And why is this?
Why is it that the message does not come upon them as a surprise?
Why are these men ready with such a perfect acquiescence, their hearts leaping forward to meet and embrace this Gospel of the angels?

We shall probably find our answer in the character of the men themselves. They pass into history unnamed; and after playing their brief part, they disappear, lost in the incense-cloud of their own praises.

Evidently, these shepherds were no mean, no common men. They were Hebrews, possibly of the royal line; at any rate they were David’s in their loftiness of thought, of hope and aspiration. They were devout, God-fearing men. Like their father Jacob, they too were citizens of two worlds; they could lead their flocks into green pastures, and mend the fold, or they could turn aside from flock and fold to wrestle with God’s angels and prevail.

But there must be the music hidden within. We may be sure of this, that had the angel-song had passed by them as a cold night-wind, had not their hearts been tuned up by intense desire until they struck responsive to the angel voice. Though they knew it not, they had led their flock to the mount of God; and up the steps of sacred hopes and lofty aspirations they had climbed, until their lives had got within the circle of heavenly harmonies, and they were worthy to be the first apostles of the new age, the Kingdom of Jesus.

The shepherds appear no more in the Gospel story. We see them returning to their task “glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen,” and then the mantle of a deep silence falls upon them. So these anonymous shepherds, these first disciples of the Lord, having laid their tribute at His feet in the name of humanity saluting the Christ who was to be-now pass out of our sight, leaving for us the example of their heavenward look and their simple faith, and leaving, too, their “Glorias,” which in multiplied reverberations fill all lands and all times, the earthly prelude of the New, the eternal Song.

How do we reply to the song of the angels this Christmas? Do we neither shut out this heavenly truth by doubt and or vain questioning; nor keep it at a distance from us?  Do we yield ourselves to it entirely; and as they,  go hastily to “Bethlehem”, with a quick step with a rapid beating of our heart,s can so we can trace the vibrations of the angels-song?

Happy Christmas!
Philemon

 

The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you. Luke 1. 28

Good Monday Morning to this week 51/2018

With Christmas a week away, discovering the real Christmas message requires looking beyond the all-too-familiar holiday experiences. “Was there a moment, known only to God, when all the stars held their breath, when the galaxies paused in their dance for a fraction of a second, and all His love was poured into Mary as she fell into favor with God.

Key statements we read again and again:

“God with Us” In Exodus, God appeared over us, in the cloud, as a pillar of fire, or on the mountain. But now, in a common feeding trough, He became Immanuel

“Good News of Great Joy”  The good news transcended politics, languages, and geography. A Savior is given to all mankind, making us the recipients of
God’s good will and favor.

“Lying in a Manger” We must marvel at the humble entrance of the Eternal, Almighty Creator, God, into our world. The Savior of mankind, found lying in a manger, a (feeding-trough), thus giving the shepherds a specific sign to guide them to the Christ-Child.

In the world that God created, there was no room for Him at the inn or anywhere. To have “God with us,” the God-Child entered the world in a place where few would even notice.

God’s return in Jesus to His creation wasn’t “good news” to everyone. No ruler was willing to abdicate their throne. No palace opened their gates to welcome the King of kings or the Prince of Peace.

God, who is omnipotent, omnipresent, and all-righteous, longed to touch everyone — the beggar, the prostitute, the leper — presenting Himself, a helpless infant, “lying in a manger.” Common folks can never visit the palace of a newborn king, uninvited. But kings and princes can visit mangers.

The Nativity scene isn’t designed “only” to put us into a festive “holiday mood.” It should stir us to the very depth of our souls. How will we respond to the Divine Designer of the universe who sacrificed everything to bring us back into a relationship with Him!

And Mary said in Luke 1: 46-55 from The Message:

I’m bursting with God-news;
I’m dancing the song of my Savior God.
God took one good look at me, and look what happened—
I’m the most fortunate woman on earth!
What God has done for me will never be forgotten,
the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others.
His mercy flows in wave after wave
on those who are in awe before him.
He bared his arm and showed his strength,
scattered the bluffing braggarts.
He knocked tyrants off their high horses,
pulled victims out of the mud.
The starving poor sat down to a banquet;
the callous rich were left out in the cold.
He embraced his chosen child, Israel;
he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high.
It’s exactly what he promised,
beginning with Abraham and right up to now.

Wishing a great week in these waves of His mercy!

Philemon

 

Through the Lord’s mercies, we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, ‘Therefore I hope in Him!”
Lamentations 3:22-24
Good Monday morning to this week 50 of 2018

The other week we passing through town in Lomé listening to a Christian radio station as we drove through hectic and busy traffic. The traffic is slow, busy, and whenever at a red light there are motorbikes in front, behind and on both sides of the cars. I see the many families or mothers with 2 or 3 children on the motorbikes and pray for their protection.
As I am deep in thought with all the many thoughts of those on the “moto-taxis”,  I hear a song a hymn translated to French that has accompanied me for all of my life. As a child we used to sing it in church or hear parents and elders sing it.

Thomas Chisholm wrote “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” as a testament to God’s faithfulness through his very ordinary life. Born in a log cabin in Franklin, Kentucky, Chisholm became a Christian when he was twenty-seven and entered the ministry when he was thirty-six, though poor health forced him to retire after just one year. During the rest of his life, Chisholm spent many years living in New Jersey and working as a life insurance agent. Still, even with a desk job, he wrote nearly 1,200 poems throughout his life, including several published hymns.

Chisholm explained toward the end of his life, “My income has not been large at any time due to impaired health in the earlier years which has followed me on until now. Although I must not fail to record here the unfailing faithfulness of a covenant-keeping God and that He has given me many wonderful displays of His providing care, for which I am filled with astonishing gratefulness.”

Just think, with each new day, God gives us the chance to prove His faithfulness.
His mercies are new every morning, no matter what.

Great is thy faithfulness
Thomas Chisholm – 1925

“Great is Thy faithfulness,” O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.
“Great is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!”
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
“Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!
2
Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
3
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

How many millions has this hymn blessed down through the years? The suffering man who penned it could still look to the goodness of God and His loving care in the middle of trouble. If you are suffering today,  struggling with untold and seemingly intolerable burdens, this a prayer for you, He has not forgotten you. He is faithful, a loving Father who has engraved you on the palms of his hands. (Isaiah 49:16.)

A prayer, a proclamation, a wish, a truth, a hope and much more!
A prayer of protection for all the many people on the “moto-taxis” of Lomé
A prayer for the many suffering in Yemen, Syria, Irak, Somalia, Burundi, Cameroun,
A proclamation for communities, homes, families and you as individual.

Wishing a good start to this week.
Philemon

Matthew 25:40

The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.

Good Monday Morning to this week 49/2018

This week I was able to help someone out practically. It was cool to have the right thing available to help this person, to receive exactly what they needed at that time.
The incident was quickly forgotten and all the other busy meetings and concerns of the day continued. The next morning I went for breakfast and someone approached me and said with a very thankful voice and mannerism.

Thank you so so much for what you did for me!

I was surprised, glad that in such situations I’m not too spontaneous, so I waited and thought hard …. and luckily they then helped me out.

Thank you for what you did for my friend!

I was humbled, moved, truly surprised. I’ve been thinking about the spontaneous little act of kindness and then I receive such a blessing of thankfulness.

This is huge, this I need to remember, this I need to learn.

It gets even better!
The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.

Wow, this answer of the friend, who thanked me for helping her friend out, this is
Kingdom thinking, these are the thoughts of our King, this is His nature, his approach, and the way he sees things.

I am blown away by this, this morning.

How great is the condescension and kindness of the Judge the King, our Saviour of the world, thus to reward our actions, and to consider what we have done to the poor as done to him!

The surprise expressed is not at their being told that they acted from love to Christ, but that Christ Himself was the Personal Object of all their deeds: that they found Him hungry, and supplied Him with food: that they brought water to Him, and quenched His thirst; that seeing Him naked and shivering, they put warm clothing upon Him, paid Him visits when lying in prison for the truth, and sat by His bedside when laid down with sickness. This is the astonishing interpretation which Jesus says “the King” will give to them of their own actions here below.

I wish you a blessed week in all you do for Him!

Philemon