Quote for the day (6)

A man who won't die for something is not fit to live





Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 – 1968)

Jesus on (the mainline) my doorstep

So it must have been just going on eight in the evening when Allie called me to come and eat supper. I’d had a long tough day at work only getting home at six that evening and was just starting to unwind. I was looking forward to just watching something not too mentally challenging on television.

Suddenly the doorbell went. I wasn’t feeling up to being very social and I didn’t even really feel like answering the door but with a big inward sigh I went anyway. When I opened the door my heart sank even further, for there stood Portia and Claude in all their forlorn glory. Portia and Claude are a homeless couple who live on the street and they come on a semi regular basis to beg for food from either my wife or myself. “Oh Lord,” I thought as I spoke to Jesus, “do I really have to do this now?” I just wanted them to go away and to top it all they were really falling over drunk and shouting and screaming at each other.I told them to be quiet and to wait while I made them some sandwiches. I wanted to get rid of them as quickly as possible.

I went to the kitchen and Allie said that we had some chicken breyani over after she had dished up for us. So I put the breyani in two containers, heated it in the microwave, buttered some bread and got some fruit from the fridge. All the time I’m busy with the food I can hear Claude and Portia shouting and swearing at each other outside my kitchen window.

Well I opened our front door and called them to collect their food. I told them that they must go and eat their food as quickly as possible otherwise it would get cold. They then started accusing each other and telling me to pray for the others sins. So Claude was listing all Portia’s sins and saying that I really have to pray for her, and Portia was doing the same regarding Claude. I really didn’t feel like praying for either of them. I just wanted them to go and leave me in peace. I told them that they were too drunk and noisy for me to pray for them. I had no sooner uttered those words when I just ‘felt’ convicted to pray for both of them. I put one of my hands on each of their shoulders and just started praying for both of them. Suddenly amidst all the chaos and brokenness there was peace. They were both quiet and I felt at peace. It was a beautiful moment. Claude just started weeping quietly and then Portia. I prayed for a little while and then it was over. Claude and Portia thanked me, then gave some money to me for me to keep for them and then walked off into the night. It was a stunning moment with the Holy Spirit and made me reflect on the mercy, grace and love of Christ for days to come.

Then out of nowhere I got this song stuck in my head. I used to have it in my old vinyl collection so I’ll just share it here with you.



I know Jesus is on that mainline
Tell Him what you want
Jesus is on that mainline
Tell Him what you want
Jesus is on that mainline
Tell Him what you want
Call Him up and tell Him what you want

Well, the line ain't never busy
Tell Him what you want
Wo, that line ain't never busy
Tell Him what you want
Well, the line ain't never busy
Tell Him what you want
Keep on calling Him up
And tell Him what you want

Well, if you want His kingdom
Tell Him what you want
If you want His kingdom
Tell Him what you want
If want His kingdom
Tell Him what you want
Call Him up, call Him up, call Him up, call Him up
You can call Him up and tell Him what you want

Well, if you're sick and wanna get well
Tell Him what you want
Well, if you're sick and you wanna get well
Tell Him what you want

35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' (Matthew 25:35-40)

Great Christian Music - I'll Fly Away

The son of tenant farmers in the Indian Territory that is now Oklahoma, Albert Brumley quit school after tenth grade and didn’t have much of a future to look forward too-except pick cotton for the rest of his life. Then, when he was sixteen years old, he attended a singing school in his farm community of Rock Island and discovered he could sing better than most adults and he could harmonize, too.
So at nineteen he went to a music school in the Ozark Mountains to learn how to write music. He dropped out after a year and went back to picking cotton. One day while picking cotton, he started singing a popular song called “The Prisoner’s Song.” I was like that prisoner, he thought. When he saw a bird flying to a better place, young Albert got an idea for a new song. He returned to music school and continued to struggle with his idea for a song. Seven years later, he felt the song was ready to be published. Immediately, it became a favourite.
In time, Brumley became known as the world’s most recorded songwriter, but none of his songs rivaled the popularity of “I’ll Fly Away.”

Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
Themes: Heaven, Hope, Death

Some glad morning when this life is o’er, I’ll fly away;
To a home on God’s celestial shore, I’ll fly away.

I’ll fly away, O glory, I’ll fly away;
When I die , hallelujah, by and by, I’ll fly away.

When the shadows of this life have gone, I’ll fly away;
Like a bird from prison bars has flown, I’ll fly away.

Just a few more weary days and then, I’ll fly away;
To a land where joys shall never end, I’ll fly away.

Here is a great version by Jars of Clay off their 2005 album Redemption Songs where they recorded some great old hymns.



Albert E. Brumley (1905 – 1977)

Information taken from; The Complete Book of Hymns by William J Petersen and Ardythe Petersen

Quote for the day (5)

When a man is wrapped up in himself, he makes a pretty small package.






John Ruskin (1819 - 1900)

Have you heard......the news today?

So have you heard the news today?
Screaming out at you today
From every possible source
Your television, the internet, your mobile
The newspapers, magazines and word of mouth
Gotta stay apace with what’s happening
In the world today
Gotta get organized to be informed
So I know what’s really going on
Even though most of it’s bad
Just war, murder, and disasters
And a million ways to make a million
Screaming at me everyday
Until I’m totally overwhelmed
And retreat into a state
Of being comfortably numb
And what I’m really looking for……
Is hope to hang onto
A love to hold close
To see me through
But it all seems to fade away
In the screams of the everyday
But the real news
Is the good news
And it’s over three and a half thousand years old
But it’s up to date everyday
About a man who came to die
For you and me
To give us all a hope to hang onto
And a love to hold close
So have you heard His good news today?

Bible Reading by Third Day - Psalm 36:5-10

5 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. 6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O LORD, you preserve both man and beast. 7 How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. 8 They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. 9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. 10 Continue your love to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart.

Quote for the day (4)

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.

Jim Elliot (1927 - 1956)

Jim and four other missionaries where speared to death while evangelizing to the Aucus Indian tribe in Ecuador in 1956. I recommend the book written by Jim Elliot's wife Elisabeth; Through Gates of Splendor, it is compelling reading.