John Brown, born in Durham, England in 1835 was a missionary to the Islands of Samoa.
He worked there for 14 yrs from 1860-1874, mastering the native language and focusing on education and upliftment.helper.He founded the Piula Theological College .He worked among the Samoans to bring them into ministry, costructing churches, mission complexes etc.He wrote extensively on the Somoan culture.He was a diarist and kept a record of his missionary life therein 1875 he moved to New Britain Islands and had difficult time working among the cannibalistic natives.Later he served as the secretary of missions for the Methodist Church during which time his knowledge about the cultures of Polynesian and Melanesian islands was of immense importance .
.About him,
‘ Brown had lived amongst the islanders since 1860 and was an unrivalled source of stories and information about the people and their culture. He was also a regular correspondent of the Zoological Society of London, and knowledgeable about local flora and fauna.”
“Having decided that I ought to do justice to myself and the Missionary Society by whom I am sent out [I decided] to keep some record of any events which may take place during my stay. I think it best to commence by a short outline of our proceedings since we said farewell to our kind friends in Auckland and started on our journey to this place.”
The journals proceed with a detailed account of life on the Pacific Islands, revealing his interest in landscape, folk tales and local beliefs. He found the people “to be amongst the nicest and most lovable people with whom I have ever lived.”
“[a] splendid [man], with no humbug, plenty of courage, and the love of adventure.”
Robert Louis Stevenson
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Your purpose in life is chosen by God.
O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD" (Ps 139:1-4).
Your purpose in life is chosen by God. It is not negotiable. It is like calling water wet-there is no changing that fact, and there's no changing God's purpose for your life. While you may not fulfill the purpose for which you were made, you still have a purpose that God intends for you to fulfill. This is your blueprint from God. In the same way that He had a specific purpose in mind for Jesus when He sent Him to the earth, He has a specific purpose in mind for your life.
Defining your purpose will help you to determine the activities that you should be involved in. Like Jesus, you should not involve yourself in activities that contradict His purpose for your existence. Jesus' purpose was to do the will of the Father and become the salvation for mankind.
Your purpose in life is chosen by God. It is not negotiable. It is like calling water wet-there is no changing that fact, and there's no changing God's purpose for your life. While you may not fulfill the purpose for which you were made, you still have a purpose that God intends for you to fulfill. This is your blueprint from God. In the same way that He had a specific purpose in mind for Jesus when He sent Him to the earth, He has a specific purpose in mind for your life.
Defining your purpose will help you to determine the activities that you should be involved in. Like Jesus, you should not involve yourself in activities that contradict His purpose for your existence. Jesus' purpose was to do the will of the Father and become the salvation for mankind.
protector and omniscient
God was like an eagle hovering over its nest, overshadowing its young, then spreading its wings, lifting them into the air, teaching them to fly. God alone led (her)."
Deuteronomy 32:11
"O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD" (Ps 139:1-4).
Deuteronomy 32:11
"O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD" (Ps 139:1-4).
Oppurtunity-Edward Rowland Sill
This I beheld, or dreamed it in a dream:—
There spread a cloud of dust along a plain;
And underneath the cloud, or in it, raged
A furious battle, and men yelled, and swords
Shocked upon swords and shields. A prince's banner
Wavered, then staggered backward, hemmed by foes.
A craven hung along the battle's edge,
And thought, "Had I a sword of keener steel—
That blue blade that the king's son bears,— but this
Blunt thing—!" He snapped and flung it from his hand,
And lowering crept away and left the field.
Then came the king's son, wounded sore bested,
And weaponless, and saw the broken sword
Hilt-buried in the dry and trodden sand,
And ran and snatched it, and with battle-shout
Lifted afresh he hewed his enemy down
And saved a great cause that heroic day.
There spread a cloud of dust along a plain;
And underneath the cloud, or in it, raged
A furious battle, and men yelled, and swords
Shocked upon swords and shields. A prince's banner
Wavered, then staggered backward, hemmed by foes.
A craven hung along the battle's edge,
And thought, "Had I a sword of keener steel—
That blue blade that the king's son bears,— but this
Blunt thing—!" He snapped and flung it from his hand,
And lowering crept away and left the field.
Then came the king's son, wounded sore bested,
And weaponless, and saw the broken sword
Hilt-buried in the dry and trodden sand,
And ran and snatched it, and with battle-shout
Lifted afresh he hewed his enemy down
And saved a great cause that heroic day.
Edward Rowland Sill
A TIDE of sun and song in beauty broke
Against a bitter heart, where no voice woke
Till thus it spoke:—
What was it, in the old time that I know,
That made the world with inner beauty glow,
Now a vain show?
Still dance the shadows on the grass at play,
Still move the clouds like great, calm thoughts away,
Nor haste, nor stay.
But I have lost that breath within the gale,
That light to which the daylight was a veil,
The star-shine pale.
Still all the summer with its songs is filled,
But that delicious undertone they held—
Why is it stilled?
Then I took heart that I would find again
The voices that had long in silence lain,
Nor live in vain.
I stood at noonday in the hollow wind,
Listened at midnight, straining heart and mind
If I might find!
But all in vain I sought, at eve and morn,
On sunny seas, in dripping woods forlorn,
Till tired and worn,
One day I left my solitary tent
And down into the world's bright garden went,
On labor bent.
The dew stars and the buds about my feet
Began their old bright message to repeat,
In odors sweet;
And as I worked at weed and root in glee,
Now humming and now whistling cheerily,
It came to me,—
The secret of the glory that was fled
Shone like a sweep of sun all overhead,
And something said,—
"The blessing came because it was not sought;
There was no care if thou wert blest or not:
The beauty and the wonder all thy thought,—
Thyself forgot."
Against a bitter heart, where no voice woke
Till thus it spoke:—
What was it, in the old time that I know,
That made the world with inner beauty glow,
Now a vain show?
Still dance the shadows on the grass at play,
Still move the clouds like great, calm thoughts away,
Nor haste, nor stay.
But I have lost that breath within the gale,
That light to which the daylight was a veil,
The star-shine pale.
Still all the summer with its songs is filled,
But that delicious undertone they held—
Why is it stilled?
Then I took heart that I would find again
The voices that had long in silence lain,
Nor live in vain.
I stood at noonday in the hollow wind,
Listened at midnight, straining heart and mind
If I might find!
But all in vain I sought, at eve and morn,
On sunny seas, in dripping woods forlorn,
Till tired and worn,
One day I left my solitary tent
And down into the world's bright garden went,
On labor bent.
The dew stars and the buds about my feet
Began their old bright message to repeat,
In odors sweet;
And as I worked at weed and root in glee,
Now humming and now whistling cheerily,
It came to me,—
The secret of the glory that was fled
Shone like a sweep of sun all overhead,
And something said,—
"The blessing came because it was not sought;
There was no care if thou wert blest or not:
The beauty and the wonder all thy thought,—
Thyself forgot."
The Vantage Point-Robert Frost
The Vantage Point
If tires of trees I seek again mankind,
Well I know where to hie me—in the dawn,
To a slope where the cattle keep the lawn.
There amid loggin juniper reclined,
Myself unseen, I see in white defined
Far off the homes of men, and farther still,
The graves of men on an opposing hill,
Living or dead, whichever are to mind.
And if by noon I have too much of these,
I have but to turn on my arm, and lo,
The sun-burned hillside sets my face aglow,
My breathing shakes the bluet like a breeze,
I smell the earth, I smell the bruisèd plant,
I look into the crater of the ant.
If tires of trees I seek again mankind,
Well I know where to hie me—in the dawn,
To a slope where the cattle keep the lawn.
There amid loggin juniper reclined,
Myself unseen, I see in white defined
Far off the homes of men, and farther still,
The graves of men on an opposing hill,
Living or dead, whichever are to mind.
And if by noon I have too much of these,
I have but to turn on my arm, and lo,
The sun-burned hillside sets my face aglow,
My breathing shakes the bluet like a breeze,
I smell the earth, I smell the bruisèd plant,
I look into the crater of the ant.
The Road Not Taken -Robert Frost
The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Trust in the Lord
Ruth showed herself as worthy to be one of His progenitors as the Virgin Mary was to be His mother. See the notes on Matt. i. 1-16 2.
We should carefully attend to the leadings and to the workings of God's providence; it is our duty and our interest to do both, for the path of duty is ever the way of safety.
Had not Ruth acted thus, how dreary and uncomfortable must her life have been! but she followed God fully, and in a path apparently dangerous, and yet, not only sustained no injury, but succeeded well in all things: from this, as well as from innumerable other circumstances.
Acknowledge him in all thy ways, and he will direct thy steps; and with this we may ever connect, Trust in the Lord with thy whole heart, and lean not to thy own understanding.
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary on Ruth
http://www.godrules.net/library/clarke/clarkerut2.htm
Whosoever follows God in simplicity of heart, will most assuredly be guided into all truth.
We should carefully attend to the leadings and to the workings of God's providence; it is our duty and our interest to do both, for the path of duty is ever the way of safety.
Had not Ruth acted thus, how dreary and uncomfortable must her life have been! but she followed God fully, and in a path apparently dangerous, and yet, not only sustained no injury, but succeeded well in all things: from this, as well as from innumerable other circumstances.
Acknowledge him in all thy ways, and he will direct thy steps; and with this we may ever connect, Trust in the Lord with thy whole heart, and lean not to thy own understanding.
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary on Ruth
http://www.godrules.net/library/clarke/clarkerut2.htm
Whosoever follows God in simplicity of heart, will most assuredly be guided into all truth.
ADAM CLARKE
A Methodist Theologian from Britain.1760-1832
Now an infinite happiness cannot be purchased by any price less than that which is infinite in value; and infinity of merit can only result from a nature that is infinitely divine or perfect.
Prayer requires more of the heart than of the tongue. Adam Clarke
Pride works frequently under a dense mask, and will often assume the garb of humility. Adam Clarke
Adam Clarke |
Now an infinite happiness cannot be purchased by any price less than that which is infinite in value; and infinity of merit can only result from a nature that is infinitely divine or perfect.
Prayer requires more of the heart than of the tongue. Adam Clarke
Pride works frequently under a dense mask, and will often assume the garb of humility. Adam Clarke
Adam Clarke |
He who prays every day
"He who prays every day, and all the day...may rest assured that the Lord will hear him in the day of his need. If we cried sometimes to man, or other false confidences, we might expect to be referred to them in the hour of our calamity, but if in all former time we have looked to the Lord alone, we may be sure that he will not desert us now."
"When our prayers are lowly by reason of our humility, or feeble by reason of our sickness, or without wing by reason of our despondency, the Lord will bow down to them...."
Charles spurgeon
"When our prayers are lowly by reason of our humility, or feeble by reason of our sickness, or without wing by reason of our despondency, the Lord will bow down to them...."
Charles spurgeon
Meditation
"Meditation is a duty that ought to be attended to by all who wish well to their spiritual interests. It should be deliberate, close, and continuous. The subjects that ought more especially to engage the Christian mind are: the works of creation; the perfections of God; the character, office, and work of Christ; the office and operations of the Holy Spirit; the dispensations of Providence; the precepts and promises of God's words; the value, powers, and immortality of the soul; the depravity of our nature, and the grace of God in our salvation."
New Unger’s Bible Dictionary, electronic version © 1988, Moody Press
New Unger’s Bible Dictionary, electronic version © 1988, Moody Press
comfortless soul
I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, that he may hear me. In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted.
I think of God, and I moan; I meditate, and my spirit faints. Selah
Thou dost hold my eyelids from closing; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
I consider the days of old, I remember the years long ago.
I commune with my heart in the night; I meditate and search my spirit.
psalm771-6
I think of God, and I moan; I meditate, and my spirit faints. Selah
Thou dost hold my eyelids from closing; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
I consider the days of old, I remember the years long ago.
I commune with my heart in the night; I meditate and search my spirit.
psalm771-6
Isaac Watt hymn
My God, my everlasting hope,
I live upon thy truth;
Thine hands have held my childhood up,
And strengthened all my youth.
My flesh was fashioned by thy power,
With all these limbs of mine;
And from my mother's painful hour,
I've been entirely thine.
Still has my life new wonders seen
Repeated every year;
Behold, my days that yet remain,
I trust them to thy care.
Cast me not off when strength declines,
When hoary hairs arise;
And round me let thy glory shine,
Whene'er thy servant dies.
Then in the hist'ry of my age,
When men review my days,
They'll read thy love in every page,
In every line thy praise.
I live upon thy truth;
Thine hands have held my childhood up,
And strengthened all my youth.
My flesh was fashioned by thy power,
With all these limbs of mine;
And from my mother's painful hour,
I've been entirely thine.
Still has my life new wonders seen
Repeated every year;
Behold, my days that yet remain,
I trust them to thy care.
Cast me not off when strength declines,
When hoary hairs arise;
And round me let thy glory shine,
Whene'er thy servant dies.
Then in the hist'ry of my age,
When men review my days,
They'll read thy love in every page,
In every line thy praise.
Lamentations
Lamentations 2:21-24
21 But here is something else I remember. And it gives me hope.
22 The Lord loves us very much. So we haven't been completely
destroyed. His loving concern never fails.
23 His great love is new every morning. Lord, how faithful you are!
24 I say to myself, "The Lord is everything I will ever need.
So I will put my hope in him."
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!
21 But here is something else I remember. And it gives me hope.
22 The Lord loves us very much. So we haven't been completely
destroyed. His loving concern never fails.
23 His great love is new every morning. Lord, how faithful you are!
24 I say to myself, "The Lord is everything I will ever need.
So I will put my hope in him."
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!
Love Quotes
"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear ... "
~1 John 4:18
"For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another."
~1 John 3:11~
"Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God ... Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us."
~1 John 4:7, 11-12~
*
"Keep the joy of loving God in your heart and share this joy with all you meet, especially your family. Be holy--let us pray."
*
"There is no greater sickness in the world today than the lack of love."
*
"We can do no great things; only small things with great love."
"People who love each other fully and truly are the happiest people in the world. They may have little, they may have nothing, but they are happy people. Everything depends on how we love one another."
"Faith in action is love, and love in action is service. By transforming that faith into living acts of love, we put ourselves in contact with God Himself, with Jesus our Lord."
"You who have received so much love, share it with others. Love others the way that God has loved you, with tenderness."
~1 John 4:18
"For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another."
~1 John 3:11~
"Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God ... Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us."
~1 John 4:7, 11-12~
*
"Keep the joy of loving God in your heart and share this joy with all you meet, especially your family. Be holy--let us pray."
*
"There is no greater sickness in the world today than the lack of love."
*
"We can do no great things; only small things with great love."
"People who love each other fully and truly are the happiest people in the world. They may have little, they may have nothing, but they are happy people. Everything depends on how we love one another."
"Faith in action is love, and love in action is service. By transforming that faith into living acts of love, we put ourselves in contact with God Himself, with Jesus our Lord."
"You who have received so much love, share it with others. Love others the way that God has loved you, with tenderness."
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
number your days
So teach us to number our days,
That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.
(Psalm 90:12)
Wisdom comes privately from God as a by-product of right decisions, godly reactions, and the application of scriptural principles to daily circumstances. Wisdom comes, for example, not from seeking after a ministry . . . but more from anticipating the fruit of a disciplined life. Not from trying to do great things for God . . . but more from being faithful to the small, obscure tasks few people ever see.
Stop and reflect. Are you just growing old . . . or are you also growing up? As you "number your days" do you count just years—the grinding measurement of minutes—or can you find marks of wisdom . . . character traits that were not there when you were younger?
Lifelines
by Charles R. Swindoll ,www.crosswalk.com
That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.
(Psalm 90:12)
Wisdom comes privately from God as a by-product of right decisions, godly reactions, and the application of scriptural principles to daily circumstances. Wisdom comes, for example, not from seeking after a ministry . . . but more from anticipating the fruit of a disciplined life. Not from trying to do great things for God . . . but more from being faithful to the small, obscure tasks few people ever see.
Stop and reflect. Are you just growing old . . . or are you also growing up? As you "number your days" do you count just years—the grinding measurement of minutes—or can you find marks of wisdom . . . character traits that were not there when you were younger?
Lifelines
by Charles R. Swindoll ,www.crosswalk.com
Hopeless and helpless
Oh how God delights in seeing us coming hopeless and helpless to Him. A brother once asked me,
"What is the condition for the working of the Spirit?" To which I replied that . . . the Holy Spirit must first bring us to a place where we can do nothing by ourselves.
The apostle Paul understood that it was not his ability to deliver eloquent sermons that changed people. It was the power of God working through him. If God's power comes through our work, that brings glory to the Father.
From www.marketplaceleaders.org
"What is the condition for the working of the Spirit?" To which I replied that . . . the Holy Spirit must first bring us to a place where we can do nothing by ourselves.
The apostle Paul understood that it was not his ability to deliver eloquent sermons that changed people. It was the power of God working through him. If God's power comes through our work, that brings glory to the Father.
From www.marketplaceleaders.org
Will of God
"The life of the believer is a conducted tour, and the skillful Guide was Abraham's guide and ours. He knows the end of the journey which is in view, and He knows the best way to arrive there."
Fred Mitchell
"Nothing lies beyond the power of man (or woman) if it is within the will of God."
James E. Crowther
"To understand the will of God is my problem; to undertake the will of God is my privilege; to undercut the will of God is my peril."
Paul rees
Fro Transformationgarden.com
Fred Mitchell
"Nothing lies beyond the power of man (or woman) if it is within the will of God."
James E. Crowther
"To understand the will of God is my problem; to undertake the will of God is my privilege; to undercut the will of God is my peril."
Paul rees
Fro Transformationgarden.com
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Bonhoeffer-costly grace
"cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ."
costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus, it comes as a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. It is costly because it compels a man to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him; it is grace because Jesus says: "My yoke is easy and my burden is light." "
Bonhoeffer
costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus, it comes as a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. It is costly because it compels a man to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him; it is grace because Jesus says: "My yoke is easy and my burden is light." "
Bonhoeffer
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Jesus chose us
God is the one who calls people into relationship with Himself and to their calling in life. It is for His purposes, not ours. Jesus chose each of his disciples from the workplace instead of the rabbinical schools. They did not choose Jesus, Jesus chose them and it was deemed a great honor in their culture to be chosen by such a rabbi (Jn 15:16).
Taken from marketplace devotions
Taken from marketplace devotions
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)