Pastor Tom's Journal

Imagine a wedding where the guests get gifts as well as the bride and groom. Whenever God throws a party, everyone present gets presents. In John 2, we see Jesus working his first miracle in Cana. He turned water into wine. It was not a bad demonstration at all. Everyone enjoyed that and everyone noticed. John 2:1-11   On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.   When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine."   And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to me and to you? My hour has not yet come."   His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."   Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water."   And they filled them up to the brim.   He said to them, "Now dr...

Stay in touch - https://linktr.ee/tomsims Works by Amy Carmichael at Project Gutenberg https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/33906 Works by Amy Carmichael at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks) https://librivox.org/author/11229 Evangelical Times: The life and legacy of Amy Carmichael https://www.evangelical-times.org/the-life-and-legacy-of-amy-carmichael/ Biography https://www.essaymarathi.com/2023/02/amy-carmichael-biography.html Dohnavur Fellowship https://dohnavurfellowship.org/ Friends of Dohnavur   https://www.friendsofdohnavur.org/  

I am making this Stephen Foster Memorial Day to commemorate the day he died in 1864. What sad and beautiful songs he wrote. Foster died tragically from accident, suicide, or some other trauma that left him bleeding from the neck at the age of 37. None can know what he would have become or how he would have evolved.  What he was was a poet and a musician who left a large body of heartfelt  mournful and joyful music. Was he an abolitionist? No one knows. Was he a critic of society? Not as it would seem. Was he a reformer? Not yet, yet, yet was yet to be. He was an observer and interpreter of the hearts, lives, experiences, and emotions of people. That was a great contribution in and of itself. Foster taught my soul to mourn and celebrate at the same time. Things are as they are and to know that is to both grieve and to rejoice. Sad, that he died so early. Glad, that he left so much of himself with us. Notable works "Beautiful Dreamer" "Camptown Races" "Hard Time...

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Ho ly Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."   Acts 8:14-17 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. he two went down and prayed for them that they ...

Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. (Revelation 3:2)   Harry was discouraged. He fostered such high hopes for progress when he began his life of discipleship. Along the way, he had not met all of his goals. He had experienced the limitations of the flesh and had felt the sting of rebuke. Now, as he evaluated his spiritual progress, all he saw was regress. He had the right answers. On the outside, he seemed like an ideal Christian. On the inside, he was spiritually dead and emotionally drained. "What's the use?" he muttered as he threw up his hands in despair. Then for some reason,  he began reading the book of Revelation. His eyes fell upon these words of Jesus to a church whose spiritual condition sounded much like his own. Sardis looked alive on the outside, but was dead on the inside. Jesus' words to that church spoke to that glimmer of spiritual life in Harry's heart. ...

 

    On this day in 1889 – Herman Hollerith is issued US patent #395,791 for the 'Art of Applying Statistics' — his punched card calculator https://www.ibm.com/.../builders/builders_hollerith.html https://www.ibm.com/.../vintage/vintage_4506VV2027.html http://www.columbia.edu/cu/computinghistory/hollerith.html http://www.columbia.edu/.../computi.../census-tabulator.html On this day in 1926 – Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuỵ is crowned king of Vietnam, the country's last monarch. He was also known as Bảo Đại, "keeper of greatness." As an irrelevant aside, I learned this during my years in San Jose from my Vietnamese friends about kings and teachers: "The teacher bows to no one but the king and the king bows to no one, but his teacher." If a Vietnamese person addresses you as "Teacher," you have been greatly honored. On this day in 1964 – President Lyndon B. Johnson declares a "War on Poverty" in the United States. Johnson, a Roos...

It is sure good to know that an old stump is still good for something. As long as we can give, we can be happy.

Born this day in 1871 – Frederick Converse, American composer and academic (d. 1940). His works include four operas and five symphonies. The Mystic Trumpeter (1904), is based on the poem of the same name from Walt Whitman's iconic anthology, Leaves of Grass. Many biographies note the similarity of his work to that of Richard Strauss and Converse's influence upon Strauss. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbQRCDywi1s and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1IuT8qWwfI

Opinion Expression Avoidance Syndrome This popped up in my "On This Day" feed from May 11, 2016: Have you ever felt intimidated about stating an opinion, question, observation, or passing idea? Have you ever calculated the fear of being judged, labeled, or categorized for having a divergent view on some subject or a doubt about some matter of ideological orthodoxy? We have all seen people pounced on and maligned. I tend to identify with such people and feel really bad for them, even when I am not in agreement -- but I am sometimes too big of a coward to come to their defense. I am getting a little weary of critics, mean-spirited commentators, and ungracious quip-jockeys who latch on to any and every bit of negative evidence to prove their point against someone or something - with or without verifying their information --- and without regard to context, real meaning, or relevance. A lot of this comes from my tribe, but it is not tribal. It is a not the product of any one ideol...

I am glad I can spell resilience. Now, if I can live it like these folks, that will be something!

The Word Became Flesh and We Beheld John 1:1-18 (NRSVU In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.   He  was in the beginning with God.   All  things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.   The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.   There was a man sent from God whose name was John.   He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.   He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.   The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.   He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, yet the world did not know him.   He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.   But to all who received him, who believed in his name, ...