Tell Everyone

[i]

[ii]

1 Chronicles 16:8

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

⁸ Praise the Lord
    and pray in his name!
Tell everyone
    what he has done.

My cousin, Jason, sent me a Facebook Portal. It uses WiFi to place calls. If the other party also has a Portal, then we can see each other in high resolution. I was delighted. The first thing I did was call Jason and thank him. He came through beautifully and it was a delight to see him while we were chatting.

Then I called my brother, Jason had also given him a Portal. So we chatted. He lives less than 10 miles away, by freeway. This is way more convenient than driving approximately a half hour by freeway  to see him. Then I saw t hat our friends in Madagascar were on line on their computer. So I called them. Poor guys! Pam was awake but still in bed, Gideon was in the shower. It was 6:00 a.m. there. We had a good chat, because Portal will also use a smart phone and the camera on the smart phone. I told them about my Portal and they were duly impressed. The Portal responds to voice commands, all I have to do is say, “Hey Portal, call Pam!” and it does it. I can say, “Hey Portal, Go to sleep!” and it turns itself off. Ah! But it is only asleep, not off. Because if I say “Hey Portal, wake up!” It’s immediately awake and ready for action.

In the Sixty’s slang that’s real cool! I enjoy telling people about it. God healed me from the very deadly West Nile Virus and I also enjoy telling people I meet what God has done for me. Some will ask what treatment there is for West Nile Virus. As far as I know there is no treatment for it. The hospital I was in kept me alive for three weeks, feeding me at times by IV. It took them three weeks to determine it was WNV for starters. I spent another 5 weeks in rehab, gaining the use of my body and mind again. I had two friends that it killed. I’m not sure why God chose to save me and neither of them. God never explains His reasons.

May I remember to always “Praise the Lord…and tell everyone what He has done!” Thank You Jesus

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[i] https://www.pocket-lint.com/smart-home/reviews/facebook/149010-facebook-portal-review-smart-display-alexa

[ii] https://www.tomsguide.com/us/facebook-portal,review-5945.html

Sharpen Ones Countenance

, 

[i]

Proverbs 27:17 

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁷ Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

In high school I earned a distinction in mathematics when compared with the other math students in the Transvaal Province ofl South Africa.  In college I earend a bachelors degree in mathematics. Then I went on to the University of Iowa for graduate studies in mathematics.

Dr Tom Price walked into my first topology class. There were about twenty of us students in the class. He handed  out those old purple mimeographed sheets of paper. The first page had a list of definitions of terms we would use in the class. Open set, closed set, continuous function. Then a list of the statements of theorems followed.

“When you come to class next time, write down the number of each theorem you can prove. I will get you to write down the proof of a theorem for a theorem you have proved on the black board. We as a class will comment on your proof.  See you Wednesday!” and Dr Price walked out the door.

No sweat, I had been proving theorems ever since high school geometry and trigonometry. I came to class the next time having proved several of his theorems. He had me stand up in front of the class—I really hated that at the best of times—and prove a theorem. I started proving that theorem and my fellow students pounced on me like a bunch of piranha fish. They viscously tore apart everything I wrote . I sat back down in my seat and tried to hide my embarrassment and shame. I noticed that they did that to every student who presented a proof.

As the semester wore slowly by, I learned to present a proof that no one would pounce on. I developed a confidence out of that experience that I could prove anything you handed me and no one could find anything to criticize in my logic or presentation. The other students became my friends. I went on to do my mathematical research in algebraic topology, a branch of mathematics that many mathematicians regard as the hardest math field. Why? Because that class had taught me that there was no proof too hard for me in topology.

Thank You Lord  for “friends” who sharpen my countenance.

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[i] https://blc.edu/academics/courses/subjects/mathematics-courses/

Be Shrewd as Serpents& Harmless as Doves

[i]

Matthew 10:16 

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

16 “Look, I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as harmless as doves.

In the 1960s I was a missionary in a recently independent country of Africa. I quickly found out that the term missionary was regarded as derogatory. Missionaries were considered to be spies who would report any deviation from colonially established norms to the authorities. This could mean that the offender might be meted out punishment for deviating.

The country was doing its best to establish its own values and divest itself from those imposed on it from abroad. Since most colonial powers regarded themselves as Christian, so-called Christian standards were considered superior to heathen standards. Any practice that appeared in local life that was not western in nature was branded as heathen and hence undesirable in Christian living. Thus Christians were regarded as weak citizens who supported the colonial power.

On the coast of Kenya is a massive fort that was used during the slave trade era. It was built by early Portuguese invaders and was known as Fort Jesus. Many political prisoners during the colonial era were kept in the deep dungeons of this fort. After independence some of these political prisoners became popular leaders. I heard many a political speech that included a statement, “What did Christianity bring Africa? Fort Jesus!”

Instead of calling myself a Christian missionary, I started identifying myself as a Maths Teacher at an Adventist high school. Did it make any difference? Probably not, although when I talked with government officials, they did seem to accept me warmly and immediately. Another reason was that I always tried to speak to them in a local language, no matter how poorly I spoke it. I think it showed that I accepted their values.

Dear Lord, help me to always accept people inYyour  love.

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[i] https://www.explore254.com/kenya/listing/fort-jesus