Faithfulness

 “God’s loving compassion renews every morning." ~ Lamentations 3:22-23

Thomas Chisholm was born in a Kentucky log cabin in 1866. Amid the turbulent post-Civil War times, people relied heavily on their spirituality for survival.

He received his education in a one-room schoolhouse, and at age 16 started teaching at the same school. He became a Christian at age 27, and with no college or seminary training, he became a pastor nine years later where he developed a knack for writing poetry.

There in 1903, he married Catherine, the love of his life and they started a family. It seemed his life was going according to God’s plan.

Frail health proved otherwise. After six years of deteriorating fragility that often left him bedridden, he left the ministry and spent the rest of his life selling life insurance in New Jersey. Thomas found great comfort in the Scriptures and the fact that God faithfully carried him in times of illness, weakness, and financial stress.

He said about his meager and difficult life, “God has given me many wonderful displays of His love which fill me with astonishing gratefulness.” Thomas could now spend more time writing poetry and with his family. His routine job allowed them to stay (barely) ahead of the bills.

Despite health and financial struggles, Thomas’s positive outlook never faltered. In 1923, he even wrote his most famous poem:

“Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided - great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me."

He sent the poem to a fellow pastor, William Runyan, a musician and editor of Hope Publishing Company. Runyan loved the poem and prayed that God would reveal a tune worthy of the lyrics.

When he found a suitable tune, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” as a hymn was born in 1923. But it didn’t become popular until a certain preacher heard it and began using it in his evangelistic crusades in 1945. What began as a simple poem from a humble salesperson suddenly reached Billy Graham’s audiences worldwide and has continued to do so ever since.

Until his retirement, Chisholm remained working in his New Jersey office. He continued to express his love for God until his death at age 94, writing nearly 1,200 poems throughout his life, taking most of his ideas directly from God's Word.

Thomas Chisholm was not out to win the world or make a splash. He didn’t go to college, failed to finish his preaching ministry due to illness, and worked an ordinary job as an insurance agent. “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” a testament to God’s unchanging and compassionate nature, was written by a man who suffered prolonged trials in life yet chose to see God’s faithfulness through it all. This hymn continues to inspire and bless those who sing it.

God our Father, “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 10,000 beside.” Great is Your faithfulness. Amen

Quiet Faith

 “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." ~ 1 Peter 5:6

He’s one of the most well-known actors in Hollywood, but a side of him has been kept private for years: his enduring Christian faith and life of service.

Born in Detroit, he grew up in a quiet, middle-class family. Seeking both better forecasts and prospects, the family moved to the San Fernando Valley in 1948. With dashing good looks and fabulous athletic abilities, high tuition fees delayed his dream of attending college.

He paid his own way through junior college and ultimately won a basketball scholarship to USC, where he studied business. It was there that a drama coach suggested he try acting.

After graduation, he joined the National Guard, serving part-time in the 160th Infantry Regiment for six years. The lessons and values he learned from the US Military shaped him into a man of integrity. To this day, he remains proud of his military service and supports a variety of veteran charities.

After several minor film and TV parts, the 26-year-old actor won the lead role in the Magnum P I detective series - one that gained a People’s Choice Award in 1981. It also changed Tom Selleck’s life forever, propelling him into Hollywood stardom and a star on the Walk of Fame in 1986.

As Selleck’s career took off, he continued to have a strong, personal faith in God. “As good as this business has been to me, life is about much more important things. I’m not particularly religious, but I believe Almighty God guides us through life’s journey.”

He expresses his faith more subtly, letting his actions speak for him. As a humble Christian, Tom takes his earthly vocation seriously, but friends reveal there’s no doubt about the seriousness of his Christian faith.

Jillie Joan Mack, his wife of over 35 years, remains his leading lady, his co-star in life’s grandest production. For him, the most enchanting aspect of their romance is their enduring friendship. It is a bond as unbreakable as the Hollywood Hills.

The 78-year-actor, in perhaps his final season of “Blue Bloods,” has been secretly battling severe arthritis. He’s said to be “riddled with pain so severe” that he’s forced to use a stunt double on the show to film ordinary scenes, such as getting out of his police car. Yet he “soldiers” on.

Like Jesus, who the night before His death prayed fervently to God the Father as sweat and blood dripped from His face, Tom doesn’t complain or get excited! A lack of animation doesn’t mean a heart that lacks passion. Sometimes it means the heart is actively listening to God’s gentle whisper out of the public’s view.

We certainly need more stand-up folks like Tom Selleck in Hollywood!

Lord Jesus, we’re a culture that’s so arrogant and self-centered. Help me become more aware of what I say and do. Help me to let my actions reflect the love I have for You and the love I have for others. Amen

Labor Day

 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as if working for the Lord." ~ Col. 3:23

She rocked on her back porch in the early morning sun pondering younger times. Amid the wheat and the golden ears, the wind orchestrated the prairie’s fresh air, loamy soil, and delicate birdsongs.

Life on the farm in the 1940s brought many gifts - exercise, responsibility, and passion, love, and respect for its land and animals (like a pet rooster named Cockeye). Farmers were a unique group of people not found anywhere else. Marie learned to think critically and to solve problems with ingenuity. She enjoyed farm work, it never seemed routine or mundane.

Marie, now in her 80s, recalled a childhood of sweat, dirt, and manure. Everyone had chores. The hardest was picking corn by hand, but it was honest, noble, and character-building. 

The day Dad bought a tractor-drawn, single-row picker freed them from trudging through wet, cold leaves to pick and husk the ears. Finally, they could retire those husking gloves. 

Summer days began in light jackets. By day’s end, an old shirt with cut-off sleeves kept her cool.

After leaving the field, they unhitched the wagon, tended to the horses, and precisely stored the halters so that they wouldn’t waste time untangling them when they returned to work after dark.

The worst was having to go back to a full wagon - after the evening meal, after chores, after milking, after caring for the horses - to shovel out the corn. She didn’t mind though, Marie didn’t have to punch a clock, be stuck within four walls, and serve bosses who took themselves seriously.

Finally, after a satisfying day of strenuous labor, she dropped into bed and fell fast asleep knowing the day’s job got done. They’d start the whole back-breaking process over again the next morning, long before sunrise by hand-milking the cows and feeding the chickens.

Everyone bathed on Saturday evenings in the big tin tub. Bath order was youngest to oldest. Dad always went last in the dingiest, coldest water.

Restaurants, soft drinks, and packaged goods were not part of their family menu. But those were wonderful times, and happy memories. Marie knew that her kids were all positively influenced by the great people who surrounded them as they matured.

There was simply no place like the farm.

COVID taught us to honor Labor Day in a new way. A whole group of workers became recognized as essential: truck drivers, grocery stockers, mechanics, and hospital dishwashers to name a few.

We’ve not forgotten to thank police and firefighters, nurses and doctors, and first responders; but COVID forced us to honor people who’ve never made more than minimum wage yet suddenly became irreplaceable - nurses’ aides, teachers, and now farmers.

On this day that we celebrate labor, let's not forget these invaluable people again.

Almighty God and our planet’s Chief Architect, thank You for the work You provide to each of us. Thank You also for the enrichment we get through working for noble purposes and diverting our minds from selfish desires. Amen