"Hitherto hath the Lord helped us." — 1 Samuel 7:12

The word "hitherto" seems like a hand pointing in the direction of the past. Twenty years or seventy, and yet, "hitherto the Lord hath helped!" Through poverty, through wealth, through sickness, through health, at home, abroad, on the land, on the sea, in honour, in dishonour, in perplexity, in joy, in trial, in triumph, in prayer, in temptation, "hitherto hath the Lord helped us!" We delight to look down a long avenue of trees. It is delightful to gaze from end to end of the long vista, a sort of verdant temple, with its branching pillars and its arches of leaves; even so look down the long aisles of your years, at the green boughs of mercy overhead, and the strong pillars of lovingkindness and faithfulness which bear up your joys. Are there no birds in yonder branches singing? Surely there must be many, and they all sing of mercy received "hitherto." But the word also points forward. For when a man gets up to a certain mark and writes "hitherto," he is not yet at the end, there is still a distance to be traversed. More trials, more joys; more temptations, more triumphs; more prayers, more answers; more toils, more strength; more fights, more victories; and then come sickness, old age, disease, death. Is it over now? No! there is more yet-awakening in Jesu's likeness, thrones, harps, songs, psalms, white raiment, the face of Jesus, the society of saints, the glory of God, the fulness of eternity, the infinity of bliss. O be of good courage, believer, and with grateful confidence raise thy "Ebenezer," for— He who hath helped thee hitherto Will help thee all thy journey through. When read in heaven's light how glorious and marvellous a prospect will thy "hitherto" unfold to thy grateful eye!

WHAT IS YOUR NEW YEAR RESOLUTION?

WHAT’S YOUR NEW YEAR RESOLUTION for this new year? After dilly-dallying on what it is exactly God is saying concerning [my life, marriage, business & ministry], I woke up one morning with the resolve to trudge ahead trusting that God who sends will undertake.




This was my resolve, in black and white:
’I don’t know what He’d said, or exactly what He’s saying; apart from the burnings in my heart not to give men ‘death’ but LIFE. I may not be sure what I’m born for, neither what exactly it is I must do. Circumstances have defined my work over the years; tears have re-directed my fears; pains have altered my focus; frustrations have made me question earlier given instructions I’m convinced over. Discouragement and distractions have watered down my perseverance and discipline. But that should be in the past. The instructions, the command He gave should never have been faltered at. He is not influenced by circumstances. If He allowed them, they are for His purpose. My instructions have not been changed. Circumstances have driven me to ask again, and again and again… “What was it You’d asked me to do?” Would life continue like this and I’ll find out suddenly the end has come, leaving me an unfaithful, wavering, unprofitable servant?




Like Carman, I say, too: “I have made my decision/I have staked my claim/I have drawn the line in the sand/And I won’t be ashamed/With the world behind me/And the cross before/By the grace of God/I will serve the Lord.” So, what about you?’



I look forward to hearing from you. In the meantime, grow deep, grow well, grow strong, keep breathing in His grace and remain irrevocable and irremovable in Christ.
Ciao, Emmanuel Ajanah.

SIX THINGS

The six mistakes of man: (1) The delusion that personal gain is made by crushing others. (2) The tendency to worry about things that cannot be changed or corrected. (3) Insisting that a thing is impossible because we cannot accomplish it. (4) Refusing to set aside trivial preferences. (5) Neglecting development and refinement of the mind, and not acquiring the habit of reading and study. (6) Attempting to compel others to believe and live as we do.

THREE THINGS

Do not be hasty in these three: Marriage, Business and Travel · Do not waste these three: Time, Money, Energy · Like these three: Kindness, Sympathy and Cordiality · Hate these three: Injustice, Pride and Unfaithfulness · Love these three: Bravery, Gentility and Affection · Leave these three: Laziness, Too much talk, Hurried Judgment · Value these three: Intelligence, Ability and Happiness · Control these three: Temper, Desire and Tongue · Preserve these three: Good books, Good deeds and Friends.

THE RAPE

We wore the dishevelled attire
Thereby not their fault
We invited the alloyed acts
Thereby not their fault



Sanity is better defined
By madness incorporated
In a system disorganised
Seeking integrity already depleted



Our voice is not one
We are many captains here
Our voice is not one
Bereft, we ply as unseasoned seers



We would hide our shame
But its existence is ethereal
Pending when this act of rape
Dawn to our notice our losses.
©Emmanuel ‘Crooningpoet’ Ajanah

FOOD FOR THOUGHT (A Message by George Carlin)

Hi Friends, it's been a while. Thanks for visiting. I hope I read your commentaries a lot, tho.

This is a master piece! If you have not read it, take the time to read it now. If you have read it, take time to read it again! Isn't it amazing that George Carlin - comedian of the 70's and 80's - could write something so very eloquent...and so very appropriate?

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbour. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill.

It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit DELETE...

Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.
Remember , say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment, for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
If you don't share this with as many people as possible, who cares?
George Carlin

CADAVER

The long decay now prevalent
In a system void of resuscitation
Of evil wrought ever evince
The sickness of hearts
5. Devoid of hope longed for
A holocaust of a stable bed for growth
And now….
Neglected societal scums
Now avaricious in sudden wealth
10 the aftermath of unasked for opportunities
the uncomfortable haves
clothed with supposed integrity;
a mask for the gentle pen swindlers
smiling promises and plundering spoils.
15. The irony of deep-seated ravens
Who to care is to create care-needs,
Seemingly holy in circle of concerns
An acceptable norm now adulterated;
A deception to the lower leveled yokel
20. still crispy to the undeciphering loyalists
till deprived of burial rites
reality becomes too late because dead;
a closure of history for goodly lucidity
an evidence for evil continuum
25. What hope lies in man, O heaven?
…. The study of the dead for living rectifications
Is preemption unto deathly witchcraft
Say, these gloomy drooling eyes
Littered clinical pictures of illusive hope ever
30. Yet, the cozy desentivity of heads
Disconnected from necks and bodies
For the due cocoon, unopen'd, festers smells…..
Or so, the disenchanted body
Seeking hope in unpromised promises
35. Of a tomorrow never conceived
To a today, shockingly attired
Reeding round our gods in intertwining semblances
Of ourselves in few instances
Of accusations to thieves but one
40. Four fingering back our hearts
But we must cry; we are not them
We are receivers, not leaders
We are responsibly frustrated
Uneducated to responsible frustrations
45. So we must cry
On the slab flat
At the mercy of the surgeon's
But the saviour of a people
Born in a palace or a ghetto
50. Is, thru' the repulsive processes,
Only hardened and beautifully segregated
Savingly active-
At last, then, hope;
A living hope would emerge.
-12.4.2000.