I am always amazed how often God moves through us and we have no idea He is doing anything at all. Weeks ago I was working on a theme for the Ciloa Retreat. I like themes that look to the future, but so far I had…zip, nada, nothing.

So I took a much needed break and checked out the activity on our Facebook pages. We have a lot of Friends and Followers across social media and many post several times a day, making it difficult to read, or even see, them all.

But among the new posts I did see was one from Tony Mekamkwe, my Facebook Buddy from Lagos, Nigeria.¹ Every week he responds to the Notes of Encouragement…a huge encouragement to us!

We do not always know where God is leading us,

Often Tony includes scripture or a brief quote. But the focus this time was on a portion of a speech by Theodore Roosevelt, the US President from 1901 to 1909. Why would he post about that?

The speech was given on April 23, 1910 at the Sorbonne, the famous university in Paris, France. The motto of the Sorbonne is “Créateurs de futurs depuis douze cent cinquante-sept”, which translates: Creators of futures since 1257.²

I have no idea if Tony knew that but God did. And He knew I needed a theme that looked to the future…the future of Ciloa and His people, my future and yours. My curiosity was growing. What did God want me to learn through Tony’s post?

But what we do know is that we must follow Him.

Turns out there were a few things. The first is that God is alive and active in the world…regardless of all we see in the news. There is evil here that walks among us…an evil mankind will never defeat, but which Jesus already has.

The second is that God is alive and active in our lives. He moves through us to encourage and love His people…even when we are not aware of it. Think about Tony’s post. God used him to reach out to me!

And the third thing I learned through Tony’s post was what was embedded in that portion of Roosevelt’s speech Tony shared…a calling for us all…a reminder of our mission…and the subject of the next Note of Encouragement.

Ciloa Forever!

 

Chuck

 

 

Chuck Graham is Founder and Executive Director of Ciloa, an international ministry devoted to encouraging others and teaching them how to encourage one another. He is also an author and speaker. Chuck and his wife, Beverly, live in Lawrenceville, Georgia, USA. Learn more about Chuck and Ciloa at www.Ciloa.org.

 

 

 

Footnotes: (1) Tony Mekamkwe works in haulage and is a part time minister of the Gospel in Lagos, Nigeria. (2) Sorbonne Université, a research university located in Paris, France, traces its origin to 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sorbonne as part of the medieval University of Paris.

 

Pictures: Banner: Christ Lives In Me, from For God’s Glory Alone Ministries, FGGAM.org. 1^st: Tony Mekamkwe. 2^nd: Give It To God, Transfit Athens. 3^rd: Perfect Faith, Andy Stanley quote.