He Moves Through Us
When I wrote the original of this Note, I believed it to be appropriate for the time. 1 But as I look at the world now, I am convinced God’s message which it declared is even more needed…today!
I am always amazed how God moves through us and we have no idea He is doing anything at all.
Once while preparing for a Ciloa Retreat, I wanted a theme that looked to the future, but had nothing. So I took a break to check the activity on our Facebook pages. We have many friends and followers across social media who post several times a day, making it difficult to read, or even see, them all.
Among the posts was one from Tony Mekamkwe, my Facebook Buddy from Lagos, Nigeria. 2 Tony often responds to the Notes of Encouragement, a huge encouragement for us in Ciloa, especially me!
We do not always know where God is leading us,
Tony’s posts include scripture or a brief quote. But the focus that day was a speech by Theodore Roosevelt on April 23, 1910. 3 And I thought, Why would he post about that?
The speech was given 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. 4
I had 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 grew. What did God want me to learn through Tony’s post? Turns out there were a few things.
But what we do know is that we must follow Him.
First: 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 that mankind will never defeat, but which Jesus already has.
Second: God is alive and active in our lives. He moves through us to encourage and love His people…even if we are not aware of it. Just like Tony’s post. God moved through him to reach out to me!
Third: Embedded in Roosevelt’s speech was…God’s calling for each us…His 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) God Moves Through Us first appeared on June 12, 2022. (2) Tony Mekamkwe works in haulage and is a part time minister of the Gospel in Lagos, Nigeria. (3) Theodore Roosevelt was President of the United States from 1901 to 1909. (4). Sorbonne Université, a research university located in Paris, France, traces its origin to 1257.
Pictures: Banner: Follow, photo by Chuck Graham, 2008. (1) Tony Mekamkwe, photo provided by Tony Mekamkwe. (2) Chuck Graham, photo by Beverly Graham.
