from my mailbox: sent in by a friend!
LESSON FROM MJ'S LIFE
Good morning Sam, May the peace of God which is beyond all human understanding be your portion this week in Jesus’ name.
It’s always so exciting when major news events sweep the world off its feet and somehow you find yourself being forced to stop, watch and listen.. as our thoughts are united in knowledge. It does not happen always... when it does it provides a tint of what we could achieve and enjoy if we could all come together as one... remember, we are the world...
Last week, the crowned ‘King of the Pops’, took the world by surprise by suddenly fading away....leaving behind a legacy of songs to the world... that would remain evergreen. Since his death, sales of his songs have boomed; history of good times has been relived, childhood memories have been dug up – somehow almost everyone has related some event to a one song or the other.
By Monday evening, BBC reported that MJ has topped the UK album chart and made six new entries in singles top 40...six years after his last number one! Earlier on Sunday his songs topped Apple's iTunes download charts in every country except Japan .
As I looked back and reviewed the stories on the life of MJ, I realised that indeed for whatever it was worth.... he knew his worth to the world and gave back his portion in songs and charity. His childhood may have been troubled and difficult; his adulthood somewhat mysterious; his habits questionable...his lifestyle a bit strange... yes... like every one of us he had his flaws... but amidst all... he gave almost everyone... all age categories...all race...all countries...all boundaries...at least a song!
So many tributes have been made to him all over the world, but the most touching for me was that by 1,581 orange-uniform clad inmates of a Cebu provincial jail in the Philippines... with jail terms running from one to ten years.... over murder, rape and drug crimes....who rocked the prison playground with MJ’s tunes carrying flags of most countries..... in a bizarre scene last Saturday.
One of my favourite MJ songs is ‘Heal the world’... here was a man who perpetually struggled to ‘heal’ himself... yet had a vision to heal the world... I note particularly this verse of that song....
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And The Dream We Were
Conceived In
Will Reveal A Joyful Face
And The World We
Once Believed In
Will Shine Again In Grace
Then Why Do We Keep
Strangling Life
Wound This Earth
Crucify Its Soul
Though It's Plain To See
This World Is Heavenly
Be God's Glow...
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Shakespeare notes, ‘All the world is a stage, and all the men and women are merely players; they have their exits and their entrances...’, indeed we need to quickly discover our parts of the whole jig-saw puzzle and play it. MJ has played his part and the final curtains have fallen... it’s ironic to note that his planned concert tour in July 2009 of 50 gigs... which he personally tagged as ... ‘this is it’.... and described as the... ‘Final curtain call’... will never hold! May his soul, rest in peace.
This week... my prayer is for God in His mercy to help us discover or rediscover our gifts and talents, and provide the enablement to translate them into activities that would benefit mankind and leave behind a lasting legacy as we strive always to spread His love and salvation.
Be God’s Glow.... ‘And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. (Hebrews 13:16).