Why Magufuli administration misses the point on Government splurge

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A Pillow on Which to Rest Our Weary Heads

I sometimes struggle to believe that God really loves me. I can be tempted to feel a sense of failure and self-condemnation. It is relatively easy to believe that God loves everybody else, but it is much harder to believe that God loves me.
The love of God, Paul explains in Romans 8, starts with ‘no condemnation’ (v.1) and ends with no separation: nothing ‘will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (v.39). John Stott describes the truth of this passage as ‘a pillow on which to rest our weary heads’.
‘God loves each one of us as if there was only one of us to love,’ wrote St Augustine. If you were the only person who had ever lived, Jesus would have died for you. And if it is true of you, it is also true of me. God loves me and you.


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Hosea 10:1-11:11

Enjoy the unfailing love of God

Do you realise that God loves you more than any parent loves their own children?
Hosea continues to speak of God’s love for his people in spite of their unfaithfulness. They have allowed sins, conflict and idolatry to grow up like ‘poisonous weeds’ (10:4) and ‘thorns and thistles’ (v.8). Be careful that these things do not grow up in your life. Keep weeding out the bad stuff – even the little weeds before they become big ones.
As well as weeding out the bad stuff, plant beautiful flowers. God calls them (and us) to ‘sow for yourselves righteousness’ and ‘reap the fruit of unfailing love… for it is time to seek the Lord’ (v.12).
He describes it here in terms of parental love: ‘When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son… It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms… it was I who healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I… bent down to feed them’ (11:1–4).
This is a wonderful picture of God’s love and tenderness: like a parent looking after a toddler. ‘I lifted him, like a baby, to my cheek’ (v.4, MSG) – feeding them, teaching them to walk, taking them up in their arms.
Even though they refuse to repent and were determined to turn from him, he cannot give them up (vv.5–8). ‘My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused’ (v.8b). This is the love that will not let you go.

Thank you, Father, for your love, compassion, tenderness and mercy. Thank you that nothing can separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Thank you that your love is a pillow on which to rest our weary heads.

Pippa Adds

Romans 8:28
‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.’
I have hung onto this verse many times when things haven’t been working out or a big disappointment has happened. Looking back over the years at many of the things that didn’t go the way I had hoped, I can now say that it was a great blessing that they didn’t. I could never have said that at the time. But there are still some things that I don’t understand that I might have to wait until I get to heaven and hope I might understand then.



Verse of the Day

‘… in all things God works for the good of those who love him…’ (Romans 8:28).


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Hosea 11:12-14:9

Turn from sin and return to God

God’s unconditional love has the power to forgive our sins, heal our wounds and mend our broken hearts. Not because we deserve it or have earned it; he loves you freely (14:4). He wants to heal our faithlessness.
God calls us to turn from sin and return to his love: ‘Therefore return to your God! Hold fast to love and mercy, to righteousness and justice, and wait expectantly for your God, continually!’ (12:6, AMP). This sums up the message of Hosea.
God calls his people to repentance (14:1–2) and promises, ‘I will heal their waywardness. I will love them lavishly... I will make a fresh start... Everything you need is to be found in me’ (vv.4–8, MSG).
Israel’s sins were not very different from the sins of the twenty-first century. For example, there was fraud in the city: ‘The businessmen engage in wholesale fraud. They love to rip people off!’ (12:7, MSG). People sought security in their finances. ‘Ephraim boasts, “I am very rich; I have become wealthy. With all my wealth they will not find in me any iniquity or sin”’ (v.8).
When God blesses we become satisfied (13:6a). When we are satisfied we become proud (v.6b). Then we forget God (v.6c). We see this cycle in our nation and in our own individual lives:
‘I took care of you, took care of all your needs,
gave you everything you needed.
You were spoiled. You thought you didn’t need me.
You forgot me’ (v.6, MSG).
In spite of their sins, God promised redemption: ‘I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?’ (v.14, see also 1 Corinthians 15:55). Through Jesus, death has lost its power over our lives. When we return to God he promises we will flourish and blossom and that our fruitfulness will come from him (Hosea 14:7,8).

Lord, please forgive my sins, receive me graciously, heal my waywardness and love me freely. Help me to blossom like a vine and be fruitful.

Pippa Adds

Hosea 14:4
‘I will heal their waywardness and love them freely.’
It’s amazing the effect of being loved freely. When we experience this love from God it changes our hearts.
Through this, God has healed quite a lot of my waywardness but there is still a little way to go!



Verse of the Day

‘I will heal their waywardness and love them freely…’ (Hosea 14:4).


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Psalm 89:14-18

Your God is the God of Israel

The Lord, whom we worship, is the Holy One of Israel. ‘All we are and have we owe to God, Holy God of Israel, our King!’ (v.18, MSG).
The psalmist says of the Lord, ‘The Right and Justice are the roots of your rule; Love and Truth are its fruits’ (v.14, MSG). God’s choice of the people of Israel does not make him unrighteous and unjust. He is a God of love and faithfulness. He loves all people. The foundation of his throne is righteousness and justice. He will act in a way that is right and his treatment of other nations will never be unjust.
God intended that all nations would be blessed through his choice of Israel (see Genesis 12:3). This has now been made possible through Jesus. You too can walk in a right relationship with God and experience the blessing that this psalm talks about: ‘Blessed are those who… walk in the light of your presence, O Lord. They rejoice in your name all day long; they exult in your righteousness. For you are their glory and strength’ (Psalm 89:15–17). As a result, ‘We’re walking on air!’ (v.17, MSG).

Lord, help me today to walk in the light of your presence and to rejoice in your name all day long.



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Beautiful Feet

Friends of ours had been waiting for ten years for a baby. They had been told it was impossible. One day there was a ring on our doorbell. There she was. It was written all over her face. As soon as she was in the house she started jumping up and down, stamping her feet with joy and delight, announcing the good news. She had conceived. Their wait was over. She was carrying the good news in her own body. There is nothing more exciting than being the bearer of good news.
You too are the bearer of good news. The message of Jesus is in you. That is why, according to the apostle Paul, you have beautiful feet (Romans 10:15)!
As his followers, we are all called to share the good news of Jesus. Some of us have the immense privilege of being called to do it as a full-time job. Way back in January 1978, when I was practising law, I wrote in my prayer diary:
‘I long to spend my whole time preaching the gospel – telling people about the love of Jesus. But Romans 10:15 warns, “How can [people] preach unless they are sent?” I cannot and will not be able to preach the gospel unless I am sent by God to do so – it is a wonderful calling. “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”’
The heart of the good news is a righteousness that comes by faith (v.6). ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’ (v.13).


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