Where Have You Been?

Where Have You Been?

My readers will, by now, be saying, “Where have you been; why have you been absent from the blogger’s scene?

I thought I would answer that question by giving you all a personal glimpse into what I have been doing, are doing now, and what will be happening in the near future.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, the picture above will tell you where I have been for at least some of the time – in hospital having surgery, and at home recovering. Beyond that I am slap dab in the middle of teaching an intense course on the parables of Jesus under the title Practical Insights into the Parables of Jesus.

Add to that the completion of my latest novel, DOUBLE DECEIT: The Transformation of Jonathan Ward, due for publication within the next month or two. My wife tells me this is my best work of fiction yet, though you may believe her to be prejudiced in my favour. All I can say to that is that I spent a lot of time praying for God’s guidance and inspiration, under difficult circumstances, to finally finish the novel just a few weeks ago.

Also to be published within the next few weeks is The Toymaker’s Dream, first published in 1980 and since published and presented on stage (including a musical) in five languages. The English edition of this book, unfortunately, has been out of print for a very long time. I decided at last to re-publish this book in a Deluxe Edition.

I found an artist, Anita Stephen, of extraordinary talent who has produce illustrations of incredible quality. It has taken her sixteen months to finally complete them to her own satisfaction, and that has not been easy. She is one of those perfectionists who will not allow her name to be associated with anything but her very best work. How blessed I have to find her.

OK, so now that I am “retired,” what lies ahead?

I am being pressured to complete the third book in the SKIP JORDAN series, finish the second volume of EXPLORING BIBLICAL PRAYER, and launch into a new gendre with a novel entitled,  UNBLEMISHED,

Oh, and I also have to write two or three blogs per week.

So there you have it. You not only know where I have been, but where I am going to be for a considerable length of time ahead. I ask my readers for two things: to visit my web page at www.christophershennanica, and pray that all I do will bring glory to God and bring honour to the name of Jesus Christ.

I Have Nothing

(© Friday 10^th July 2015 – by Christopher Shennan)

I have nothing but what received

From your gracious, loving had, Lord;

Nothing to tell the world about,

But what’s found in your precious Word.

I have nothing in my treasure house

That You did not place there first,

And taught me how to utilize

In my hunger and my thirst.

I bring these gifts, that You first gave,

And now lay them down at your feet;

Please cause them to bring lost sinners,

To kneel down at your Mercy Seat.

My website: www.christophershennan.ca
My blog: https://christophershennan.wordpress.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CNShennan
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristopherShennanAuthor

Photo by Joanne Shennan – used by permission

Leaving a Legacy

Leaving a Legacy

A good friend of mine, Rod Guptil, announced one message in a series of sermons he was about to preach in the following way:

“EVERYONE LEAVES A LEGACY. Not just the good and admirable leave legacies. Hitler, Jack the Ripper, Osama bin Laden all left legacies. You can’t choose ‘whether’ to leave a legacy, you only choose ‘which’ legacy you will leave.”

When my son was barely three years old we were missionaries in Zimbabwe, Africa.

The house we lived in had a large back yard we had turned into a vegetable garden with a compost pit at the very back.

I was in the habit pf going back there so I could pray out loud without anyone being able to hear me – except the Lord, of course.

One morning I was engaged in worship thinking I was completely alone. I raised my hands and cried out, “I praise you, Lord!”

To my complete surprise I heard a little voice call out behind me, “I praise you, Lord!”

I turned to see my son’s face turned toward Heaven, a look of absolute delight upon his face. Seeing me from the kitchen door, he had followed me and engaged himself in copying my behavior.

I have never forgotten that incident and have often speculated, “What if I had been doing something else at the back end of that garden? What if I had been cussing, or had met with someone else engaged in nefarious deeds? What then? Would my son be the godly man he is today, or would he be man of doubtful character, passing on to his progeny an ungodly life-style?

It bears thinking about, and setting a course that will not leave a shameful legacy to future generations.

The Legacy

© Sunday 21^st June 2015 – by Christopher Shennan)

The legacy I leave may be

A blessing or a curse, some day:

Blessing future generations,

Or leave stumbling blocks in the way.

An awesome choice we have to make;

Not if we leave a legacy,

But which one we leave behind for

Future generations to see?

People around me are watching;

Children and grandchildren will know

Just what kind of life I have lived –

To show them which way they should go.

I want to leave a legacy

That will challenge and inspire them;

A goal to strive for – to die for –

Whatever life brings to test them.

The legacy I leave behind,

Must include lost sinners, found;

For how could I whom Christ loved most –

Go all alone while Heaven bound?

Please visit My website: www.christophershennan.ca
My blog: https://christophershennan.wordpress.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CNShennan
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristopherShennanAuthor

Father and Son by Kwanie. Copyright. Used under the CC BY 2.0 license; please note the Disclaimer at this site. No changes were made to this photo.

The Ministry of Tears

(Picture in public domain)

The Ministry of Tears

2 Corinthians 2:1-4

And when they had come to him, he said to them,

   “You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews… (Acts 20:18-9 – NASB)

Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. (Acts 20:32 – NASB)

Robert Murray McCheyne was a minister of great power in the mid-nineteenth century. God used him in a mighty outpouring of His Spirit in revival. He served God with such intensity some believe it led to his early death at the age of twenty nine. His ministry lasted only seven-and a half years, yet his influence continues to the present day.

After his death a visitor came to the church where the man of God had preached. He engaged in conversation with the custodian of the church. He enquired as to the secret of the preacher`s effectiveness in ministry.

The custodian, a man who had been close to the minister asked the visitor if he really wished to know. The visitor replied in the affirmative.

“Follow me,” the custodian commanded, and led the visitor into the minister’s study. “Sit behind the desk,” he further instructed.

When the visitor had complied, he said, “Now put your elbows on the desk and your head in your hands.” When this was done the custodian said, “Now weep.”

But the tour was not over.

The custodian now led the visitor into the sanctuary. The pulpit was of the kind common in that era, built high above the congregation, with a winding wooden staircase giving access to its summit.

Climb into the pulpit and lean over .pews with your arms outstretched, as if you were pleading with the congregation.”

Entering into his role, the visitor followed the instructions given to him..

“Now weep,” The custodian said.

God grant us all tears as we minister to, and intercede for, the lost.

Give me Tears

(© Saturday 3^rd January 2015 – by Christopher Shennan)

Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. (Acts 20:32 – NASB)

Lord, please grant me the grace to weep,

And plead for revival to come;

Let me not rise up from my knees

Till I’m sure the work has been done.

Lord, let tears flow unabated,

As I ask that mercy should fall

Upon the lost and the weary

Until upon Christ they will call.

The words that I speak have no power

Till all have been drenched in my tears;

I know when my heart is aching

For sinners, that God always hears.

Oh what would I give for a heart

That knows how to weep for the lost?

I’d give all my treasures on earth,

And care not just how much it cost.

 Please check out my books at My website: http://www.christophershennan.ca
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CNShennan
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristopherShennanAuthor

Peasant Sitting by the Fireplace  (‘Worn Out’), by Vincent Van Gogh. 1881. In the Public Domain.

The Poison of Unforgiveness

(This image is in the public domain.)

The Poison of Unforgiveness

So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. (Matthew 18:35 – AKJV)

The story of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18 is a stunning example of the consequences of an unforgiving disposition.

Briefly it is the story of a man who owed an impossible amount of money he had no hope of paying. In spite of this he received mercy; his debt was entirely wiped out because of the compassion of his master.

But this “wicked servant,” as his Master calls him later, goes out and demands payment of a small debt owed him by one of his fellow servants. He has deaf ears to the man’s pleas for time to pay. He goes so far as to have the man arrested for not paying his debt immediately.

So his Master pays him in kind, withdraws the forgiveness of his debt, and delivers him to the torturers till his debt is paid.

Now this is the point Jesus was trying to make when He said: So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. (Matthew 18:35 – AKJV) If you do not forgive you are not forgiven. And it has to be from the heart that you forgive or it doesn’t count.

I saw this on a poster: “Unforgiveness is like taking poison and hoping the other guy dies.”

Holding on to the hurts others have done to us may be the stupidest thing you and I have ever done. Don’t do it.

A Bottle of Poison

(© Thursday 18^th December 2014 – by Christopher Shennan)

So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. (Matthew 18:35 – AKJV)

I took a bottle of poison:

The label, it said: “Don’t forgive!”

But I knew if I ever drink it,

I would give up my right to live.

So I took, another bottle,

It said, “Forgive –You Will be Blessed!”

I drank it all and discovered

The Peace of my Lord and soul’s rest.

I’ve cast the first bottle away;

There’s no place in this heart of mine

For poisonous Unforgiveness.

To keep it would be a vile crime.

So friend, if you are still hurting,

And find that the pain is too deep,

Drink to the dregs “True Forgiveness”

And you’ll taste God’s Heavenly peace.

Check out my books at My website: http://www.christophershennan.ca
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