Thursday's Thought

I have not been able to figure out how to center this video correctly! If you would like to see all of the video, you can see it at Leslie Ludy's blog, Set Apart Girl (click here for the video).

Hope and Headlines

When we open a newspaper or watch the news, we are assaulted with tragic story after depressing story. Many reports about America today are pessimistic, to say the least. Some news items involve national tragedies, such as plans for a mosque at Ground Zero, evangelists arrested for evangelizing in Michigan, or the current president's steady stride toward socialism (not to mention the flourishing national debt). Other news items are calamities in others' personal lives that don't involve us but move our pity: a police chief's son killed in a shoot-out with police, children harmed by those who should be caring for them, or any other unwise decision and its fatal consequences. It seems every headline is disheartening.

Headlines, however, aren't always reliable reporters. In 1776, the news wasn't any better. The only government the colonies had ever known - the British king - was refusing to acknowledge their basic rights. The colonies had tried in insist on their freedoms by committing small acts of civil disobedience. Now a group of visionary men were faced with the dilemma of committing the most defiant act yet: the signing of a document legally separating the colonies from the only government they had ever known. Thousands of the world's best-trained and best-supplied soldiers would assuredly soon be knocking on the door of the fledgling nation that had only a small (albeit dedicated) band of underpaid, undersupplied, undertrained men. It did not look good.

Despite the danger, fifty-six dedicated reformers still signed the important piece of paper. They knew the risks. This paper would cause war. The signers also knew that they would see their fair share of danger, discord, and shortages of necessities. However, there was something else they knew, too. "But where, say some, is the king of America? I'll tell you, friend: he reigns above," (Thomas Paine, Common Sense). The founding fathers of America knew that God is always on His throne. He is always working behind the headlines.

At first glance, things don't seem very promising in America today. More and more complaints with our government and the current administration are surfacing often. America faces daunting challenges - both from without (such as hostile countries with nuclear capabilities) and within: our own children murdered before they are born, our own religion silenced, our own heritage all but erased. Things don't look good for America.

But no matter the threat, no matter the headline, our hope is as firm as ever. "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God" (Psalm 20:7). Just as God was working in the past during the birth of a nation in the midst of tumultuous circumstances, so He is working in our present and in our future. No matter how menacing the future sometimes seems, God knows what it holds, and He holds us. Some rest their futures and safety in multi-billion-dollar defense systems, hefty retirement plans, or constitutional rights and government programs, but that is not so for Christians. While those are needed, we must realize that they can never assure our security. But even so, we have no cause for worry. No matter the threat, no matter the headlines, Christians can rest in the hope that we have, because as for us, IN GOD WE TRUST.

Thursday's Thought

"Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards.
Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer,
and get first of all into harmony with Him."

Hudson Taylor

Untended

Some of you may remember the difficulty I had last year with growing lettuce. Actually, growing it was the easy part; warding off hungry (and persevering!) rabbits was where I had some problems. This year, due to time restraints, this intermittent gardener decided to not even attempt growing lettuce - I knew I wouldn't have the time to mess with rabbits.

To tell you the truth, I really hadn't done any cultivating at all when I finally ventured out to survey the condition of the weedpit - I mean, garden. It was just as I expected. Tall weeds, short weeds, prickly weeks, leafy weeds, vine-like weeds - maybe even some weeds unique to our garden. But as I kept looking, I noticed one plant that didn't quite fit in with all the other weeds. As I observed a little more closely, I realized what it was. Lettuce. Now, I know that I did not plant any lettuce this year. None. But there it was right in front of me: one solitary, healthy head of lettuce, and I had not done any work for it. On top of that, the rabbits hadn’t even touched it.

We often don’t understand why God chooses to give us gifts. David questioned why the kingdom of Israel was given to him. On that note, why did God choose the Israelites at all? And what had the disciples done to make them worthy to be the privileged few who were the closest to Jesus during His time on earth? One thing we know for sure: God doesn't give us gifts because we deserve them. After all, King David committed sins that hurt many people. The Israelites were far from faithful to God – most of the Old Testament tells of their yo-yo commitment to God and His ways. The disciples were continually bickering, arguing, and losing focus of the big picture (if they ever really had it in sight). Think of Jonah when he was stewing about God's compassion toward Nineveh: despite Jonah's sour attitude, God made a plant grow quickly to shade Jonah from the scorching heat (Jonah 4:1-11). Jonah didn’t deserve God’s compassion toward him, but God gave it to him anyway.

As Charles Spurgeon so aptly put it, “Soar back through all your own experiences. Think of how the Lord has led you in the wilderness and has fed and clothed you every day. How God has borne with your ill manners, and put up with all your murmurings and all your longings after the 'sensual pleasures of Egypt!' Think of how the Lord's grace has been sufficient for you in all your troubles.” Yes, God rewards obedience and faithfulness to Him, but sometimes He also gives generously for no reason that we can see or understand. And He gives generously. Who among us deserves an air-conditioned bedroom, a supportive family, or nice clothes? What have we done that makes us more worthy of these things than millions of other people around the world? Nothing. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son," and, might I add, a million other smaller blessings that we often don't even think about.

One small head of lettuce may not seem like a big deal, and, from a practical point of view, it isn't. But God can teach us life lessons even through the little things. A message about His loving generosity surrounds us every day - a safe car ride, good meals, our favorite song on the radio, even an untended yet prospering head of lettuce. But we so rarely notice. We don't deserve God's patient love and generous gifts toward us. He gives them anyway. And that's something this intermittent gardener will think about next time I eat a salad.

Thursday's Thought

"If Jesus Christ be God and died for me,
then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him."

C.T. Studd, lifelong missionary

Thursday's Thought

"Relying on God has to begin all over again every day
as if nothing yet had been done."

-C.S. Lewis-

What If His People Prayed?

What if the armies of the Lord
Picked up and dusted off their swords
Vowed to set the captive free
And not let satan have one more

What if the Church, for heaven's sake
Finally stepped up to the plate
Took a stand upon God's promise
And stormed hell's rusty gates

Chorus I:
What if His people prayed
And those who bear His name
Would humbly seek His faith, yeah
And turn from their old ways

And what would happen if we prayed
For those raised up to lead the way
Then maybe kids in school could pray
And unborn children see light of day

What if the life that we pursue
Came from a hunger for the truth
What if the family turned to Jesus
Stopped asking Oprah what to do

Chorus I:
What if His people prayed
And those who bear His name
Would humbly seek His face yeah
And turn from their own way

Chorus II:
He said that He would hear
His promise has been made
He'll answer loud and clear, yeah
If only we would pray

Bridge:
If My people called by My name
If they'll humble themselves and pray
If My people called by My name
If they'll humble themselves and pray

Choruses:
What if His people prayed
And those who bear His name
Would humbly seek His face, yeah
And turn from their old ways
He said that He would hear
His promise has been made
He'll answer loud and clear yeaah
If only we would pray

Casting Crowns, 2003