Our God

To whom can you compare God?

What image can you find to resemble him?

Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold, overlaid with gold, and decorated with silver chains?
Or if people are too poor for that, they might at least choose wood that won’t decay and a skilled craftsman to carve an image that won’t fall down!

Haven’t you heard?
Don’t you understand?

Are you deaf to the words of God– the words he gave before the world began?
Are you so ignorant?

God sits above the circle of the earth.
The people below seem like grasshoppers to him!

He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them.
He judges the great people of the world and brings them all to nothing.

They hardly get started, barely taking root, when he blows on them and they wither.
The wind carries them off like chaff.

“To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
Look up into the heavens.

Who created all the stars?

He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name.
Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing.

O Jacob, how can you say the LORD does not see your troubles?
O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?

Have you never heard? Have you never understood?

The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.

Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion.
But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.

–Isaiah 40:18-31 NLT

Love your Cinderellas…

Steven Curtis Chapman recently wrote a song entitled “Cinderella”.  The song is about dancing/spending time with your daughter(s) while you have them at home, because soon they’ll be grown and gone.

Approximately 10 years ago, Steven and his family were challenged by their oldest daughter to adopt children.  Emily Chapman had recently been on a trip to Haiti and saw the plights of many orphans there.  When she got back they began discussing orphans and God moved them to adopt a little girl named Shaohan (from Shao – Chinese for laughter).  In the following years, they adopted daughters Stevey Joy and Maria Sue.

The simple pleasures of knowing God

Sometimes I wonder off the path of just enjoying God’s grace. The beauty of His creation and the joy of my salvation. Often I dig into deep dive theological discussions (debates?) that end up only robbing me of the simple pleasure of knowing God. I forget to listen to the world around me and pick up on the laughter, the giggles, the innocence, the simple things that can be found if you listen for them.

Update on Jonathan #2

I’ve been keeping in contact with “Jonathan’s” family, and he is back in prison and struggling with his alcoholism again.

I’ve talked to his girlfriend/wife (been together 11.5 years) and they are struggling.

We’ve gotten in touch with some of the local community ministries there and things seem to be advancing a little better.

I still find it embarrassingly sad that the Churches I contacted either 1.) didn’t respond, or 2.) didn’t feel any responsibility to reach out to this family.

What are those scriptures about giving the Lord’s enemies reason to blaspheme (disdain) the name of the Lord??

*sigh*

God Bless,

Chris

Christians should be weak and abused because of their weakness

In a recent blog conversation someone made the following comment to me:

The belief in the Christian god tells oneself that being meek, weak, and abused in this world out of weakness will be rewarded in your afterlife.

So being meek, weak, and abused in this world out of weakness will be rewarded in my afterlife?

He associates being meek with being weak and abused out of weakness. Should Christians be weak? Does meek mean weak as we understand it today? Does humble mean weak?

I want to hear from you.

My questions to you reading this:

IS THIS THE PERCEPTION OF CHRISTIANITY, (CHRIST) ONE OF WEAKNESS AND ABUSED PEOPLE?

SHOULD IT BE IF IT IS (OR IS NOT)?

Read on…