Everyone is talking about the death of Osama Bin Laden this morning. That I am also makes me mildly sick. I could pretty happily Gibb-smack myself right now for writing this post but here I am, and I’m going to put a finger on something that is going to make a lot of people squirm but here it is.
Osama Bin Laden was not inherently evil.
Read carefully now – A man was not born, he was not created simply for the sake of evil. Did he do evil things? Uh, yeah. That one’s kind of obvious. Did he die an evil man? Yes, I’m afraid he did. But even then, at that moment when he was probably cursing the west and struggling to breathe, do I believe that Jesus was by his side saying “I’m sorry you had to go through this. I’m sorry you have to receive judgement.”?
Yes. Read more…
Let me tell you something about current events. There was an earthquake in Haiti. A hurricane in Louisiana. It seems like fires break out everywhere all the time. And now there’s been another earthquake and a tsunami in Japan. Today I was listening (I love audio bibles btw. Shout out to @audiobible) to 1 Kings 19 and let me tell you what stood out to me.
“The Lord was not in the wind.”
“The Lord was not in the earthquake.”
“The Lord was not in the fire.”
Where was He in the midst of this insane and catastrophic maelstrom of natural disasters? “There was a voice. A soft whisper.” And that’s not the only time we see that’s the case. We see it repeated in Psalm 46 that starts off with an earthquake and then ends with the infamous admonition “Be still and know that I am God.” Read more…
I don’t watch TV. I make a point of not listening to the news. I tend to get my news from my twitterfeed and facebook and even then I RARELY get much info on the tragic events going on around the world.
I do this because I hate seeing people in pain. Maybe it’s a tender heart, maybe it’s compassion but I personally hurt when I watch the news.
“Tonight a massive earthquake rocked the Indian Ocean and unleashed a tsunami on Bangladesh-”
“…a vicious double homicide in a suburban home.”
“…outrage over suicide bombings…”
“…as the death toll continues to rise…”
“…unprovoked attack on civilians…”
“…twelve year old girl found raped and murdered…” Read more…
It occurred to me yesterday that Jesus did not come to this world despite the sin and treachery, and circumstances of life, but because of them. Now sit with me for a moment and think about that.
Jesus didn’t come DESPITE the world, but BECAUSE of it.
Let’s review one of our favorite bible verses “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life”
This has long been a cornerstone of my faith and will continue to be. I mean lets face it: salvation is kind of big deal. But follow me for a moment down this train of thought and tell me what you think about it. Read more…
Someone dear to me indicated that she was unsure of some of the choices she had made and that it left her feeling a bit down. She quoted Robert Frost.
And both that morning equally lay/in leaves no step had trodden black./ Oh , I kept the first for another day!/ Yet knowing how way leads on to way,/ I doubted if I should ever come back.
That’s the third verse from “The Road not taken.” One of Frost’s more famous poems. And it’s interesting to look at this one. I’ve never really taken a close look at it before but now that I do I see something that really catches me off guard and tells you who much I’ve changed since reading this High School. Read more…
