paravanes:meditations

Lately, I have rolled across blog postings in which writers have expressed their anger towards God about the disaster in Haiti, the seeming endlessness of suffering there, and the failure of the world community to get effective aid on the ground more quickly. When something is not right, isn't it human nature to find someone ( often someone else ) to blame? Blame must be assigned, because without blame, we have no rationale for why so much of the world appears to be on the very edge of total self destruction. Those who are angry with God about Haiti could just as easily be angry with God about the Congo, the Sudan, the internal conflicts in Burma, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Israel-Gaza, the Mexican drug wars, the worldwide AIDS pandemic, the droughts, fires, cyclones, tsunamis, earthquakes, etc., that mark modern history. Feel free to grab an encyclopedia or google the historical list of wars and natural disasters if you want a longer or more complete list. What all of the complaints s...

When I was a little girl, my parents, Sunday School teachers, and others of a spiritual persuasion often told children in their care: "God is always watching." We understood this admonition to mean: "Be careful and be good, because God knows everything you say and do." The intent was to warn and to control, to keep us "on our toes." I don't really think there was anything wrong or incorrect in that teaching and perhaps as adults we would all do well to remember we can never really escape "the Presence." "For in Him we live and move and have our being." --Acts 17:28. When St. Paul used these words in a sermon in ancient Athens, he wasn't preaching to the church, but to those who were "unconverted", some of whom may have been seekers, or just bored or curious listeners. Whether you acknowledge God or not, you cannot escape His presence. But what does that mean for someone who knows and loves God? When I was a child, kno...

Mr. Robertson, Is it not a true temptation to comment on everything, especially when one has a platform and a listening audience? It is human nature to attempt an explanation for everything , even when a reasoned, intelligent explanation is not readily available. Mr. Robertson, you should publicly apologize for and retract your comments on the cause of the Haitian earthquake. Even if your assessment is correct -- and it is not -- you are not showing the love and compassion of God by suggesting those who live in Haiti now are responsible for whatever "pacts with the devil" may have been made hundreds of years ago. When Jesus saw the people of his earthly time and place in chaos and confusion, his response was compassion. From Matthew 9:35, 36: "Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harass...

Yes, as we are able, we should send funds to support the relief effort. Individuals and nations will do this, some more than others. Will we see the restoration of order, medical care, food, clean water, and the rebuilding of Haiti? In all of the suffering that has happened in Haiti, there is an opportunity to test and evaluate how "good natured, generous, and loving" human beings really are. The world community possesses the technology, the means of transport, and the financial capacity to stop the dying, the starvation, and the loss of sanity now occurring in Haiti. It is estimated millions of people have lost their homes and tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, are dead. Without immediate assistance, disease, life threatening infections, hunger, and lack of clean water will claim the lives of many who did not immediately die in the earthquake. How long will it take for the world community to organize and deliver meaningful, life saving support to the Haitians?...

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline." --2 Timothy 1:7 If the water rolls downstream and I am swimming upstream, I am on a collision course. As I move closer and closer to following God's will and God's ways, I expect more conflict and a different, deeper type of conflict. In an earlier post, I wrote of something I referred to as The All-Consuming Ugliness of the Prosperity Gospel. Smooth sailing is not for me. As a Christian, I am swimming upstream in a downstream world. I experience more conflict than the "average person", and I experience it not because I am crude, rudely arrogant, or self-congratulatory. I experience conflict because I am living right side up in an upside down world. I voluntarily chose a path different from the majority of people around me. I chose a standard of behavior and priority that sets me apart. I am not set apart for superiority or adulation. I am set apart for s...

Dear God, Thank you for answering my many questions about you, life, me, and what I am doing here. Thank you for refusing to answer every query about why other people are doing what they are doing. It really was none of my business. I appreciate your courtesy in responding to my true questions, my uncertainties formed as questions, and my lack of faith formed as questions. I am grateful you have led me away from people who believe questions display a lack of faith. I appreciate you showing me how untrue that type of thinking is, and how damaging it can become. As I read your word, I see how honest, legitimate questions were clearly answered, and how those answers strengthened faith--not weakened it. I have come to understand how a true question demonstrates faith : if I didn't think you had all of the answers, I wouldn't ask you. If I didn't think you would share truth with me, I wouldn't look to you for truth. From my point of view, I am now entering a new year and a n...

Happy New Year! I abandoned the concept of "new year's resolutions" several years ago. I decided if I needed to make a change, I should make it immediately. The new year is a good time for personal review and reflection, and I continue to celebrate those things at this time. I have, however, taken on a new year's challenge that will last for approximately sixteen days. Each day, I am committing to memory one verse of Psalm 91. By the middle of this month, I will have memorized the entire song. Here it is: Psalm 91 1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." 3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. 5 You will not fear ...