Getting priorities straight

I read an article on Foxnews.com by Phyllis Chesler called, "Where's the Outrage?". In the article she highlights how the muslim community gets up in arms over a proposed burning of the Koran. She then contrast this with the Muslim world's complete silence when it comes to the treatment of women. She talks about a woman who is scheduled for stoning and has been imprisoned in Iran for adultery since 2006. According to Phyllis the accusation of adultery can mean,

"...anything from she was raped or dared report it, or that she dared to leave a husband against his will."

The Christian community is often classified as pro-life and when we study scripture we see that God is against those who harm the fatherless and the widow (Isaiah 10:1-3). This is essentially a pro-life position. When the woman caught in adultery was brought to Jesus, He confounded the Pharisees accusation and granted her grace (John 8:3-11). Once again the position is pro-life. The main thing that stands out to me here is that our news media has been almost completely silent about this woman in comparison to the uproar over the proposed Koran burning. What is ultimately more important: The life of the woman or the Koran? For the Christian would you have felt differently about the proposed Koran burning if it was being done to push Iran to release the woman accused of adultery? I would venture to guess that the vast majority of Christians are more plugged in and concerned about the politics of what is happening this November then the woman in Iran. Yet if we look at this from the perspective of what a God focused life demands we should value, I think it changes what is important. When potentially injustice against children and women are before us what are we willing to do?

Taking God for granted

I am sitting here in my living room with my wife. We had twins a little over three weeks ago. It's late and as I sit here it suddenly struck me how much of God's grace has been poured out on us that we take for granted. We are not wealthy by the world's standards but we have a comfrotable couch and a recliner that would have been the envy of the wealthy 100 years ago. A color TV hangs on my wall and 100 years ago that sort of thing was not even thought of. Electricity powers lights that let me see what I type. A fish aquarium churnes away in the corner maintaining a fish habitat for our viewing pleasure. Color photographs in frames crowd the top of our piano. Some of them were captured with a digital camera. Our newborn daughters rest comfortably in warm clothes that were acquired from virtually limitless choices at an abundance of stores. What we experience is truly amazing, and especially so when we remember John 1:3, "All things were made by Him (Jesus...God)." That puts an amazing perspective on it all. There is not one thing that we have that is not derived from something that God made. The life that we experience comes from God and all that we have comes from God. All the things that I see in my home exist because God allowed someone somewhere to have the mental capacity to figure out how to make it. 1 Corinthians 8:6 reminds us that all things are God's. All the things we take for granted are actually little signpost that should cause our hearts to cry out to God in wonder at His mercy and grace. We really deserve God's wrath because of our corruption and sinfulness. What we have received even in the common things of life is truly astounding. Because of Jesus one day I will dwell in Heaven with my God. But on the journey to that celestial city God has surrounded me and you with signpost to point out His abundant mercy and grace. So whether we eat or drink or whatsoever we do we could do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). May God grant us the grace to not take Him for granted but to live a more God focused life than ever.

A lot can happen in a couple of days...

For those who may read on a regular basis. Sorry for the hiatus. My wife gave birth to twins and we were at the hospital from Wednesday until Friday. The birth went really well and we have two beautiful baby girls now in our family. Something happened on Wednesday that I thought would be relevant to the blog. For the last two months every sonogram has shown the twins to be transverse (That means that they were laying across my wife's abdomen). The problem with this is that the babies are considered undeliverable and it is an automatic c-section. We have been praying for some time that the babies would turn head down so that they could be delivered normally. We have also been facing a gradually increasing blood pressure problem for my wife. I am personally not sure what problem this poses but it is something the doctor did not like. So Wednesday a week ago because the babies were transverse and because my wife's blood pressure was continuing to rise the doctor scheduled her for a c-section for this last Thursday May 20th. With one week left we began asking a lot of additional people to pray that God would cause the babies to turn head down. Well when we went in to have the pre-op sonogram the first or presenting baby was bottom down and completely breach. We then headed over to the doctor's office for our pre-op visit and to get blood work done. The doc was not anxious to do a c-section on my wife because this was her eleventh pregnancy. So when he saw that the baby was breach he canceled the c-section and started some natural things that might throw her into labor (Her blood pressure was still high and he felt it best for the babies to get this done if possible). Her labor started and 3.5 hours later we had two new babies in our arms. I am convinced that God caused the presenting baby to turn. God caused my wife to choose a doctor years ago that would be willing to deliver a baby breach. God protected the second child from suffering any major problems even though she did end up with a little extra fluid in her lungs. What should have happened to us as a people who are sinners and have nothing about us that deserves God's favor? What should have happened I shudder to think about. What did happen was an abundance of God's grace was poured out into our lives. It happened not because we deserved it or because we did something right or because we merited God's favor somehow. It happened because God in His grace looked down through time and set His love upon me and my wife because of the work of Jesus on the cross. His death on my behalf is why God looks at my wife and I and delights in us (Isaiah 62:4, Jeremiah 9:24). He makes us righteous. He makes us steadfast. He sees us through Christ and so in us He delights. It is a work of His grace. His mercy pours out. He pours out grace in abundance (Ephesians 3:20, 2 Corinthians 1:5). We receive that abundant unfettered grace every time we receive something that we do not deserve. Which, when it comes to God is all the time. This is not a prosperity gospel. This is not a looking for more things but merely looking for more of God's hand of mercy and grace to be manifest on our behalf. An abundance of God (John 10:10) is what I have had a chance to see this last week and I thought I might share it with you. Then you can rejoice with me in the pursuit of a more God focused life.

The Purpose of Suffering - Part 3 Divine Retribution

Again lets look at how pain is a tool that God introduced into a fallen world for the sake of man. We have looked at two parts of suffering in the previous posts. I am looking at this to seek to address some of the issues raised by Sam Harris. See the previous post for more details. The third reason that God introduced pain into a fallen world has to do with providing meaningful recompense for our rebellion against Him. If there were no pain there would be no way for God to provide corrective discipline (Hebrews 12:3-11). We would unruly sons with no means for our loving Father to correct us. Divine retribution extends to those who reject God entirely and never become sons as well. Their judgement will be portioned out according to the evil deeds that they have done (Psalm 28:3-5, Romans 2:5-9). God is a just judge and pain is a means of rendering justice for those who have lived in rebellion against Him. They have been given a clear revelation that there is a God in the heavens and yet they have suppressed that truth and pursued their own futile thinking (Romans 1:18-25). Pain and suffering in a fallen world that is in rebellion against God makes sense. It is a necessary component to communicate God's eternal wrath against sin and rebellion. Without it we could never know how much God hates sin (Deuteronomy 12:31). Knowing how much God hates sin the heart of a Christian that is focused on God should be bent toward running from sin like Joseph ran from Potiphar's wife (Genesis 39:11-12). Understanding the great mercy of God exhibited in giving us pain for correction and retribution should drive us more than ever to living a God focused life.