In the Midst of a Pandemic, Give Thanks!
Monthly Archives: November 2020
Where is glory found? [part 1]
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
God’s Glory is not hidden
The glory of God surrounds us and is displayed in dramatic awe in the sky above and throughout the earth. “The Psalmist declares: the Heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows his handiwork.” [Psalm 19:1] His fingerprints are upon the skies, the world and all that we know as we watch for his trademark touches. His creativity is boundless and He creates a myriad of difference in a single species. Each snowflake, fingerprint, stripe of a tiger or zebra is both the same and unique. Then He built His created masterpiece, man, so many different colors, textures and features with the amazing tri-fold being: Spirit, Soul and Body.
Even as we enjoy all that we can see exhibited, we have a chance as all creation to bless and praise Him for what he has done and for who He is. If we are bold enough to recognize how extraordinary it all is, and how awesome it is to experience it: “Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being.” [Rom. 1:20a MSG]
God’s Thoughts
His Divine Being is one brief description of His Supreme Godhead. He is Omniscient, Omnipresent and Omnipotent (all-knowing, always present everywhere and all-powerful). He then conceals knowledge that we don’t need. He does this likely for our protection, but we really don’t know all that we don’t know. Our greatest minds attempt to explain things whose structure and function they have only an inkling about .
His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. [Isa 55:9] And our highest thoughts He has made absurd: As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent . . .
So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe.” [I Cor 1:20-21 NLT] How do we respond? Much of the time we don’t respond well . . . The skeptic swore, “There is no God! No God!—I can do anything I want! I’m more animal than human; so-called human intelligence escapes me. “I flunked ‘wisdom.’ I see no evidence of a holy God. Has anyone ever seen Anyone climb into Heaven and take charge? grab the winds and control them? gather the rains in his bucket? stake out the ends of the earth? Just tell me his name, tell me the names of his sons. Come on now—tell me!” [Proverbs 30: 1-4 MSG.]
We all know people who ask, “Why does God do this, Why didn’t he stop that? I would certainly do things differently.” If we understood why God did or didn’t do what he does, he wouldn’t be God would he?
to be continued . . .
Disappointed, Yes; Downcast, Never!
Disappointed?
The results of the election are not in. States are still counting ballots. The demonstrated disposition of the electorate is clear. The frustrations and anxiety of black and brown people around police brutality, race relations, and inequity across the country is insignificant. The sentiment that the economic turnaround can be achieved in the midst of a crippling pandemic seems naive. Still, the results bear the fact that in spite of all of the exposed lies, the visible corruption, the restrained racist rhetoric, America still seems to cling to this warped president’s leadership.
Does it matter how many people died as a result of the pandemic, how divided we are as a nation or how angry his political adversaries are? The answer may be reflected in the result of the election and if the president loses, the result of several civil lawsuits and financial rulings against him.
Posturing and gamesmanship have brought us to this point with two daunting destinies pending: four more years of fascist inept administrative performance or a Biden presidency fraught with no majority in either the House or the Senate.
Downcast?
Quiet down before God,
be prayerful before him.
Don’t bother with those who climb the ladder,
who elbow their way to the top.
Bridle your anger, trash your wrath,
cool your pipes—it only makes things worse.
Before long the crooks will be bankrupt;
God-investors will soon own the store.
Before you know it, the wicked will have had it;
you’ll stare at his once famous place and—nothing!
Down-to-earth people will move in and take over,
relishing a huge bonanza.
Bad guys have it in for the good guys,
obsessed with doing them in.
But God isn’t losing any sleep; to him
to him they’re a joke with no punch line. [Psalm 37: 7-13 MSG.] feel free to reflect on the whole Psalm!
