Cause us to return, O Lord, that we may return! (Lamentations 5:21)
You know what I've discovered recently? I may not like what God is doing right now, but I still believe. I know I said this before (maybe not here). I have two fingers pointed directly at him but I cannot deny him. My faith is frustrated, but not dead.
My prayer has been for revival in my heart. I've asked Him to return the joy of my salvation and the passion I had for so long. I want that anticipation of the rapture to be right before me.
In that, you can see I'm not concerned about others. But I'm looking for my own restoration. I know I cannot/will not progress without him being in in the proper perspective again. Which is a real pain when I can't say much good about him at the moment.
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Friday, January 23, 2015
Pressing toward the goal
Forgetting those things which are behind . . . I press toward the goal. —Philippians 3:13-14
Spiritually, I hear the same verse and think what do I need to leave behind and what is my goal. I've always said that I would serve, and right now I'm not. And I honestly don't have any goals for serving. So this is something that gives me pause.
CS Lewis in Mere Christianity talks about the "Real Experience" of God and then going somewhere with God:
I remember once when I had been giving a talk to the R.A.F., an old, hard-bitten officer got up and said, ‘I’ve no use for all that stuff. But, mind you, I’m a religious man too. I know there’s a God. I’ve felt Him: out alone in the desert at night: the tremendous mystery. And that’s just why I don’t believe all your neat little dogmas and formulas about Him. To anyone who’s met the real thing they all seem so petty and pedantic and unreal!’
Now in a sense I quite agreed with that man. I think he had probably had a real experience of God in the desert. And when he turned from that experience to the Christian creeds, I think he really was turning from something real to something less real. In the same way, if a man has once looked at the Atlantic from the beach, and then goes and looks at a map of the Atlantic, he also will be turning from something real to something less real: turning from real waves to a bit of coloured paper. But here comes the point. The map is admittedly only coloured paper, but there are two things you have to remember about it. In the first place, it is based on what hundreds and thousands of people have found out by sailing the real Atlantic. In that way it has behind it masses of experience just as real as the one you could have from the beach; only, while yours would be a single glimpse, the map fits all those different experiences together. In the second place, if you want to go anywhere, the map is absolutely necessary. As long as you are content with walks on the beach, your own glimpses are far more fun than looking at a map. But the map is going to be more use than walks on the beach if you want to get to America.
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Sport is unique
Just yesterday on Facebook (something I also refer to as "TimeSuck") I saw some of my old friends asking "Am I the only person that doesn't care about who won what football game?"
At that, I reflected that it really isn't important who wins or loses. It is just something that pulls interest from a large group of people. And the drama of the action is compelling and is difficult to duplicate in other arenas.
For instance, I remember several good movies that generate tons of chatter like "You have to go see it!" Or a good book with those unexpected plot twists that keep you reading all night. Even the seven wonders of the earth are something to behold. But they fail to draw that memorable moment like when Kennedy was shot, or a man landed on the moon. These are instant connections with millions of people of "where was I when ..."
Sports give us a chance in every game for those "Wow!" moments. "My mom started crying," "My brother flipped out," "My dog got so excited it wet the floor," "I was in a meeting," "I was stuck in class," "I turned it off in the 3rd quarter." Everybody will know what they were thinking going into those final moments; the pressure, the elation, the agony, the disbelief.
It doesn't matter what sport really, the drama is exciting when it is against all odds or record breaking. And it is fun to be there. Just like being at a spectacular sunset. You can't really describe or capture it. You just have to be there.
At that, I reflected that it really isn't important who wins or loses. It is just something that pulls interest from a large group of people. And the drama of the action is compelling and is difficult to duplicate in other arenas.
For instance, I remember several good movies that generate tons of chatter like "You have to go see it!" Or a good book with those unexpected plot twists that keep you reading all night. Even the seven wonders of the earth are something to behold. But they fail to draw that memorable moment like when Kennedy was shot, or a man landed on the moon. These are instant connections with millions of people of "where was I when ..."
Sports give us a chance in every game for those "Wow!" moments. "My mom started crying," "My brother flipped out," "My dog got so excited it wet the floor," "I was in a meeting," "I was stuck in class," "I turned it off in the 3rd quarter." Everybody will know what they were thinking going into those final moments; the pressure, the elation, the agony, the disbelief.
It doesn't matter what sport really, the drama is exciting when it is against all odds or record breaking. And it is fun to be there. Just like being at a spectacular sunset. You can't really describe or capture it. You just have to be there.
#GoSeahawks
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