What a scary place!

In reflection in the past few days listening to evil men standing in the U.N. general assembly receiving applause for the venom that they were spewing not to mention the protests of what the Pope said (ill talk about that later) it really seems like the world is losing it’s mind. That alone is frightening and reminiscent of the years before WWII.

Last night during my quiet time while i was reading a couple of the Psalms images of Hugo Chavez and Ahmadinejhad receiving applause form leaders of the world popped in my mind. To sit down in quiet and really think about what seems to be hapening in the world you begin to wonder what is coming and generally whatever it is cant be good. I sometimes tend to think of the United States in terms of God’s Kingdom as being the moral superior of evil nations that has a responsibility to overcome evilin the world and while the latter may be true the former is not.

The United States is a construct of God to provide protection to his people and a launching pad for the spread of the Gospel I love the United States but i realized (or was given insight) that i needed to look at the situation from another perspective. It’s the eternal Kingdom that i really need to focus on when fear wells up inside and realise that nothing in Hell or earth can bring God’s kingdom down.

The reality is that the U.S. will not last forever, at some point in the future it will fall either from within or without or the LORD himsilf will sweep it away when He returns. So when you become fearful in the future and fear for the survival of this nation remember it’s not ultimately the nation we place our hope but it’s the One who holds the nations in his hand.

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,

and in his word I put my hope.

My soul waits for the Lord.”

Ps 130:5-6

And here…

“May all who hate Zion be turned back in shame.

May they be like grass on the roof, which withers before it can grow;

with it the reaper cannot fill his hands”

Ps 129:5-7

So I will remember that it is the Lord who allows his enemies breath and will in his time bring them low and he will always bless those who love Him. When you are reminded of the truth (the Bible has a way of doing that) then I have a great deal of pity for the evil men who oppress their people and lie at the podium of the nations their end will overwhelm them. Blessed be your name oh Lord! Amen!

Remembering 9-11 in Prayer.

Lord God, in Jesus’ name i thank you for my country that it is a place where life is sacred and every life matters. I thank you for all of the heroes who rose up on that fateful day and sacrificed their lives for strangers. I thank you for the survivors who are living with the horrific memories of that day and i pray that your peace falls down on them. I pray for the families of the victims who struggle everyday with the loss of their loved one, comfort them Lord as only you can.

I pray for our soldiers who are abroad currently stamping out the hatred which gave birth to that dreadful day, i pray you give them victory after victory. I pray that your hand, through our military, will destroy the evil of our time. To wipe out men who have no care for life and seek only to snuff it out. I pray you reign down destruction on their schemes and plans.

Father God I pray you continue to bless this nation as you have for so long and in so many good ways. I pray that your protection remain upon us and your love will shine down into each and every life.

I pray that we take this day to remember that evil exists and is a potent force in our word but that you are a force greater than that and all hell cannot overcome you.

Father it is to you, the author of life and salvation, whom i give praise. It is in the mighty name of Jesus i pray, Amen!

Dichotomy and Scantification

You will have to accept my apologies for this hastily put-together post but it is midnight and i just finished reading a section of my Theories textbook on Freud’s theory and a critical Christan analysis of it so I’m sure I’m a bit punchy.

First and foremost I am an avid video gamer, with my preferences resting in strategy games (most types), first-person shooters (the more intense the better), and I am becoming more and more a racing gamer.

I say that to say this i just purchased Saints Row. So what? Well Saints Row is an exclusive Xbox 360 title (don’t get me started on Sony ill go off!!!!) and is in the same (if not identical) vein as GTA (Grand Theft Auto for the uninitiated). Basically the game has some of the worst socially irresponsible content possible but i have have to tell you it’s really fun.

In addition to that i find myself continuing to enjoy stuff like Happy Tree Friends, South Park, Chappel’s Show (if you don’t know what this stuff is it’s probably best you just think of it as socially questionable) and stuff that i brought with me from before i became a Christian.

However there is something about the raw and visceral especially in humor, perhaps It’s the same attraction Adam and Eve struggled with in the garden not in the same way but still similar. There is something attractive in what is forbidden. Or maybe hearing an inappropriate tirade peppered with obscenities is just really funny to me.

Im not saying it’s right or even appropriate especially for a Christian who knows better but it’s impossible to just stop doing “bad things” at a whim if that were true then Christ died for nothing. So whats my point…i dont even know if i have one, told you i was punchy.

I reckon that after reading about Freud that i realize that there is a real dichotomy in my beliefs and actions. But then even Paul struggled with this same issue, “For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do” Romans 7:15.

So there is an example that the Lord was gracious enough to include in his Word for those of us who, at times (that would be all the time), wrestle with the fact that they dont always do or think or feel the way they know Jesus would. But that’s ok because Jesus forgives and gives us the power, over time, to change! I guess the point of this whole thing is the assertion that i still have more work to do in the sanctification process, and thats ok. Amen!