As I am sitting here at my desk, we are waiting for the landfall of Hurricane Florence. Like many others, I have prayed for God to lessen the storm, to steer it away from populated land, and push it back out to sea. Earlier forecasted tracks of the storm took the eye right over where I am sitting, making landfall as a category 4 storm. I have endured many hurricanes since moving to North Carolina over 30 years ago. I have seen the devastation that Hurricanes Fran and Floyd brought, especially. Another storm with a name starting with the letter F heading towards the North Carolina coast did not particularly enthuse me.
I have been reading on social media about people thanking God for answered prayer with the hurricane’s path being diverted away from the original path that looked like we were “in the crosshairs” and is now heading in a more southerly direction, lessening the impact to our local area. Sure, we will still get heavy rain and winds. We will see flooding and loss of property. But at this moment, it appears that we may not get whacked as hard as originally thought. Personally, I am thankful for that.
But I have an honest question for those who attribute the change in the storm’s path to answered prayer. Do you believe that God, in His love for you and your prayers of petition, care more for you than the other people that are now in the path of the storm? Are your prayers more special than the prayers of others? Does God love His saints in North Carolina more than those in South Carolina? Did God get more prayers from North Carolinians than He did from South Carolinians, so He decided to shift the storm track? What does that say about your discernment of The Body and mankind in general? Is your rejoicing at the price of others’ peril? Sure, “when the righteous prosper, the city rejoices” (Proverbs 11:10). The other half of that verse says that "when the wicked perish, there is shouting." Are those who are now going to be in the storm path all wicked? Of course not. He sends rain on the just and the unjust alike (Matthew 5:45).
Yes, we can be glad that our level of danger has lessened some. But let us not attribute that to some act of God in response to your prayers which is still contrary to the prayers of others. Let us still pray for those in greater danger than ourselves, for their preservation and salvation, and not blame God one way or the other.
Showing posts with label Bible. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bible. Show all posts
Thursday, September 13, 2018
Thoughts on hurricanes, social media, and prayer
As I am sitting here at my desk, we are waiting for the landfall of Hurricane Florence. Like many others, I have prayed for God to lessen the storm, to steer it away from populated land, and push it back out to sea. Earlier forecasted tracks of the storm took the eye right over where I am sitting, making landfall as a category 4 storm. I have endured many hurricanes since moving to North Carolina over 30 years ago. I have seen the devastation that Hurricanes Fran and Floyd brought, especially. Another storm with a name starting with the letter F heading towards the North Carolina coast did not particularly enthuse me.
I have been reading on social media about people thanking God for answered prayer with the hurricane’s path being diverted away from the original path that looked like we were “in the crosshairs” and is now heading in a more southerly direction, lessening the impact to our local area. Sure, we will still get heavy rain and winds. We will see flooding and loss of property. But at this moment, it appears that we may not get whacked as hard as originally thought. Personally, I am thankful for that.
But I have an honest question for those who attribute the change in the storm’s path to answered prayer. Do you believe that God, in His love for you and your prayers of petition, care more for you than the other people that are now in the path of the storm? Are your prayers more special than the prayers of others? Does God love His saints in North Carolina more than those in South Carolina? Did God get more prayers from North Carolinians than He did from South Carolinians, so He decided to shift the storm track? What does that say about your discernment of The Body and mankind in general? Is your rejoicing at the price of others’ peril? Sure, “when the righteous prosper, the city rejoices” (Proverbs 11:10). The other half of that verse says that "when the wicked perish, there is shouting." Are those who are now going to be in the storm path all wicked? Of course not. He sends rain on the just and the unjust alike (Matthew 5:45).
Yes, we can be glad that our level of danger has lessened some. But let us not attribute that to some act of God in response to your prayers which is still contrary to the prayers of others. Let us still pray for those in greater danger than ourselves, for their preservation and salvation, and not blame God one way or the other.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Dealing with violence
In our church men's group last night, we were discussing the topic of violence. The men's group has been reading the book, The Measure of a Man. This week, we discussed chapter 12, which dealt with violent behavior and attitudes. We had a great discussion, and many of the guys were transparent with one another. We talked a lot about sin and righteousness, anger and violence. I have been pondering such topics as the WWJD (what would Jesus do) philosophy, since a dear friend of mine and I have been talking about it this morning. I have been measuring my thoughts and attitudes, my answers, my actions, and such the past several days. I admit I am not perfect; I never claimed to be.
One can be violent in speech and not violent in deeds. Make no mistake, sometimes people deserve violent words. They may not respond well and the one dishing out the words may have the wrong motive and want retribution. Words are one way some people find that retribution. I admit that I am guilty of that. Also in those violent words can be the expression of righteous indignation, albeit encapsulated in carnal ways. Just recently, meaning in the past couple of days, I have been dealing with a great deal of hypocrisy from someone with whom I used to be very close. I admit that I let some sarcasm enter in.
In some cultures, the base of humor is sarcasm and there is generally no harmful intent. It is understood by both parties to be jesting lightheartedly. Other times, it can be mean or violent, especially when the recipient is not of that bent of a sense of humor. Intellectual victories feel real good, but are they worth it? I struggle with that, I admit. Such is how I may display indignation, irritation, and the declaration that regardless of what you have done to me I am moving on.
As I said, the book deals with those subjects, and I admit that I fall short. I am no stranger to lively discussion or argumentation. For the most part, I do not seek strife. It seems to find me. Quite often, I merely comment upon something in society, as I am a blogger and newspaper columnist. I have opinions. Yes, I judge (and Christians ARE supposed to judge, contrary to common misconception and excuses). There is a fine line, I guess, between having an opinion and being a shmuck.
When talking about being violent in the study, I thought of this:
One can be violent in speech and not violent in deeds. Make no mistake, sometimes people deserve violent words. They may not respond well and the one dishing out the words may have the wrong motive and want retribution. Words are one way some people find that retribution. I admit that I am guilty of that. Also in those violent words can be the expression of righteous indignation, albeit encapsulated in carnal ways. Just recently, meaning in the past couple of days, I have been dealing with a great deal of hypocrisy from someone with whom I used to be very close. I admit that I let some sarcasm enter in.
In some cultures, the base of humor is sarcasm and there is generally no harmful intent. It is understood by both parties to be jesting lightheartedly. Other times, it can be mean or violent, especially when the recipient is not of that bent of a sense of humor. Intellectual victories feel real good, but are they worth it? I struggle with that, I admit. Such is how I may display indignation, irritation, and the declaration that regardless of what you have done to me I am moving on.
As I said, the book deals with those subjects, and I admit that I fall short. I am no stranger to lively discussion or argumentation. For the most part, I do not seek strife. It seems to find me. Quite often, I merely comment upon something in society, as I am a blogger and newspaper columnist. I have opinions. Yes, I judge (and Christians ARE supposed to judge, contrary to common misconception and excuses). There is a fine line, I guess, between having an opinion and being a shmuck.
When talking about being violent in the study, I thought of this:
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