Faith & God

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God’s Dream, God’s Abilities

“God wouldn’t have given you a dream without giving you the ability to accomplish it. You have everything you need. … When God laid out the plan for your life, He deposited in you the skill, the wisdom, the creativity; everything you need to fulfill your destiny.”

This little quote appeared on Joel Osteen’s website on January 20. A friend noticed it and posted it to Facebook, where I finally saw it a week later. I must be part Berean, because for some reason these words bothered me and I, like the Bereans, felt compelled to “examine the Scriptures every day to see if what [Joel] said was true.” (see Acts 17:11) Can we all fulfill our dreams with abilities we already have?

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A Culture of Fear

Scanning the headlines on my news feed, I read of disaster after disaster. From people being buried alive under collapsing buildings, floods and tornadoes, and seemingly random shootings, to fires, earthquakes, and the massacre of innocent civilians, the world is falling apart.

Listening to the news, you might think you’re going to die any moment. It could be from something you ate. Everything is bad for us. Even foods that were considered beneficial ten or twenty years ago (such as soy) are now touted as dangerous to our health.

You can’t go to this country or that country because you might be assaulted, blown up, or kidnapped. Here at home, our government is spying on its own citizens. And I just read that the next “fiscal cliff” is coming in late February.

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Just Believe?

“Just believe! It’s that simple.” I’ve heard this comment so many times. Is that really all it takes to become a Christian? Is simple belief all the assurance we need that we’re heading for heaven?

Some parts of the Bible clearly support a “yes” answer to these questions. Here are a few verses (out of many possible examples):

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Travel is Educational

Pete and I took a vacation. We really couldn’t afford the time or the cost, but we did it anyway. This past year was intense, to say the least. It seems we went from one crisis to the next. Both Pete and I were looking a bit glassy-eyed, and we hadn’t had a decent conversation in months. We needed time with one another and time with God, so the day after Christmas we packed the car and headed east. We didn’t come back until we were ready to face life again.

florida trip map

So, here we are back in Colorado, substantially poorer and with almost 6,000 more miles on our car. Was it worth it? You bet!

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Harvest Workers

TRUE or FALSE: the Bible tells us to pray for people to be saved.

Have your answer? Probably, like me, you read this question and answered, “Of course we should pray for people to be saved!” I thought it was totally obvious, until our pastor said something that challenged my belief.

He told us, “God never said that we should pray for the harvest. We are to pray for workers!”

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Happy New Year

“… but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Amen!

Philippians 3:13b-14

I’ll be taking this next week off for some serious R&R.
See you January 7 with a new post.

Happy New Year!

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“Is that all there is?”

How was your Christmas? Did you finish the day fulfilled? Were all your longings met? Were you happy the entire time? Can you look back and say, yes, I wasn’t a bit disappointed?

Me neither.

I’m sure you’ve seen the classic cartoon of the kids surrounded by shredded wrapping paper, boxes, and piles of new toys. Amidst all that plenty, they’re asking, “Is that all there is?” Christmas comes with so much hype, of course we feel a bit let down afterward. How can a single day (or two, depending on how you celebrate) meet all our expectations?

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Which Way Now, God?

Decorated trees are sprouting in living rooms around the country, carols are playing in the mall, and shoppers eagerly await packages from Amazon. It’s that time of year again—time for my birthday. As usual, we’re so busy with seasonal activities—Christmas parties, the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, more parties—that I barely have time to celebrate. That’s all right. In December, I prefer to focus on Someone else’s birthday.

As I’ve mentioned in the past, I tend to ignore New Year’s Eve and the start of the calendar year. It seems so arbitrary. Instead, I use my birthday as a time to mull over the year past and the year to come. What did God tell me to do last year? Did I do it? And what about the year to come? Is He directing me in any particular direction?

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Grown-up Jesus

You know the words:

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.
The stars in the sky looked down where he lay, the little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.

The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes, but little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes;
I love thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky and stay by my cradle till morning is nigh.

Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask thee to stay close by me forever, and love me, I pray;
bless all the dear children in thy tender care, and fit us for heaven to live with thee there.

With “Away in a Manger” running (and running… and running… ) through my head, it’s easy to focus on sweet baby Jesus, laying calmly in a bed of straw, never making a fuss even when he wets his swaddling cloths. That Jesus is easy to love. He’s non-threatening, making no demands on my time or resources. Baby Jesus doesn’t ask me to give up my pet sins. He doesn’t ask me to love the unlovable. He doesn’t ask me to lay down my life for His sake.

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