Monday, February 2, 2009
It's been a while...sometimes, I guess, life intervenes.
I was reading Psalm 146, and the NLT version really spoke to me about recent events. Verses 3-4 read as follows: "Don't put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there. When their breathing stops, they return to the earth, and in a moment all their plans come to an end."
Thinking back on the last two years of campaigning for president, I remember all of those folks who put all of their hope in one man or the other, one party or the other. I think about all of the nasty, vehement words spewed out in protest of candidates who would ruin this country, and the wonderful things and ideas that were put forward to show that only one of the candidates could be the salvation of our country (From both sides). Then, I reflect on the words of the Psalmist in chapter 146.
It seems that during every election cycle we become more focused on the men that are put forward for us to choose from, and I think that this is very important, but we often fail to remember that they are just men. No matter how good they are, their plans die with them, and someone else will come along and change them anyway. (How many times have we seen a new president come into office, and almost immediately begin signing executive orders, reversing those of his predecessor?) In Psalm 148:5-6 we hear, "Let every created thing give praise to the Lord, for he issued his command, and they came into being. He established them forever. His orders will never be revoked."
I think that it is important to be involved in the election process, and to support the candidate that best embodies our values and ideals. But, more importantly, we must not become so carried away with the men that we forget who is really in charge. Christ said it best when he spoke to Pontius Pilate, "...You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above." All power and authority is given from God. No one will ever become our leader unless God allows it.
Yes, we must vote our conscience, but we must also act in a Christ-like manner and trust that God IS in control. We need to always bring those men before the Lord in prayer, and petition for their well being and their souls. Ask Him to lead them.
His orders will never be revoked.
I was reading Psalm 146, and the NLT version really spoke to me about recent events. Verses 3-4 read as follows: "Don't put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there. When their breathing stops, they return to the earth, and in a moment all their plans come to an end."
Thinking back on the last two years of campaigning for president, I remember all of those folks who put all of their hope in one man or the other, one party or the other. I think about all of the nasty, vehement words spewed out in protest of candidates who would ruin this country, and the wonderful things and ideas that were put forward to show that only one of the candidates could be the salvation of our country (From both sides). Then, I reflect on the words of the Psalmist in chapter 146.
It seems that during every election cycle we become more focused on the men that are put forward for us to choose from, and I think that this is very important, but we often fail to remember that they are just men. No matter how good they are, their plans die with them, and someone else will come along and change them anyway. (How many times have we seen a new president come into office, and almost immediately begin signing executive orders, reversing those of his predecessor?) In Psalm 148:5-6 we hear, "Let every created thing give praise to the Lord, for he issued his command, and they came into being. He established them forever. His orders will never be revoked."
I think that it is important to be involved in the election process, and to support the candidate that best embodies our values and ideals. But, more importantly, we must not become so carried away with the men that we forget who is really in charge. Christ said it best when he spoke to Pontius Pilate, "...You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above." All power and authority is given from God. No one will ever become our leader unless God allows it.
Yes, we must vote our conscience, but we must also act in a Christ-like manner and trust that God IS in control. We need to always bring those men before the Lord in prayer, and petition for their well being and their souls. Ask Him to lead them.
His orders will never be revoked.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Impressions
I was looking at one of those things the other day; I don’t know what it’s called. It has hundreds of shiny pins with rounded heads and when you place something under it and lift up, you see a reverse impression of the object. I’ve always thought that they were so neat. One can even see the lines in one’s hand if the pins are small enough and placed close enough together. It got me to thinking about things that leave impressions or are easily impressionable.
Probably the most common impressionable item would be clay. We played with it as a kid (Play Dough and Silly Putty) and we molded our first ashtrays and bowls in school. We would diligently shape the clay, leaving impressions made with our hands and then after a beautiful paint job, the teacher would bake them overnight, or for a few days, and we would receive our Mother’s or Father’s day gift to our parent and a well deserved grade. Just curious, but how many of you still have these somewhere? I know that as proud as I was of my ashtray at the time, it was misshapen and hideous. But, Mom loved it.
Just about everything leaves impressions and most things are impressionable. Have you ever seen the wind blowing in the sand on a beach and leaving little ripples? When a river runs dry and the rocks in the dry riverbed are showing, one can see the impressions on the rocks left by years of erosion from the currents of water. A long dirt footpath in the woods is the result of many feet, over time, traversing its corridor. Even sound leaves temporary impressions on our eardrums.
My point is this. What are we letting impress us? Like the children’s song goes, “Be careful little eyes what you see,” What are our eyes seeing that is making an impression on us? Whatever we let them see, does leave an impression. Are we seeing inappropriate material in the Internet or in the shows that we watch? Or, are we seeing God’s word at work in our lives through our associations with others? What are our ears hearing? What music do we listen to? Do we sit and listen to gossiping tongues? Or, are we letting God’s word and His music fill our ears and our minds with holy thoughts?
Most things leave impressions on us through all of our senses, the question is, are they the impressions that we need to be God’s people? If we are confronted with negative impressions, are we letting Christ’s blood wash away the destructive impact of these just as the waves lap up and smooth over the words that we have left written in the sand? Are we building a shield about us with His word, to defend against them in the first place?
And, just as important, what kind of impressions are we leaving behind us? And, if they are positive, are they temporary or are they like a well-worn pathway, leading the way to salvation? I hope that I am leaving a good impression on others. I pray that we all will.
Probably the most common impressionable item would be clay. We played with it as a kid (Play Dough and Silly Putty) and we molded our first ashtrays and bowls in school. We would diligently shape the clay, leaving impressions made with our hands and then after a beautiful paint job, the teacher would bake them overnight, or for a few days, and we would receive our Mother’s or Father’s day gift to our parent and a well deserved grade. Just curious, but how many of you still have these somewhere? I know that as proud as I was of my ashtray at the time, it was misshapen and hideous. But, Mom loved it.
Just about everything leaves impressions and most things are impressionable. Have you ever seen the wind blowing in the sand on a beach and leaving little ripples? When a river runs dry and the rocks in the dry riverbed are showing, one can see the impressions on the rocks left by years of erosion from the currents of water. A long dirt footpath in the woods is the result of many feet, over time, traversing its corridor. Even sound leaves temporary impressions on our eardrums.
My point is this. What are we letting impress us? Like the children’s song goes, “Be careful little eyes what you see,” What are our eyes seeing that is making an impression on us? Whatever we let them see, does leave an impression. Are we seeing inappropriate material in the Internet or in the shows that we watch? Or, are we seeing God’s word at work in our lives through our associations with others? What are our ears hearing? What music do we listen to? Do we sit and listen to gossiping tongues? Or, are we letting God’s word and His music fill our ears and our minds with holy thoughts?
Most things leave impressions on us through all of our senses, the question is, are they the impressions that we need to be God’s people? If we are confronted with negative impressions, are we letting Christ’s blood wash away the destructive impact of these just as the waves lap up and smooth over the words that we have left written in the sand? Are we building a shield about us with His word, to defend against them in the first place?
And, just as important, what kind of impressions are we leaving behind us? And, if they are positive, are they temporary or are they like a well-worn pathway, leading the way to salvation? I hope that I am leaving a good impression on others. I pray that we all will.
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