Gomer and Knee

Where does the time go? Has it really been 12 days since my last post? Sorry to my loyal readers--both of you :)

I read a good passage today that I wanted to share, but it's one I don't want to post while I'm at work. There are certain words frequently used to describe Hosea's wife that don't look good to the sniffers. No sense getting fired over my blog.

An update on my knee... It's doing much better. I know it's still a little tender, and I'm babying it a little, but not too much. I went for a 52 mile ride on Saturday and a 3 mile run Sunday, and it still felt good enough to ride to work this morning. I'm still shying away from hills and speed work, but a nice steady pace seems to be OK.

Excerpts from "A Hunger for God" - Introduction

The discipline of self-denial is fraught with dangers--perhaps only surpassed by the dangers of indulgence.

The weakness of our hunger for God is not because he is unsavory, but because we keep ourselves stuffed with "other things."Between the dangers of self-denial and self-indulgence there is a path of pleasant pain.

Know God and Take Action

He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. -Dan 11:32
Two thing:

1. The only way to resist the Antichrist is by knowing God. It doesn't say praying a pray, or going to church, or wearing prayer boxes. We must know God. This is done through prayer, study of his word, obedience to what his word says, fasting, meditating on his word, and seeking him. I often wonder whether I truly know my God. Of course there's a lot more to know, but do I know him at all? I think I do. I know his deep wrath and his tender mercy. I know the fear of the Lord, yet I also know his love. I know how he treated sinful Israel, and how he treated the adulterous woman. How do I come to know him more? Probably by giving up the thing I love so much, food, and seeking him. That's what Daniel did, and it sure seemed to work. "Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes" (9:3).
2. These saints don't just sit back and let things happen; they "stand firm and take action." The standing firm is the easy part for passive people like me (not that I'm even good at that). But action, ummm, that's a lot harder. Of course, this all goes back to point number 1. The more I know God, the more desire I will have to glorify him, to obey him, to stand firm to who he is, and to act in his will.

The Right Thing

So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. -Jam 4:17

This is a hard verse for us anti-postmodern people. Is this verse saying that there is no such thing as objective sin? Is it saying what's right for me isn't necessarily what's right for you?

On some level, I think at least the last question is true. More accurately, this verse is saying what's wrong for me isn't necessarily what's wrong for you. There are clear objective sins--lying, stealing, murder--but there are other sins, sins of omission that are more subjective. The reason for this is that we have different callings.

If God is calling me to quit my job and move to Zaire, but I don't, then I'm sinning. If God is calling you to stay at your job and serve your coworkers, but you move to Zaire....well you're sinning. But at the same time, if God hasn't given you a clear call, and you don't know exactly what he's saying...then stay at your job or move to Zaire and this verse doesn't condemn you.

Anyway, how does this affect me? My (admittedly sparse) posts lately have been mostly head knowledgy with little heart. My Bible study and walk with the Lord have been quite dry for a few months, largely due to a lack of application. I've been reading the Word with more of a scholar's attitude than with a broken sinner's attitude. I've been seeking insights into deep truths rather than insights into deep sins.

So back to the point, how does this affect me? Well, how about if I take this verse at face value, and in the dozen times during the day when I think "I should..." I actually do it. I wish I could think of a specific application, but I can't, so I'll leave it at that. Lord, reveal areas where I don't do the good I know you want me to do.

14,000 Dead Babies

I just heard that 14,000 babies were killed by abortion in Minnesota last year.

• That's 38 per day
• That's 15 times the number of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq in 2006 (933 according to http://icasualties.org/oif/)...but which gets news coverage?
• Assuming this number is approximately constant over the last 30 years (my age)...that means 420,000 Minnesota babies have been killed since I was born.  That's more than the population of Minneapolis.
• At roughly $200 per abortion, that makes this a $2.8M industry...in Minnesota alone.

NPR and Air America

What's the difference between NPR and Air America?  I started listening to NPR a couple days ago...don't remember exactly why, but probably because I was tired of the same 4 songs being played on the music stations, and was tired of the same old stuff on the other talk stations.  I've listened to Air America probably twice as much as NPR, so I think I'm definitely an expert on discussing the differences.

1. NPR has fewer commercials.
2. NPR tries to bore its listeners to death, but Air America tries to yell and scream to prove its point
3. NPR likes British accents, but Air America prefers New York or North Dakota people
4. NPR pretends to cover the other point of view.  Air America yells at the other point of view.
5. NPR interviews scientists who agree with its view.  Air America lets unscreened people call in and prove their stupidity on national radio
6. Air America is honest enough to admit its political leanings, but NPR pretends to be neutral
7. Air America is bankrupt.  NPR stays afloat from taxpayer money.
8. NPR is on FM radio.  Air America is AM, so it gets all the crackliness from thunderstorms and driving under overpasses
9. Air America is entertaining for a few minutes.  NPR can bore you to death for hours.

Condemning God

Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be in the right? -Job 40:8

In God's rebuke of Job, he accuses Job of "condemning" God. We humans love to put God in the wrong and condemn him. Most of the time we don't do it intentionally, it's just the unrealized foundation for our arguments and questions. Who hasn't heard someone say "I could never believe in a God who sends people to Hell"? Or "Why does God allow so much suffering in the world?" "Why did God take my baby?" "Why didn't God save my marriage?" "Why am I still single?" And all natural disasters are called "acts of God."

Whenever things aren't going how we want them to, we blame God. It's not just that we attribute things to him, but we blame him. We condemn him. We say, "I know better than God, and this is bad. God is wrong."

We should be like Job. We should say, "I am sad, distraught, in pain, etc.," but we should not curse God. Was God evil for what happened in Job's life? No! When we know the full story of Satan's involvement, the glory God received by Job's response, the blessing Job received in the end, we know God is good.