Question on Injustice

"Sometimes I would like to ask God why He allows poverty, suffering, and injustice when He could do something about it.”

“Well, why don’t you ask Him?”

“Because I’m afraid He would ask me the same question.”

(Anonymous) -a quote from A Hole in the Gospel, by Richard Stearn, President of World Vision.
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This was an eye-opening quote that I read yesterday. Please go read the remainder of the post where I saw it.

As His Glory Passes

Recently I was listening to our local Christian radio station and a small snippet of a lesson from Beth Moore was played for a 1 minute segment. It has stuck with me so vividly that I need to share it with you too!

In you grew up in Sunday School, let's think back to the story of Moses in the cleft of the rock. If you didn't, you'll be up to speed really soon. =)

In Exodus 33 Moses is talking with God and trying to convince God that he and the Israelites need evidence that they are a special and select group of people to Him. God is pleased with Moses, so agrees to comply with some of his requests. Then Moses threw a big one at God:

Show me Your glory. (v 18)

Wow. Brave man, this Moses was. Did he really know what he was asking for. I have asked this of God before, but He didn't, and I'm pretty sure it is because I couldn't handle it.

In fact, He says as much to Moses in His response:

You can not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. (v 20)

However...and here's the kicker...God agreed to let Moses see His back.

So God told Moses to go to a particular location and when God was ready to pass, He would place His hand over Moses in the cleft of a rock so that Moses could not see His full glory. Once God had passed, He would remove His hand and allow Moses to see His back.

Have you ever been in that kind of situation? Think about it....

Have you ever asked God to come near to you and to work in your life or to deal with a particular situation? There are so many times that we don't see what He's doing or how He's handling our requests. However, many times we do see Him after He's passed. We see the evidence that He was really with us. We see His back as He is passing by.

Why didn't we see Him while He was there? Well, my friend, that's because He had His protective hand covering us through the entire ordeal.

Hand of God photo courtesy of National Geographic.

A Little Help for My Friends

Several people I know are having some particularly difficult times right now. Please pray for them.


Keri is a bloggy friend of mine. She and I share an Alma mater, which is how I found her blog. Her brother has just had a terribly improbable accident which needs our prayer. He is recovering, but I am truly flabbergasted that this could even happen! Please extend your prayers to him and her.

MyKidsMom and I have also become really good bloggy friends. Strange how you can feel a connection with someone that you have never met and who happens to live on the complete opposite corner of the U.S. But it happens. She's been fighting a tooth battle that needs healing.

A former coworker of mine just found out that his wife has a brain tumor. They don't know a lot about it yet. She'd been having headaches lately and yesterday when he got home from work she didn't know who he was. Then did scans and such and found a mass. That's all of the update that I have, but I am seriously praying for them. They have a 4 year old daughter, a 2 year old son and they are both younger than 30.

Heather also writes for a blog that I follow as well as maintaining her personal blog. She had a huge scare with her daughter this previous weekend and she's still shaken by it. Pray for her and her family.

A major employer here in laying off 1200 jobs in the near future. Many of those are contract workers, but about half are full-time employees. I have several neighbors, friends, and acquaintances that work there. They are understandably concerned.

My sister, who has Parkinson's, has started a new medication. It's supposed to treat an anxiety disorder that often comes with the disease. I can honestly (yet not judgmentally) say that she needs this type of meds. When I last spoke with her, she actually sounded a bit dingy, so the meds have obviously begun working. Pray that not only will these medicines help her deal with her symptoms, but that ways can be found to eliminate many of the symptoms altogether!

Okay...so that's my list for now. I know you don't know these people, but please think of them during your prayer time and send up some special requests on their behalf.

A Call to Action

Hurry over to Call Her Blessed for this post. It is of dire importance.

Give Me Your Eyes

My this be my daily prayer.

More Weather...

So it seems that Gustav was not nearly as bad as expected, although I hate to say that knowing that there are a lot of people who did receive the brunt of that storm.

What now? Hanna is headed for our house. Hopefully not specifically our house, but she is definitely headed this way. Although the reports show it hitting more of the Charleston area rather than Savannah currently, there is no certainty with the weather patterns and we'll still be affected even if it hits Charleston (although that does put us on the "good" side of the storm.

We'll be watching it carefully and evacuating if need be. In fact, Chip plans to go get plywood for the back of our house (which faces east) tomorrow. Even if Hanna misses us, there is a possibility that Ike is right behind her.

So, right now I ask you to pray for a few things...

1. Firstly, pray for those currently undergoing the storms. Those poor residents of the Caribbean have just encountered Fay, Gustav, Hanna and now Ike is headed toward them. Although only one of our coastlines is affected by each (usually), they take hard hits with each!
2. Secondly, pray for those recovering from Gustav. Although it wasn't the massive monster that it could have been, there are people still in need of help due to the damage that was inflicted.
3. Next, pray for whoever these next hurricanes hit. I will be glad if it is not us, but I know that it will hit SOMEBODY.
4. Lastly, pray for all of us in the possible paths of all of these storms that we will have peace and comfort in our Lord, knowing that God is in control of all of this crazy weather.

Soon I hope to be back to our regularly scheduled posting (was it ever regular?), but until these storms pass, it may be sporadic!

Prayers for Hurricane Gustav

We lived in southwest Mississippi for six years and had the "pleasure" of experiencing Katrina first hand three years ago (our town, although 2-1/2 hours from the MS coast had 120 mph winds!). Although we left last year, we still have many friends and a brother and sis-in-law living in the path of Gustav.

Please lift up that entire area in your prayers. Trust me, they need the peace that passes understanding right now.

Tell Me the Truth...

Have you ever heard that “fine” is the Christian “f” word? It’s crude, but true. Of all of the words in the English language, this could possibly be the most damaging to the lives of Christians. Let me explain:

You know the scene: you are somewhere that is not all that unusual for your normal routine…the grocery store, picking up the kids from school, the bank, church, the dry cleaners…whatever. You run into an acquaintance and the conversation goes something like this:

THEM: “Hi, your name here! How are you today?”

YOU: “Fine. And you?”

Stop.

There it was. Did you catch it?

Fine is not really an acceptable answer. You are something and fine doesn’t really cover it.

I know, I know. You don’t know this person well. You don’t want to burden them with your problems. What you are thinking about is actually a personal issue, and this is not someone you can trust.

I understand that, but the real issue is that too often we tell other Christians that we are fine when we really could use some support. Some understanding. Some guidance. Some prayer. We are too afraid of what they might think or considerate of their feelings to ask for help.

And so the vicious cycle begins. We all parade around acting like everything is okay. Like we aren’t stressed out about how we’re going to make ends meet. Like we aren’t worried about the health of our dad. Like we aren’t concerned about the salvation of our child. Like we aren’t concerned about what those medical test results might look like when they come in. Like we aren’t hurting because our spouse is terribly distant. Like we are happy knowing that our best friend could be making the biggest mistake of his/her life by running off with that person they have only known for 2 weeks. We hide behind a façade of pleasantries and no one is the wiser. We all appear to be drifting happily through life without a care in the world. No burdens. No hardships. No worries. No fears. No insecurities. No hassles. No heartaches. No tears.

This just isn’t realistic. And worse yet—it hurts our witness. When new Christians or even growing Christians experience any of these circumstances, it is hard for them to feel that they have anyone to relate to. It’s hard for them to feel like their errors are okay and normal. It’s hard to feel like they are not failures at the “whole Christianity thing.” It also deters people who are seeking Christianity, as they sometimes see their situation as something that Christians cannot relate to or have never experienced and therefore, would not understand. It is a put-on. It is a lie.

So I’m calling for more realism. I’m not telling you to lay all of your burdens on your milkman if he asks. However, if he asks how you are, tell him you are in need of prayer. If he prompts you and you feel like divulging, please do. It’s a step. It’s an open door. It’s a sign of dependency…and it’s a good thing in the family of God.

We are not called to walk through this world alone. Sure we know we all have God to guide us, but we also are surrounded by a family that he’s given us. A family that is to love us unconditionally and support us when we need it. A family of believers. One bonus effect it actually has? It seems that when we each start opening up about our own needs, we are less judgmental of the needs of others.

Let’s face it…we ARE weak. In fact, we must be so that He might be strong in us. That weakness is not a fault, but is the key to our strength. And let’s support the weakness of each other by admitting to one another that we’re human, and we’re in need.

Starting Friday, I’m going to feature on this site a Mr. Linky. Please write a post about your current needs. What are you going through? What are you frustrated about? What are your prayer requests? What mistakes have you made that you need help with? What questions do you need answers for? Then I will ask each reader and entrant to pray for the other needs on the list. You can be as general or specific as you want, but know that you are met here with love and open arms. God is the healer of all hurts, and there is nothing you are going through that He cannot solve. There is nothing unforgiveable. There is nothing too vile that cannot be cleansed. There is nothing that you can write about that someone else hasn’t already gone through.

My prayer is that this list will provide us each with a list of specific needs that we can pray over for one another. I also pray that it will bring us together—even if that is only virtually. I pray that you will be able to get in touch with someone who has been through something similar and can help you through it. My prayer is that we, as a family of believers, can lift one another up and mature together.

And when you have your prayers answered? Why not post something to link to over on Thursdays for “Count Your Blessings” at The Faithful Follower?

We all need one another. Let’s not pretend that we don’t.


"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18).

"…The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" (James 5:16)