Peace, praise, and prayer

God is personal God who responds. . . . The degree of our peace of mind is tied to our prayer life (Philippians 4:6-7).  This is not because prayer is psychologically soothing, but because we address a prayer-answering God, a personal God, a responding God, a sovereign God whom we can trust with the outcomes of life’s confusions.  And we learn, with time, that if God in this or that instance does not choose to take away the suffering, or utterly remove the evil, he does send grace and power. The result is praise; and that, of course, is itself enjoyable, in exactly the same way that lovers enjoy giving eath other compliments.

–D. A. Carson, How Long, O Lord!

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God, it’s not fair!

What you believe about God always affects the way you live!  This is why theology is important!  And every person has a theology, that is every person has a way they think about God.

Here is one illustration of how our thinking about God influences our reactions to situations which seem “unfair” in our lives.  I am reading Wayne Mack’s book It’s Not Fair and he lists ten ways that a correct view of God can overcome the “it’s not fair” syndrome (pp. 28ff).  Here they are.

If we believe God is all-wise and fully aware of everything in our lives. . .

• We will be better able to embrace whatever He brings us, knowing that all things fall within His good, perfect, and acceptable will for us.  We may not understand why He does what He does, but we know that what He does is ultimately for our good anf for His glory. That’s enough for us.
• We will be able to stand fast in the face of opposition and respond to difficulties without becoming hopeless, angry, or bitter because we know that God is wise and strong enough to know how to handle tough situations.
• We will fully believe 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
• We will do what Proverbs 3:5-6 commands, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
• We will know and believe that God is all-wise and be convinced that God’s interpretation of reality is the only one that is 100% accurate.
• We will trust that He is doing the right thing even when we don’t fully understand why He has allowed certain things to happen
• We will realize that God alone knows why we have problems and He also know how they can be solved
• We will no longer look to psychiatrists and psychologists for understanding man, his problems, and their earthly solutions.
• We will desire our thoughts and words to be reflections of His truth; we will love the truth and hate falsehood.

These aren’t the only ways a belief in God’s omniscience and wisdom can impact our lives, but I hope you can see that what you believe about God makes a difference in how you live your life!

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On same-sex marriage: the struggle isn’t over

Last week, the voters in CA supported a measure that defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman.  They had previously made this clear but then their Supreme Court defied the will of the people and so they had to vote again.

But this struggle isn’t over. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has publicly encouraged gay advocates to take the issue to the courts again and he believes the people will eventually get it right.  And Speaker of the US House who lives in CA suggests that the measure would never have passed had the people of the state really understoond what they were voting for.  Wow!  That’s the problem:  the voters can’t read right.

All this to say as Al Mohler does: the challenge ahead in this area is great.

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