Posts

Showing posts from October, 2013

Her Name is Irshad Manji

Greetings in the Lord! Recently the Lord has drawn my attention to a woman I'd never heard of before, but one that is causing quite a stir in the Muslim world.  Her name is Irshad Manji, a Canadian author and human rights activist.  She is also a practicing Muslim and lesbian.  For her most recent book, "Allah, Liberty, and Love," I watched an online video clip of radical Islam jihadists storming her book signing in Holland and shouting death threats and insults at her.  The Dutch in attendance, non and Muslim alike, made a human shield around her so they could not hurt her physically.  That was in 2011.  Fast forward to another book signing in Indonesia in 2012.  She and her assistants and others in the crowd were attacked and injured by a mob of violent Islamists.  Wow, really?  An angry group of Muslims trying to use violence to stamp out differing viewpoints?  Never heard of that before. ! OK, all sarcasm aside, I can't begin to imagine what life must be like f

God is a Mighty Fortress

Greetings in the Lord! Today's word comes from Ezekiel 37-39 and Psalm 68.  The theme--God routs the united enemies of Israel and shows Himself mighty!  So, to begin today's word, we start at the end of Ezekiel 37, where God promises to unite Israel's two nations, which at that time were, simply put, the northern kingdom called Ephraim, and the southern kingdom of Judah.  God promised to restore them into one country again and bless them, and "then the nations will know that I the Lord make Israel holy, when My sanctuary is among them forever."  Well, needless to say, this promise was fulfilled with the founding of the modern nation-state of Israel in 1948.  Nearly a two thousand year old prophecy fulfilled!  As we continue reading in Ezekiel 38, we see that just as Israel is to be united, so the enemies of Israel will come together to make an alliance against Israel.  Well, that is obviously the time period we are in today.  More specifically, in today'

The Deep Well of Salvation

Greetings in the Lord! Ever feel like the struggles at hand will not go away?  That you've been dealing with, and contending with, and seeking God's help for trials with the enemy that seem to just keep on lingering, and lingering, and lingering...yep, me, too.  Warring and holding your ground in the midst of adversity can make one very weary.  It's been a long, contentious year so far, and guess what?  We still have a couple more months to go! ;)  Well, we will make it, by the help of God, we will make it.  And I can't tell you how often when I'm in the middle of such a season of struggle, or an "assignment" that pits me against a stronghold, if you will, that I get the Scripture for today: "The war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time.  David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker."  2 Samuel 3:1 David's struggle with the house of Saul was a long, drawn out, series of

He Who Digs the Pit Falls in It

Greetings in the Lord! I wrote a while back about the rather aggressive season we are in this year--the enemies of God are plotting and moving against His people in very hostile ways, and that God is on the offensive as well!  Praise the Lord!  He rides His white horse into battle and "Victory" is His banner! Well, along those lines comes today's word from the book of Esther, chapters 5-7, where the deceitful and scheming "vile" Haman finally gets his--and that, on the gallows he built for Mordecai!  You will recall that in chapter 3, Haman had bribed King Xerxes with a very large sum of money to have the king issue an edict to rid his kingdom of "a people whose customs are different and do not obey the king's laws."  Of course, he doesn't mention who these people are, but quickly offers a huge amount of money to bribe the king....and is successful.  The edict is spread all throughout the kingdom that on a certain day the people of God wer

The Bread of Life

Greetings in the Lord! Do you ever get those verses that no matter how many times you read them, the meaning just seems to elude you?  The best is when you run it by someone else and they get it right off the bat, and you just stand there feeling really dim.  Yeah, sometimes it's like that. "All man's efforts are for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied."  Ecclesiastes 6:7 Now, I bet you got that right away, didn't you?  Well, I had to look up other translations to see more about it....and I got this. "All people spend their lives scratching for food, but they never seem to have enough."   and this: "Every person works for his own self-interests, but his desires remain unsatisfied."   By then I had gotten the meaning and the cross reference from John 6:26-27 that I have been reading over the past couple of months: Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw

Wisdom Cries Out

Greetings in the Lord! This week as I watched yet more news stories of young males causing trouble with their arrogant and foolish behaviors--even in the faces of law enforcement and court officials--I was lead to read from the book of Proverbs about "foolish sons."  "A wise servant will rule over a disgraceful son, and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers."  Proverbs 17:2 "A foolish son brings grief to his father and bitterness to the one who bore him."             Proverbs 17:25 "To have a fool for a son brings grief; there is no joy for the father of a fool."  Proverbs 17:21 "An evil man is bent only on rebellion; a merciless official will be sent against him."      Proverbs 17:11 There is an epidemic of foolishness, violent and arrogant, in our younger population today.  And don't think I am only pointing to young males--no way!  Young women can be just as foolish, acting as prideful and vulgar as any m

Removed and Peace at Last

Greetings in the Lord! Today's word comes from Isaiah 57, and I will say that it is a rather stern word that also sheds light on the sometimes difficult ways of the Lord.  Difficult, in that we tend to think of God's mercy in gentle, soothing ways, and not necessarily in the way presented here. "The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil.  Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death."  (verses 1-2) Death is God's mercy?  Well, when their present situation is too wicked too bear any longer, and no good person has the power to intervene and the whole lot of those in control are corrupt and wicked and still can inflict suffering on their victims, then, I guess, death would be a merciful act.  But still, it's kind of hard to imagine such a scenario, but in Isaiah 57:1-2 God's word tells us th