It's been a month since my last post but I have been writing. Been reading through the book of Habakkuk and it's been quite enriching in my view of God's justice, but it is a hard book to write about so my next proper post will probably be a large one.

I came across this article which I found interesting, it's about churches joining the cause of lowering greenhouse gas emission levels with the science community.

It's a delicate balance in a way, when does the church's involvement in an issue become more than us being light in this world and instead portraying us as a political force?

I guess it's a question of church leadership, some churches do not really get involved in their members lives, adopting a "we teach, you live" philosophy while some form close communities that encourage members to adopt values and sometimes even lifestyles

I sometimes wonder what the role of the church is in a Christian's life, since it is often a dividing line between denominations and churches and it shouldn't be.

Can leaders of the Christ learn to be strong Christians, to be true light of the world and to be filled with the Holy Spirit and the knowledge of God's love? And will the church become a place of true worship, worship that is not just comfortable to us but be pleasing to God?

I guess I can start by praying for it...

Habakkuk
Do we ever ask the big questions in life? The ones that go beyond who we're going to be with on Saturday night, what the next fad we're going to indulge in, questions that puts us on the spot. Questions that concern the world's people, it's comings and goings, and questions about justice.

It's been a while since I asked myself about justice, so when I started reading Habakkuk, it was a time of reminders about the deeper side of calling myself a Christitan.

Do we love God enough to love justice?

That was the first question I asked myself as Habakkuk complains to God:

"Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
There is strife, and conflict abounds"

There is a saying that "charity is easy, justice is a lot harder", and that may be true for me. I find it quite easy to smile and be nice, or even to give to others (preferably visibly and with tax deductions) but when it comes to pursuing justice the way God has intended it, it becomes a much higher wall to climb.

It's a real test of our maturity as Christians to be think beyond our own needs and wants to God's desire and we can be sure that throughout the Bible, God makes his desires for justice clear. One verse that is quite clear is found in Deuteronomy 16:20

"Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you"

Concerning Habakkuk's complaints the Lord decides to reveal the nature of His justice, one that is both beyond understanding yet ultimately consistent with his nature. Why does God allow injustice in the world? I think it's such that we may be saved. In chapter 2 God replies with words of assurance that he is in control and he prevails over injustice though it may seem to conquer.

"Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets
so that a herald may run with it.
For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
it speaks of the end and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
It will certainly come and will not delay

See, he is puffed up;
his desires are not upright---
but the righteous will live by his faith "

We can see in God's reply to Habakkuk that there is a distinct difference between God ignoring injustice and being faithful to his timing. Indeed he is so meticulous in his details that he challenges us to write it down and so that it is not merely spoken words but permanently set in stone.
And God does not ignore injustice at all, if anything, he lists from v9 - 19 those who have been unjust and how they will be dealt with.

Habakkuk ends the book with a prayer citing her decision to wait on the Lord and his justice.

"I heard and my heart pounded,
my lips quivered at the sound;
decay crept into my bones,
and my legs trembled.
Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity
to come on the nation invading us.

Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights.
For the director of music. On my stringed instruments."

Let that be our prayer too and our live, forever waiting on the Lord until his justice arrives and to adopt his sense of justice for ourselves.

Categories: Thoughts, Habakkuk

Isaiah 46
Why do people have idols? The message of God is after all one that saves and one that sets us free.

"Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low; their idols are borne by beasts of burden.
The images that are carried about are burdensome, a burden for the weary.
They stoop and bow down together;
unable to rescue the burden, they themselves go off into captivity."

When we pick up idols, even when we are unaware of them, we become captivated by them. We become burdened by them and we may not even recognize it.
So how do we avoid this?

"Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all you who remain of the house of Israel, you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth.
Even to your old age and grey hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you."

God's character is constant, through Israel's history they have followed different idols, golden calves, Baal, Canaan's gods and in the Pharisees' case, even legalism and being religious became a burden and an idol, preventing them from recognizing and worshiping Jesus.

"Remember this, fix it in mind, take it to heart, you rebels.
Remember the former things, those of long ago;

I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.
I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient times, what is still to come.

I say: My purpose will stand,
and I will do all that I please.
From the east, I summon a bird of prey;
from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
what I have planned, that will I do.

Listen to me, you stubborn-hearted, you who are far from righteousness.
I am bringing my righteousness near, it is not far away;
and my salvation will not be delayed.
I will grant salvation to Zion, my splendor to Israel. "

We must constantly remind ourselves who God is in our lives and always have him at the top. We chase things in life for His glory or for our own comfort but we must also be careful that we in turn do not become captivated by these things ourselves.

Categories: Isaiah, Thoughts

Isaiah 45
Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker,
to him who is but a potsherd (a broken pottery fragment) among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,
'What are you making?'
Does your work say,
'He has no hands'?
Woe to him who says to his father,
'What have you begotten?'
or to his mother
'What have you brought to birth?'


(This happened to be a real conversation I had with a friend)
When you talk about becoming what the Lord wants you be, I guess it's normal to want to be the heroes like Abraham, Joseph, David. No one in their right minds would actually want to be the Judas', the Herod's or the "villains" in the Bible. Yet these people also played important roles in God's plan. So what if by obeying God you eventually turn out like those characters?

I think one of the key differences better those who seem to fall into the Lord's favour and those who end up disastrous is their heart for God. Those who chase after God may have blessings given to them and all that but they were not unlike the villains, with their weaknesses, their own sins and doubts and fears. But the reason they were able to overcome is because they trusted in the Lord and they chose God's way over their own shortcomings.

Are we becoming what God wants? Is there something we are afraid of giving up or maybe a decision we are afraid of making?

We may not be able to see or control the consequences of choosing God over the world but we can trust in God's character, his love for us and that he will never let us suffer on this earth without a reason.

Categories: Isaiah, Thoughts

Isaiah 44
"This is what the Lord says --
Israel's King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty:
I am the first and I am the last;
apart from me there is no God.
Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it.
Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people,
and what is yet to come -
yes, let him foretell what will come.
Do not tremble, do not be afraid.
Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?
You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me?
No, there is no other Rock; I know not one."

I think in a way God understands the difficulty in believing in some of the abstract concepts that are involved with Christianity. Things like pre-destiny, the Trinity...
But in this passage He gives us an account of the tangible things he has done through the nation of Israel, where the realities of His holiness, justice and love are very clear.

I wonder about our own lives, is one of the ways God is made known to people through what other people see in us? Such that when people are wondering about God, do they need to struggle through abstract concepts and beliefs? Or can they come to God simply through what they see He has done in our lives?

I pray that somehow, people will testify about us, about what God has done in our lives and how it has touched them somehow, even to find out more about this God.

Categories: Isaiah, Thoughts

Isaiah 43
Something encouraging for everyone:

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
The flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour;
I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead.
Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you,
I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life.
Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.
I will say to the north, "Give them up!" and the the south "Do not hold them back."
Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of th earth -
everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made."

This was spoken by God through Isaiah to the people of Israel, a nation whose homes have been destroyed and whose people have been scattered.
However, God reminds them that this is part of His great plan, that as long as they are His children they have nothing to fear.
Nothing, no matter good or bad will happens that is without purpose and we can see this through Israel's journey through history.

For us today, we are God's chosen people, we are His children. And we are watch over by the same God who brought Israel out of countless disasters.

In all of our strife and troubles, whenever we struggle with the world, ourselves, others, we can be assured that we as God's children will always have nothing to fear.

Categories: Isaiah, Thoughts

Isaiah 42
"I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,
along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth.
These are the things I do;
I will not forsake them"

I consider these verses my life verses, a few verses that I have looked at about 2 years back and realize that has how God has brought me to where I am and that's how God will bring me to where He wants me to be.

I think if anyone takes the time to read through Isaiah, even if they struggle through some chapters, they will definitely enrich their view of who God really is. How He is more than just the Sunday School answers you listen to and regurgitate in some kind of weekly religious ritual but that He is really a God who treasures those He created. How He is a God who loves justice and how He is a God who goes through so much just to see us grow as his children and servants.

In a way when I drifted away from God 3 years ago after a decade of going to church, growing up in a Christian family and even serving in various ministries, God brought me back to the core of what Christianity is all about.

It's not about ministry, your life, or anything else but how you know God and how all the other things flows from that knowledge and that relationship.

I think that's where our faith grows, it's in the times and places where we can't see or can't figure out where life is taking us and we give it to God to lead us. We just surrender that to Him.

Categories: Isaiah,, Thoughts