I want to ask you all to join me this morning in lifting up the people of Japan after this terrible earthquake and tsunami this morning. With Hawaii and California scheduled to be hit later on today, please also pray for the people there, especially in Hawaii as it's around 3 AM there and it's a race to wake people up and warn them to get to high ground before the tsunami hits. You can go here to learn more.
3.11.2011
3.08.2011
Avoiding no longer
At the beginning of every year, I love to make resolutions. I used to make unrealistic ones, such as "This year I will learn to speak Spanish and Italian fluently," even when all I can say on January 1st is "Hola," and "Ciao." These past few years I've started making more realistic resolutions. One of mine for this year was to memorize at least four Psalms. I started off with Psalm 27, then 16, and now I'm working on Psalm 139.
In the past I've always kind of avoided Psalm 139. The 13th and 14th verses have been so overused as encouragement for those who are insecure and need to "feel better about themselves." Don't get me wrong; I think it's great to remember that we are created in God's image and that He treasures us, but if that's all we see in Psalm 139, then we are missing the big picture.
We miss the point when we focus on ourselves and don't see that this Psalm is all about God's glory and power. Take some time out of your day right now and read over this beautiful composition of praise to our great God.
O LORD, You have searched me and
known me.
You know when I sit down and
when I rise up;
You understand my thought from
afar.
You scrutinize my path and my
lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with
all my ways.
Even before there is a word on my
tongue,
Behold, O LORD, You know it all.
You have enclosed me behind and
before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful
for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your
presence?
If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold,
You are there.
If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the
sea,
Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of
me.
If I say, "Surely the darkness will
overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be
night,"
Even the darkness is not dark to
You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are alike to You.
For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother's
womb.
I will give thanks to You, for I am
fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths
of the earth;
Your eyes have seen my unformed
substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of
them.
How precious also are Your thoughts
to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would
outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.
O that You would slay the wicked,
O God;
Depart from me, therefore, men of
bloodshed.
For they speak against You
wickedly,
And Your enemies take Your name in
vain.
Do I not hate those who hate You,
O LORD?
And do I not loathe those who rise
up against You?
I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.
Search me, O God, and know my
heart;
Try me and know my anxious
thoughts;
And see if there be any hurtful way
in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.
In the past I've always kind of avoided Psalm 139. The 13th and 14th verses have been so overused as encouragement for those who are insecure and need to "feel better about themselves." Don't get me wrong; I think it's great to remember that we are created in God's image and that He treasures us, but if that's all we see in Psalm 139, then we are missing the big picture.
We miss the point when we focus on ourselves and don't see that this Psalm is all about God's glory and power. Take some time out of your day right now and read over this beautiful composition of praise to our great God.
O LORD, You have searched me and
known me.
You know when I sit down and
when I rise up;
You understand my thought from
afar.
You scrutinize my path and my
lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with
all my ways.
Even before there is a word on my
tongue,
Behold, O LORD, You know it all.
You have enclosed me behind and
before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful
for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your
presence?
If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold,
You are there.
If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the
sea,
Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of
me.
If I say, "Surely the darkness will
overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be
night,"
Even the darkness is not dark to
You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are alike to You.
For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother's
womb.
I will give thanks to You, for I am
fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths
of the earth;
Your eyes have seen my unformed
substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of
them.
How precious also are Your thoughts
to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would
outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.
O that You would slay the wicked,
O God;
Depart from me, therefore, men of
bloodshed.
For they speak against You
wickedly,
And Your enemies take Your name in
vain.
Do I not hate those who hate You,
O LORD?
And do I not loathe those who rise
up against You?
I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.
Search me, O God, and know my
heart;
Try me and know my anxious
thoughts;
And see if there be any hurtful way
in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.
3.04.2011
Curiosities of the Civil War
Ready to die
Pakistan has announced three days of national mourning after a Christian government minister who decried Islamic blasphemy laws was gunned down.
Police investigators say they are on the trail of the suspected extremists who killed minority affairs minister Shahbaz Bhatti outside his mother's house in Islamabad, in a brazen attack that has drawn international outrage.
Mr Bhatti, who left a chilling video prophecy of his assassination, had vowed to fight to the death in defence of Pakistan's persecuted minorities.
One police official said on condition of anonymity that investigators are looking into the security team assigned to Mr Bhatti, who became the second high-profile victim among opponents of the blasphemy law.
Two months ago, Punjab province governor Salman Taseer was shot dead by one of his own police bodyguards, who cited the politician's opposition to the draconian statute as justification for killing the "apostate".
Despite official condemnation of the January killing, Mr Taseer's killer continues to be feted a hero by Islamist hardliners and the government says it has no plans to revise the law.
However, prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani issued tough words as he ordered flags to be flown at half-mast and says security will be stepped up after Mr Bhatti's slaying.
"Anti-state elements are making their last-ditch efforts by targeting important personalities in the country in order to fulfill their evil designs," he told his interior minister, Rehman Malik, according to a statement.
The extremist threat was underlined on Thursday when a car suicide bombing and an ambush by militants targeting police in north-western Pakistan killed 15 people including nine policemen.
But Mr Gilani says the "government through fool-proof arrangements would safeguard the lives and properties of all citizens of the country, particularly to make sure they could play their role in the development of the country".
The prime minister's comments came as a video - said to have been recorded in December - spread online in which Mr Bhatti said he was being hunted by the Taliban or Al Qaeda.
Extremists wanted to kill him because of his opposition to the blasphemy law and to Sharia legislation, and because of his work for "the oppressed and marginalised", the Catholic politician said sombrely into the camera.
In the video, posted online by the European group First Step Forum, which promotes interfaith dialogue, Mr Bhatti said: "I want to share that I believe in Jesus Christ who has given his own life for us".
"I'm ready to die for a cause. I'm living for my community and suffering people, and I will die to defend their rights," he said.
Mr Bhatti's assassination rekindled international fears about extremist violence in Pakistan, a nuclear-armed nation that is a crucial if fractious ally in the US-led war in Afghanistan.
US president Barack Obama said he was saddened by the "horrific" assassination.
"Those who committed this crime should be brought to justice, and those who share Mr Bhatti's vision of tolerance and religious freedom must be able to live free from fear," he said.
Up to four assailants sprayed a hail of bullets at Mr Bhatti's car in broad daylight on Wednesday. Police said a letter was found at the scene, purportedly from supporters of Al Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban, claiming responsibility.
"Bhatti, a Christian, was in charge of a committee set up to amend the law against blasphemy," police quoted the letter as saying.
"This is his fate. We will not spare anybody involved in acts of blasphemy."
Senior police official Muhammad Ishaq Warraich cautioned on Thursday that the letter might "be an attempt to divert our investigations".
His colleague Bani Amin says police are confident of a breakthrough.
"The investigators were busy all night. We hope to solve this case soon," Mr Amin said.
One line of inquiry appeared to be Mr Bhatti's security detail, which was not with the minister at the time of the morning attack.
Mr Malik said it had been Mr Bhatti's decision to visit his mother without guards so as to keep the location secret. But the interior minister called the decision "wrong".
Uproar over the blasphemy law, which carries the death penalty, flared both in Pakistan and abroad after a Christian mother of five was sentenced to hang last year for making derogatory remarks about the Prophet Mohammed.
Critics say the law is often used to settle personal or business scores.
* taken from ABC News; read it again here
Police investigators say they are on the trail of the suspected extremists who killed minority affairs minister Shahbaz Bhatti outside his mother's house in Islamabad, in a brazen attack that has drawn international outrage.
Mr Bhatti, who left a chilling video prophecy of his assassination, had vowed to fight to the death in defence of Pakistan's persecuted minorities.
One police official said on condition of anonymity that investigators are looking into the security team assigned to Mr Bhatti, who became the second high-profile victim among opponents of the blasphemy law.
Two months ago, Punjab province governor Salman Taseer was shot dead by one of his own police bodyguards, who cited the politician's opposition to the draconian statute as justification for killing the "apostate".
Despite official condemnation of the January killing, Mr Taseer's killer continues to be feted a hero by Islamist hardliners and the government says it has no plans to revise the law.
However, prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani issued tough words as he ordered flags to be flown at half-mast and says security will be stepped up after Mr Bhatti's slaying.
"Anti-state elements are making their last-ditch efforts by targeting important personalities in the country in order to fulfill their evil designs," he told his interior minister, Rehman Malik, according to a statement.
The extremist threat was underlined on Thursday when a car suicide bombing and an ambush by militants targeting police in north-western Pakistan killed 15 people including nine policemen.
But Mr Gilani says the "government through fool-proof arrangements would safeguard the lives and properties of all citizens of the country, particularly to make sure they could play their role in the development of the country".
The prime minister's comments came as a video - said to have been recorded in December - spread online in which Mr Bhatti said he was being hunted by the Taliban or Al Qaeda.
Extremists wanted to kill him because of his opposition to the blasphemy law and to Sharia legislation, and because of his work for "the oppressed and marginalised", the Catholic politician said sombrely into the camera.
In the video, posted online by the European group First Step Forum, which promotes interfaith dialogue, Mr Bhatti said: "I want to share that I believe in Jesus Christ who has given his own life for us".
"I'm ready to die for a cause. I'm living for my community and suffering people, and I will die to defend their rights," he said.
Mr Bhatti's assassination rekindled international fears about extremist violence in Pakistan, a nuclear-armed nation that is a crucial if fractious ally in the US-led war in Afghanistan.
US president Barack Obama said he was saddened by the "horrific" assassination.
"Those who committed this crime should be brought to justice, and those who share Mr Bhatti's vision of tolerance and religious freedom must be able to live free from fear," he said.
Up to four assailants sprayed a hail of bullets at Mr Bhatti's car in broad daylight on Wednesday. Police said a letter was found at the scene, purportedly from supporters of Al Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban, claiming responsibility.
"Bhatti, a Christian, was in charge of a committee set up to amend the law against blasphemy," police quoted the letter as saying.
"This is his fate. We will not spare anybody involved in acts of blasphemy."
Senior police official Muhammad Ishaq Warraich cautioned on Thursday that the letter might "be an attempt to divert our investigations".
His colleague Bani Amin says police are confident of a breakthrough.
"The investigators were busy all night. We hope to solve this case soon," Mr Amin said.
One line of inquiry appeared to be Mr Bhatti's security detail, which was not with the minister at the time of the morning attack.
Mr Malik said it had been Mr Bhatti's decision to visit his mother without guards so as to keep the location secret. But the interior minister called the decision "wrong".
Uproar over the blasphemy law, which carries the death penalty, flared both in Pakistan and abroad after a Christian mother of five was sentenced to hang last year for making derogatory remarks about the Prophet Mohammed.
Critics say the law is often used to settle personal or business scores.
* taken from ABC News; read it again here
3.01.2011
Beloved of that Great Being
-- said of Sarah Edwards, by Jonathan Edwards, her future husband
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