31 Aug, 2011
Doom, Gloom and God (?)
Disaster strikes.
We just saw the east coast survive an earthquake followed by Hurricane Irene.
We are coming up on the 10th anniversary of September 11th and just passed the 6th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
When nature makes a mess of things, you start to hear and read things like the following headlines:
"God Is Punishing America for Abortion"
"Michele Bachmann Says Hurricane Irene And Earthquake Are Divine Warnings To Washington"
"Religious conservatives claim Katrina was God's omen, punishment for the United States"
"Hurricane Katrina: God's Punishment for a 'Wicked' City?"
"Operation Save America: 9/11 Was God's Punishment for Abortion"
What do these headlines say about God?
Are these things true of Him?
How does it stand in opposition to what you know of Him?
What do quotes like this say to your friends who don’t know God?
How is that different from what you want them to know about Jesus?
How can you show them a different side of Jesus and help them make sense of these headlines?
From Shane Claiborne via The Huffington Post...
"Do you think God sent Hurricane Irene?"a young man asked me with a curious look in his eyes that was as innocent as it was pensive.
As I heard the kid's question, my heart sunk, as I thought of all the rhetoric that has made God out to be a monster, or at least a punitive judge on a throne ready to zap folks with lightening bolts or hurricanes ... and who doesn't even have very good aim or accuracy with the wrath being dished out..."
John 3:16-17 (NIV) - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
1 John 2:1-2 (NIV) - My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
1 John 4:10 (MSG) - This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they've done to our relationship with God.
Romans 3:25-26 (MSG) - God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full view of the public—to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured. This is not only clear, but it's now—this is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live in his rightness.
Isaiah 53:4-6 (NIV)
Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
What do these passages say about Jesus? What is his desire for his creation?
How do these passages stand in opposition to the headlines listed above?
How would your relationship with God be different if we served a God like the one reflected in the headlines above?
In what ways are you thankful for the God we DO serve?
Who is the Jesus you want your friends to know?
How can you share him with your friends in the midst of all the lies being told about him?
How can you contradict these lies with the way you live your life and love others?
Our privilege is to reflect Jesus to our friends and to the world. Which Jesus are we reflecting? How will you go and share the real Jesus this week?
- May 2012 [14]
- April 2012 [19]
- March 2012 [21]
- February 2012 [19]
- January 2012 [18]
- December 2011 [20]
- November 2011 [15]
- October 2011 [15]
- September 2011 [14]
- August 2011 [22]
- July 2011 [19]
- June 2011 [21]
- May 2011 [20]
- April 2011 [20]
- March 2011 [21]
- February 2011 [20]
- January 2011 [21]
- December 2010 [21]
- November 2010 [21]
- October 2010 [21]
- September 2010 [22]
- August 2010 [21]
- July 2010 [22]
- June 2010 [20]
- May 2010 [18]
- April 2010 [20]
- March 2010 [23]
- February 2010 [19]
- January 2010 [22]
- December 2009 [22]
- November 2009 [21]
- October 2009 [22]
- September 2009 [21]
- August 2009 [20]
- July 2009 [21]
- June 2009 [22]
- May 2009 [18]
- April 2009 [15]
- March 2009 [7]
- February 2009 [17]
- January 2009 [20]
- December 2008 [23]
- November 2008 [19]
- October 2008 [22]
- September 2008 [22]
- August 2008 [19]
- July 2008 [22]
- June 2008 [11]
- May 2008 [19]
- April 2008 [22]
- March 2008 [21]
- February 2008 [18]
- January 2008 [20]
- December 2007 [18]
- November 2007 [15]
- October 2007 [19]
- September 2007 [18]
- August 2007 [12]
- July 2007 [12]
- June 2007 [9]
- May 2007 [11]
- April 2007 [10]
- March 2007 [11]
- February 2007 [14]
- January 2007 [7]
- December 2006 [4]
- November 2006 [13]
- October 2006 [17]
- September 2006 [11]
- August 2006 [16]
- July 2006 [10]
- June 2006 [3]
