Apr. 18, 2006 - What is this world coming to?
A librarian can't recommend a book without being accused of harassment and hate speech?! I read the book "The Marketing of Evil" upon the recommendation of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine's recent article. I highly recommend it. It is one of the most eye-opening books I've read - a little scary in fact; which is why I suppose some do NOT like it. They would rather our eyes be blinded and our voices silenced. God, have mercy on this fallen world. 8 Comments Post A Comment! Permanent Link
Feb. 21, 2006 - Evaluating Creativity
For all my creative, expressive, got-to-be-me friends with whom I identify all too well.
While it true that man was made in the image of God, therefore man, by nature, is a creative being; a small detail of this truth often remains overlooked. When God created the heavens and earth in Genesis 1, this same phrase occurs five times: God saw that it was good. (vv. 4, 10, 12, 18, 21) Then in verse 31, God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.
Too often we claim creativity as the end by which we justify carnality, sensuality, and lewdness as our means. Yet, when God created, He looked at what He had made and evaluated its quality according to a standard, which He alone could pronounce: it is good. Do we examine our creations with the same scrutiny? Is this truly good? Would God declare it so? Is it in keeping with the God who commanded: Be holy as I am holy? (Lev. 19:2)
Why do we clutch our masterpieces with such unyielding determination? Is it because we must have affirmation of the exposure of our own hearts? Is it because we cannot bear the refiners fire purifying our deepest inward parts? Must we express ourselves or die? Could it be that some things are only appropriate to express between you and the God who created you - deep calling to deep? Is our creation so dear that we cannot bring it into the light of Him who made everything good? Could it be that finding fulfillment in God alone eliminates the need of seeking affirmation from others?
I am not suggesting that we must allow other fallen humans with tainted opinions of good and evil to judge our works, but I am suggesting we present it to the One who judges the hearts. (See I Corinthians 3:12-15; 4:3-5)
Gods refusal of Cains sacrifice in Genesis 4 attests to the fact that God does not accept any and all of that which we imagine and do for him. Cains inappropriate response of anger further reveals the condition of his heart. Consider the warning God gave to Cain: Sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it (Genesis 4:7). Unfortunately, Cain did not.
God is a God of order and design. His creation which is very good attests to this fact. Yet, in our culture, that which is random is praised as being creative. Some synonyms for random are aimless, careless, chaotic, confused, designless isnt that the ways things were before God began his creation?
Rather than complaining that others are stifling our creativity, let us ask ourselves this question: how would God evaluate this creation?
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Jan. 24, 2006 - What Are We Teaching Them?
Yesterday I bundled up my 5 children, piled them in the van and drove thirty minutes to uptown Charlotte to stand outside in 40 degree rainy weather for an hour. Why? To protest against the 40 million lives that have been snuffed out without choice. 33 years ago abortion was made legal in our country. But for those of us who live under God's laws, abortion will never be legal; for He has said: You shall not kill. I took my children because I want them to learn that from their earliest remembrance we stood against this hideous crime until it was eradicated.
We stood at the center of town worshipping God, praying prayers of repentance, and testifying to the truth. My husband was one of the speakers. He called the kids and me up to the front of the gathering to stand with him while he spoke. My son (8) was a little afraid when he saw a member of Operation Save America handcuffed and led away by police. He was sickened by the graphic abortion signs and ignored by passersby when trying to hand them literature. Blessed is he.
My oldest daughter is watching the movie The Hiding Place after having read the book. It's hard to imagine such a nightmare as the holocaust, and yet everyday thousands are led to the slaughter without a voice, without a choice. I don't know who came up with the term pro-choice because the opposite is true. I want my children to have courage to stand up for righteousness. I want them to cry out for God's kingdom to come. I want them to know it's not always popular or easy to testify concerning the truth. I want them to consider themselves blessed when others insult them for bearing the name of Jesus. That's what I'm trying to teach them.
This is a song that I wrote several years ago:
He might have been a preacher
Oh he could have been the one
To discover the cure for some disease
He might have been the president of this blessed land
But you'll never see his face or hold his hand
He was killed before he had a chance
By those who called his life a waste
They said, His life is in our hands
He never saw the dawn of day
He never saw the light
He was taken without a fight
And now his blood in on our hands
She might have been a teacher
Oh she could have been the one
To lead our children to the Lord
She might have been a poet
Or a nurse or a mom
But you'll never know just where
She might have gone.
She was killed
