Today in Sunday School we were discussing the demise of Sodom and Gomorrah and the story of Lot, his wife, and his daughters. Wow... That story spoke to me in so many ways. Praise the Lord for His love and mercy in leading me by the hand out of Sodom and into the safety of His mountain.
The long awaited testimony:
I was a child born into "The Church of Sodom." I lived in a world that professed to be righteous and wise knowing the Way. In reality we were a community riddled with terrible grievous adulterous sin. "The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous..."
Indeed the outcry was great, so great in fact that it was heard not only by God but the rest of the surrounding world. A child was drown by her mother, several parishoners committed suicide, and the place was so full of deceit and even sexual sins which they tried to legitimize as "a new move of God."
Indeed God sent them warnings of His judgement to come, but most of the people wouldn't listen and they were blinded by their own sinful ways and desires. To leave "The Church of Sodom" was to leave "comfort", life, everything... But to stay was in Sodom was to invoke the wrath of God.
I must admit that we lingered in "The Church of Sodom" and hesitated much like Lot. God in His mercy took us by the hand and led us into the hill country narrowly escaping a fiery demise. There are some who looked back and didn't make it. But once again praise the Lord that for some reason He saw fit to grab me by the hand and drag me out of Sodom.
Of course there was the living in exile in the cave part to deal with for a while but I believe that part too has it's place.
Praise the Lord His mercy and grace.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Variations on a Theme
April 7th 2008: The 14 year anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide
In Rwanda the entire week strictly observed with special prayers and ceremonies lasting for hours on end. Parties, applause, and most music is forbidden
April 19th: The first day of Passover
May 2nd: Yom HaShoah "Holocaust Remembrance Day"
This is somber holiday which is observed by most Jewish communities and many non Jewish communities with prayer, fasting, and special memorial services.
September 11, 2001: A day that "We will never Forget"
On these days we allow ourselves to time to remember the fallen, reflect on the pain, and thank God that He delivered us.
A few days ago I found myself walking down a familiar path in the woods. What was I doing there again? Remembering... The good, the bad, the angry, the sad, the helplessness, the deceit, the loneliness, and the bitterness. It's perfectly safe and even healthy to do this, once in a while.
The Theme: Because we are all human with a sinful nature and a free will, we perpetually find ourselves in the most dire perdicaments. We do unthinkable things to one another, sometimes the unthinkable happens to us. But God is bigger than all of this and He faithfully persues us.
A few days ago I was informaly asked if I would share my testimony in church. I don't think I'm quite ready for that yet. But the interesting and wonderful thing is this: We as believers might have different stories, but they are all really just variations on a theme. We were bad, God is good. God called, we answered. We were hopeless, we found hope in Him. What a victorious symphony!
In Rwanda the entire week strictly observed with special prayers and ceremonies lasting for hours on end. Parties, applause, and most music is forbidden
April 19th: The first day of Passover
May 2nd: Yom HaShoah "Holocaust Remembrance Day"
This is somber holiday which is observed by most Jewish communities and many non Jewish communities with prayer, fasting, and special memorial services.
September 11, 2001: A day that "We will never Forget"
On these days we allow ourselves to time to remember the fallen, reflect on the pain, and thank God that He delivered us.
A few days ago I found myself walking down a familiar path in the woods. What was I doing there again? Remembering... The good, the bad, the angry, the sad, the helplessness, the deceit, the loneliness, and the bitterness. It's perfectly safe and even healthy to do this, once in a while.
The Theme: Because we are all human with a sinful nature and a free will, we perpetually find ourselves in the most dire perdicaments. We do unthinkable things to one another, sometimes the unthinkable happens to us. But God is bigger than all of this and He faithfully persues us.
A few days ago I was informaly asked if I would share my testimony in church. I don't think I'm quite ready for that yet. But the interesting and wonderful thing is this: We as believers might have different stories, but they are all really just variations on a theme. We were bad, God is good. God called, we answered. We were hopeless, we found hope in Him. What a victorious symphony!
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