God Blog

Lying in the park on a beautiful day
Sunshine in the grass and the children play
Sirens passing, fire engine red
Someone's house is burning down on a day like this
And evening comes, and we're hanging out
On the front step and a car goes by with the windows rolled down
And that war song is playing, "Why can't we be friends"
Someone is screaming crying in the apartment upstairs

Funny the way it is, if you think about it
Somebody's going hungry, someone else is eating out
Funny the way it is, not right or wrong
Somebody's heart is broken, it becomes your favorite song

The way your mouth feels in your lover's kiss
Like a pretty bird on a breeze, or water to a fish
The bomb blast brings the building crashing to the floor
Hear the laughter while the children play war

Funny the way it is, if you think about it
One kid walks 10 miles to school, another's dropping out
Funny the way it is, not right or wrong
On a soldier's last breath, his baby's being born

Standing on a bridge, watch the water passing underneath
It must have been much harder when there was no bridge, just water
Now the world is small, compared to how it used to be
With mountains and oceans and winters and rivers and stars

Watch the sky, the jet plane so far out of my reach
Is there Someone up there looking down on me
Boy chase a bird, so close but every time
He'll never catch her, but he can't stop trying

Funny the way it is, if you think about it
One kid walks 10 miles to school, another's dropping out
Funny the way it is, not right or wrong
On a soldier's last breath, his baby's being born
Funny the way it is, not right or wrong
Somebody's broken heart become your favorite song
Funny the way it is, if you think about it
One kid walks 10 miles to school, another's dropping out

Standing on a bridge, watch the water passing underneath
It must have been much harder when there was no bridge, just water
Now the world is small, compared to how it used to be
With mountains and oceans and winters and rivers and stars

Irony can be simultaneously witty and unnerving. I herd:

• The most shoplifted book in America is The Bible.

• The Cult Awareness Network, once a leading anti-cult hotline, is now owned by the Church of Scientology.

• The founder of AA asked for whiskey on his deathbed.

• Charlie Chaplin once entered a "Charlie Chaplin walk" contest… and came in 20th.

• The only losing basketball coach in University of Kansas history is James Naismith—the man who invented basketball.

• Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, but refused to keep one in his study. He feared it would distract him.

• The first man to survive going over Niagara Falls in a barrel died after slipping on an orange peel.

Scripture adds to the quantum paradox. The Trinity’s Three and One. Christ is God and Man. The Kingdom’s here and not yet. Salvation’s by faith and works. Mankind’s fathered by God and the Devil. Humanity faces Heaven and Hell. Jesus has come and gone. And coming again. That’s a lot to take in. Small wonder we get dazed and confused trying to make sense of it all.

On the one hand You know I'm really grateful for and impressed with the Bible. After decades of intense study and living it out I'm convinced it's the authentic Word of God. We're so blessed to have scripture speak to us in dozens of different forms and translations. It's wonderful to have the ability to google the Bible anytime, day or night, along with thousands if not tens of thousands of commentaries! Yet even this can never replace You. Humanity's desperate for the power of Your presence, provision and protection. And let's be honest, we've got far less of You than we need. Truth is, whether they know it or not, billions are daily dealing with the fallout and consequences of Your silence of distance. Few seriously pray today. Fewer still are willing to do what it takes to wait on God. As a result of our apathy and sin, our prayers go unanswered, and all the while terrible judgment, great tribulation and global armageddon draw nearer.

Not that funny when I think about it.

And what of blessings? The modern world seems to have inherited answers to the prayers of all past generations, enjoying the capabilities of mythological gods. Yet we constantly take our blessings for granted, to the point of denying Your very existence. Are we the antagonist in Your story of the Rich Man and Lazarus who ends up unkowningly trading the glorious rewards of Heaven for the horrific punishments of Hell? Two millennia after this dire warning the world, and even Your church, is guilty of even greater sin. Like Esau, we've sold our birthright cheep. Like Samson, we traded fantastic anointing for illicit pleasure. All the while scrambling for more, even in the face of some of the greatest humanitarian needs the world has ever seen. And all this after the phenomenal price You paid for our atonement.

I doubt such tragic irony is lost on You.

And what about salvation? It's fantastic that Scripture clearly states: "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." It's totally awesome that mankind's Creator and Savior's Holy Number is All! Yet equally distressing is the fact that given modern levels of sin, rebellion and disbelief, when it comes to repentance and salvation, the reverse may be more accurate!

Not funny at all when You think about it. Just sayin'.

Lord, by definition You're clearly not to blame. Yet "who else do we have in heaven but You?" It's You who command us to "come boldly before the throne of grace to obtain mercy." It's You who counsel we should wrestle with God and not to take "no" for an answer. That, "the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force." You're the One who encourage, "fear not little children, it's the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."

Lord I admit again today that we stand utterly condemned, particularly my generation and the next in First World Nation and beyond. That we are utterly without excuse for our sin. Yet remember Oh God, that even our behavior is not without explanation. For it is written that the very Evil One, who accuses and condemns us, is the same who first tempted and deceived us. And angels. Ancient, brilliant and holy angels. Right out of heaven!

You placed thousands of promises in the Bible. And while we haven't merited them, we are told Your mercies are new every morning! I plead with You to perform Your word, even if we are far from living up to it. I know it's asking a lot, maybe even too much, but I fear it's the only way we ever will.

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