Soul and Spirit

Survivors Find Blessings

Out of curiosity, I did a Google search of news stories with this phrase in them: “for which to be thankful.”

I clicked the St. Petersburg Times (Florida) link with this Associated Press story:

They lost homes, neighbors and cherished communities to Hurricane Katrina. Some are uprooted, far from the only place they ever knew. Others have returned to the cities they love, to pick up the pieces and start over.

They will gather this Thanksgiving with family and friends to reflect back and look forward. But when tragedy scars the soul, what is left to be thankful for?

Blessings, it turns out. Big and small ones. A beloved city that is crippled but stands. Strangers who gave of themselves and became heroes, then friends. School, once a drag, now appreciated. A new life whose future had been uncertain.

Many who made it through the storm have a new understanding of what it means to give thanks. Here are some of their words.

What blessings can you find in your life?

What are some of your words of gratefulness?

Two Punches?

According to this news story, the preacher kept on preaching:

A pastor was standing in front of a group of people when one man rears back and punches him right in the eye. It happened over the weekend in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Victory Christian Center’s Pastor Billy Joe Daugherty continued his sermon with blood coming out of his eye.

The next sentence in the report states blandly:

Church members subdued his attacker.

Then we have this photo of the attacker:

To this “casual observer” it appears at least two punches landed during that service.

Tit for tat.

Ooooops.

State-Sponsored Church

I know this happened two days ago, but I’ve been wondering if I should say just a bit about it:

President George W. Bush visited a state-sponsored Christian church this morning to nudge China on religious freedom — the first stop on a whirlwind visit where he is likely to face difficulty getting his hosts to change their ways on fair trade or human rights.

A bit farther down in the article we have this:

The church itself is one of five officially recognized Protestant churches in Beijing. There are Catholic churches as well, although the Chinese bar them from having close ties to the Vatican.

What does it take to be a church officially recognized by the Communist government of China? What are the practical and theological implications of being state-sponsored? And how many unregistered (ie, underground and persecuted) churches are there?

I suppose I could Google for an answer, but I haven’t yet.

What’s There to Say?

Here’s an AP story that captures my attention, although I suspect it won’t be for long:

A 16-year-old boy accused of killing a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent has escaped from a juvenile prison for the fifth time in three years — just as he promised, an official said Saturday.

Herlan Colindres, a street gang member implicated in 16 other killings….

He’s only sixteen and he’s already accused of murder?

Sixteen of them?

That makes at least sixteen dead tragedies and at least one living one.

What else is there to say?

To feel?

To do?

Got (God’s) Love?




Noordin Mohamad Top (maybe)

The Star (Malaysia) offers this AP story:

A video found in the hide-out of one of Asia’s most wanted militants shows a masked man threatening attacks against the United States, Britain and Australia.

Police suspect the man in the video could be Malaysian fugitive Noordin Mohamad Top, considered a key leader of the al-Qaida-linked Southeast Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah.

Noordin has been accused of direct involvement in at least four deadly bombings in Indonesia, including the 2002 and 2005 suicide attacks on the resort island of Bali that together killed 222 people, many of them foreign tourists.

OK, Christians. How do you pray for a man like this? Or would we even consider praying for him?

You could even right-click the image (in Windows XP anyway) and select to have it be your wallpaper. As a reminder, you know.

I’m sure this man has lots of hate directed toward him. What he needs is God’s love directed toward him.

Yeah, I know. Easier written than done.

It’s Against the Law in MA

General Laws of Massachusetts; Chapter 272, Section 36

Whoever wilfully blasphemes the holy name of God by denying, cursing or contumeliously reproaching God, his creation, government or final judging of the world, or by cursing or contumeliously reproaching Jesus Christ or the Holy Ghost, or by cursing or contumeliously reproaching or exposing to contempt and ridicule, the holy word of God contained in the holy scriptures shall be punished by imprisonment in jail for not more than one year or by a fine of not more than three hundred dollars, and may also be bound to good behavior.

That’s still on books there!

However, they have Senate Bill 938 to remedy that oversight and a few others as well — “SECTION 7. Section 36 of chapter 272 of the General Laws is hereby repealed.”

Didn’t He Know the Risk?!

From The Washington Times this story of commitment:

A court sentenced a teacher to 40 months in prison and 750 lashes for “mocking religion” after he discussed the Bible and praised Jews, a Saudi newspaper reported yesterday.

Al-Madina newspaper said secondary-school teacher Mohammad al-Harbi, who will be flogged in public, was taken to court by his colleagues and students.

He was charged with promoting a “dubious ideology, mocking religion, saying the Jews were right, discussing the Gospel and preventing students from leaving class to wash for prayer,” the newspaper said.

I wonder what this man’s testimony is.

Oh, and before anyone goes off on what the “religion of peace” does to its opponents, wait.

Remember the Crusades. Remember the Catholic-Protestant battles of not so long ago.

That said, I do believe there is a substantial spiritual and moral difference between genuine Islam and genuine Christianity.

The question for me is simple: Is my faith (and subsequent life) an accurate reflection of the Lord Jesus?

Above all, love God!