Saving the Earth

I have nothing against Earth Day, although I do think it's become so commercialized with nearly every company touting "green" products or "eco-friendly" practices. As Christians I believe that we are called to use our earthly resources wisely every day, not just once a year or because it's the popular, "PC" thing to do.

God created the earth and everything in it, and therefore what He created is good and not to be taken advantage of or abused. However, this earth as we know it will one day pass away, to be replaced by a new earth that will be eternal. And while I'm all for recycling aluminum and using tote bags instead of paper and plastic to cart my groceries to the car, I need to remember that God is far more interested in saving this planet's inhabitants rather than saving the planet itself.

So as television shows and retailers mark "Earth Day", I too want to acknowlege it in a few ways:

-Reducing noise pollution by steering clear of gossip, slander, and complaining, three areas that I tend to struggle with quite often. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. (Col. 3:8)

-Recycling kindness and generosity: A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. (Prov. 11:25)

-Sowing seeds for the kingdom: Then Jesus came to them [the disciples] and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)

Let's honor the Creator by taking care of ALL of His creation--not only the earth, but the people He has put into our lives on this earth as well.

Coach

During my junior and senior years at Lipscomb University, I had the thrill of working in the Sports Information office. I spent countless afternoons, nights and weekends there, working on promotions for upcoming games, penning news releases, calling in box scores to newspapers after games, and the like. For a sports lover such as myself, it was a dream job, being in such close proximity to the action, particularly during basketball season.

At the time, Don Meyer was the long-time head coach of the men's basketball team. He cared a great deal about his players, and expected a great deal of them. Not long after I graduated, Coach left Lipscomb to become the head men's basketball coach at Northern State. Last fall he was critically injured in a car accident, and during surgery following the accident doctors discovered that he had inoperable cancer. His recovery from the accident and his return to coaching have been nothing less than inspirational, as this recent profile by ESPN shows: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4068083&categoryid=3060647 .

I'm thankful that Coach's faith and his love for his family have been strengthened through all that he's gone through, and that his life is a powerful testimony to God's faithfulness in adversity.

Dark Days

In between the crucifixion and the resurrection was a day that had to seem like one of the longest and loneliest to Jesus' followers. I wonder how many had gotten any sleep the night before, and, if any did, I wonder how many woke up wondering, hoping, that the events that had occurred the day before were just a nightmare.

The day after Jesus' death was a Saturday, a Sabbath day. It was meant to be a day of rest from work, a day to reflect upon God and His work. I wonder how many disciples found themselves questioning how all of this could have happened, and why didn't God do something to prevent it.

We all have these dark days, when the worst that could happen has happened to us. A family member dies. We lose our job. Someone we love walks out of our lives. And we're left with questions: Why did this happen? or Why me? or Could I have prevented this? or What good can possibly come from this?

I have a feeling that the questions we ask on these dark days are not a far cry from those asked by Jesus' disciples the day after the crucifixion. When I read the story of the crucifixion, I don't despair as the disciples did--because I know what comes next. I know that Sunday--Resurrection Sunday, to be precise--is coming. I already know that Jesus conquers the grave and wins the war against Satan for all time.

But when I'm in my own personal times of darkness, I don't always have that same hope. I often question God, question myself, and worry about what's going to happen. Sometimes it's difficult to look ahead to the unknown, particularly when Satan tries to fill my mind with thoughts of fear and disillusionment. The Easter story reminds me that there IS hope in the midst of darkness, and that God IS at work even when He seems silent or distant or not there at all.

The Lord Will Provide

Last night in our ladies' Bible study we learned about some of the names of God that are used in the Bible. One of the names we discussed is one that I'd heard of before and has become a favorite of mine: YHWH Jireh, which means "The Lord Will Provide." This particular name of God has always spoken to me and reassured me of His abundance.

I learned last night that this name is used in Genesis 21, when Abraham takes his son, Isaac, to the mountain to sacrifice him as a burnt offering at God's request. When Isaac asked where the lamb for the burnt offering was, Abraham replied, "God himself will see to it."

Last night I realized that so often I lack the confidence that Abraham had that God will see to my needs. Much of my prayer time is focused on pouring out my complaints and requests before God--which I know He wants to hear. But so little of that time is spent praising God for knowing that He not only CAN but WILL provide. On my way home from Bible study, I began praising and thanking God in advance for the ways that He was going to answer my prayers and deal with the trials that I face. I still don't know how He's going to handle them, but I am thankful that He IS going to provide in His time and in His ways.