Advent

From Janet Denison - One of the best explanations of the Advent I have read this Christmas.

Tuesday, December 17

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning
John 1:1-2

Most of us think of Christmas as a celebration of the day Christ was born. While that is true, it is not the complete truth. The word advent means "coming" or "arrival." You might have family scheduled to arrive for the Christmas holiday. You know your loved ones exist, but they aren't present with you - as a seeable, touchable reality. Soon, they will arrive and you will see them, face to face.

According to the Apostle John, Jesus didn't begin his existence on Christmas Day - that day marks his arrival in human form to dwell on earth. Christmas morning as Mary held her son, she held her Creator as well.

The "Word" is Jesus. The Word, or Logos, means the revealer and interpreter of the hidden person of God. Just as an idea is expressed and made known through words, God is expressed and knowable through Jesus. Jesus had always been with God and he had always been God. Christmas Day is when God made himself visible to the world. And God wanted us to know him, as a tiny, newborn infant.

The God of the Universe could have presented himself to the world any way he chose. He chose to become a baby, born to a peasant couple in a stable. Jesus is not a "character" of the Christmas story; he authored the Christmas story to reveal his character.

As you experience the Advent season, consider the way God chose to reveal himself to the world. Jesus "made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness" (Philippians 2:7). The humility of Christmas was God's idea and Jesus was the "Word" God used to communicate that idea with the world. We don't just celebrate the birth of Christ, we celebrate the fact that God stepped into the world with humility, and made himself "knowable."

To read more devotionals this Advent by clicking and downloading the following
http://www.denisonforum.org/books/549-advent-devotional

Merry Christmas - Keith

O Come All Ye Faithful

As we continue to walk through December together in worship I wanted to focus on this week’s song “O Come All Ye Faithful”.  This song was was written in 1743, originally written in Latin by John Francis Wade, a Roman Catholic layman.  To support himself during the difficult times, Wade would hand copy musical scores, which became a true art form during this time period.  While working, he penned the words to this traditional Christmas Carol we sing today, “O Come Let Us Adore Him, Christ the Lord”

To adore. What does that mean?  The best picture I can think of is when I held my first child, McKinley, for the very first time.  Tears filled my eyes as I held her, rocked her and spoke ever so gently to her.  I simply adored her.  She captured my heart and all I wanted to do was look into her eyes and tell her how much I loved her.

Matthew 2:11 says this, “And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.”

The wise men traveled from all over the area to see the Christ child; to fall on their knees and worship him - to adore Christ the Lord.  Even today, wise men still seek Christ.

Will you seek Christ this Christmas?  Will you adore Christ the Lord and gaze into his eyes and worship Him as Savior and Lord?  That is my prayer for you today as you hear my voice.  Come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.

Merry Christmas

Watch video below:
http://vimeo.com/81780454

Adore Him

Merry Christmas everyone.  

It is my favorite time of the year!  As a music guy, the lights and the sounds of Christmas resound EVERYWHERE!  The radio stations are laced with Christmas Carols and songs of the season, as well as watching our favorite Christmas shows on TV, like the classic “Elf” or It’s a Wonderful Life”.  There is nothing like grabbing a bowl of hot tortilla soup, or a nice tall cup of hot chocolate.  The Christmas Tree is set up and the decorations adorn our homes.  And what about the gifts and presents, the shopping and the lines in the malls.  It is a picture of absolute controlled chaos, right?  What are you going to get the kids this year for Christmas?  Where are you traveling over the break?  What parties are you going to attend?

Are you tired already...and it is just the first week of December?

So here is my encouragement to you today - Stop, pause and take a big breath.  As crazy, fun, exciting, draining and stressful this season can be, let me remind us all that Christmas is truly not about one single thing I have mentioned so far.  I strongly believe that the stuff surrounding Christmas can become more of a distraction from the true meaning of Christmas.  So pause and remember the true meaning of Christmas as you enter this month of December.  

What is the True meaning of Christmas?  Look in the word - CHRIST

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."  Isaiah 9:6

This weekend in worship we are singing “Adore Him”, a song that captures the heart of the Christ in Christmas.  As you pause and take a breath today, I invite you to worship Christ and adore Him as Christ the Lord.  See you this weekend in worship.  

Merry Christmas

Watch and listen to this amazing song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUCD-GXObac

Build Your Kingdom Here, We Pray

This is a special weekend in the life of our local church - Cottonwood Creek.  We are truly transforming the 4 walls of our church into a mission field where we are serving and reaching the least of these on our campus.  We are packing dry food goods that will feed villages in the Dominican Republic.  We are sorting seeds to allow farmers to plant crops to make a living to feed their families.  We are sending shoe boxes through Operation Christmas Child across the world to reach children who will experience the hands and feet of Jesus through a small gift of love.  We are also learning about an opportunity we have as a church to reach one of the darkest cities in our nation.

Here is the deal - God is on the move and He is building His kingdom, and we have an opportunity to be a part of it this weekend!

How is God moving and growing His kingdom?  THROUGH JESUS CHRIST & THE CHURCH! (2 Samuel 7:12-14)

God is establishing His church to transform lives.  God is raising up a generation that is on mission to reach the least of these, (Matthew 25:39-41) the hurting, suffering, orphaned and widowed.  God is in control and is doing a work in the church. (Job 37:14-16)

Our response to God today?  We are singing a song that accurately speaks to the purpose of this weekend, this Missions Month, and to sharing Jesus with our friends, nation and the world.  Listen to these words…

Build Your kingdom here

Let the darkness fear

Show Your mighty hand

Heal our streets and land

Set Your church on fire

Win this nation back

Change the atmosphere

Build Your kingdom here

We pray

So, now is the time for you to lay down your life before God, pray to Him and allow His kingdom to rule in your life!  If you do this, Your life will be transformed forever!  

Join us this weekend at The Gift.

Watch this video on the song "Build Your Kingdom" by Rend Collective Experiment
http://worshiptogether.com/songs/songdetail.aspx?iid=1894414

Christ is Able

What are the limitations that you place on God? He is a great and mighty God, but so many times we confine him to a box, thinking that He could never meet you at your point of need.  Why do we do that?  A great question to ponder as we focus on our song of the week “Christ is Able”.

In the book of Ephesians, Paul reminds the church that God can break through any limitations we have in life, by placing our hope, faith and trust in Christ alone.  Listen to these great words…(Eph. 3:20-21)

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

This song is a great reminder that He is able to do all these things and more. Most importantly, it is a reminder that our God is still able to save! (Romans 5:8) May we never forget that simple fact.  If our God can save us, then he can break through any limitation we are facing in life.  We are all in need of a Savior in our life. (Romans 3:23)  We have all gone astray and need to be directed back to Christ.  We are all worn down, beaten up and are hopeless without the knowledge that..

"He is able. He is able. Christ is able still to save.

Come ye sinners poor and needy, sing to Him our song of praise."

Come to Christ today.  Lay your limitations, your broken life and your hopelessness down and trust Christ - for He is able to meet you today.

Tommy Walker
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ehp5GenCp8

How Great is Our God

Sometimes, the most complex, indescribable experiences in life can be difficult to articulate into words.  For example, how do you describe the complexity of the universe, the stars, galaxy and more?  How do you describe the birth of a new born baby?  What about the supernatural healing of cancer or deadly disease?  We could come up with a long list of adjectives, but it would all return to this simple phrase - How Great is Our God!

The Bible poetically responds to God all through scripture.  Listen to Psalm 104 as David describes God...  

1 Praise the Lord, my soul.

Lord my God, you are very great;

   you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

2 The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment;

   he stretches out the heavens like a tent

3  and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.

This is just one passage of many that describe God from the Bible.  And today, we have modern hymn writers that write songs that elevate God as well.  Chris Tomlin is one of those creative songwriters who wrote a simple song that describes the greatness of our creator.  He wrote, “The splendor of a King, robed in majesty, let all the earth rejoice.  He wraps himself in light, and darkness tries to hide, and trembles at his voice.  How Great is our God!”  Simple and true.  Our God is great!

As we sing this song in worship to the Lord this weekend, I invite you to respond to His greatness through all of creation.  Honestly, once we realize how great He is, we instantly are humbled by the magnitude of His presence in our lives.  

Join me as we worship the Great God and King of the universe this weekend.

God in Three Persons

Many songs we sing in our worship services are filled with depth and insight into the heart of God, and this week we have the honor of singing one of these great hymns called “Holy, Holy, Holy” which is derived from Revelation 4:8 which proclaims, “And they did not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!"

Reginald Heber, the author of this poetic piece of musical history for the church, masterfully articulated the description of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit working together as the perfect Triune God.  Words like HOLY, MERCIFUL, MIGHTY, PERFECT IN POWER, PURITY & LOVE describe how the all three attributes of the Triune God work together.

We see that God is perfect which angels fall down before, and the darkness is hides because He is perfect in love and purity.  

We see that God showed his mercy and might by sending his son Jesus to earth to save us from our sins.  

We see that Jesus sent His Holy Spirit to dwell among His people to proclaim the works of the Lord in earth and sky and sea.

All three attributes of the Trinity come together in this song to proclaim: “You are Lord, You are Lord. You reign eternally.  You are Lord God Almighty.  My Savior and My King.”

How do you respond to hearing these words?  

Have you ever trusted God with your heart?  He is perfect in love and purity.  

Have you ever needed mercy in your life?  He showed mercy by sending Jesus to save us from our sins.  

Have you ever proclaimed to the Lord that He is mighty in power to meet you at your point of need?  He rules over all the earth, sky and the sea.

So as we sing this song in worship this weekend, join me singing to the almighty God in three persons - the blessed Trinity.

Running a Race

I am preparing to run another Half Marathon in November.  Preparing for a race like this takes time, energy and effort.  It takes a plan as well.  Sometimes I fail in my plans, and other times I do ok.

This morning I read this devotional by Greg Laurie that really applied to me as a jogger and I wanted to pass it along to you for encouragement as we run the race here on earth together.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2013

Run Well

	You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth?

—Galatians 5:7

When runners compete in a race, depending on what kind of race it is, they must stay in their own lane. A runner cannot go into a competitor's lane and cut that runner off. If this happens, he or she will be disqualified.

The apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Galatia, "You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth?" (5:7). Or, paraphrased, "You were running superbly! Who cut in on you, deflecting you from the true course of obedience?" Sometimes in the race of life, people will cut in on us and impair our performance. That means we need to give a lot of thought as to whom we choose to run with.

Paul instructed Timothy to "run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts" (2 Timothy 2:22). As Christians, we should run together, not trip each other in the race. We are not competing against one another.

Our competition is with the world, the flesh, and the Devil—those are our competitors in life's race. Those are our enemies. So it is not about besting one another; it is about glorifying God and overcoming the Enemy.

Paul also warned against looking back while we are running our race. He said, "Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us" (Philippians 3:13–14). You can't run a good race if you are constantly looking over your shoulder.

So in the race of life, stay in your own lane and don't look back.

http://www.harvest.org/devotional/archive/devotion/2013-10-15.html

Our God Saves

When we gather together as a church family for worship, what is the fiber that knits us together?  What is the glue that brings together scripture, praise, worship, and prayer together?  It is an element that can be easily overlooked because of our distraction, but extremely vital to what goes on in corporate worship.  

What is it?  It is when we as children of God CALL ON GOD’S PRESENCE!  When we come together and surrender our lives to God and place our minds attention on Him and our hearts affection towards Jesus, then a supernatural moment occurs and God begins to move among His people.

How does a moment like this happen?  By accident?  Absolutely not.

It happens when we come together by praying like this…

In the name of the Father

In the name of the Son

In the name of the Spirit, Lord we come

We gather together

To lift up your Name

To call on our Savior

To fall on Your grace

Hear the joyful sound

Of our offering

As Your Saints bow down

As Your people sing

We will rise to you

Lifted on Your wings

And the world will see

OUR GOD SAVES

Psalm 68:19-20 (NIV)

19 Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.

20 Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.

So, this weekend we will sing this song in worship.  We will call upon the Lord and passionately pursue Jesus.  Will you join me?  Will you lift up the Name of Jesus together and worship with me, so the whole world will see that our God saves?  That is my prayer for us this weekend.  Have a great week and I will see you Sunday

Carry Your Name

What is a worship song?  

This can be difficult to define, but I will do my best to try to define a worship song as follows...Any song that directs people to God by speaking of Him or to Him, or His son Jesus Christ.  This can be accomplished through songs of adoration (a prayer to God), songs of exhortation (describing who God is and telling others about Him), songs of declaration (proclaim God’s truth - who He is), and  songs of supplication (a prayer petitioning God).  Many songs focus directly on one of these four aspects, but do not be surprised when a song writer will use 2 to 3 aspects within a worship song.

Why am I going into this in depth description?  Because our worship matters to God.  We do not just sing songs to sing songs.  We sing songs to worship the truth, the living God!  It matters what we sing - God is watching, listening and hearing our songs lifted up to Him. (Psalms 40:1-3)

This weekend, we are singing one of my favorite worship songs from Passion Ministries called “Carry Your Name”.  In this song, you will notice the personal tone and language of the song as the singer prays a prayer to God in worship.  It is a song of Adoration and Exhortation.  Listen to these words...

By Your wounds we are healed

And You have conquered the grave

And in Your rising, we will rise

To carry Your name

Above every name

I will carry Your name

Carry Your name

Jesus, Your name forever

For all of my days

In all of my ways

Jesus, Your name forever

Isn’t that amazing - the personal prayer from our heart directly to God.  If we sing a song like this and truly enable the song to transfer from our heads to our heart, then our lives will be changed!  We are salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16) and we are called to carry the name of Jesus wherever we go.  Might this song remind all of us the importance to allow God to use each one of us for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:12-14) and to carry His name into a world that so desperately needs to know Christ.

Thanks for the time and I look forward to seeing you in worship this weekend.  Remember - Carry the Name of Jesus wherever you go! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLQmdL9xdnc

Caring for Those in Need

I read the daily devotional and commentary by Jim Denison on different world and cultural issues that our society is facing each week.  Today, I thought his direction through pointing out key scripture references were extremely key to caring for those who are in need and those who might be homeless.  Scripture is clear with the verses below.  Personally, it is very convicting to me and how I view the poor, care for the poor and begs the question, what am I doing to care for the poor.

Jesus' statement, "You will always have the poor with you" (Matthew 26:11), was not his Father's desire for us but an observation about our fallen world. 

How does God feel about those in need? "He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow" (Deuteronomy 10:18). 

What does he want us to do for them?  "Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed" (Psalm 82:3).

What happens if we do not help them?  "He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses" (Proverbs 28:27). 

What will he do for those who care for them?  "He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done" (Proverbs 19:17).

After reading these verses, ask the Lord to lead you and reveal to you one way for you to care for those who are in need.

Have a great day - Keith

http://www.denisonforum.org/global/694-why-you-should-care-about-the-poor

A Mighty Fortress

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”  (Psalm 46:1)  As we read from David’s writing in the book of Psalms, listen to the promise we receive from this verse...God is our refuge, our strength.  God is not far away, but right beside us in life.  In Psalms 91 David also reveals to us the strength and power of God when he says...“He (GOD)  is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”  

Let us journey back to 1529, during the time of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation.  Strife, discord and unrest surrounded the church during this time.  Luther was determined to restore worship to the German Church.  He worked closely with skilled musicians  to create new music for believers in Jesus to sing and helped revive congregational singing during this time.  Interesting note...He would often borrow popular secular melodies for his hymns that were heard at the local bar or tavern.  That connection struck a familiar tune with words that were life changing.

Luther’s most famous hymn is “Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott” - commonly known as “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”.  In writing this song, He reflects on the awareness of our intense struggle with our enemy - Satan.  When danger and difficulty came close, Luther would often resort to this song.

Now, let us come back to 2013.  The same is true today as it was in 1529.  We are in a time of strife, discord and unrest in our culture and society.  The message of this song is a message for the church today.  “Hallelujah, we believe our God is good.  Hallelujah, a mighty fortress is our God.”  Take hold of this promise today and trust God today.

Video: https://player.vimeo.com/video/75053906

Sacrifice

When you think of the word “Sacrifice”, what ideas or concepts come to your mind?  You might think of an act of giving up something that you want to keep in order to help someone else, like sacrificing a place in line at the grocery store for someone who is in a hurry, or maybe something more in depth, like sacrificing a vacation week from work to serve God on the mission field?  Or, do you think of an act from Biblical times where an animal was killed in a sacrificial offering to God?  In our modern day, that would be like sacrificing your money, time and belongings to God and literally giving them all up as a sacrifice in order to follow and please God.

Living a life of sacrifice is extremely counter-cultural in our day.  We live in a society and culture that is focused on self promotion, self glorification and self indulgence.  The thought of “sacrifice” is something we might do on occasion, but to live a life of sacrifice is extremely difficult to do, yet look at what the Bible instructs us to do as followers of Jesus.

Romans 12:1 says this…”Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

Paul makes it very clear to us in this verse that our lives, our bodies, our thoughts, our possessions...everything is to be presented as a sacrifice to God.  And why not?  Look at what God did for you.  He sent His one and only son, Jesus, as the ULTIMATE sacrifice so you and I could experience life - life forever.

This weekend we are singing a song about this idea of sacrifice.  As we look at this song and respond to it in worship, look deep into your heart and ask yourself this vital question, “Am I living my life as a living sacrifice to God?  Have I truly understood the sacrifice Jesus made for me on the cross?”  If not, then open your heart to the Lord.

Listen to the words of this song...

“There is love that came for us

Humbled to a sinner's cross

You broke my shame and sinfulness

You rose again victorious

You are stronger you are stronger

Sin is broken you have saved me

It is written Christ is risen Jesus you are Lord of all

Lord Jesus - thank you for your sacrifice on the cross for my sin.  Might I live my life as a living sacrifice to you!  Give me the strength to do so, in Jesus Name - Amen

Here is the YouTube link to this song by Hillsong called "Stronger"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJS6Gm3MUHc

Made to Worship

When you hear the word “worship," what do you think of?  Music, church, idols, an event, a place?  Maybe you think of an action, like something you do, or maybe it's sitting quietly and doing nothing, except resting.  Many definitions can describe worship, but the best definition I continue to use is from Louie Giglio, who says, “Worship is OUR RESPONSE to God, for who He is and what He has done.”  Listen that again: “Worship is OUR RESPONSE to God, for who He is and what He has done.”  

I have come to understand that worship is not an event.  Worship is not something a person does for an hour on Sunday morning, leaving it behind as one goes on to the next event in life.  On the contrary, I believe strongly that worship is a believer’s RESPONSE to God every minute of every day, week, month and year, until we die.

Romans 12:1 clearly describes worship with this mindset.  “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”  We see in this life-changing verse amazing instruction for us from God.  We see that worship is from God and for God.  We see that worship is an offering of ourselves to God.  We see that by offering our lives to God, it pleases God.  And lastly, we see that this is what God requires of us as followers - to worship God because this is true, authentic and right in His sight.

The chorus of a popular Chris Tomlin song reminds us that “You and I were made to worship.  You and I are called to love.  You and I are forgiven and free.  When you and I embrace surrender. When you and I choose to believe.  Then you and I will see what we were meant to be.” We are made to worship God.  Our focus and attitude are keenly fixed of Jesus, all day, every day.  That is worship.

So, this weekend when you come to church, to "worship," I invite you shift your focus, to see this time as more than an event you participate in for an hour on Sunday.  Renew your thinking to view Sunday morning Worship Service as an important time of meeting with other worshippers who have lived through the week as a living sacrifice to God and are meeting to celebrate God, praise God and respond together as the body of Christ to God for who He is and what He has done.

"Here I am to worship.  Here I am to bow down.  Here I am to say that you're my God.  You're altogether lovely, altogether worthy, altogether wonderful to me."

Watch this video - Preparing for worship this weekend  
Made to Worship https://vimeo.com/74422633

Whom Shall I Fear?

Let me ask you a question today.  Who or what do you fear?  As you walk through your life on a daily basis, what grips you from your inner core and traps you from experiencing a life of freedom...a life that is free in Christ?  

This weekend in worship, we are singing a song by Chris Tomlin called “Whom Shall I Fear.”  This amazing song gives the believer in Jesus the confidence to look fear in the face and say,

I know who goes before me

I know who stands behind

The God of angel armies

Is always by my side

The one who reigns forever

He is a friend of mine

The God of angel armies

Is always by my side

What is the message of this song?  Looking in the Old Testament in 2 Kings chapter 6 - Prophet Elisha is being attacked by an army coming against Israel.  His servant runs up to him worried about the horses and chariots and the oncoming attack, but Elisha responds,  “There is nothing to worry about.  Those who are for us are more than who are against us.”  Elisha turned to his servant and prayed, “Lord, open their eyes to see what you see”, and when he did, he saw the mountains filled with God’s army.

I pray this same prayer for us.  Lord, open our eyes to see what you see.  You are a God who is for us, not against us. Give us the strength and FAITH to stand in times of adversity and fear knowing you are with us.

Listen to Chris Tomlin speak about the writing of this song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nykPjrAyoJ0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOkImV2cJDg

Coming Face to Face with Reality

On this Tuesday after the tragedy in Boston, Massachusetts, all of America, and the world is morning with those who morn and crying with those who are hurting and praying for those who are in need.  I continue to be amazed at the response of the human spirit to run into the face of adversity seconds after the bomb went off.  The care and compassion of the people in Boston has been a true example to us all.  We continue to pray and lift up those who are affected by this senseless act of terror.

Our pastor, John Mark Caton, is in the middle of a sermon series called, "Making Sense out of the Nonsense of Life".  This tragic event brings up the struggle we face with trying to understand why something like this could happen.  Who would do such a thing?  Many even try to understand why God would allow such a thing to happen.  Believe me, I am not here to answer this question, but I am here to meet this question face to face with the reality that GOD IS IN CONTROL.

The Bible shares with us that from the beginning of time, there has always been a struggle for control in the universe (Ezekiel 14).  God has always be in control, and when Lucifer challenged his leadership and actually wanted to be God himself, God the Father cast him out of heaven to eternal separation from heaven in a place called hell (Isaiah 28) .  Here we see the division of "Good and Evil", and when Adam and Eve fell into the temptation from Satan in the Garden of Eden, (Genesis 3) the separation brought evil and destruction to the earth.  You see, Satan wants to be your god and to distract you from God the Father, yet God is ultimately the one who is in control, yet he allows this world to continue to exist with destruction and heartache.  That is the difficult part to understand, from my perspective.

My response?  If God did not allow us as humans to struggle with the understanding of good and evil and control for dominance in the universe, I would be a robot with no chance of choosing or making my own decisions.  We all make choices, and there are consequences, both good and bad, for these choices.  Ultimately, God wants us to choose Him.  Some would even go as far as to say that God has chose His people from the beginning of time!  Yet, we all have choices to make.  The difficult part is when someone, like a bomber, chooses to make a bad evil choice, innocence is destroyed.  Why?

Answer...God is in control.  I trust Him, his word, the Bible, and rely on Him to use a situation (for example, like this evil act of bombing) to bring glory to who He is.  Sounds odd and even simplistic to write and say, and even more difficult to flesh out in real life.  This might be true, but when someone is struggling in the moment of a tragedy like this, we are not called to answer the questions, but to love and care for people and reach out to them, listen to them and be there for them.  In the end, God has a plan.  He always has a plan for your life.

I rely on a couple of themes in my life to focus my attention daily, and many times, these themes help me see through the confusion of life.  I am not called to judge why things happen.  I am not called to be God, but to worship God.  I am not called understand all things, I am called to respond to God and who He is in my life and worship Him.  I am called to love God with all that I am and to love those around me as best as I can.  Only God can truly give clarity to a situation that is inconceivable to understand.  It is only through knowing God that in times like confusion and tragedy that God is seen as our hope and our future.

So, as you come face to face with discerning through your knowledge and understanding of this topic, I just want to remind you that God is in control.  Trust Him and rely on Him.

For more articles about this topic, please visit these great and helpful websites...
www.denisonforum.org/faith-questions/64-why-does-a-good-god-allow-an-evil-world
www.janetdenison.com/blog/150-a-beautiful-terrible-fearful-day-in-boston
www.denisonforum.org/america/688-boston-bombings-2-ways-to-respond
www.gotquestions.org/God-allow-evil.html

I welcome your comments...Praying for God's will to be known through this topic