Forgetting Evil Men

-
The NIU tragedy touches so many emotions in me. I'm angry, confused, sympathetic, wishing to make things better. In yesterday's reading I find some words that bring comfort, but also make me ask some questions too.
Psalm 34: 5 The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. 16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. 17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hearsand delivers them out of all their troubles. 18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. 20 He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. 21 Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. 22 The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

David says the Lord is against evil men to cut off the memory of them from the earth. Sometimes I wonder if we make celebrities of the evil doers. I'm not calling us to deny that evil exists, but I'm asking that we don't glorify it. But then as I read on I'm reminded that the Lord is near, and most importantly He redeems the life of His servants.

Verse 20 is a prophecy of our Lord, and I'm sure vs. 22 is as well. I'm sure that people thought that the life of Jesus was a waste, but God redeemed His life, and He will redeem ours, if we are His servants. I hope those precious lives cut short in the midst of this tragedy will be redeemed as well.

Lord, please bring grace to NIU. They need you now. We all do.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Music Tuesday - 2 Free Album Giveaways

-
Image
I've had a lot of fun giving away music throughout the year, but what's amazing is how many times no one would take me up on the offer. So with all the money I've saved, I'm going to try giving away two album downloads on iTunes. Of course, as with all giveaways, there is a catch. Here's this one... This giveaway will be a drawing. In order to participate you need to share what you think is your favorite song or favorite album that you heard in 2008 . (The song/album can be from any year, but this year is when you really came to enjoy it.) You will need to post your comments on the blog -- facebook comments won't count. I will draw from the names next Tuesday, December 23rd, and the two winners will receive one free email gift certificate for $10 from iTunes for the music of YOUR CHOICE . So you can get an album or you can choose 10 different songs if you wish. Here's my favorite album of the year: Room to Breathe from Andy Gullahorn . This album is
Read more

Just Making Memories or Ear Piercing--The Hard Way.

-
Image
I always wondered what it felt like to have your ear pierced, but no longer do I wonder... This weekend Grandpa Penn came down to take the guys fishing. We got up early and headed out to the lake in the Jon Boat. We really had a great day catching fish and just spending time together. The weather was great - this was the first good cold fall weekend. The leaves were turning and there was a mist on the water. (That's a picture of Old Kinmundy Lake.) My son started us off with a nice catch. It was also a lot of fun to see the Largemouth hit Grandpa's frog lure on the top of the water. I even had a lot of fun setting the hook on some Largemouth myself. But later in the afternoon, someone set the hook on me! That's right - one of my fishing buddies was making a cast and on their back swing caught a hold of my right ear with an Eagle Claw Lazer Sharp Wide Gap Worm Hook. And yes, the way you are cringing right now is exactly how it feels! At first it felt like someone just slap
Read more

Obama, Abortion & Young Evangelicals

-
Image
There is a pretty heated discussion over on Tony Jones blog about this very topic. If I understand the commentators correctly... The Obama supporters think that his presidency will actually reduce abortions even though Obama is a strong Freedom of Choice Act supporter. They feel that Bush has done nothing to lower the amount of abortions and that by not developing a stronger economy and by not helping the poor he has contributed to more unwanted pregnancies. The McCain supporters think that McCain will continue to nominate conservative justices and will eventually overturn Roe v. Wade. They believe that Bush has helped the cause by appointing conservative justices and has taken a strong stand on stem cell research. Again, I'll ask a question I asked all the way back in February about Obama and abortion . How can a person who believes that abortion is morally wrong justify voting for a person who believes abortion can be morally acceptable? This is an honest question. I really am i
Read more