"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind."
– Luke 10:27
Do you love God the way that Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens loves football? Would you fight for Him, and sacrifice for Him, and give Him all you've got?
"Position yourself so when God gets ready to pour out blessings, that you're in a position to receive those blessings.... keep fighting, keep fighting, keep fighting.... It's His will. Let His will be done.... God is amazing!"
– Ray Lewis after Baltimore Ravens amazing comeback win against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football, November 6, 2011.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
When evildoers assail me,
uttering slanders against me,
my adversaries and foes,
they shall stumble and fall.
Though a host encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.
– Psalm 27:1-3
Do you love God the way that Joe Frazier loved boxing?
I am like a green olive tree
in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
for ever and ever.
– Psalm 28:8
I don't think God cares one way or another what bills are passed through Congress unless they affect people's spiritual lives. This whole idea that God is in favor of "social justice" is a very humanist reduction of the Gospel message. Yes, we should help the poor, but we need to do it by creating a culture of life that fundamentally transforms our society. Anything else is just putting bandaids on the problem, at best. And at worst, it creates a society which is dominated by an atheistic central power.
All of these bailouts so far have only managed to save a few very rich and powerful people from going bankrupt, while burdening the rest of us with huge government debts. So when President Obama says that he believes that God wants a new jobs bill he is not only promoting bad economics, but also making a mockery of the Christian faith.
Jesus, I trust in You!
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UPDATE 1 [Nov 4]:
In the video when Obama says "In the House of Representatives, what have you guys been debating, John?" he is addressing Speaker of the House, John Boehner. So not only is he showing disrespect for Christians, but he is also directly mocking the Republican House Speaker.
The reason that the resolution to affirm that "In God We Trust" is the official motto of the United States was needed is because President Obama had declared that the US motto was "E pluribus unum" -- Latin for "Out of many, one" -- in one of his speeches. Given Obama's secular humanist policies that have the intent of erasing religion from public life in America, I'm convinced that this was no accident.
What has he done to help the economy? How does promoting "homosexual marriage" help to make us a stronger country at this time of crisis? It doesn't. It only serves to divide and weaken us. And no one is falling for Obama's charade that he is a Christian. He isn't.
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UPDATE 2 [Nov 4]:
Ron Paul says that he is against the resolution reaffirming "In God We Trust" as the official US motto. Paul said, "I would have voted 'no' not because I don't like the motto and don't think we can use it but 'no' because we were telling the states what to do." (He didn't vote because he was not in Washington at the time due to his presidential campaign schedule.)
I for one am tiring of Pauls' excuse of "states rights" on so many issues. Shouldn't Congress have the right to enforce a national motto? Does he want to reduce the United States to a loose confederation of states like the European Union? The strength of the United States is in our unity. If we give too much power to the individual states then we are constantly threatened with rebellion every time a crisis comes along. Just look at what is happening with the EU over the economic crisis in Greece.
When I look at thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,
the moon and the stars which thou hast established;
what is man that thou art mindful of him,
and the son of man that thou dost care for him?
Yet thou hast made him little less than God,
and dost crown him with glory and honor.
– Psalm 8:3-5
What is it to be alive? To dwell in a great hall
Between narrow walls.
What is it to recognize? To find a single root
Beneath all the branches.
What is it to have faith? To stay still at the hearth
Until we are ready to receive our guest.
What is it to forgive? To find a way through the thorns
To stand alongside our old enemy.
When I went looking for the rest of the poem, I quickly learned that the original was in Welsh not English. So I came across various translations (here and here) of the words. I ended up modifying Waldo Williams' original poem while trying to stay true to his meaning. Ultimately, I didn't use the whole poem. This is one translation of the other verses that I used.
What is it to sing? To receive breath
From the genius of creation.
What's work but humming a song
From wood and wheat.
[...]
What's the world to the all powerful?
A circle spinning.
And to the children of the earth?
A cradle rocking.
Then as I was working on the song, I was reminded of Psalm 8:3-5 and incorporated those words into the lyrics as well.
I originally was attracted to this poem by the opening lines, "What is it to be alive? To dwell in a great hall between narrow walls." It took me a bit of contemplating to reach an understanding of this. To me this means that we are confined to see only a small part of God's infinite creation. We live in the physical world, which can lead us to believe that this is all there is to His creation. We occupy human bodies and yet there is a sense that there is so much more to our existence.
What is it to be alive? To dwell in a great hall
Between narrow walls.
What is it to realize? To find a single root
Beneath all the branches.
What is it to believe? Guarding the faith
Until acceptance comes.
What is it to forgive? Fighting through thorns
To comfort my enemy.
Where’s the magic in a song? It’s in the first breath
Of creation.
And why must we sweat and toil? To create a symphony
From the forests and the fields.
What's the world to the strong?
A circle spinning.
And to the children of the earth?
A cradle rocking.
When I look up to the heavens
I see the work of your hands.
The moon and countless stars
Which you alone created.
What is man that you are mindful of him,
And the son of man that you should care for him?
Yet you made him little less than yourself,
And you crowned him with glory.
Where’s the magic in a song? It’s in the first breath
Of creation.
And why must we sweat and toil? To create a symphony
From the forests and the fields.
What's the world to the strong?
A circle spinning.
And to the children of the earth?
A cradle rocking.
