Valerie at kyriosity has some great comments on the sovereignty of God. when you get there from this link, scroll down to Sept. 8.

Thanks, Valerie.

In reading Joshua 7 we read about Achan's sin of taking some the of the spoils of war and keeping them for himself against God's command. Achan hid these ill-gotten possessions in his tent. After reading that passage, i am always humbled by the unavoidable question it poses in my own life: Is there anything i have hidden in my tent?

A full reading of Joshua 7 shows the disastrous consequences of disobeying God's command and attempting to then hide the plunder. The result is horrendous.

i suppose chaos comes to call
in all the secrets of our lives;
but You came,
a lonely sacrifice amidst the horror
and all that You despise.

with Your tears,
You climbed inside my wounds
and dressed up in my pain.

Hallelujah, what a savior.

In a previous post i mentioned i am reading the trilogy The Curate of Glaston by George MacDonald, the Scotsman whom C.S. Lewis regarded a literary mentor.

Just yesterday i finished the first book, The Curate's Awakening. i strongly recommend the book, and i am looking forward to the rest of the trilogy. While the whole of the book is written with skill, there are portions of the narrative and the dialogue which are fit for long moments of meditation. MacDonald communicates so well the internal struggles of all men's hearts, and adeptly applies Biblical thought to those struggles.

My wife, who has read the trilogy already, remarked to me that reading MacDonald is similar to having a devotional time with God _ the writing is that good.

i thought the President's speech last night was pretty good. He seemed to strike an empathetic and sensitive tone, yet also appeared confident in his resolve concerning what is yet to be done about terrorism. There was a gentle firmness in the speech.

Today, as he heads to the United Nations, he faces a challenge _ no doubt. While various strategies for handling terrorism and the likes of Saddam Hussein abound, hopefully the President can be compelling about the very real problem and persuade his colleagues that idleness is not an option.

i, for one, will be praying for the President today.

Odds and Ends

It's September 11th and that is all that need be said. From this time forward, the date will never be just another date on the calendar. So much is being said, i will not add to it. i think it appropriate that Francis Mooney quote Psalm 27.

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i have yet to read the feature, but i saw yesterday that New Man magazine, publlished by the Promise Keepers organization is doing a story on John Eldredge. In fact, Eldredge adorns the cover of the magazine, giving us his best Wild Man expression.

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Being under the weather physically is a real drain, and since i am today, it's time to sign off in hopes that tomorrow will be a better day.

Hallelujah

13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"-- 14so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. Gal. 3:13-14.

The blessing of Christ has come . . . and He hanged on that tree at Calvary, even for those terrorists who attacked us last year. What a startling and disturbing _ and ultimately hopeful _ reality: even the horror of Sept. 11, 2001 is not too big for God to forgive. Jesus paid for it all.

In the secret and dark places of my heart, i am guilty of horrors as wicked as those committed by Al Qaida.

Amazing Grace, indeed.

The attention given to the attacks of September 11th of last year will be many, so at the risk of being left out, here' s one of my contributions.

The New York Times today ran a column by William Safire which discusses the parallels between our times and those which surrounded the delivery of the Gettysburg Address.

Only time will tell if our collective national memory holds the terrorist attacks in their proper place and, as Safire says, we rise from the ashes and go on to defend freedom.